Literature Review : The Boy 's The Striped Pajamas

John Boyne's book "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" invites the readers to embark on an imaginative journey at two levels. At the first level, Boyne himself embarks upon an imaginative journey that explores a possible scenario in relation to Auschwitz. Bruno is a 9 year old boy growing up in a loving, but typically authoritarian German family in the 1930?s. His father is a

John Boyne’s book “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” is set in the area bordering Nazi Germany and Poland in the 1940s. The story concern a young German boy named Bruno, his family and the unlikely friendship he has between another boy named Schmuel, imprisoned in Auschwitz.

The Book Thief, directed by Brian Percival, and The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, directed by Mark Herman, are both films that share similar themes and are focused on the time of war during Hitler’s reign of power. In both films, the idea of innocence is portrayed and corrupted through the friendship of child protagonists, influence of father figures, characterisation of children in war and the narrative perspectives. Symbolism, motifs and themes in these two films are explored to emphasise how innocence is portrayed and corrupted throughout the texts. The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas reflects on the horrifying events of the holocaust where the protagonist,

The examination of the Boy in the Striped Pajamas will examine the lives of the children growing up in a concentration camp. In order to accurately understand the introduction of the Jewish children living in a concentration camp, a brief summary of the movie

“The Boy In the Striped Pyjamas” by John Boyne gives an insight to the holocaust and the rule of Nazi Germany in WW2, Boyne’s novel demonstrates Friendship through protagonist Bruno. Boyne writes about the an inhumane period, even if his book is a fable it still is based on the hardship that the jewish people suffered during this dark time. Throughout the Novel Bruno’s perspective on Friendship changes, he realises that you shouldn’t judge a friend by there appearance. The characters show intricate acts of friendship for life, friendship between young and old. Mateship between four “best friends for life” (karl, Daniel, Martin and Bruno) and the protagonist, Bruno, “crossing the fence” by entering an concentration and extermination camp for his jewish friend, Shmuel. The book is set on the German Polish border in about the year 1942 in the middle of Nazi Germany.

During the time period 1933 to 1945, a very devastating event occurred in history, the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a time where Adolf Hitler created an army of people to kill Jews so he could create the “perfect race”. Those with blonde hair and blue eyes were safe, but everyone else was considered a Jew, therefore being someone Hitler didn’t want to include in his “perfect race”. In the end he had killed about six million Jews, which tore apart many families (history.com). In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, it talks about the Holocaust in the point of view of a young boy named Bruno. Bruno was very naive and oblivious to the situation happening around him. He didn’t quite understand what was happening, nor did he really want to know. In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, it was good that Bruno was naive about the Holocaust throughout the novel because it allowed him to

John Boyne’s historical fable, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, is an optimistic narration of World War Two set in the “Out-With” concentration camp. In the background of the war, the story details the life of male protagonist Bruno, who befriends the unlikeliest of strangers in his attempt to adjust to life at Out-With. In Boyne’s portrayal of this dictatorship, the characters' go through life controlled by the notion of fear, only escaping its grasp through the most dramatic of circumstances. The didactic text paints a picture of how “we don’t have a choice” when we are being controlled by our fear (p.8). Thus,

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a novel by John Boyne that has recently been turned into a film. It tells the story of a young German boy (Bruno), and a Jewish boy (Shmuel)’s “forbidden” friendship. Bruno, located on the opposite side of a huge barbed-wire fence that guards the concentration camp where Shmuel is confined, has never had a friend he can’t play with. Throughout the novel, their friendship grows and both boys learn very important lessons. When the novel was made into a film, a few things were changed, some were

John Boyne has created a sophisticated and meaningful novel “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” through his portrayal of prejudice and discrimination. Throughout the text, he exposes society's perception, attitude and behavior towards different racial groups and people during the Holocaust in WW2. Bruno’s curious nature, captures the attention of the reader, and provides a platform from which to explore the atrocities of war. Bruno’s innocence shields him from the monstrosities of prejudice and discrimination, depicted by the attitude and behaviour of the people around him. In particular, Bruno bears witness to prejudice and discrimination propagated by Hitler, The Commandant and Lt Kotler.

There were many important themes that this this book focused on. Ignorance is one of the major ideas that the novel was about. The main character Bruno is ignorant to all the troubles and hardship his friend is going through in the holocaust. Also an important topic obviously was the holocaust. It shows all the hardship the Jewish people went through. This novel shows very important issues in the world that apply now and back then.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008) follows a Nazi family who moves to the countryside while the father carries out an assignment at Auschwitz. At times heartwarming and other times brutal, it walks the line between dark and kitschy, offering a profound moral to its story while managing to seem irreverent. Bruno, a boy of eight years old, completes the twelve stages of the Hero’s Journey in a way that illustrates a thoughtful commentary on the interplay between ignorance and the truth. Ultimately, however, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is an allegory about social boundaries and the consequences of transgressing them.

In the novel, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, the historical setting of Nazi Germany is of key importance. Although the novel is fictional having it set during a time period of such significance, such as Germany under the Nazi regime, gives a sense of reality to the book. This is important as this connects readers to the plot line as they understand the setting. This setting is interesting as it was a terrible point of history, filled with hatred, fear and bigotry. In this essay, I will be discussing the main points of the historical setting and the reasons this fits well with the book and how this historical setting came about. This historical setting had key relevance and was essential for the book.

Through the study of the novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne, it is clear that the concerns and issues, as well as the style and structure of a text, are what determines the reader’s involvement. In addition, the issues of the past (particularly those about war) still remain concerns today. The issues amplified within The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas include detachment in family relationships which can lead to disastrous consequences, and the withholding of information from the youthful and innocent which can create dangerous situations. Along with these, is the main issue of the

They say that ignorance is bliss. That is somewhat true, as not understanding the atrocities in our world would surely make a happier person. However, innocence can also lead to calamity. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne, is a coming of age story about Bruno, the son of a Nazi Commandant under Adolf Hitler. Bruno was initially very ignorant of what was happening in the world and was very immature about moving from Berlin. As the days went by, he got used to his new home and his thoughts were maturing, as he started thinking with logic and rationale. Bruno finally understands that he has to be a good person to everyone regardless what others might think. His character has strongly developed. Despite Bruno being unaware of his situation and his father being a Nazi, he matures from being childish and unsatisfied for moving to finally finding purpose in life by being a good human being.

‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ is about two little boys who become the most unlikely of friends during the Holocaust. Shmuel, a young Jewish boy, lives in a concentration camp holding Jewish people from different areas on one side of the fence. Bruno, a young German boy, lives in a two-storey house on the other side of the fence with his family. The fence is a figurative and literal line of division. It symbolises the differences between the two boys and the loss of freedom and innocence both from the German and Jewish people due to Hilter’s regime surrounding the Holocaust, a time in history where around six million Jewish people were killed because they were blamed for Germany’s demise during the First World War.