Conflict In Boy In The Striped Pajamas

A classic by any means, John Boyne’s The Boy In The Striped Pajamas details the life of a boy named Bruno is faced with long and arduous conflicts at age nine, when his father is ordered by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Regime to move. However, this move is not simply to a new house; completely uprooted from his friends and childhood home, Bruno and his family move to the edge of a concentration camp (unbeknownst to Bruno), as his father had recently been promoted to Commandant. Set during World War II, the main protagonist’s conflicts are certainly different from what a nine-year-old boy today would face. His innocence and naivety, found endearing in these peaceful times, would prove to be the catalyst to his downfall. However, the obstacles he faces are far

Under the belief that his father was the only reason he was uprooted from his life in Berlin, Bruno badmouths him to the maid Maria, and argues with him about their new situation on multiple occasions. They, by the telling of the story, never had a particularly close relationship; at the very least, there was a very healthy respect as the man of the house, but never any loving and trusting moments. For instance, on page 53, himself and his father our engaged in an argument about the move that they just made- and his father once again kept him in the dark about the situation- where, referring to the prisoners, says: “They’re nothing to do with you. You have nothing whatsoever in common with them. Just settle into your new home and be good, that’s all I ask.” (Boyne) Much of the conflict that Bruno faces in the rest of the plot could have easily been avoided if he had known the truth about those behind the fence. Instead, his parent’s vague answers and insistence to keep him in the dark led to him exploring the area, meeting his Jewish friend Shmuel, and the conflict at the end of the story that was also not