As promised, Jakub tries to make Lale’s beating look worse than it actually is. Still, though, it’s clear that Jakub will have to brutally harm his friend in order to convince the guards that Lale doesn’t know the names of the other prisoners who helped him smuggle food into the camp. This, it seems, is the only way that Jakub can protect his fellow prisoners, even as he tries to also protect Lale as much as possible. In turn, readers see that Jakub truly
is trying to minimize the amount of pain he inflicts upon others, though it’s also clear that he has been put in a very difficult position, since there is no way for him to completely avoid hurting Lale.