The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a fictional tale of the unlikeliest of friends: the son of a Nazi commandant and a Jewish concentration camp inmate. Written by John Boyne and published in 2006 by David Fickling Books, the story was made into a major motion picture in 2008.
The novel, set in Nazi Germany, begins when nine-year-old Bruno and his family must move from their lovely home in Berlin to a new house in an unfamiliar place called "Out With." Tempted to explore his new environment, Bruno is told that there are certain places that are "Out Of Bounds At All Times And No Exceptions." Unable to fight his adventuresome spirit, however, Bruno ventures forth into the unknown one afternoon.
Bruno comes upon a fence that he follows until he sees a young boy sitting on the other side of the fence. The shoeless boy is wearing striped pajamas and a cloth cap. Bruno also notices that the boy is wearing an armband with a star on it. Bruno makes fast friends with the boy, Shmuel, and they quickly discover that they share the same birthday. The boys discuss their families and where they are from. At the end of their first meeting, Bruno asks Shmuel why there are so many people on his side of the fence and what they are doing there. A few days later, Bruno's father has dinner guests; the man's name is "the Fury" and his date is called Eva. Bruno instantly dislikes the couple. Bruno's sister Gretel, whom he refers to as "the Hopeless Case," is smitten by the man and tries hard to impress him and his lady friend. Bruno, however, is disgusted by his sister's behavior and her budding romance with a young soldier.
Much like Bruno hears "Auschwitz" as "Out With," he also incorrectly hears "the Führer" as "the Fury." Boyner masterfully tells the story from Bruno's perspective; it is clear that the innocence of Bruno's childhood remains intact despite the fact that he is living on the periphery of a death camp and has met Adolf Hitler.
Bruno continues to explore the woods near his house and often finds himself at the fence spending time with Shmuel. Bruno brings him food, and the friends lament the fact that they cannot explore together or play a game of football. Shmuel confides in Bruno that he is unable to find his father and he is worried.
Elli talks about daily life in her neighborhood. Her mother does not show any compassion for her. When Elli complains of this, her mother brings up excuses that are unconvincing. Elli believes her mother does not care for her and that her brother is the favorite. Hilter’s reoccurring radio broadcast give nightmares to Elli, whos family is Jewish. The nights when the Hungarian military police would come and stir trouble did not provide anymore comfort for Elli. One night, her brother, Bubi, comes home with news that Germany invaded Budapest, the town where he goes to school. But the next morning, there is no news in the headlines. The father sends him back to school. He learns the next day that a neighbor’s son who goes to school with Bubi has said the same. The day after, the newspapers scream the news of the invasion. Bubi arrives home, and the terror begins.
The book took place from 1944 - 1945 on Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald towards the end of World War II.
While the adults show their disgust and hatred to the Jews, Bruno doesn't mind them and is nice to Pavel, the Jew that got him the tire, and later becomes friends with Shmuel. Bruno’s father is a soldier and is in charge of the concentration camp. Even with all the Jew hating Germans around him, he still goes out to visit Shmuel and doesn’t let them ruin his friendship. Near the end of the movie Bruno shows his friend how much he cares by entering the camp to help look for Shmuel’s father, who had gone missing. While entering the camp, Bruno learned first hand how bad the camps actually were and wished he hadn’t come. Even with these feelings he still wants to help his friend, which eventually leads to his demise.
mature. When Bruno first discovers the fence, a boy called Shmuel faces him. The use of
He lives a peaceful, meaningful life appropriate for his age. One day, his world was turned upside down by cruel and surreal events. After the Nazis invade Hungary, they ship his family to the Auschwitz concentration camp. During that ordeal, the beasts separate him from his town, then from his mother and young sisters. In similar fashion, his Jewish community, composed of loving families, is abandoned to the psychopathic designs of Adolf Hitler.
The book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne is about a young boy, Bruno, whose father is a soldier in the German army during WWII. Bruno lives with his parents and his older sister, Gretel. They live in a five story house in Berlin. He goes to school and has three best friends that he goes on adventures with. One day he comes home to find their maid packing his things. They move to a three story house in Germany because his dad was promoted and needs to be closer to his work.
Bruno goes with Shmuel in the concentration camp and in the camp, Bruno finally discovers what Shmuel has to suffer. They see soldiers everywhere and very thin people with sunken eyes. Even as Bruno and Shmuel see all of this they stick together in the name of friendship and brotherhood. As they get cramped in the dark room, with light slowly closing, Bruno and Shmuel hold hands and never let go at this scene. The author's theme is clearly shown because when everyone is screaming and panicking, Bruno and Shmuel never let go of each other in the dark and eventually hug to the point where their story ends. The theme is shown because the light is used to represent time and as it fades away; Bruno and Shmuel hold hands showing their friendship and how strong it is when they never let go. The first time we see Shmuel, he is thin, pale, and sunken eyes. Bruno ask Shmuel if he wants food and Shmuel says yes, as Bruno is told time and time again that he should not be near the fence, he takes the risk and goes to it to fulfill his promise to a friend that he has only just recently
Thus, through the various distortions posed throughout The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, John Boyne reveals many aspects of truth. Such distortions allow the author to evoke the audience’s emotion, portray the Holocaust to younger readers and communicate humans’ capacity for brutality and apathy. This is achieved by Boyne through the exaggeration of the innocence of Bruno, the misrepresented content of the novel as well as the distinctive voice of youth. Narrative, in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne, is therefore presented as a device that distorts aspects of truth in order to reveal. However, in the end, it is the choice of the reader as to whether they will consider the narrative to be a ‘fable’ which reveals a message or an actual source of knowledge and truth.
Boyne, John. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. New York: Random House Inc., 2006. Print.
This film portrays one of humanity’s greatest modern tragedies, through heartache and transgression, reflecting various themes throughout the movie. Beyond the minor themes some seem to argue as more important in the film, the theme of friendship and love is widely signified and found to be fundamental in understanding the true meaning behind The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Director Mark Herman presents a narrative film that attests to the brutal, thought-provoking Nazi regime, in war-torn Europe. It is obvious that with Herman’s relatively clean representation of this era, he felt it was most important to resonate with the audience in a profound and philosophical manner rather than in a ruthlessly infuriating way. Despite scenes that are more graphic than others, the film's objective was not to recap on the awful brutality that took place in camps such as the one in the movie.
First, Boyne’s novel fits Realistic Fiction because Auschwitz’s security was very flimsy. For example, Shmuel fled to the fence to talk with his friend for hours a day! He would have never escape the horrendous roll call taken several times a day! Also, there were towers in Auschwitz with gunmen ready to shoot anybody who strayed off. Also, it says that Bruno slipped under the fence to get to the other side. The fences were dug into the ground multipe feet down. They were electrically charged and considted of barb-wire. Also, if Bruno could get under, prisoners could escape! Secondly, the two main characters, Bruno and Shmuel were completely oblivious to their surroundings. Bruno was the son of a Nazi Commander and he did not know what a Jew was! Here we have the son of a very high in command officer in Hitler’s army and he does not know what his Father absolutely dispises! He also can not pronounce Auschwitz and the Fuhrer. He says “Out-With” and the “Fury.” Also, Shmuel spoke German, and could not pick up on what the Nazis were saying. He did not understand that when people left for work and “disappeared,” they were killed. Finally and most importantly, Shmuel, the main character, would never be alive in the first place! When trains full of
Lost boy is a follow up to Dave Pelzer’s book A Child Called It. This Novel Is a Auto-biography by Dave Pelzer. It follows his experiences in the foster care system. After being taken from his mother Dave goes from one foster home to another and he describes his life there.
To begin, the two boys’ relationship relates to Knapp’s stages of relational development. First, the first two stages, initiation and experimentation, can be seen when Bruno first meets Shmuel. The two introduce themselves and Bruno notices the number on Shmuel’s uniform. They also both find out that they are eight-years-old. Next, the relationship also demonstrates the intensifying stage. Particularly, it shows the separation test. Even though Bruno and Shmuel are not able to play together, Bruno still thinks about Shmuel. Furthermore, the integration stage is also shown.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was The book made it seem like he just walked through the camp, into the uniform barracks, and retrieved a uniform like it was no big deal. Again, if this were the 1940s, the Nazis would not allow this to happen, making the book even more unrealistic than it already was. In my opinion, the most major inadequacy in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is how John Boyne made Bruno so naïve for his age.
"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" explores the beauty of a child's innocence in a time of war: