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“The Fury” is Bruno’s mispronunciation of “the Führer,” a word that means “leader” in German, but has now become forever linked to the rule of Adolf Hitler. Hitler was the leader of the Nazi Party, the dictator of Germany during World II, and the orchestrator of the Holocaust, in which millions of Jews, Romani people, homosexuals, and other minorities were killed. Bruno repeats the title “the Fury” whenever he means Hitler, since he only hears Hitler referred to reverently as “the Führer” in his Nazi-supporting household. Since Bruno’s family must move to Auschwitz soon after the Fury comes to dinner, Bruno comes to associate him with uprooting their way of life. Shmuel, too, associates “the Fury” with uprooting his family’s way of life—but in his case, he and other Jews and minorities were forcibly removed from their homes and placed into death camps. Thus the Fury—a tide of fear and anger, embodied by the genocidal rule of Hitler—comes to symbolize an unshakeable and incomprehensible force that changes things for the worse.
The Fury Quotes in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
The The Boy in the Striped Pajamas quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Fury. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 11
Quotes
What a horrible man, thought Bruno.
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Chapter 13
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“There aren’t any good soldiers,” said Shmuel.
“Of course there are,” said Bruno.
“Who?”
“Well, Father, for one,” said Bruno. “That’s why he has such an impressive uniform and why everyone calls him Commandant and does whatever he says. The Fury has big things in mind for him because he’s such a good soldier.”
“There aren’t any good soldiers,” repeated Shmuel.
“Except Father,” repeated Bruno, who was hoping that Shmuel wouldn’t say that again because he didn’t want to have to argue with him. After all, he was the only friend he had here at Out-With. But Father was Father, and Bruno didn’t think it was right for someone to say something bad about him.
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The Fury Symbol Timeline in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Fury appears in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 5
...room and shook her head, saying to herself that they should have never let “ the Fury ” come over for dinner. She had not noticed Maria and Bruno standing nearby as...
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...well dressed, though they are wearing soldiers’ uniforms. They are all complaining to him about the Fury , and past discipline and efficiency. Father silences them with one hand, and assures them...
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...sometimes, one has to do things in life that they have no choice in. As the Fury believes Father’s position is important, he must be in Out-With out of duty to his...
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Unsure how to respond, Bruno asks Father if he did something to make the Fury angry, due to the fact that he assigned Father to a job at Out-With, which...
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Chapter 8
...now to be addressed by Maria, their Cook, and Lars the butler as “Commandant,” after the Fury and a “beautiful blonde woman” had come for dinner. Mother told Bruno to congratulate Father,...
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Chapter 11
...that she has tickets to the theatre, but Father interrupts her to say that “ the Fury ” has invited himself over for dinner to discuss something with Father. Father tells Bruno...
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An hour before the Fury is scheduled to arrive, Gretel and Bruno are summoned to Father’s office, one of the...
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...in the doorway, and Father salutes them while Maria takes their coats. Bruno observes that the Fury is “far shorter” than Father, and has short dark hair and a tiny moustache. He...
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The Fury and Eva stay at the dinner table for the better part of two hours, and...
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Chapter 12
...in their house anymore. Bruno exclaims that the same thing happened to him too, after the Fury came to dinner. He asks Shmuel if the Fury had gone to his house and...
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Chapter 13
...there aren’t any good soldiers, but Bruno says that Father is a good soldier, whom the Fury has “big things in mind” for. The boys are quiet for a moment, and Shmuel...
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Chapter 16
...sad, since he and his mother had not reconciled from their fight before she died. The Fury delivers a wreath in condolence, but Mother says Grandmother would have rolled over in her...
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Chapter 17
...may return to Berlin, though he must stay at Out-With due to the commands of the Fury . Father says he does agree that Out-With is not the best place to raise...
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