Monday, October 20, 2014

According to Gretel, what is the name of the new house?

In Chapter 3, Bruno runs into his sister's room and tells her that he hates it at their new house. Gretel agrees and tells Bruno that once the house is "smartened up a bit" it will probably seem better. Gretel tells Bruno that she heard her father say that whoever lived in the house before them at Out-With lost their job quickly and didn't have enough time to make the house look appealing before they...

In Chapter 3, Bruno runs into his sister's room and tells her that he hates it at their new house. Gretel agrees and tells Bruno that once the house is "smartened up a bit" it will probably seem better. Gretel tells Bruno that she heard her father say that whoever lived in the house before them at Out-With lost their job quickly and didn't have enough time to make the house look appealing before they moved in. Bruno says, "What's an Out-With?" (Boyne 24). Gretel corrects him and says, "It's just Out-With" (Boyne 24). She incorrectly explains to Bruno that Out-With is the name of the house. Gretel's explanation does not make sense to Bruno because his old house in Berlin did not have a name. He then asks Gretel what does Out-With mean. Gretel says it means, "Out with the people who lived here before us" (Boyne 25). Gretel surmises that the previous person who lived in the house did not do a very good job, which is the reason their father was sent to Out-With because he is capable of doing a better job. The reality of the situation is that the two children are naive and are mispronouncing the name Auschwitz. The name Auschwitz sounds similar to Out-With. Auschwitz is actually the name of the concentration camp located in southern Poland where Bruno's father is in charge of the systematic annihilation of the prisoners.

No comments:

Post a Comment