In the story, the mother uses the phrase 'some people' to refer to which character?

• A. Father
• B. Bruno
• C. Shmuel
• D. Gretel

Answer: (A)

Understanding how a character refers to others through indirect language can reveal how they view those people and the world around them. The mother’s use of the phrase some people is a way of talking about a familiar, yet distant, adult figure without naming him directly. In this moment she’s referring to her husband, the father, whose role as a Nazi officer and the weight of his decisions cast a shadow over the family. The vague term shows her attempt to acknowledge his authority and actions while protecting Bruno from blunt, explicit truths, highlighting how language can soften or obscure difficult realities in a repressive setting. The other possibilities don’t fit as neatly because Bruno, Gretel, and Shmuel are individuals with direct presence in the story, and the narrator wouldn’t typically refer to them in such a generalized, detached way.