Childhood Innocence Amidst Holocaust Horrors

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Recommended: Children growing up during the holocaust

Maturing during the Holocaust was a difficult experience for many children. In Marl Herman's movie, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, he presents a seamless example of this. In the movie, a young boy named Bruno must become accustomed to living in a new home in a place he is not familiar with during Nazi Germany. One day, Bruno decides to venture out into his backyard. After wandering for a while, he stumbles upon a boy clothed in striped pajamas on the opposite side of a fence. The boys almost instantly become friends. Bruno's friend, Shmuel, asks for his aid in attempting to find his father. Shmuel brings Bruno a striped pajama outfit to help him blend in as one of the prisoners within the Jewish concentration camp. However, the boys are ultimately …show more content…

Bruno walks into his room one day after returning home from school to discover the maid packing up his belongings. He asks his mother to explain what is happening and she and her husband tell him that their family is going to move far away. Initially, Bruno is very upset about this news and opposes it. He does not want to leave his charming home, gleeful friends, and compassionate family. This conflict is an example of the theme of innocence. Innocence can be defined as the "lack of experience with the world and with the bad things that happen in life." What Bruno does not understand is that the "Fury", which is what Bruno thinks the Fuhrer, or Adolf Hitler is called, has awarded his father a job promotion. He believes that they are moving to a place called "Out-With" and although the movie never identifies it, the audience can infer that they are moving to Auschwitz. Bruno shows his innocence by being oblivious and not realizing what is happening around him. The conflict shows that he cannot discern what his father truly does for a living as a soldier. Bruno exemplifies the meaning of the term …show more content…

The director uses conflict, sounds, camera angles, and lighting to affect the way the theme is portrayed. Conflict is used to initially portray how the main character, Bruno, is innocent. The camera angles within the movie are modified to make Bruno’s innocence visible to the audience and the lighting supports in aiding the viewers with evidence of the character’s innocence. In general, the film successfully and effectively depicts the prevalent theme of innocence by applying several cinematic elements such as conflict, sounds, camera angles, and

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