The Boy in Striped Pyjamas

INTRODUCTION

Books about the Holocaust are never easy to read. Some are downr!ht terr"yn! and some make the reader nauseous. Ths book however a##roaches ths #erod n hstory "rom a new and nterestn! an!le and tells a tale o" what m!ht have ha##ened$ and n don! so o#ens u# these stores to a whole new !eneraton o" readers. The book was or!nally marketed as a chldren%s book$ and then remarketed as adult "cton because o" the content. It%s a touchn! tale o" an odd "rendsh#  between two boys n horrendous crcumstances and a remnder o" man%s ca#acty "or nhumanty. nhumanty. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas s Pajamas s a "ctonal tale o" the unlkelest o" "rends& the son o" a Na' commandant and a (ewsh concentraton cam# nmate. )rtten by (ohn Boyne and #ublshed n *++, by Davd -ckln! Books$ the story was made nto a maor moton #cture n *++/. The novel$ set n Na' 0ermany$ be!ns when nne1year1old Bruno and hs "amly must move "rom ther lovely home n Berln to a new house n an un"amlar #lace called 2Out1)th.2 Tem#ted to e3#lore hs new envronment$ Bruno s told that there are certan #laces that are 2Out O" Bounds 4t 4ll Tmes 4nd No 53ce#tons.2 Unable to "!ht hs adventuresome s#rt$ however$ Bruno ventures "orth nto the unknown one a"ternoon. Bruno comes u#on a "ence that he "ollows untl he sees a youn! boy sttn! on the other sde o"  the "ence. The shoeless boy s wearn! str#ed str#ed #aamas and a cloth ca#. Bruno also notces that the  boy s wearn! an armband wth a star on t. Bruno makes "ast "rends wth the boy$ Shmuel$ and they 6uckly dscover that they share the same brthday. The boys dscuss ther "amles and where they are "rom. 4t the end o" ther "rst meetn!$ Bruno asks Shmuel why there are so many #eo#le on hs sde o" the "ence and what they are don! there. 4 "ew days later$ Bruno%s "ather has dnner  !uests7 the man%s name s 2the -ury2 and hs date s called 5va. Bruno nstantly dslkes the cou#le. Bruno%s sster 0retel$ whom he re"ers to as 2the Ho#eless Case$2 s smtten by the man and tres hard to m#ress hm and hs lady "rend. Bruno$ however$ s ds!usted by hs sster%s behavor and her   buddn! romance wth a youn! solder. 8uch lke Bruno hears 24uschwt'2 as 2Out1)th$2 he also ncorrectly hears 2the -9hrer2 as 2the -ury.2 Boyne master"ully tells the story "rom Bruno%s #ers#ectve7 t s clear that the nnocence o" Bruno%s chldhood remans ntact des#te the "act that he s lvn! on the #er#hery o" a death cam# and has met 4dol" Htler. Bruno contnues to e3#lore the woods near hs house and o"ten "nds hmsel" at the "ence s#endn! tme wth Shmuel. Bruno brn!s hm "ood$ and the "rends lament the "act that they cannot e3#loree to!ether or #lay a !ame o" "ootball. e3#lor "ootball. Shmuel con"des n Bruno that he s unable to "nd hs "ather and he s worred. Bruno vows to hel# Shmuel look "or hs "ather7 to that end$ Shmuel  #romses to !et Bruno some #aamas so that he wll blend n on hs sde o" the "ence. The Boy n the

Str#ed :aamas s a story about chldhood nnocence$ "rendsh#$ and the m#ortance o" breakn! down the "ences we #ut u# around ourselves. Ths book s e3tremely well1wrtten7 t takes the reader to a #lace and tme we should never  "or!et$ and t remnds us o" the human element n all stores. (ohn Boyne has wrtten a book that could become re6ured readn! "or all school chldren$ and maybe all adults should read t also$ lest we "or!et. So #ck t u# and walk wth Bruno and Shmuel as they develo# a !rown! "rendsh# ust sttn! and talkn! throu!h a barbed1 wre1to##ed chan lnk "ence. :;OT SU884R< Bruno$ a youn! boy lvn! n Berln durn! the Na' re!me$ arrves home "rom school one day to "nd hs "amly%s mad$ 8ara$ #ackn! u# hs thn!s. )hen he asks hs mother what s !on! on$ she e3#lans that Bruno%s "ather%s ob s the reason they are all leavn! ther home n Berln7 someone Bruno knows only as 2the -ury2 has #lans "or hs "ather%s career. Cha#ter Two be!ns wth a com#arson o" Bruno%s old home n Berln to hs new lvn! stuaton. In contrast to hs "amly%s b!$  beaut"ul home n Berln$ 2there was somethn! about the new house that made Bruno thnk that no one ever lau!hed there7 that there was nothn! to lau!h at and nothn! to be ha##y about2 =>?@. Cha#ter Three ntroduces 0retel$   Bruno%s older sster by three years$ whom he re"ers to as 2Trouble -rom Day One2 =*>@. Bruno runs nto 0retel%s room and dscovers her arran!n! her dolls around her room. She a!rees wth Bruno that ther new lvn! stuaton s horrble and tells hm that the #lace s called 2Out1)th.2 Bruno shows 0retel the scene "rom hs bedroom wndow& There are  boys$ men$ and elderly men lvn! to!ether on the o##oste sde o" a "ence that e3tends "arther than they can see nto the dstance. 4"ter 0retel returns to her room$ Bruno contnues to watch the #eo#le out hs bedroom wndow and notces that they%re all wearn! the same thn!& 2a #ar o" !rey str#ed  #aamas wth a !rey str#ed ca# on ther heads2 =?/@. Bruno decdes to s#eak to -ather $ who arrved at Out1)th a "ew days earler. )hen Bruno asks when they can return to Berln$ -ather tells hm to !ve Out1)th a chance$ because t s ther home now$ 2"or the "oreseeable "uture2 =A/@. Be"ore he leaves$ Bruno asks -ather who the #eo#le are outsde hs wndow. -ather answers$ 2Those #eo#le... well$ they%re not #eo#le at all$ Bruno... at least not as we understand the term2 =?@. 4 "ew days later$ Bruno en!a!es 8ara n conversaton$ ho#n! she wll a!ree wth hm that Out1)th s a horrble #lace$ but she avods sayn! anythn! ne!atve. She hnts that she cannot understand how such a !ood man could be don! -ather%s ob at Out1)th. Several weeks !o by and Bruno s bored at Out1)th$ so he bulds a ro#e swn! and a cou#le o"  hours later$ "alls o"" o" t. He nures hmsel"$ scra#n! u# hs knee #retty badly. :avel$ one o" the  #rsoners at Out1)th who works n the "amly%s home as a water$ sees the whole thn! and runs out to hel# Bruno. Snce 8other   s stll not home$ :avel cleans Bruno%s wounds n the ktchen and tells Bruno that he used to be a doctor. )hen 8other arrves home$ she tells Bruno to !o to hs room and he overhears her sayn! to :avel$ 2I" the Commandant 4sks$ we%ll say that I cleaned Bruno u#2 =/@. 8ore than anyone else "rom Berln$ Bruno msses hs 0rand"ather and0randmother . Hs 0rand"ather had run a restaurant n the town center$ and hs 0randmother had been a "amous sn!er. The last tme he saw them n Berln$ 0randmother had become outra!ed at -ather%s new #romoton. She had stormed out o" ther house$ and Bruno hadn%t seen her snce. He decdes to wrte her a letter  "rom Out1)th$ telln! her how unha##y he s n ther new home and how much he msses her.

-ather decdes to hre a man named Herr ;s't as a tutor "or 0retel and Bruno. Herr ;s't "ocuses on hstory and !eo!ra#hy$ nether o" whch s very nterestn! to Bruno$ but the tutor nssts that he learn about 2The -atherland2 =/@. 4 "ew days later$ Bruno !ets the ur!e to !o e3#lorn! and decdes to walk alon! the "ence as "ar as he can$ althou!h 8other and -ather have told hm many tmes that e3#loraton s banned at Out1)th. R!ht when he starts "eeln! hun!ry and be!ns to thnk about turnn! back$ he sees a lttle boy on the other sde o" the "ence$ wearn! the str#ed  #aamas that all #eo#le on the other sde o" the "ence wear. Bruno s 2sure that he had never seen a sknner or sadder boy n hs l"e2 =>+@. Bruno strkes u# a conversaton wth the boy$ whose name s Shmuel$ sttn! down on hs own sde o" the "ence so he can talk throu!h t. Shmuel s "rom :oland and Bruno tells hm that$ 20ermany s the !reatest o" all countres... )e%re su#eror2 =>>*@$  but even as he says ths$ he real'es that hs words sound rude. Cha#ter 5leven takes the "orm o" a "lashback to a "ew months earler$ when Bruno%s "amly stll lved n Berln. One n!ht$ the -ury had come to ther home "or dnner wth a knd woman named 5va. 4"ter the -ury and 5va had le"t$ Bruno had overheard hs #arents% conversaton about leavn! Berln. Days later$ he had arrved home "rom school to "nd 8ara #ackn! hs belon!n!s. Cha#ter Twelve returns to Bruno and Shmuel%s conversaton "rom o##oste sdes o" the "ence. Shmuel e3#lans how he came to lve at Out1)th. Hs "amly was told they had to move to a d""erent #art o" Cracow$ on the wron! sde o" a wall that solders bult$ all cram#ed n one room wth another "amly. One day solders arrved and #acked hm and everyone lvn! nearby nto hu!e trucks$ and later nto a tran wth no doors. Shmuel tells Bruno that there are hundreds o" other boys on hs sde o" the "ence$ and Bruno reterates hs "eeln! that t s un"ar "or hm to have no one to  #lay wth on his sde. )eeks #ass and Bruno vsts wth hs new "rend Shmuel re!ularly. One evenn!$ ;eutenant Eotler  ons Bruno%s "amly "or dnner. ;eutenant Eotler mentons that hs "ather was a #ro"essor o" lterature at the unversty$ but that he had le"t 0ermany "or Swt'erland n >?/. Ths n"ormaton embarrasses ;eutenant Eotler and dsturbs -ather$ who comments wth sus#con that t s 2Fstran!eG that he chose not to stay n the -atherland2 =>A,@. :avel uncorks a new  bottle o" wne and accdentally s#lls t on ;eutenant Eotler because hs hands are shakn!. ;eutenant Eotler reacts very an!rly and volently$ althou!h the detals o" hs actons a!anst :avel are not revealed. Bruno !oes to bed e3tremely u#set about what ha##ened to :avel. One rany day$ Bruno accdentally mentons Shmuel to 0retel but 6uckly covers t u#$ e3#lann! that Shmuel s the name o" hs ma!nary "rend. The ran contnues on and o"" "or the ne3t "ew weeks$ durn! whch Bruno s unable to meet wth Shmuel as o"ten as he would lke. 8other s #lannn! a brthday #arty "or -ather and ;eutenant Eotler s s#endn! a lot o" tme at the house wth her7 they are havn! an a""ar. On the day be"ore the #arty$ Bruno "nds Shmuel n the ktchen7 ;eutenant Eotler has brou!ht hm there because hs hands are small enou!h to #olsh the !lasses "or -ather%s brthday #arty. Bruno be!ns to hel# hmsel" to some cold chcken and stu""n! that%s n the re"r!erator and when he sees Shmuel lookn! at the "ood$ he o""ers hs "rend some. ;eutenant Eotler returns and accuses Shmuel o" stealn! "ood to eat. )hen Shmuel tells hm that Bruno !ave t to hm and that Bruno s hs "rend$ but Bruno s "r!htened and denes t. Bruno leaves the ktchen "eeln! ncredbly !ulty about havn! betrayed hs "rend. -or almost a week$ Shmuel does not come back to meet hm at the "ence and when he "nally returns$ hs "ace s covered n

 bruses. Bruno a#olo!'es "or lettn! hm down and says he%s ashamed o" hmsel". Shmuel smles and "or!ves hm$ l"tn! u# the "ence so that they can shake hands beneath t. The "amly receves news that 0randmother has ded$ so they return to ther old home n Berln "or two days to attend the "uneral. The two days are so sad that Bruno s almost releved to return to Out1)th. ;eutenant Eotler has been suddenly trans"erred away "rom Out1)th$ concdn! wth a hu!e "!ht between 8other and -ather. Bruno decdes to ask 0retel about why he and Shmuel have to lve on o##oste sdes o" the "ence. She e3#lans that the #eo#le on the other sde o" the "ence are (ews and that the "ence s there to kee# them "rom !ettn! out and m3n! wth anyone else. )hen Bruno asks her what he and ther "amly are$ " not (ews$ she says sm#ly that they%re 2the o##oste2 =>/?@. )hle they are talkn!$ t s revealed that 0retel and Bruno both have lce. They treat ther  har wth a s#ecal sham#oo$ but then -ather !oes a ste# "urther and nssts that Bruno have all hs har shaved o""7 Bruno notces that ths makes hm look even more lke Shmuel. 4 "ew weeks later$ -ather calls 0retel and Bruno nto hs o""ce and tells them that the -ury wll not releve hm o" hs command$ but that 8other wants to !o back to Berln mmedately. :re#aratons be!n so that 8other$ 0retel$ and Bruno can return to Berln that week$ but Bruno s nervous about telln! Shmuel the news. Bruno tells Shmuel that he s returnn! to Berln. Shmuel s saddened by ths news$ and su!!ests that he come over to the other sde o" the "ence. They decde that the ne3t day$ Shmuel wll brn! hm a #ar o" str#ed #aamas$ and he wll sneak over to the other sde o" the "ence to hel# Shmuel search "or hs "ather. The ne3t day s rany and muddy$ but Bruno !oes to meet Shmuel$ who has  brou!ht wth hm a #ar o" drty1lookn! str#ed #aamas. He hands the #aamas under the "ence to Bruno$ who care"ully chan!es nto them$ leavn! hs own clothes n a #le n the mud. Shmuel l"ts the "ence and Bruno shmmes underneath t$ becomn! 6ute muddy n the #rocess. In contrast to what Bruno had envsoned$ the #eo#le on the other sde o" the "ence are ust standn! or sttn!$ 2lookn! horrbly sad2 =*+@. They are all too sknny and have shaved heads$ whch Bruno takes to ndcate they have had lce here$ too. The boys s#end an hour and a hal" searchn! "or evdence o"  where Shmuel%s "ather could have !one. They don%t "nd anythn!$ whch s what Shmuel had e3#ected$ and Bruno says a!an that he ou!ht to !o home. (ust then$ the solders round u# the #eo#le around Bruno and Shmuel. Shmuel reassures Bruno that 2t ha##ens sometmes... They make #eo#le !o on marches2 =*>+@. (ust as Bruno s be!nnn! to lose #atence and decdn! that he really must !o home because he s too cold$ the !rou# s marched nto a warm$ art!ht room. Bruno a#olo!'es to Shmuel that they weren%t able to "nd hs "ather and tells hm that he s hs 2best "rend "or l"e2 =*>?@. 4t that moment$ the #eo#le n the room wth them all !as# as the door s slammed shut and locked. The room becomes dark and chaotc$ but Bruno and Shmuel contnue to hold hands. The solders search "or Bruno "or days be"ore the #le o" hs clothes and boots s dscovered by the "ence. -ather !oes to see them but cannot "!ure out what ha##ened to hs son. 8other and 0retel stay at Out1)th "or a "ew months watn! "or news o" Bruno. One day$ 8other has the sudden noton that he m!ht have returned to ther home n Berln$ so she rushes back wth 0retel  but doesn%t "nd Bruno there. Over the ne3t year$ -ather becomes very dslked by all the solders at Out1)th. The "nally$ he returns to the #lace where hs son%s clothes had been "ound and notces the

o#enn! n the "ence. He real'es what must have ha##ened$ and a "ew months later he s dschar!ed "rom hs #ost at Out1)th and taken away by solders.

CONC;USION The Boy in the Striped Pajamas$ #ublshed n the Unted En!dom wth the alternate s#elln! The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas$ won many nternatonal and Irsh awards$ ncludn! two Irsh Book 4wards and the Bsto Book o" the ++ hours o" havn! the ntal dea to wrte a novel set durn! the Holocaust$ he had com#leted the "rst dra"t o" The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. The endn! o" the novel was set n stone "rom that "rst dra"t$ com#leted on 4#rl ?+$ *++A. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas s descrbed on the ttle #a!e as 2a "able$2 a character'aton Boyne has sad he chose n order to e3#lan some o" the story%s unrealstc as#ects. In ntervews$ the author stresses that rather than ben! a hstorcal novel about 4uschwt'$ the book s meant to be a unversal story about any concentraton cam# n )orld )ar II$ snce so many chldren were vctm'ed durn! that tme. He !ves ths as the reason the name 24uschwt'2 never a##ears n the novel7 rather$ the reader only !ets Bruno%s mshearn! o" the name$ 2Out )th.2 Bruno%s con"uson surroundn! the stuaton at 2Out )th2 s an e3am#le o" Boyne%s techn6ue o" de"amlar'aton. Throu!h the voce o" a lmted$ thrd1#erson narrator$ Boyne leads the reader to 4uschwt' and ntroduces the terrble thn!s takn! #lace there as " the reader has no #ror  knowled!e on the to#c. Ths allows the reader to avod mmedately cate!or'n! the vctms o" the Holocaust as 2Others$2 "undamentally d""erent and unknowable. Rather$ the reader !ans the  #ers#ectve o" Bruno%s chldlke nnocence. By character'n! The Boy in the Striped Pajamas as a "able$ Boyne avods the retros#ectve s#eculaton that o"ten marks Holocaust novels. Rather$ he m#les that Bruno%s story s an alle!ory$ servn! as a tmeless re#resentaton o" atroctes and the #eo#le who #artc#ate n andor become vctms o" them. It #oses the 6ueston whether #er#etrators o" such horrors as the Holocaust m!ht rethnk ther behavor " they were to themselves become a vctm o" the horror 1 as n what ha##ens to Bruno%s "ather. The book s an e3am#le o" a trend n chldren%s lterature that acknowled!es the e3tent to whch chldren can be wtnesses and vctms o" ssues much lar!er than themselves. Thou!h the Holocaust and all ts atroctes are outsde the realm o" Bruno%s understandn! as a chld$ he and hs "amly are  #artc#ants and he becomes a vctm by the end o" the novel.

0rown! u# n war1torn Ireland$ Boyne has sad he "elt a #ersonal connecton to the story o" The  Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Ths connecton s revealed n certan detals& "or e3am#le$ the characters o" Bruno and Schmuel share a brthday$ amon! other smlartes. The s#ec"c date$ 4#rl >$ >?A$ s Boyne%s "ather%s brthday. Ths novel s sm#ly stunnn! n ts sm#lcty and #ower. I never saw the endn! comn! and t  ust blew me away. 4"ter I turned the last #a!e$ I set the book down n my la# and ust sat there ama'ed "or a !ood ""teen mnutes. Two weeks later$ I%m stll thnkn! about ths book. I can%t !et over how #ower"ul t s and I%m recommendn! t to everyone I know.