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Teachers & SchoolsMorality and Ethics
For such a young boy, Bruno has an impressively strong and sound sense of morality and ethics in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. We don't think it comes from his father (a Nazi), so we can only assume he gets it from the female figures in his life (his mother and grandmother). Bruno, unlike many Nazis, does not view anyone else in his life as less or subhuman. That includes the help—Maria and Pavel—and of course Shmuel, who is Jewish. Bruno is more interested in bonds than differences, and looks for loyalty, trust, and kindness in people—qualities found in any good human being, no matter their race or class.
Of all the characters, Bruno and his grandmother have the highest level of morality and ethics.
Gretel is an example of a child with a corrupt sense of morals.