(Crossover) The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
I had read the boy in the striped pyjamas already. This was because I had to read this book in secondary school for my English class. This was a long time ago so I did not remember every detail of the book. What I did remember was really liking it. I did remember some minor details which helped me read the book more easily. The book was easy to read the language used was not difficult at all. The events in the book are for readers who are nearing the end of Erikson’s stage four of psychosocial development, industry vs inferiority.
The boy in the striped pyjamas is about childhood innocence and friendship. The novel is told from Bruno’s perspective. Bruno is a nine year old and is the son of a Nazi commandant. When moved into their new home, Bruno starts to explore the place. He comes upon a fence. He follows the fence until he sees a young boy sitting on the other side without shoes. The boy is named Shmuel, he is a Jewish boy. Bruno starts to become friends with Shmuel and they discuss all sort of things together. Shmuel confides in Bruno that he is unable to find his father. Bruno wants to help. Shmuel gets Bruno a set pf pyjamas that way he can help him find his father, on the other side of the fence. The day Bruno sneaks to the other side, he gets herd by the prisoners into the gas chambers. Adults do not have a significant role in the boy in the striped pyjamas, they are mentioned but are not important. The most important part of the book is the friendship between Bruno and Shmuel.
We had a discussion about the friendship of the two boys in the book in our book club. We all agreed that it was a beautiful friendship. And found it unfair how the ending of the book was displayed. We thought it was a realistic ending. It was a shame that it had to end as it did.
“What exactly was the difference and who decided which people wore the striped pyjamas and which people wore the uniforms?” ( Boyne, 2006, p85). This quote made me emotional a bit. Who are we to decide who gets to live and who not. The men in uniforms had the upper hand.. They were the ones who decided who got to live an who not. You eventually find out that even Bruno is one of the people who wears a striped pyjama. The striped pyjama signifies the difference between Bruno and Shmuel’s lives as well. The striped pyjamas in this book signal more than just the death of self-expression and individual identity—they represent death itself.
I find it very sad how the story has ended. If you know the backstory, you know that the book is based at the end of World War two. This means that a lot of Jewish people were send to the gas chambers. It was heart breaking that Shmuel did not find his father at the end and meat his death. Bruno was also together with Shmuel, the only conciliation is that they died together and not alone.
All in all the boy in the striped pyjamas is a book you must read. It gives you an insight into an amazing friendship without prejudice. A friendship where they want to help each other.
Word count without quotes: 551 words
Literature 