The Boy In The Stripped Pamas

The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas by John Boyne is a tale of friendship amidst the son of a Nazi officer and a young Jewish boy. Being so young, the boys do not fully comprehend the gravity of what is happening, but they know things are abnormal. Joining the other side of the fence, Bruno gets insight on Schmuel's life before reaching his demise. Romeo and Juliet is said to be the saddest story nonetheless, The Boy In The Stripped Pajamas is about people losing their freedom and children losing their innocence, and is undeniably the saddest story ever. In the book, Bruno and his family move to Auschwitz, out of their will, to be closer to the concentration camp where Jews are no longer free. While talking to Shmuel, Bruno says “Well, you’ve been brought here against your will, just like I

And it’s leaking.” (Boyne,64) Bruno says this to imply that they are alike in the way that they are both forced to be where they are, even though they are on opposite sides of the fence. Furthermore, Bruno’s mom tells him “We don’t have the luxury of thinking”. Some people make all the decisions for us.” (Boyne,27) In this, she is referring to being forced to move to Auschwitz due to her husband’s job, but she is also implying that she does not agree with the decisions her husband makes for her. In the book, most characters are unwilling and have little to no control over their lives, which to many people is the worst way to live. Bruno and Shmuel are just kids, so they cannot grasp what is all happening. Bruno says “I don't see why I have to be stuck over here on this side of the fence where there’s no one to talk to and no one to play with and you get to have dozens of friends and are probably playing for hours every day. I’ll have to speak to Father about it.” He says this because he does not understand why Shmuel is where he is and is oblivious to everything. But later in the book he says, “We’re not supposed to be friends, you and