Violence Quotes in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

The more [the children] were shouted at, the closer they huddled together, but then one of the soldiers lunged towards them and they separated […]. (4.195)

Bruno observes this scene from his window and mistakes it for a game. We're not sure about you, Shmoopers, but huddling together and being "lunged" at by men with guns sounds more frightening than fun to us…

Quote #2

"And afterwards, when you return to the kitchen, make sure you wash your hands before touching any of the food, you filthy—" (7.393)

There are many forms of violence, and this is a good example of verbal violence. Lieutenant Kotler is by far the most violent character in the book, and even though we don't know what word he uses to insult Pavel, we know that it's nasty.

Quote #3

[…] Lieutenant Kotler grew very angry with Pavel and no one-not Bruno, not Gretel, not Mother and not even Father-stepped in to stop him doing what he did next, even though none of them could watch. (13.874)

Once again, Kotler proves his bad guy status and beats up Pavel after the poor guy accidentally spills wine on him. Because this is told from Bruno's point of view, we don't know why Bruno's parents stay silent, but we have a feeling it's due to the fact that it is a risk to defend Jews, no matter who you are.