The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne, takes place in "Out-With", as Bruno calls it. It was Bruno's way of pronouncing Auschwitz, the place where Bruno was forced to live after his family left their huge house in Berlin when his father got a promotion. Bruno didn't really know what his father's job was. All he knew was that it must be important since Hitler himself had come to his house for dinner. Of course, a week after that dinner, Bruno and his family moved into a three-story house in Poland that made Bruno repulsive. It was because the new house was boring. There were no places for Buno to explore and no one for Buno to play with. The only thing that caught Bruno's attention in his new house was a "farm" that he could see from outside his window. Inside this farm, Bruno could see thousands of “peasants” who all seemed to be wearing the same striped pajamas. Curiosity and boredom took over and one day Bruno found himself on his first adventure in what seemed like forever. Just as Bruno was about to stop his exploration for the day and head home, he noticed something, a boy! It was great for Bruno, especially since there was no one his age at Out-With. Shmuel wasn't exactly what Bruno expected, he never wanted to play and looked stupid all the time with his pajamas and a funny haircut. Yet Bruno visited Shmuel almost every day for over a year. During this period, Bruno notices that Shmuel has become paler and thinner every day. Meanwhile, Bruno's mother gradually became aware of the work of her beloved husband, who is commandant of Auschwitz. This news reached Bruno's mother slowly, but when the truth came out, she was touched. His mother became depressed and stayed in her room for most of the day......in the middle of writing...behind her husband's work. But when she realizes what job her husband has, her enthusiastic and optimistic character quickly turns into a depressed one. She spends most of her time in bed and only improves when Bruno's father agrees to let her return to Berlin with the children. 3) Gretel: Gretel is Bruno's older sister and plays the role of a character dynamic in this novel. After moving to Poland, Bruno can notice changes in his sister. For example, Gretel spends most of her time learning about her great nation and transforming her room full of dolls into a model bedroom of a German citizen. This new room includes posters of German soldiers all over her room and a huge map that she uses to chart the war and all of Germany's victories. Over the course of the story, she slowly becomes more and more impatient with Bruno and his childish ways and constantly tries to mature for her age..