The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Describe a theme or idea presented in the text. Explain how this idea has affected you. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne is a very powerful, touching story with many important themes. The book is set in Auschwitz, Poland in the early 1940s during a time where there was a lot of racism and many innocent people were killed. This essay will argue that an important theme in this novel is that innocent people shouldn’t be punished. John Boyne shows this theme with Pavel, the Jews being treated horribly in the concentration camps and Shmuel and Bruno. The most effective way the theme of innocent people shouldn’t be punished is shown with Shmuel and Bruno being killed. Bruno and Shmuel had become best friends over the months Bruno was living in Auschwitz, even though they were different races. Bruno and Shmuel are taken into the gas chambers in the concentration camp and when the text states “Bruno found that he was still holding Shmuel’s hand in his own and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let it go,” we can see the strength and innocence of their friendship. This quote shows us how Shmuel and Bruno were punished just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were innocent children whose friendship overcame racism and were killed for no reason. It gives us an insight into how sad and unnecessarily people are punished because of racism and power. …show more content…
When the text states, “all he could see was two different types of people, either happy, laughing, shouting soldiers in their uniforms or unhappy, crying people in their striped pyjamas,” we can see the difference between the two races and how badly the Jews were treated by the German soldiers. This quote helps us understand how the innocent Jews were punished by being put into concentration camps where they were treated horribly and
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a novel by John Boyne. This novel is set during World War 2 and explores themes such as prejudice, racism, war, innocence and friendship. What sets it apart from other novels is that it uses a third person limited point of view, and mostly depicts events as they are seen by a young and naïve boy. This was one of the main narrative conventions that engaged me in this novel.
Friendship is a basic human need, especially for nine year old boys living their childhood. For Bruno who is lonely, bored out of his mind and could not find friends his age to play with and Shmuel a Jewish boy entrapped in a brutal concentration camp, their friendship is one of the only things that can spark a little happiness and lighten up their spirit. The boys meet in the least possible place – the periphery of Auschwitz concentration camp, where one is imprisoned and the other is the son of the Nazi commandant in charge. Although they are meant to see each other as enemies as a Jew and Nazi, there is no hatred between Bruno and Shmuel. They simply see each other as another kid to talk to out of the loneliness of Auschwitz. As the book
Bravery is correlated with a lack of awareness as well as an evil, cowardly trait exhibited in them. This is shown when Bruno is an immature person that does not appreciate the living things of Auschwitz. He also has been brainwashed by the nature of Auschwitz, including the surroundings around it. As well, Bruno’s life would have become better if he was not friends with Shmuel, who was a Jewish person. Therefore, Bruno’s acts of cowardice and a lack of awareness are responsible for his fearful traits, which is shown in his depreciation for the living things that exist in Auschwitz, the brainwashed traits of Bruno, and his friendly relationship with Shmuel.
Mark Herman's "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas", Based on John Boyne's best-selling novel, depicts the Holocaust through the eyes of an innocent 8-year-old boy- Bruno. The film is set during World War 2 and explores the themes of prejudice, racism, war, innocence and friendship in the year 1944. The story asks the hypothetical question of what life would be like for the family of a concentration camp commandant, with an immediate response from viewers asking, Should we care? When his Father, a high-ranking SS officer, is relocated to Heidelberg, Bruno and his family are forced to relocate to the countryside.
To begin with, in the one scene in the book Bruno meets a little boy named Shmuel along the property where there was a big fence; Shmuel was behind it (Boyne 106). This scene shows how Jewish people were treated back then (by how they were imprisoned, like shaved heads, clothes that people
Literary devices are used predominantly throughout Boyne’s novel, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. The use of puns and foreshadowing are just two of the literary devices Boyne uses to inspire action amongst the readers. Bruno’s sister, Gretel is referred to as the ‘Hopeless Case’ throughout the novel, this is not only
The protagonists in the story are Bruno and Shmuel, and the antagonist is Bruno's father Ralph. Bruno and Shmuel share much in common, they are both nine years old and are not very aware of the situation. They both live and hate Auschwitz, and both speak German. They both share the same birthday. However Bruno is from Germany and Shmuel is from Poland and is Jewish.
The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas Essay Vishal Kotecha 8M ‘The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas is a book that demonstrates childhood innocence. Discuss’ The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, written by John Boyne, follows the sad story of a boy named Bruno, the main protagonist, who lives a wealthy lifestyle in Germany prior to World War II. After Bruno’s father is approached by The Führer, the family relocates to the countryside where his father is assigned to take command of a concentration camp.
Bruno was a young boy growing up in Berlin he perfectly content, until one day he returned home to fund the maid packing his things. Bruno and his family were to moving right to next Auschwitz camp because his father had become the head soldier of the camp. Bruno is really bored and lonely there, and his misses his old friends. Although while he is exploring one day things changed, he met a boy named Shmuel and they were so alike, the one thing that was separating them from each other was a fence. Shmuel was a prisoner in the camp.
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, is a story about a young, wealthy boy who moves to the country side for his fathers job (a Military Commandant). Throughout the book, Bruno forms a forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy from the concentration camp situated next to his new house. The story ends when Bruno decides to enter the concentration camp to help his new friend Shmuel. The book focuses largely on the cruelty of man, which has an impact on how the Jews were treated. Friendship amidst suffering is frequently displayed in this book, this focussing on Bruno and Shmuel's friendship. John Boyne uses symbols throughout the book which help relate the story back to the actual event. The author also uses dramatic irony throughout the book which helps portray Bruno's age and characteristics.
John Boyne wrote The Boy in the Striped Pajamas because he has a love for history. As a child he read a book called
The book The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas was a book written by John Boyce. It focusses on the life of a boy, Bruno. He is young, wealthy, aristocratic and living in anti-semitic Germany during World War 2. However, he befriends a Jewish boy, Shmuel. During the movie, various ideas were used to interpret a profound message.
“Childhood is about seeing the world from different perspectives,” – Anonymous. For the duration of ‘Boy in the Striped Pajamas' John Boyne used a technique to make the narrator’s voice sound childlike. This has a huge impact on us as readers and how we understand the novel. Including on relying on the reader to discover the deeper meaning of the novel, teaching us about consequences and also learning about the holocaust from a new perspective.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne is a historical fiction novel that contains 216 pages. In my opinion the title means someone who never leaves their pajamas. I think this title was chosen because the story is basically how Bruno made a friend who he thought was wearing striped pajamas but in reality it was his concentration camp uniform. The setting takes place in the early 1940’s during the Holocaust time in Germany near Auschwitz, a famous concentration camp.
On one occasion, in chapter 15 page 173 Shmuel is brought to Bruno’s house to work as a servant, this is when Bruno denies knowing Shmuel and giving him food. Both boys knew that if anyone found out about their friendship they would be in serious trouble. Their friendship was so deep that Shmuel took what was implied as a brutal punishment by Lieutenant Kotler to keep their friendship secret. Bruno in his naivety thought Shmuel’s bruises were from a bike accident. Their innocence provides no information to the reality of what really went on in the prisoner camps. Their innocence and friendship is not realistic because the two boys on opposite sides of the fence come from two vastly different worlds that would never have come together as the novel misleadingly portrays in the book. These themes of innocence and friendship are historically inaccurate for both characters and therefore deceives the reader into thinking that this was a possible reality. The other theme I wish to discuss is the theme of honesty. This book is only appropriate for year-8’s to read as it offers simple language and has very basic themes. The subject of the book is appropriate however the authors’’ fictional account of the Nazi era tells the tale that blatantly distorts the truth and horrors of the holocaust. It is full of historical inaccuracies, problematic misconceptions and skewed moral messages. It is highly untruthful and is written as a fable thus giving the sense to the reader that