Compare Bruno and Shmuel, analyzing three examples from the novel.

Explore to what effect John Boyne uses a child’s perspective throughout the novel. How does this perspective lend itself to the themes he wishes to convey?

List and analyze some of the things you have learned about World War II and the Holocaust through this novel.

Creative assignment: Write an extended ending to the novel. What do you happens to Father after he learns how Bruno died?

Examine how the author uses language through the work and what effects he achieves. How do malapropisms like “The Fury” and “Out-With” contribute to the themes of the novel?

“Of course all this happened a long time ago and nothing like that could ever happen again.” Is this ending line true? What does John Boyne imply with this sentence?

Creative Assignment: Write a story detailing Pavel’s life, from his own perspective.

Which characters in the novel are flat and which are rounded and why? Pick an example of a character with complicated and even contradictory traits.

“It slowly dawned on him that things weren’t too bad there after all, especially since he’d met Shmuel.” Explore how different Bruno’s and Shmuel’s lives are. Despite these differences, how are their lives complementary?