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.

Nearly everything in the book relates back to that. The significance of this relation is that it shows the struggle of the citizens of Germany at that time and how only few had courage to fight for freedom. Therefore, the theme is upheld because Helmuth breaks German law by publishing pamphlets which in turn proves he is speaking up no matter the situation.
Another way the author conveys this theme is through her sentence structure.

“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

out.
Without question it can be said that Helmuth publishes the pamphlet to express himself anonymously and not really speak out on the behalf of himself. While this is a good a point, it fails to consider that this is one of the only ways for Helmuth to speak out with him putting his life on the line.
Helmuth also throughout the book says what he truly feels by saying what he feels instead of typing it up in a pamphlet. He says things like the “The Nazis are monsters,” (133) and “Not everyone agrees with Hitler and the Nazi Party” (126). These are just a few examples and there are many more. Helmuth again breaks the law in order to do what he believes is right. Doing what is right is subjective from person to person. The government has a drastically view of what is right than Helmuth. For Helmuth to do what he thinks is right requires courage and a very good reason to do so, Helmuth has both of those. He isn’t required to follow all the rules of Nazis, even though his community pushes him to do so. Therefore, the theme is upheld again.
In conclusion, the theme of you can’t tell people to be quiet and expect them to listen, is upheld in many ways throughout the story. This theme is showed through various mediums. In the end, Helmuth does what he did in the name of freedom, defiance, truth, and the people who are too afraid to speak out.