Morality and Ethics Quotes in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

"Ashamed!" she called out before she left. "That a son of mine should be—"

"A patriot," cried Father, who perhaps had never learned the rule about not interrupting your mother. (8.489)

This is what Bruno's father claims to be, showing where his morality and loyalty lies—anything for the good of Germany and the Aryan race. Ugh.

Quote #8

And were they really so different? (9.515)

Bruno thinks this while looking out his window at the concentration camp. His sense of morality and ethics shine through in his inability to understand what makes the people on the other side of the fence different from himself or anyone else. Underneath the pajamas, they're all just human.

Quote #9

"… as if it's the most natural thing in the world and it's not, it's just not…" (12.683)

Here we get a rare insight into how Bruno's mother actually feels about the situation as she argues with his father behind closed doors. We can infer that she thinks it's not right or natural for the Nazis to eliminate the Jews, but she never says so in front of the children.