The Boy on the Wooden Box 1/19/15

The Boy on the Wooden Box
Author: Leon Leyson
Pages: 81-196
Prompts: 1) What surprises you in this story? Explain why. 2) What emotions did you feel while you read? Give details from your reading that made you feel that way.

Spoiler Alert!

        Oskar Schindler, a Nazi surprises me in The Boy on the Wooden Box. What I found surprising in him is how much he cared for his workers. Oskar owned a factory where the Jews worked. Most owners were really mean to their workers but Oskar wasn't. He was more understanding of the workers and their hardships. If they started to fall asleep during work he would just remind them to stay awake. Other owners would punish the workers. Oskar also protected and looked out for his workers. In one situation, he stopped Nazi soldiers from killing his workers by bribing them.  He had feelings unlike the other owners.

        In reading this book I felt sympathy for Leon. He had to endure so many cruel things and he was only a child. For instance, he watched as his father got beat by the Nazis and then taken away to a jail.  His brother was also taken from him, he was sent to a concentration camp. He was left with only his mother, sister, and his other brother. He also had to face hunger because food was scarce for the Jews. At times, Leon was given an extra slice of bread at work. He would bring it home and share the one slice with his entire family. Leon and his family had to share a room that was separated with a curtain with another large family.

        I also started to feel anger while reading the book. I was angry at the Nazis and how they mistreated Leon and the Jews. They would walk into peoples homes and their jobs then kill them for absolutely no reason. They actually thought it was fun. Leon came very close to death at one point. He went to an infirmary due to a leg injury. He was treated then decided to leave because he felt better. Minutes after he left, Nazis walked in the same infirmary and killed all the patients. I was also upset when I read that his friends/neighbors started to hate him all because of his religion. That is so unfair.