Write an Explanation by Ralph to His Wife One Week After Bruno’s Death

Write an explanation by Ralph to his wife one week after Bruno’s death.

Purpose and audience: The purpose I had in mind while writing this piece was to discover the extent of Ralph’s thoughts and perspective and to put myself directly into his shoes. However, I also wanted to explore a different outlook on the situation, which is why I chose to write from Elsa’s point of view. I hope I was able to convey an interesting interpretation of this topic. My audience includes anyone who has read or seen The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. – Time seems to fly away on the wings of time but sadness seems to stand still and turn into ice.Which isn’t fair at all.

Everything he had ever bought and touched and laid his hands on screamed out his name like never before. I want so badly to erase the misery of bitter sorrow that is consuming me steadily, but I cannot and I must not. I pick up the tattered envelope on the mantelpiece and gaze at the letters of my name which are spelt out in ragged handwriting. Heavy clouds of rain let loose a tremendous storm as I peel the flap up. I slide out the contents with my shaky fingers and before I know, the clear crystal drops of rain fall from my eyes.

Dearest Elsa, You do not realise how agonizing it is for me to write this letter. The thoughts that run through my mind because of your absence feel so terrible and wrong and has made everything I have ever had a passion for translate into gloom. With every glance at your picture, the pain within me magnifies until it can magnify no more. Staring into your confident eyes has made me realise that I rely more on you than you rely on me, especially now that Bruno isn’t here to sweeten up the bitterness of my long and consuming days.The seedlings of the proposals we made together and planted in the fields seem to have withered away. l do not understand how our perfect situation turned into such a mess.

It seemed as though nothing really had the ability to dint our plans, but no, sure enough, Hell broke loose as soon as things got to the peak. What happened was an impossible situation that was never supposed to happen, but it did and there is nothing anyone can do about it. I have come to realise that maybe your willingness to relocate to Auschwitz was not as strong as mine.Maybe if I had listened to you when you asked kindly to move, none of this would have happened. Maybe if I gave your suggestions a second thought, things would have turned out differently for all of us.

Believe me, the guilt feels like quicksand — The more I try to fight it, the deeper it will get. The sight of the dead bodies from the chamber horrified me. As I stared at the image unfolding before my eyes, I realised one thing. Every single person lying here, out of breath and sunken, had a mother and father.They possibly even had a sibling, and for the first time, I questioned my duty.

I was truly a murderer. Nobody deserves to have something as significant as a child or a sibling taken away from them. Nobody at all. I scan the space and quickly spotted Bruno. He was hand-in-hand with a young Jew boy.

I yearned nothing more than to cradle him in my arms and hold him tight, but the very sight of their fingers clamped tightly together had risen all of my deepest questions and darkest nightmares. What malicious ways did he use to manipulate Bruno into entering the camp?I wanted very much to answer my own questions and put the blame entirely on the boy, but I could not. A friend of innocent Bruno was not capable of murder. No, I was the murderous one, and therefore it was not his fault but mine. Our son knows more about friendship than me and you, Elsa.

To him, his friends are true and are equivalent to four-leaf clovers in an endless meadow. Foolishness and my hatred of Jews got in my way of being the ideal father and the compassionate husband that my family was in such a desperate need of.I should have set my priorities straight but instead, I let the pride I received from my promotion cloud up my head. The day we moved to Auschwitz was the proudest day of my life. I remember wearing my uniform with pride and being overwhelmed with a sensation of superiority.

I was so pleased with myself for making it so far but in retrospect, I don’t know why I made such a big deal out of all of it. Being this far away from you hurts me deeply, and even if you may not feel the same about me at this point in time, please find it in your heart to make amends with me.As greedy as I may sound, your forgiveness and love is all that I need. I understand that peace can only be restored when I return, but in the meantime, please don’t push me away. Think of Gretel, she needs us more than ever now that her little brother is gone.

Picture Bruno as a star. You may not be able to see him, but at least you know that he will always be there. Yours faithfully, Ralph And just like that, the wind stopped howling and rain stopped pouring from the skies. –