The Boy In The Striped Pajamas Literary Analysis

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a young adult novel by writer John Boyne. In this novel, a young boy is frustrated when he learns that his family has been forced to relocate due to his father's new job in the German military. The family's new home is in the middle of nowhere where young Bruno has no one to play with and nothing to do with the exception of exploring the boundaries of the odd fenced-in compound next door to the family's home. In the end, Bruno does make a friend, but this friend is trapped behind the fence, destined to never play with Bruno with the abandon of most kids their age. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a look at the Holocaust through the eyes of a child who comes to see the unfairness of it in a way only innocence can reveal.

Bruno comes home from school one day to discover that his family is preparing to move. Bruno has always lived in Berlin and therefore he is greatly distressed by this move. Bruno's distress increases when he
When Bruno shows this view to his sister, they both realize that the people are not all children, but they appear to be because the clothing they are wearing looks like striped pyjamas. Bruno wonders who these people are, but no one seems willing to talk about them.

As part of his father's job, there seem to always be soldiers around the house. One morning, Bruno decides to build a tire swing in the front yard. One of the soldiers orders an elderly man, a servant in the house, to help Bruno. Later, when Bruno falls from the newly constructed swing, the servant comes to his aid. This servant, Pavel, cares for Bruno's wounds. When Bruno asks about his knowledge, Pavel reveals that he was a doctor before the war. Bruno is confused as to why Pavel no longer works as a doctor. Maria, the family's maid, tells Bruno that Pavel cannot work as a doctor any longer because he is a