The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Group

Question:

VWoolf
VWoolf
Teacher
College - Senior

What are the key themes in "The Boy with the Striped Pajamas?"

Why are these themes important to the novel as a whole?

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Posted by VWoolf on Friday September 18, 2009 at 10:37 PM and tagged with characters, john boyne, summary, the boy in the striped pajamas, themes.

Answers:

  1. dkgarran
    dkgarran Teacher
    Middle School

    eNotes Editor

    The main themes of the novel include (but are certainly not limited to):

    1. The innocence of childhood. Bruno and Shmuel share a great deal in common but perhaps what is most striking is the childhood innocence which characterizes both boys. Bruno is unaware that his father is a Nazi commandant and that his home is on ther periphery of Auschwitz. Shmuel, imprisoned in the camp, seems not to understand the severity of his situation. When his father goes missing, Shmuel does not understand that he has gone to the gas chamber.

    2. Boundaries. The story also explores the boundaries -- both literal and figurative -- that we live with. Shmuel and Bruno are separated by a fence and lament that they can never play or explore together. They are also separated by the strict rules inherent in Nazi Germany which forbid Germans to be friends with Jews, Poles, and the other groups persecuted by Hitler.

    There are certainly more themes but these are some good ones to explore.

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    Posted by dkgarran on Saturday September 19, 2009 at 4:33 PM


  2. ladyvols1 Teacher
    High School - 9th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    In the novel, “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” by John Boyne, there are a couple of major themes that run throughout the story.  Bruno, a lonely little boy is the protagonist in this story.  He has an older sister named Gretel, a nanny and house keeper named Maria, a mother and a father.  Bruno’s father is a Commandant of a Jewish concentration camp.   The major theme is the desire for friendship.  Boyne explores the theme of friendship by having Bruno wander to the fence of the camp, and he meets another boy his age.  The problem is that this little boy, Shmuel, is a prisoner.   He is a Polish Jew who is interned at Auschwitz along with his family.   The boys become friends from opposite sides of the fence and the war.  The desire in these two boys for a friendship is so strong that they ignore the fence between them.  They become very dependent upon one another.  This friendship will eventually lead to tragedy.

    When Bruno’s father asks him about how he knows about the people in the stripped clothes, Bruno tells him that he has seen them from his window.  Bruno's father forbids Bruno to go near the fence, and tells him to play near the house. Bruno doesn’t understand his father’s hatred of these people.  We also meet a violent and hateful soldier who comes on to Bruno’s older sister.  However, we see his violent hatred of Jews when he beats a prisoner who works in the house.  He also threatens and intimidates Bruno.  The actions of the Nazi soldiers and Bruno’s father demonstrate the theme of prejudice that runs throughout the novel.

    "'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas' explores the beauty of a child's innocence in a time of war, the common desire we all have for friendship, and the fences—both literal and figurative—that we must all navigate and choose whether or not to break down."

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/the-boy-in-the-striped-pajamas/
    http://www.enotes.com/the-boy-in-the-striped-pajamas/group/

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    Posted by ladyvols1 on Saturday September 19, 2009 at 4:55 PM