This question isn't as straightforward as it seems. It really depends on how a reader interprets "get along with his father." Personally, I feel that Bruno got along with his father more often than not. That doesn't mean their relationship was filled with deep, meaningful conversations, nor does it mean that I would categorize the relationship as overly loving; however, I also wouldn't classify the relationship as openly antagonistic or hostile. Bruno's father is a military man, and he expects orders to be followed and not questioned. He brings this mentality home to his family, and that's how he operates there with his children.
Do you think that I would have made such a success of my life if I hadn't learned when to argue and when to keep my mouth shut and follow orders? Well, Bruno? Do you?
What seems cold and harsh isn't meant to be mean. It's his way of being the head of the household. Bruno doesn't necessarily always fall in line, but he also isn't actively trying to defy his father at every moment. I would say that they get along more often than not. Bruno might not necessarily like or love his father, but they get along. Anecdotally, I don't like my boss, but we get along. Anecdotally, my father was army. Bruno's father didn't feel that foreign to me. It was very similar to my own relationship with my father, and I got along with him just fine—as long as I did what was expected.
In the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Bruno does not have a good relationship with his father. His father is a severe man, a member of the Nazi party and high-ranking at the nearby concentration camp. He does attempt to shield his son from the horrors that go on there, but it is more out of duty it seems than true care.
Unfortunately, the two do not reconcile their differences before the close of the book. As Bruno’s father begins to feel more concern for him, he decides to move his family back to Berlin. However, before they depart, Bruno sneaks into the concentration camp and is eventually killed in the gas chamber along with Shmuel. So, Bruno gets no opportunity to come closer to his father, and his father eventually breaks down from the grief.
Bruno and his father do not have an open, affectionate relationship. Instead, Bruno's relationship with his father is rather like that of a subordinate with his superior. Bruno's father treats his son as if he was one of his soldiers; he expects instant compliance from Bruno and conduct befitting the son of an important man. The two do not get along very well.
Although it is expected that a son respects his father, Bruno's father expects more. Throughout the novel, Bruno's father makes it clear that he wants his children to understand and support the Fuhrer's goals. Everything is subject to the Fuhrer's whims and plans. However, Bruno's father is disinclined to reveal the nature of these plans to Bruno. In fact, he takes great pains to hide Bruno from the savagery the Nazis are perpetrating against their Jewish prisoners.
Because Bruno's father expects unquestioning obedience and loyalty from Bruno, the pair do not have an especially amiable or affectionate relationship. Also, because of his cold, detached manner, Bruno's father is never admitted into Bruno's confidence. This state of affairs results in eventual tragedy.
Toward the end of the novel, Bruno is afraid to reveal how much he actually knows about the Jewish children's plight in the camps. Bruno's father eventually decides that Bruno will return to Berlin with his mother and Gretel. Bruno never makes it to Berlin, of course: he dies with Shmuel in the gas chambers.
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