How is Bruno from The Boy in the Striped Pajamas a round and a dynamic character?

Round characters are usually the major ones in a story who are fully developed and explained in direct and indirect ways. For instance, in John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Bruno is a round character because his personality is explained by the way he behaves, the things he says, and the choices he makes throughout the book. Round characters also face conflicts that challenge what they believe by placing them in moral...

Round characters are usually the major ones in a story who are fully developed and explained in direct and indirect ways. For instance, in John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Bruno is a round character because his personality is explained by the way he behaves, the things he says, and the choices he makes throughout the book. Round characters also face conflicts that challenge what they believe by placing them in moral dilemmas. Bruno is a dynamic character as well because he learns about his own weaknesses and does his best to change himself for the better. For example, Bruno discovers that he can be a disloyal friend when he lies to Captain Kotler about knowing his Jewish friend Shmuel in chapter 15. Bruno's feelings are described after he denies knowing his friend in the following passage:

"His stomach churned inside him and he thought for a moment that he was going to be sick. He had never felt so ashamed in his life; he had never imagined that he could behave so cruelly. He wondered how a boy who thought he was a good person really could act in such a cowardly way towards a friend" (174).

This is the first time that Bruno faces an intense moral conflict and must decide if he will tell the truth to save a friend or save himself. As shown above, he does not feel good about the choice that he makes to save himself from trouble at Shmuel's expense. As a result, he does not pass up a chance to help Shmuel the next time he needs it. When Shmuel asks Bruno to help him find his father in chapter 18, Bruno wonders about getting caught behind the fence, but eventually says the following:

"Of course . . . It would be a great adventure. Our final adventure. I could do some exploring at last . . . We'll take a walk around and see whether we can find any evidence. That's always wise when you're exploring" (198-199).

Bruno proves his loyalty to his friend by putting on a pair of striped pajamas and going over to Shmuel's side of the fence. He knows that he might get in trouble, but he does it anyway because he has learned that he does not want to be a coward or a disloyal friend again. Therefore, Bruno shows that he is a round character because he faces a moral dilemma that challenges his character, and he is a dynamic one because he makes a change for the better and does not make the same mistake twice.