Benji Sternheim the Cute Little Naive Jewish Boy

Benjamin Sternheim, Jr. or Benji from Alessandro Paolo Perucci's "Evelyn My Jewish Princess" is the baby brother of the protagonist Evelyn Sternheim, the heroine character in the novel. He is a spirited young boy who loves to play war. His favorite people are The Fighting Brooklyns fighter pilots, Jinx Falkenburg the actress who he has a crush on, and of course his mother, Lt. Evelyn Sternheim (Mrs. Sternheim) who is the U.S. Army Nurse serving overseas in Europe. Benji is the comic relief in this story. He always has something funny to say much like his big sister Little Evelyn Sternheim. In the beginning of the novel we find out that Benji thinks of his mother more of a soldier than a nurse. He asks his big sister Evelyn if his mother has access to military weapons such as a tank or grenade. She replies no that their mother didn't use those personally because she was a nurse and was responsible for saving lives. The young jewish boy responds, "..Tell Mama to get a grenade... it will be better than spending her time coddling a bunch of babies who need bandages." As always every detail that happens in Brooklyn is sent via a carefully written letter to her mother overseas who along with other U.S. Army nurses and a commanding officer laugh at her son's naivete.