Marked down in history our history, six million Jews were murdered. Through the 1930's and 40's, Adolf Hitler had a plan- a very sick and evil plan- where he plotted to destroy those communities which were filled with Jewish people. This was called the Holocaust. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas written by John Boyne, follows the story of a nine-year-old boy named Bruno who used to live in a charming and expensive home. When Bruno has to move from his five-story home in Berlin, to a three-story home many miles away, he proceeds his life without friends. Nonetheless, this house had not one neighbor up nor down the street. Due to Bruno's voluminous imagination, he searches for a playmate along the never ending fence in his backyard. What he winds up discovering reveals truths that he was never told, and are never to be forgotten. Within this novel, the subtleness overcomes your heart and leaves you to consider the messages of innocence, irony, and consequence.
Innocence is displayed through not the writing alone, but symbolism throughout the novel as well. Authored in the perspective of young Bruno, he is clueless as to what his father does for work, or in other words, the idea of the Holocaust in general. For instance, this quote defines his lack of awareness to the world's situation, "'Hey, you!' he shouted, then adding a word that Bruno did not understand. 'Come here you - ' He said the word again, and something about the harsh sound of it made Bruno look away and feel ashamed to be apart of this at all." (page 75) Not only does this quote scream the obliviousness Bruno has, but his discomfort of how the Jews are being treated on top of that. Bruno's uneasy feeling indicates that he doesn't like the Holocaust and what the soldiers are doing, whether he knows anything about it or not. The novel as a whole showcases the mind of a nine-year-old and the innocence in this situation leads to massive irony.
From the eyes of an innocent boy, the irony takes a large place in this novel basing off of the innocence. Said in the text of this novel is that Bruno's father works a major role in his job which is also referred to as a soldier. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, Bruno felt very displaced when he noticed one of the soldiers spitting his words at the fellow maid. Here in this case, it's ironic because Bruno's father is very dignified with what he does and Bruno is looking down upon the whole idea of despising these types of humans. An additional example of irony in this book would be how Bruno dreads being all alone on the non-Jewish side of the fence. Along with this situation stands the irony of the thousands of people who only want to escape the trap they're in; the place where Bruno thinks he wants to be. Jealously, Bruno asks how many boys are there on the other side of the fence to his newfound companion, "'Are there many other boys over there?' asked Bruno. 'Hundreds,' said Shmuel. Bruno's eyes opened wide. 'Hundreds?' he said, amazed. 'That's not fair at all. There's no one to play with on this side of the fence. Not a single person.'" (page 130/131) Ironically, this quote aims at the fact that Bruno wants to be on the other side of the fence with Shmuel where the conditions are worse. Although Bruno doesn't know about the Holocaust, the author intended for him to act eager to be on the opposite side of the fence for symbolic reasons. For example, with the father being a high-class soldier, it's symbolically ironic to have the son of the soldier want to join the so-called "enemy", as well as the pure irony of walking right into the evil of what his father was truly doing. Bruno only discovers his father's true occupation in death.
While the irony is heavily present, Boyne unveils a series of consequences unfurling page by page. Early on in the book, there is a flashback written to when Bruno's father and grandmother were in a stressed conversation about the father's job and duties, "'It makes me so proud to see you elevated to such a responsible position. Helping your country reclaim her pride after all the great wrongs that were done to her. The punishments above and beyond--' 'Oh, will you listen to yourself!' cried Grandmother. 'Which one of you is more foolish, I wonder?'" (page 91) Obviously from this text it is evident that the grandmother is petrified to see that her son is apart of the more superior soldiers. With that, farther into the book, it mentions the grandmother's death which ties into the consequence of the novel. With her death, all voiced opposition against the father's job dies too. Revealed in the closing pages of the book is Bruno joining Shmuel on the other side of the fence where the both of them are murdered standing amongst many other Jews. Ironically, the son of a upper-class soldier was murdered within his own plan, ironically -- which would lean with the suggestions that the deceased grandmother was targeting for. Signifying that since the grandmother was ignored, not only was her death a penalty, but additionally the death of the soldier's son.
What makes the Holocaust so frightening is the fact that it wasn't that long ago, and this book keeps its horrors fresh in our minds. It helps us understand what happened and it helps us to see the different perspectives of the people involved in the Holocaust. Most importantly, we see what it would be like to be someone who had no control over their fate. Bruno is proof that not everyone on the non-Jewish side of the fence was supportive of the Holocaust. As an innocent child he is stuck around people, like his father, who support the Holocaust. He isn't fully aware of what is going on, but he is always uncomfortable when people talk harshly about the Jews around him. Like many people in our own society, Bruno is someone who has found himself stuck in the middle. On one side he has his father, and on the other he has his friend Shmuel. His father stands for everything Shmuel would be against, afterall his father is the reason Shmuel is there in the first place, but Bruno is so desperate to have a friend and doesn't think about the terrors of the concentration camp. In the end, Bruno chose his side. He chose his friend over his father, and his father incidentally took his son's life. Not every instance in society is this extreme, but it goes to show that one day we will all have to pick a side and stand by our beliefs and their consequence.
Boyne's book does a marvelous job of encompassing the aspects of innocence, consequence, irony and society so that it catches a place in our heart. He does well to tug at our heart strings, push our patience and help us to feel the different agonies suffered by different characters. Through each of these viewpoints we learn more about the value of perspective and the universal need for friendship in any form. A child's love is blind, but it is stronger than almost anything else in this world. Maybe Boyne meant to suggest, through all of his literary tactics, that we should all be more like Bruno. He does not suggest that we should walk through life blindly, but rather we should not limit our friendships because of a wire fence. If we fight the stereotypes we help society form, we can avoid another Holocaust. This book was written for us to remember, feel, and learn from the past.
