The Struggle

Rudy, Rudy, Rudy... Rudy is Liesel's best friend. He is a blonde little boy who says it like it is, and doesn't like taking instructions from another person. With his personality, Hitler's Youth Camp doesn't necessarily sit well with him, to say the least. It is now to the point where he has started skipping sessions. He was pushed to the point when his friend Tommy, who is part deaf, was getting beat up.  Naturally, Rudy stood up for his friend, and that got him into some big trouble. He has been struggling to get by. The book said, "As for Rudy, so far this year he'd swallowed mud, bathed himself in fertilizer, been half-strangled by a developing criminal, and was now receiving something at least nearing the icing on the cake- public humiliation on Munich Street" (Zusak 235). All of the struggles mentioned in the quote started out at Hitler's Youth Camps.

Not only does Rudy have to face these problems on a daily basis, but he hasn't told his family yet. His family has no idea that he has been skipping. When they find out, they will make him return to the camps. I predict that eventually, Rudy will be caught, have to go back to the camps, and get punished even more.

Liesel and Rudy running through the streets