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INTRODUCTION

Books about the Holocaust are never easy to read. Some are downr!ht terr"yn! and some

make the reader nauseous. Ths book however a##roaches ths #erod n hstory "rom a new and

nterestn! an!le and tells a tale o" what m!ht have ha##ened$ and n don! so o#ens u# these stores

to a whole new !eneraton o" readers. The book was or!nally marketed as a chldren%s book$ and

then remarketed as adult "cton because o" the content. It%s a touchn! tale o" an odd "rendsh#

 between two boys n horrendous crcumstances and a remnder o" man%s ca#acty "or nhumanty.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas s a "ctonal tale o" the unlkelest o" "rends& the son o" a Na'commandant and a (ewsh concentraton cam# nmate. )rtten by (ohn Boyne and #ublshed n

*++, by Davd -ckln! Books$ the story was made nto a maor moton #cture n *++/.

The novel$ set n Na' 0ermany$ be!ns when nne1year1old Bruno and hs "amly must move

"rom ther lovely home n Berln to a new house n an un"amlar #lace called 2Out1)th.2 Tem#ted

to e3#lore hs new envronment$ Bruno s told that there are certan #laces that are 2Out O" Bounds

4t 4ll Tmes 4nd No 53ce#tons.2 Unable to "!ht hs adventuresome s#rt$ however$ Bruno

ventures "orth nto the unknown one a"ternoon.

Bruno comes u#on a "ence that he "ollows untl he sees a youn! boy sttn! on the other sde o" 

the "ence. The shoeless boy s wearn! str#ed #aamas and a cloth ca#. Bruno also notces that the

 boy s wearn! an armband wth a star on t. Bruno makes "ast "rends wth the boy$ Shmuel$ andthey 6uckly dscover that they share the same brthday. The boys dscuss ther "amles and where

they are "rom. 4t the end o" ther "rst meetn!$ Bruno asks Shmuel why there are so many #eo#le on

hs sde o" the "ence and what they are don! there. 4 "ew days later$ Bruno%s "ather has dnner 

!uests7 the man%s name s 2the -ury2 and hs date s called 5va. Bruno nstantly dslkes the cou#le.

Bruno%s sster 0retel$ whom he re"ers to as 2the Ho#eless Case$2 s smtten by the man and tres hard

to m#ress hm and hs lady "rend. Bruno$ however$ s ds!usted by hs sster%s behavor and her 

 buddn! romance wth a youn! solder.

8uch lke Bruno hears 24uschwt'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#ectve7 t s clear that the nnocence

o" Bruno%s chldhood remans ntact des#te the "act that he s lvn! on the #er#hery o" a death

cam# and has met 4dol" Htler.

Bruno contnues to e3#lore the woods near hs house and o"ten "nds hmsel" at the "ence

s#endn! tme wth Shmuel. Bruno brn!s hm "ood$ and the "rends lament the "act that they cannot

e3#lore to!ether or #lay a !ame o" "ootball. Shmuel con"des n Bruno that he s unable to "nd hs

"ather and he s worred. Bruno vows to hel# Shmuel look "or hs "ather7 to that end$ Shmuel

 #romses to !et Bruno some #aamas so that he wll blend n on hs sde o" the "ence. The Boy n the

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Str#ed :aamas s a story about chldhood nnocence$ "rendsh#$ and the m#ortance o" breakn!

down the "ences we #ut u# around ourselves.

Ths book s e3tremely well1wrtten7 t takes the reader to a #lace and tme we should never 

"or!et$ and t remnds us o" the human element n all stores. (ohn Boyne has wrtten a book that

could become re6ured readn! "or all school chldren$ and maybe all adults should read t also$ lest

we "or!et. So #ck t u# and walk wth Bruno and Shmuel as they develo# a !rown! "rendsh# ust

sttn! and talkn! throu!h a barbed1 wre1to##ed chan lnk "ence.

:;OT SU884R<

Bruno$ a youn! boy lvn! n Berln durn! the Na' re!me$ arrves home "rom school one day

to "nd hs "amly%s mad$ 8ara$ #ackn! u# hs thn!s. )hen he asks hs mother what s !on! on$

she e3#lans that Bruno%s "ather%s ob s the reason they are all leavn! ther home n Berln7 someone

Bruno knows only as 2the -ury2 has #lans "or hs "ather%s career. Cha#ter Two be!ns wth a

com#arson o" Bruno%s old home n Berln to hs new lvn! stuaton. In contrast to hs "amly%s b!$

 beaut"ul home n Berln$ 2there was somethn! about the new house that made Bruno thnk that no

one ever lau!hed there7 that there was nothn! to lau!h at and nothn! to be ha##y about2 =>?@.Cha#ter Three ntroduces 0retel$  Bruno%s older sster by three years$ whom he re"ers to as

2Trouble -rom Day One2 =*>@. Bruno runs nto 0retel%s room and dscovers her arran!n! her dolls

around her room. She a!rees wth Bruno that ther new lvn! stuaton s horrble and tells hm that

the #lace s called 2Out1)th.2 Bruno shows 0retel the scene "rom hs bedroom wndow& There are

 boys$ men$ and elderly men lvn! to!ether on the o##oste sde o" a "ence that e3tends "arther than

they can see nto the dstance. 4"ter 0retel returns to her room$ Bruno contnues to watch the #eo#le

out hs bedroom wndow and notces that they%re all wearn! the same thn!& 2a #ar o" !rey str#ed

 #aamas wth a !rey str#ed ca# on ther heads2 =?/@.

Bruno decdes to s#eak to -ather $ who arrved at Out1)th a "ew days earler. )hen Bruno asks

when they can return to Berln$ -ather tells hm to !ve Out1)th a chance$ because t s ther homenow$ 2"or the "oreseeable "uture2 =A/@. Be"ore he leaves$ Bruno asks -ather who the #eo#le are

outsde hs wndow. -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 8ara n conversaton$ ho#n!

she wll a!ree wth hm that Out1)th s a horrble #lace$ but she avods sayn! anythn! ne!atve.

She hnts that she cannot understand how such a !ood man could be don! -ather%s ob at Out1)th.

Several weeks !o by and Bruno s bored at Out1)th$ so he bulds a ro#e swn! and a cou#le o" 

hours later$ "alls o"" o" t. He nures hmsel"$ scra#n! u# hs knee #retty badly. :avel$ one o" the

 #rsoners at Out1)th who works n the "amly%s home as a water$ sees the whole thn! and runs out

to hel# Bruno. Snce 8other  s stll not home$ :avel cleans Bruno%s wounds n the ktchen and tells

Bruno that he used to be a doctor. )hen 8other arrves home$ she tells Bruno to !o to hs room and

he overhears her sayn! to :avel$ 2I" the Commandant 4sks$ we%ll say that I cleaned Bruno u#2 =/@.

8ore than anyone else "rom Berln$ Bruno msses hs 0rand"ather and0randmother . Hs

0rand"ather had run a restaurant n the town center$ and hs 0randmother had been a "amous sn!er.

The last tme he saw them n Berln$ 0randmother had become outra!ed at -ather%s new #romoton.

She had stormed out o" ther house$ and Bruno hadn%t seen her snce. He decdes to wrte her a letter 

"rom Out1)th$ telln! her how unha##y he s n ther new home and how much he msses her.

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-ather decdes to hre a man named Herr ;s't as a tutor "or 0retel and Bruno. Herr ;s't

"ocuses on hstory and !eo!ra#hy$ nether o" whch s very nterestn! to Bruno$ but the tutor nssts

that he learn about 2The -atherland2 =/@. 4 "ew days later$ Bruno !ets the ur!e to !o e3#lorn! and

decdes to walk alon! the "ence as "ar as he can$ althou!h 8other and -ather have told hm many

tmes that e3#loraton s banned at Out1)th. R!ht when he starts "eeln! hun!ry and be!ns to

thnk about turnn! back$ he sees a lttle boy on the other sde o" the "ence$ wearn! the str#ed

 #aamas that all #eo#le on the other sde o" the "ence wear. Bruno s 2sure that he had never seen a

sknner or sadder boy n hs l"e2 =>+@. Bruno strkes u# a conversaton wth the boy$ whose name

s Shmuel$ sttn! down on hs own sde o" the "ence so he can talk throu!h t. Shmuel s "rom

:oland and Bruno tells hm that$ 20ermany s the !reatest o" all countres... )e%re su#eror2 =>>*@$

 but even as he says ths$ he real'es that hs words sound rude.

Cha#ter 5leven takes the "orm o" a "lashback to a "ew months earler$ when Bruno%s "amly stll

lved n Berln. One n!ht$ the -ury had come to ther home "or dnner wth a knd woman

named 5va. 4"ter the -ury and 5va had le"t$ Bruno had overheard hs #arents% conversaton about

leavn! Berln. Days later$ he had arrved home "rom school to "nd 8ara #ackn! hs belon!n!s.Cha#ter Twelve returns to Bruno and Shmuel%s conversaton "rom o##oste sdes o" the "ence.

Shmuel e3#lans how he came to lve at Out1)th. Hs "amly was told they had to move to a

d""erent #art o" Cracow$ on the wron! sde o" a wall that solders bult$ all cram#ed n one room

wth another "amly. One day solders arrved and #acked hm and everyone lvn! nearby nto hu!e

trucks$ and later nto a tran wth no doors. Shmuel tells Bruno that there are hundreds o" other boys

on hs sde o" the "ence$ and Bruno reterates hs "eeln! that t s un"ar "or hm to have no one to

 #lay wth on his sde. )eeks #ass and Bruno vsts wth hs new "rend Shmuel re!ularly.

One evenn!$ ;eutenant Eotler  ons Bruno%s "amly "or dnner. ;eutenant Eotler mentons that

hs "ather was a #ro"essor o" lterature at the unversty$ but that he had le"t 0ermany "or Swt'erland

n >?/. Ths n"ormaton embarrasses ;eutenant Eotler and dsturbs -ather$ who comments wthsus#con that t s 2Fstran!eG that he chose not to stay n the -atherland2 =>A,@. :avel uncorks a new

 bottle o" wne and accdentally s#lls t on ;eutenant Eotler because hs hands are shakn!.

;eutenant Eotler reacts very an!rly and volently$ althou!h the detals o" hs actons a!anst :avel

are not revealed. Bruno !oes to bed e3tremely u#set about what ha##ened to :avel.

One rany day$ Bruno accdentally mentons Shmuel to 0retel but 6uckly covers t u#$

e3#lann! that Shmuel s the name o" hs ma!nary "rend. The ran contnues on and o"" "or the

ne3t "ew weeks$ durn! whch Bruno s unable to meet wth Shmuel as o"ten as he would lke.

8other s #lannn! a brthday #arty "or -ather and ;eutenant Eotler s s#endn! a lot o" tme at the

house wth her7 they are havn! an a""ar. On the day be"ore the #arty$ Bruno "nds Shmuel n the

ktchen7 ;eutenant Eotler has brou!ht hm there because hs hands are small enou!h to #olsh the

!lasses "or -ather%s brthday #arty. Bruno be!ns to hel# hmsel" to some cold chcken and stu""n!

that%s n the re"r!erator and when he sees Shmuel lookn! at the "ood$ he o""ers hs "rend some.

;eutenant Eotler returns and accuses Shmuel o" stealn! "ood to eat. )hen Shmuel tells hm that

Bruno !ave t to hm and that Bruno s hs "rend$ but Bruno s "r!htened and denes t. Bruno leaves

the ktchen "eeln! ncredbly !ulty about havn! betrayed hs "rend. -or almost a week$ Shmuel

does not come back to meet hm at the "ence and when he "nally returns$ hs "ace s covered n

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 bruses. Bruno a#olo!'es "or lettn! hm down and says he%s ashamed o" hmsel". Shmuel smles

and "or!ves hm$ l"tn! u# the "ence so that they can shake hands beneath t.

The "amly receves news that 0randmother has ded$ so they return to ther old home n Berln

"or two days to attend the "uneral. The two days are so sad that Bruno s almost releved to return to

Out1)th. ;eutenant Eotler has been suddenly trans"erred away "rom Out1)th$ concdn! wth a

hu!e "!ht between 8other and -ather. Bruno decdes to ask 0retel about why he and Shmuel have

to lve on o##oste sdes o" the "ence. She e3#lans that the #eo#le on the other sde o" the "ence are

(ews and that the "ence s there to kee# them "rom !ettn! out and m3n! wth anyone else. )hen

Bruno asks her what he and ther "amly are$ " not (ews$ she says sm#ly that they%re 2the o##oste2

=>/?@. )hle they are talkn!$ t s revealed that 0retel and Bruno both have lce. They treat ther 

har wth a s#ecal sham#oo$ but then -ather !oes a ste# "urther and nssts that Bruno have all hs

har shaved o""7 Bruno notces that ths makes hm look even more lke Shmuel. 4 "ew weeks later$

-ather calls 0retel and Bruno nto hs o""ce and tells them that the -ury wll not releve hm o" hs

command$ but that 8other wants to !o back to Berln mmedately. :re#aratons be!n so that

8other$ 0retel$ and Bruno can return to Berln that week$ but Bruno s nervous about telln! Shmuelthe news.

Bruno tells Shmuel that he s returnn! to Berln. Shmuel s saddened by ths news$ and su!!ests

that he come over to the other sde o" the "ence. They decde that the ne3t day$ Shmuel wll brn!

hm a #ar o" str#ed #aamas$ and he wll sneak over to the other sde o" the "ence to hel# Shmuel

search "or hs "ather. The ne3t day s rany and muddy$ but Bruno !oes to meet Shmuel$ who has

 brou!ht wth hm a #ar o" drty1lookn! str#ed #aamas. He hands the #aamas under the "ence to

Bruno$ who care"ully chan!es nto them$ leavn! hs own clothes n a #le n the mud. Shmuel l"ts

the "ence and Bruno shmmes underneath t$ becomn! 6ute muddy n the #rocess. In contrast to

what Bruno had envsoned$ the #eo#le on the other sde o" the "ence are ust standn! or sttn!$

2lookn! horrbly sad2 =*+@. They are all too sknny and have shaved heads$ whch Bruno takes tondcate they have had lce here$ too. The boys s#end an hour and a hal" searchn! "or evdence o" 

where Shmuel%s "ather could have !one. They don%t "nd anythn!$ whch s what Shmuel had

e3#ected$ and Bruno says a!an that he ou!ht to !o home. (ust then$ the solders round u# the #eo#le

around Bruno and Shmuel. Shmuel reassures Bruno that 2t ha##ens sometmes... They make #eo#le

!o on marches2 =*>+@. (ust as Bruno s be!nnn! to lose #atence and decdn! that he really must

!o home because he s too cold$ the !rou# s marched nto a warm$ art!ht room. Bruno a#olo!'es

to Shmuel that they weren%t able to "nd hs "ather and tells hm that he s hs 2best "rend "or l"e2

=*>?@. 4t that moment$ the #eo#le n the room wth them all !as# as the door s slammed shut and

locked. The room becomes dark and chaotc$ but Bruno and Shmuel contnue to hold hands.

The solders search "or Bruno "or days be"ore the #le o" hs clothes and boots s dscovered by

the "ence. -ather !oes to see them but cannot "!ure out what ha##ened to hs son. 8other and

0retel stay at Out1)th "or a "ew months watn! "or news o" Bruno. One day$ 8other has the

sudden noton that he m!ht have returned to ther home n Berln$ so she rushes back wth 0retel

 but doesn%t "nd Bruno there. Over the ne3t year$ -ather becomes very dslked by all the solders at

Out1)th. The "nally$ he returns to the #lace where hs son%s clothes had been "ound and notces the

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o#enn! n the "ence. He real'es what must have ha##ened$ and a "ew months later he s dschar!ed

"rom hs #ost at Out1)th and taken away by solders.

CONC;USION

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas$ #ublshed n the Unted En!dom wth the alternate

s#elln! The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas$ won many nternatonal and Irsh awards$ ncludn! two

Irsh Book 4wards and the Bsto Book o" the <ear. It to##ed the New <ork Tmes Bestseller ;st and

has sold over + mllon co#es worldwde. The book was rank "rst n Ireland "or over /+ weeks and

was the bestselln! book n S#an "or two years.

Boyne had always been "ascnated by the Holocaust and had studed the hstorcal conte3t o" the!enocde and )orld )ar II. He re#orts that wthn >++ hours o" havn! the ntal dea to wrte a

novel set durn! the Holocaust$ he had com#leted the "rst dra"t o" The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

The endn! o" the novel was set n stone "rom that "rst dra"t$ com#leted on 4#rl ?+$ *++A.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas s descrbed on the ttle #a!e as 2a "able$2 a character'aton

Boyne has sad he chose n order to e3#lan some o" the story%s unrealstc as#ects. In ntervews$ the

author stresses that rather than ben! a hstorcal novel about 4uschwt'$ the book s meant to be a

unversal story about any concentraton cam# n )orld )ar II$ snce so many chldren were

vctm'ed durn! that tme. He !ves ths as the reason the name 24uschwt'2 never a##ears n the

novel7 rather$ the reader only !ets Bruno%s mshearn! o" the name$ 2Out )th.2

Bruno%s con"uson surroundn! the stuaton at 2Out )th2 s an e3am#le o" Boyne%s techn6ueo" de"amlar'aton. Throu!h the voce o" a lmted$ thrd1#erson narrator$ Boyne leads the reader to

4uschwt' and ntroduces the terrble thn!s takn! #lace there as " the reader has no #ror 

knowled!e on the to#c. Ths allows the reader to avod mmedately cate!or'n! the vctms o" the

Holocaust as 2Others$2 "undamentally d""erent and unknowable. Rather$ the reader !ans the

 #ers#ectve o" Bruno%s chldlke nnocence.

By character'n! The Boy in the Striped Pajamas as a "able$ Boyne avods the retros#ectve

s#eculaton that o"ten marks Holocaust novels. Rather$ he m#les that Bruno%s story s an alle!ory$

servn! as a tmeless re#resentaton o" atroctes and the #eo#le who #artc#ate n andor become

vctms o" them. It #oses the 6ueston whether #er#etrators o" such horrors as the Holocaust m!ht

rethnk ther behavor " they were to themselves become a vctm o" the horror 1 as n what ha##ens

to Bruno%s "ather.

The book s an e3am#le o" a trend n chldren%s lterature that acknowled!es the e3tent to whch

chldren can be wtnesses and vctms o" ssues much lar!er than themselves. Thou!h the Holocaust

and all ts atroctes are outsde the realm o" Bruno%s understandn! as a chld$ he and hs "amly are

 #artc#ants and he becomes a vctm by the end o" the novel.

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0rown! u# n war1torn Ireland$ Boyne has sad he "elt a #ersonal connecton to the story o" The

 Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Ths connecton s revealed n certan detals& "or e3am#le$ the

characters o" Bruno and Schmuel share a brthday$ amon! other smlartes. The s#ec"c date$ 4#rl

>$ >?A$ s Boyne%s "ather%s brthday.

Ths novel s sm#ly stunnn! n ts sm#lcty and #ower. I never saw the endn! comn! 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 mnutes. Two weeks later$ I%m stll thnkn! about ths book. I can%t !et

over how #ower"ul t s and I%m recommendn! t to everyone I know.