Bruno does grow and change in the book but slowly; it is only in the end that he truly evolves. Does he change when he moves to Out-With? And the first time he sees the camp, does he see it for what it is? When he meets Shmuel that’s when he really changes. The writer has Bruno change so he develops personality. This is important because you need to get to know him when you read the book.
Bruno does change a little bit when he moves to Out-With. He does get bored more easily (which anyone would if you had to move to the middle of nowhere) and he feels sad that he had to move away from his friends. So Bruno does change but it’s hardly noticeable.
When Bruno first sees the camp he doesn’t know what it is. It is only near the end when he goes inside that he actually sees that it’s a cruel, dirty and racist place. Gretel is also confused by it at first, “A group of children being shouted at by soldiers…‘It must be a rehearsal’ suggested Gretel” (page 37) this shows how clueless she was but then later in the book she knows what it’s all about.
When Bruno meets Shmuel he changes massively. He starts to forget what his three friends were called. He understands things more. But the main thing to make him change was FRIENDSHIP! Without friendship he wouldn’t have changed. When he finally sees the camp for what it is he changes in a way not many people would. When he dies he holds hands with Shmuel. That is true friendship. “He took hold of Shmuel’s tiny hand in his and squeezed it tight ‘You’re my best friend Shmuel, my best friend for life’…and despite all the chaos that followed, Bruno found he was still holding Shmuel’s hand and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let go.”
So Bruno Does grow and change throughout whole book. But in the end it was friendship that really changed him.
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