Essay on The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

John Boyne’s book “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” is set in the area bordering Nazi Germany and Poland in the 1940s. The story concern a young German boy named Bruno, his family and the unlikely friendship he has between another boy named Schmuel, imprisoned in Auschwitz.

Their opinions are brought forward whilst there is a march in their hometown and the two characters feed the marchers. Whilst this is only a small action, they managed to change the course of the storyline and the consequences of their actions really did bring the context of war upfront and it allowed the reader to understand what happened to some of the German people that tried to help the Jews and the others that were tortured along with them. The most serious effect that the war had on the characters of The Book Thief, Liesel especially, was at the end of the novel was when a bomb was dropped on her home town. As a result of this everyone that was special to Liesel was killed, including Rudy. Children in war are not aware of what is happening around them, especially in Bruno’s case, he only knows what he has seen. For example when Shmuel tells him that there are a lot of children on his side of the fence he thinks that it will be like in Berlin where children are happy and playful and have liberty, but when Bruno crosses the fence and experiences what Shmuel does every day he is very surprised and in a way disappointed to see that the children here and all lethargic and gloomy, this may affect a child very harshly in the long run seeing such a place on the inside, such as Auschwitz. In the story we see that Bruno can not comprehend what is happening when he and Shmuel are taken into the gas chamber and they think that it

After that day, Bruno goes to the forest every day to find Shmuel. One day, Bruno saw Shmuel in his house polishing the glasses for his father’s birthday. He holds Shmuel’s hand and said "Our hands, they 're so different. Look!"(167). When Bruno holds Shmuel’s hands, immediately he noticed the differences between them. One is healthy, fat hands but certainly not fat for a nine year old and the other hands just talk about other stories,that is about how hard of a Jewish people at Auschwitz.At Auschwitz,Jews live in a really rough living condition,they need to live in a confined space.Despite their visible differences, Bruno still accepts Shmuel as a friend. However, although they accept each other’s different physical features, but there are more struggles waiting in this friendship.

It is portrayed most commonly within Bruno and Shmuel's friendship. Towards the end of the book Bruno begins to realise that the fence is separating them both for a reason, however this doesn't stop them from being friends. This shows that they would go through anything, including suffering, to be friends. The following quote shows how strong their friendship is at the end of the book, "Despite the mayhem that followed, Bruno found that he was still holding Shmuel's hand in his own and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let go." (Page 213). Another display of friendship amidst suffering is demonstrated by Bruno's parents. At the beginning of the book their relationship is loving and healthy. Towards the end of the book, Bruno's mother discovers how the soldiers are treating the Jews. She becomes appalled and disliking of her husband, as he supports it and is not doing anything to stop it. Bruno's parents' relationship begins to fall apart and his mother eventually decides to move back to Berlin. This is a negative example of friendship amidst suffering as the relationship goes downhill. This shows how easy it is for suffering to build or tear apart a

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a novel by John Boyne. This novel is set during World War 2 and explores themes such as prejudice, racism, war, innocence and friendship. What sets it apart from other novels is that it uses a third person limited point of view, and mostly depicts events as they are seen by a young and naïve boy. This was one of the main narrative conventions that engaged me in this novel.

“The Boy In the Striped Pyjamas” by John Boyne gives an insight to the holocaust and the rule of Nazi Germany in WW2, Boyne’s novel demonstrates Friendship through protagonist Bruno. Boyne writes about the an inhumane period, even if his book is a fable it still is based on the hardship that the jewish people suffered during this dark time. Throughout the Novel Bruno’s perspective on Friendship changes, he realises that you shouldn’t judge a friend by there appearance. The characters show intricate acts of friendship for life, friendship between young and old. Mateship between four “best friends for life” (karl, Daniel, Martin and Bruno) and the protagonist, Bruno, “crossing the fence” by entering an concentration and extermination camp for his jewish friend, Shmuel. The book is set on the German Polish border in about the year 1942 in the middle of Nazi Germany.

John Boyne’s historical fable, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, is an optimistic narration of World War Two set in the “Out-With” concentration camp. In the background of the war, the story details the life of male protagonist Bruno, who befriends the unlikeliest of strangers in his attempt to adjust to life at Out-With. In Boyne’s portrayal of this dictatorship, the characters' go through life controlled by the notion of fear, only escaping its grasp through the most dramatic of circumstances. The didactic text paints a picture of how “we don’t have a choice” when we are being controlled by our fear (p.8). Thus,

John Boyne has created a sophisticated and meaningful novel in The Boy in the Striped

John Boyne has created a sophisticated and meaningful novel “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” through his portrayal of prejudice and discrimination. Throughout the text, he exposes society's perception, attitude and behavior towards different racial groups and people during the Holocaust in WW2. Bruno’s curious nature, captures the attention of the reader, and provides a platform from which to explore the atrocities of war. Bruno’s innocence shields him from the monstrosities of prejudice and discrimination, depicted by the attitude and behaviour of the people around him. In particular, Bruno bears witness to prejudice and discrimination propagated by Hitler, The Commandant and Lt Kotler.

Children’s innocence and unconditional love for their parents often unleash terror and abuse. It is impossible not to perceive the author’s hidden parallels: the nation’s that blindly follow their “chosen one” without questioning his decisions and true motifs march to imminent doom. Bruno comes to terms with his new life rather briskly and is perfectly willing to go on as long as he has a pleasant distraction - Shmuel - in his life. He instinctively avoids the question that can expose the horrors of his “best friend’s” existence or his father’s true nature. Even after witnessing the sad reality of the concentration camp with his own eyes, Bruno walks into the gas chamber with an unshakable thought that “... Father was the commandant, and if this was the kind of thing that he wanted the people to do then it must be all right” (Boyne 210). This very school of thought has been luring people into senseless wars and self-ruin from the beginning of time.

The book tells a story seen through the innocent eyes of an 8 year old boy, Bruno, who is unsure of his place in the world. The most evident concept of belonging is his hitch in his transition from childhood to adulthood. Throughout the book, he faces the conflict between accepting the harsh "Jew-killing" reality of the world or stay immersed in his fantastical world filled with adventure. Bruno also feels alienated from society having been moved from Berlin to the countryside, resulting in his isolation. On another level, he must further decide his place and to whether support his Nazi father's actions and stay true to his "Fatherland" or stay a

Nelson Mandela once said, ‘no one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background or his religion. People learn to hate….’ And such is perhaps the most imperative message of John Boyne’s hit novel, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Ultimately, Boyne’s construction of characters, specifically that of the central character, Bruno and those around him, are a gradual emphasis of the concept that hatred is a learned practice, not the natural state of humanity, and that it is innocence and compassion that will bring unity and equality to the human race.

When he asks his father about who they are he responds by saying, “Those people...well, they’re not really people at all [...] You have nothing whatsoever in common with them” (53). This shows the characterization of the father and how his heartless personality is based on the way he described the Jews. Knowing that this novel is based on a true event in history adds a realistic quality to the father’s words. It is interesting how the author chose for the father character to hide the truth from his son, by providing a more simplistic explanation of the situation. The circumstances in the novel remind me of similar events that occurred during the civil rights movement. White children were simply taught that African Americans did not deserve the same rights. In this event in the novel, Bruno’s father is teaching him about how the Jewish should not even be categorized as

Bruno, initially, has ignorance about everything going on in his life. For example, his dissatisfaction with leaving Berlin is demonstrated in many parts of the story. He is shown to the reader as being innocent, immature, and unable to give things a chance. On many occasions, Bruno complains about moving to “Out-With” (Auschwitz). He continually complains before even giving himself a chance to experience it. He was whining and being stubborn. To illustrate, in the novel, the author says, “Nothing, thought Bruno, not even the insects, would ever choose to stay at Out-With.

‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ is about two little boys who become the most unlikely of friends during the Holocaust. Shmuel, a young Jewish boy, lives in a concentration camp holding Jewish people from different areas on one side of the fence. Bruno, a young German boy, lives in a two-storey house on the other side of the fence with his family. The fence is a figurative and literal line of division. It symbolises the differences between the two boys and the loss of freedom and innocence both from the German and Jewish people due to Hilter’s regime surrounding the Holocaust, a time in history where around six million Jewish people were killed because they were blamed for Germany’s demise during the First World War.