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Striped Pajamas Themes

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It’s been six decade since the last emancipation of death camps which were located in different parts of Europe. Holocaust is one of the most tragic events in the history that has always been the interesting subject for historians. According to Jewish Virtual Library, it was about six million Jews were massacred for no decent reason. In William Lace’s book, The Death Camps, he stated that Jews are not the only one killed in the holocaust but also about five million of Gypsies and other people were murdered, that time there was no way that anyone could stop the Nazis from killing blameless people. People were agonized from their homes and taken to ghettos. People from that time were also brought to the concentration camps and …show more content…

Boyne's depiction of Bruno in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas defies this. The theme of innocence is shown to be a force that can withstand the horrors of experience, proving to be a transformative quality to demonstrate what can be in the face of what is.
Bruno views the world through the lens of innocence. The questions he asks in the midst of Holocaust reflects this. For example, Bruno questions power through his understanding of innocence: "What exactly was the difference?...And who decided which people wore the striped pajamas and which people wore the uniforms?” Another example of this is in the way in which Bruno views human beings: "In his heart, he knew that there was no reason to be impolite to someone, even if they did work for you. There was such a thing as manners after all." In these descriptions of Bruno's thinking, one sees how experience does not have to replace innocence. Bruno is a stark contrast to Gretel, who succumbs to the lure of popularity and social power that Nazism offered. Bruno willingness to question the system and continually raise a voice of dissent represents the innocence with which Bruno views the world. Experience is not necessarily a repudiation of innocence. Rather, experience through the lens of innocence can transform the world from what is into what can be, a theme of change that is intrinsic to the

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