Monday, November 17, 2014

How is the relationship between Bruno and Gretel being portrayed through the use of language in chapter 14?

In chapter
14, the reader begins to see how Bruno is maturing and evolving as a human being, while his
sister is remaining stagnant.  Consider that after she plays along with Bruno's "imaginary
friend" narrative, she rebukes him as being too immature and that she has more elevated
things to do.  At this point, she goes off to play with her dolls.  At the same time, Bruno is
stopped in reflection about what life for Shmuel must be like.  He feels a sense of sadness
through this empathy and becomes reflective about his condition of life and how Bruno would feel
in similar dire straits.  It is here where the relationship between Bruno and Gretel is
beginning to diverge into a realm through which Gretel is more along the lines of the conformist
German society that is following the lead of the Nazis and Bruno is emerging into the embodiment
of the voice of dissent.  The language that both brother and sister use is reflective of this
change in both of them.  Bruno is speaking about issues of "truth" and language that
is reflective of the nature of identity.  Gretel is talking about how people will see Bruno and
how she is "mature," when in reality the more mature of them is quietly and pensively
thinking about life in the camp for others.   In this, language is reflective of the divergent
strains of relationship between both of them.

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