The Boy In The Striped Pajamas Analysis

1440 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Effects of the holocaust

John Boyne’s, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a story that is written about the Nazi search and mass murder of Europe 's Jewish population. Bruno is the son of a German Nazi commander that runs the concentration camps in Poland, 1942 during World War II. Bruno is forced to move away from his elegant Berlin home and sent to a prison-like compound, with his family in the commandant 's compound, located on the outside the concentration camp away from the work stations. He is tortured by boredom and a result he leaves the compound and stumbles upon the camp. Bruno meets a small boy sitting on the other side of the fence and strikes up a friendly conversation with him. Shmuel is the same age as Bruno and his lack of education does not help him …show more content…

Innocence is thought to be lack of knowledge or understanding or not having opportunities to know and experience. Boyne characterizes the innocence of Bruno in order to challenge and juxtapose the growth in personality under the pressure of arriving new environment ‘Out-With’ which forces the character to grow up. “Eyes open wide…mouth made the shape of an O…arms stretched out at his side…” (219), shows the innocence of Bruno through the use of descriptive language describing the action and refers to the childishness in the readers’ experiences, presenting his youth. Child ignorance is here to be appreciated, in which childishness always bringing out true feelings that can pass as theme effectively. “Tried hard to keep his mouth shut…some people might not like it” (175) is an example of escaping as a result of fear. This can be linked to the previous experiences of the dinner scene that encourages innocence to fade into ignorance by using self-control as an excuse. Boyne expresses ideas, questions, personalities and moralities through the characterization, therefore it would not be to direct rather in a softer way to convey the message and it is easier to accept the ideas. Author here contrasts the growth of the personality of Bruno to illustrate the idea that everyone is corruptible by using a child as an example due to its innocent identity. The author explains the corruption as the phenomenon under the pressure of

Show More
Related

  • On the Other Side of the Fence

    1790 Words  | 4 Pages

    In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, a young naive boy, Bruno, tells from his perspective how the occurrences in the Holocaust took place. In 1943, the beginning of the story, Bruno’s father, a commandant in Hitler’s army, is promoted and moves to Oswiecim with his family. Oswiecim is home to the hideous Auschwitz Concentration Camp. While Bruno is out playing near a fence at the edge of Auschwitz Concentration Camp, against his father’s orders, he becomes friends with a young Jewis...

    Read More

  • The Boy In The Striped Pajamas Quotes

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout war, there have always been an effort to stop the involvement of the innocent. A big effort of this is towards children who were unfortunately stuck in conflict and sometimes join the conflict. John Boyne's book “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” helps shines light on social issues that are plaguing countries and communities today. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a touching story about the innocence of children in times of conflict shown by Bruno's lack of hate for Jews, Shmuel's kindness towards Bruno, and their commitment to each other in times of war.

    Read More

  • The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: Book and Film

    1359 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Historical Inaccuracies: The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas

    553 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a novel by John Boyne, it is from the point of view of a nine year old called Bruno growing up in World War 2 . He lived in Berlin, Germany with his parents and his sister, Gretel. His father is promoted to Commandant and his family moves to a place called Auschwitz. Bruno is lonely in Auschwitz, Bruno notices from his window what he believes to be a farm, little does he know that it is a concentration camp. Bruno displays very naive and innocent characteristics, he does not understand what is going on around him. Throughout this book there are many historical inaccuracies, after finding these flaws in the book it made the book very frustrating to read!

    Read More

  • Transition from an Innocent Child in Boy in the Striped Pajamas

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    Children have often been viewed as innocent and innocent may be a nicer way to call children naive. Since children’s lives are so worry free they lack the knowledge of how to transition from being a child to becoming an adolescent. Their lack of knowledge may be a large part of their difficulties growing up, which could be a few rough years for many. In books like the boy in the striped pajamas the story is told from the point of view of a little boy, this way we get a full view of how innocent he is. In this book the writer shows the reader first hand how a child viewed the holocaust and how his innocence cost him his life. Then in books like the perks of being a wallflower Charlie is a teen whom is struggling with the transition from being a child to becoming an adolescent. In this book the writer gives a first hand look at how difficult it can be to transition into an adolescent. Charlie has many difficulties in this book; he is in search of his identity and how to fit in.

    Read More

  • The Boy In The Striped Pajamas Quotes

    651 Words  | 2 Pages

    My book The Boy In The Striped Pajamas is a book by John Boyne, The main character, Bruno, is a strong willed nine year old, who is suspicious and oblivious to what’s going on, in his home country, Germany. World War II is in it’s peak at the time the book takes place, and his Father runs the legendary, for the wrong reasons, concentration camp, Auschwitz.In the book, Bruno becomes quite suspicious when he moves to a house overlooking “Out-With”, home of The Boy in The Striped Pajamas. At one point Boyne makes these passages to show his suspiciousness, “Bruno and Gretel see hundreds of people but there were so many huts… ‘Look over there.’ said Bruno, and Gretel followed the finger he was pointing, ‘Who are they?’ ” Boyne wanted to convey that Bruno and Gretel, his sister, are untrusting towards the people in the striped pajamas. Another suspicious passage is when Bruno points out: “Who decided which

    Read More

  • Conflict In Boy In The Striped Pajamas

    1398 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Analysis: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne

    883 Words  | 2 Pages

    Boyne, John. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. New York: Random House Inc., 2006. Print.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The Devil's Larder

    920 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thus, this essay will show how innocence in these stories relate to experience and the sense of being controlled by other individual. To begin with, Crace uses variety of literary devices

    Read More

  • Friendship and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

    1716 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Innocence in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

    596 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bruno, an eight year old boy at the time of the war, is completely oblivious to the atrocities of the war around him - even with a father who is a Nazi commandant. The title of the book is evidence to this - Bruno perceives the concentration camp uniforms as "striped pajamas." Further evidence is the misnomers "the Fury," (the Furher) and "Out-With" (Auschwitz). Bruno and Shmuel, the boy he meets from Auschwitz, share a great deal in common but perhaps what is most striking is the childhood innocence which characterizes both boys. Bruno is unaware that his father is a Nazi commandant and that his home is on ther periphery of Auschwitz. Shmuel, imprisoned in the camp, seems not to understand the severity of his situation. When his father goes missing, Shmuel does not understand that he has gone to the gas chamber.

    Read More

  • The Boy In The Striped Pajamas Chapter 1 Analysis

    438 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the end Bruno goes to meet Shmuelat he fence. It was raining and storming that day. When he got to the meeting spot, Shmuel gave Bruno top and bottom of pajamas and cap. Bruno put them on and left his other clothes at the fence then, Shmuel pulled the fence up so Bruno could crawl under. When he got across they both hugged, then started looking for Shmuel's papa. They looked for about a hour and a-half, and Bruno started to not like it on the other side of the fence. So Bruno told Shmuel he was sorry they could not find his papa and it was time for him to go. Right then the soldiers whistle blew and all the prisoners were crowded in a group. Bruno was worried so he asked Shmuel what was happening. Shmuel it was probably the marchers. Then they were forced into a room where no rain could hit them. Bruno held Shmuels had tight and would not let go. Then the room went dark and everything went silent. Mother and Gretel moved back to Berlin. Gretel sat in her room and cried about Bruno. Father at the outwith until soldiers came and he had to go with them.

    Read More

  • The Boy In The Striped Pajamas Research Paper

    622 Words  | 2 Pages

    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. He never really knew why Shmuel was on the other side of the fence. In the book, Bruno asked his sister, Gretel, “‘Are we Jews?’” (Boyne 182). This shows that Bruno had very little knowledge of what was really happening in Auschwitz and all around the world. Boyne had also made Bruno use a very shameful and inappropriate term in his book. Instead of “Auschwitz”, Bruno called it “Out-With”. After Boyne had added this term into his book, I felt as though he took Bruno’s naïvete way too far.

    Read More

  • Use of Narrative in John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

    998 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of The New Boy

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    New Boy is a short film that envelops the viewer into a third person character and leads viewers to experience how it feels to be an outsider “The New Boy”, the audience experiences this feeling through the Protagonist 's mind in this case “Joseph.” This short film not only focuses on the idea of bullying but also the idea of being an outsider.The positioning of the title “New Boy” on the left-hand side of the frame indicates that the new boy will be powerless.

    Read More

More about The Boy In The Striped Pajamas Analysis

Open Document