The Boy Who Dared By Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Have you ever been told not to do something and that command only makes you want to do it more? The book The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti is about a boy named Helmuth and his life during Nazi Germany. The book focuses on the decrees, restrictions, and discriminations set in place by the government. Helmuth writes pamphlets that ultimately leads to his death in the end because he gets caught by the government. In the book, a theme that develops is that people will speak out no matter what happens because the right thing will always prevail.
One prime example of this theme is when Helmuth publishes his pamphlets. It is strictly against German law to say anything that will demean the government. Helmuth does that exactly. In the book Karl says, “It’s serious to break the law like this” (126). This shows how even though the government told all people to not say anything, Helmuth still does. This relates to a bigger idea in the book of freedom and the need for truth.

“Suddenly Karl’s face floats in front of Helmuth. You sound like a bloody pamphlet. You sound like a bloody pamphlet. A bloody pamphlet. A pamphlet.” (121). Notice how the author takes the sentence “You sound like a bloody pamphlet” and reduces it to the keyword, which in this case is pamphlet. The author does this to create suspense. The pamphlets symbolize the need for freedom and freedom of speech. This idea ultimately leads to the turn of events that cause Helmuth’s death. Something else that sticks out is the how to word “bloody” is used to describe the pamphlet. Since the pamphlet can be seen as a symbol of freedom and the word bloody implies bloodshed or cruelty it ultimates foreshadows the death of Helmuth. The death of Helmuth is ultimately caused by the pamphlets. This all relates to the theme pamphlet best manifests the theme, and the pamphlet in this scene clearly shows how Helmuth will speak