John Boyne - The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Synopsis

For most people, a promotion is cause for celebration. However, for 9-year-old Bruno, the news of his father’s progression filled him with despair as he’s forced to leave his home in Berlin in favour of a desolate house in the middle of nowhere. The closer he gets to the building he’s supposed to call home, the more convinced he is that his father had been punished, not promoted. In Berlin, everyone was friendly and there were plenty of boys for Bruno to play with. In Out-With, the only boys Bruno can play with are on the other side of the fence. And what’s worse is that they all wear matching striped pyjamas which Bruno doesn't have

Likes

I usually dislike a lack of character development, but I felt that it was effectively used in showing the differences between Bruno and Shmuel. For example, as the story progresses, we learn about Bruno’s curious nature, his adventurous personality and his future ambition of being an explorer. Whereas with Shmuel, we remain limited in how much we know about him as he remains stagnant and despondent throughout, likely reflecting the atmosphere on his side of the fence. In doing this, we can infer that a German boy like Bruno has a future which we can see through his continuous growth, personal development and life goals. In contrast, a non-German boy like Shmuel not only has no future, but his increasing hopelessness and feebleness suggests that he never had a chance at one. This contrast strengthens the power of the fence as depending on which side they’re on, their lives have already been predetermined. Although knowing this casts a sombre tone on the novel, it only makes this technique all the more effective

As Boyne is writing from a child’s perspective, a simplistic writing style is used which not only makes it easily digestible to most readers but also mimics the detached carefree life that a child like Bruno lives. For example, despite being in the middle of the second world war, Bruno’s concerns lie with his inability to see his friends: Karl, Daniel and Martin. However, it could also be argued that because Bruno is German, he never had to worry about the war, unlike Shmuel. This is evident in Bruno’s ability to speak freely without worry whereas Shmuel, who is under captivity and oppression due to being Jewish, speaks with much more care and caution. Despite both boys being the same from an external perspective, the difference in their origins allows one to be free but not the other, serving as a reminder that Bruno may be Shmuel’s friend, but he is also his oppressor

The ending was very well done and although doleful, I wouldn’t have had it any other way as it was impactful in showing the unnecessary deaths due to the perceived inequality of some. It brings forth Bruno’s question, ‘And who decided which people wore the striped pyjamas and which people wore the uniforms?’. By the end of the novel, we’ve been encouraged to look at our own discriminations against others – whether conscious or subconscious, overt or covert – and question why we think certain things that deem others as less than us; and what motivates us to continue to accept, uphold and spread them to future generations. Bruno, being the youngest in his family and having the least developed comprehension skills, is a perfect example of how some ideologies are instilled in us from a young age which we are expected to adopt as our own. But like Bruno, that shouldn’t stop us from questioning their morality and determining our own beliefs, opinions and values. Only then are we aware of the completely ludicrous and nonsensical death that Bruno endured for no reason other than him wearing the wrong uniform. It didn’t matter who his father was nor where he was from, but the way in which he was perceived at the time was enough for him to be seen as inferior, undeserving of equality, and ultimately unworthy of life

Dislikes

I would have liked to have been made more aware of Shmuel’s life and living conditions on his side of the fence. I know that people on the other side were starved to the point of emaciation, beaten and separated from their families, but it wasn’t often a topic for conversation nor something I, as a reader, was really exposed to. Even when Bruno managed to get onto Shmuel’s side of the fence, he was quite limited in describing what he saw and how it made him feel; I could only assume that the situation was dire as Bruno immediately wanted to go back home. Because I had such little information on Shmuel and his life on the other side of the fence, it was difficult for me to build up a level of familiarity with him and evoke much feeling towards him. Despite both boys being killed, my immediate concern went to Bruno because I had gotten to know him which although having concern for Bruno wasn’t unjust, Shmuel was the one who had been captured, abused and oppressed

I really valued the occasional conversations that Bruno had with Maria as we could see him develop a little in the way he thinks and in his growth as a person. Based on this, I would have liked to see more of Bruno interacting with other members of staff such as Pavel so that we could continue to not only see him grow but to also get to know the other characters. Had this also been the case for those on the other side of the fence, it would have allowed me to evoke more sympathy for them as they would be more than just people in striped pyjamas, but people with names, histories and what should have been futures. I felt as though there were missed opportunities for the author to draw out stronger feelings from the reader towards those who were oppressed so that we could better empathise

Although I could guess, I really wanted to know what happened to Pavel, partially because I’m nosey but mostly because I wanted to better grasp just how little the Germans thought of others and how they treated them as a result through this novel. This ties back to my point on knowing that life on the other side of the fence was not much of a life, but seeing how badly Lieutenant Kotler treated Pavel and how he felt justified in doing so would have better helped to put it into perspective. But it can be argued that as Bruno is a child, he couldn’t quite comprehend nor put into words exactly what it was he was seeing, especially as this would be extremely distressing for anyone to witness, let alone for a 9-year-old

General Thoughts

Bruno is so naïve and innocent that it’s quite terrifying to think that in just a few years’ time, he'd be moulded to become a soldier like his father or Lieutenant Kotler. Nobody should be made to grow up to hate but that’s unfortunately what was expected of Bruno. It’s almost bittersweet that he died as an innocent young boy filled love, adventure and curiosity, as opposed to growing up to become a tyrant

I would have liked to know more about Bruno’s mum as she struck me as an interesting character. I got the impression that she was out of place and didn’t agree with her husband’s actions but was unable to oppose him so chose to drink to escape her situation. What surprised me the most about her was that she was having an affair right under her husband’s nose. It almost makes me think that she wanted to get caught so that she could escape the life she had been subjected to under her husband and return to Berlin. Either that or she was enjoying the thrill and excitement of having an affair with someone much younger than her, allowing her to exercise a level of control that she lacked in her marriage

Just like Bruno’s mum, I also would have liked to know more about his grandmother. She seemed to be the only one in the family who was opposed to what the Germans were doing so I was curious to learn about her experiences and how they shaped her morals and beliefs in contrast to her husband’s

I did not care much for Bruno’s dad. Perhaps it was because he wasn’t very present throughout the novel but the little I did know of him I didn’t like and wasn’t interested in learning more, so I was grateful that his appearance was far and few between. It’s unfathomable that someone can have a family yet be so detached from them. So when Bruno died and his dad broke down crying once he realised what had happened, I had no sympathy for him. None whatsoever

Rating

I’ve never been one for war nor history in general and considered them to be rather boring topics of discussion, but The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas was what fuelled my interest in learning about WWII as I went on to watch ‘The Imitation Game’, ‘The Photographer of Mauthausen’ and found myself searching for some war documentaries. Additionally, I appreciate how Boyne encourages us to re-evaluate ourselves and the ways in which we think through the character interactions

Based on this, I would give this book a 3/5

Would I recommend?

Although this book was easily digestible, I felt as though there were missed opportunities to evoke more feeling from me as a reader. I wanted to be uncomfortable at times based on the theme of the story, but I unfortunately was not. I was also limited in how much I could empathise with different characters as I didn’t know much about them so remained detached. As a result, I didn’t feel as though I was very engrossed in this book so would unfortunately not recommend

Favourite Quotes

‘. . . unlike Bruno she never stopped to think about the fact that Maria was a person with feelings just like hers’

‘ ‘Heil Hitler,’ he said, which, he presumed, was another way of saying, ‘Well, goodbye for now, have a pleasant afternoon’

‘What exactly was the difference? He wondered to himself. And who decided which people wore the striped pyjamas and which people wore the uniforms?’

‘If it wasn’t for the fact that Bruno was nowhere near as skinny as the boys on his side of the fence, and not quite so pale either, it would have been difficult to tell them apart. It was almost (Shmuel thought) as if they were all exactly the same really’