Our Lady of Mercy School
Subject: English
Class: 8 (A)
Teacher: Ms. Scavarda
Quarter: 1st Quarter
Department: Middle School English
Name: Henrique Saldanha
The Boy in Stripped Pajamas: Literary Analysis
The Boy in Stripped Pajamas is a novel by John Boyne. In the following text we will
take the story apart and analyze it, for further understanding. It starts with a boy, Bruno,
who has to move out of his house to a place where he finds a friend, Shmuel. It is an exciting
novel based on the point of view of a 9 year old. It takes place during World War II, and
focuses on the differences of Nazis and Jews. The novel expresses how Bruno sees the world
and unfolds at his speed.
The story first takes place in Berlin, somewhere between 1936 and 1938, in a five
story house if you count the basement and the room at the top. The setting then moves to a
concentration camp that in the head of Bruno is called “Out-with”. This house is small
compared to the previous one he had in Berlin. Near the house there is a fence, build with
high poles and a mesh of wires between them. This fence separates the nice green side of
the house to the barren dirt ground of the camp. The camp is lined with small huts, like a
compound. The setting is a major influence in the development of the story.
Bruno is a nine year old boy, who had to move from his house in Berlin. Due to his
father´s work Bruno has to then live in “Out-with”. He is revealed then to be a very curious
boy throughout the story. For example, one of his favorite activities is to explore, he talks
and mentions explorers frequently. He can also be very calm, there is no evidence in the
book of him being aggressive or agitated; in fact, he spends most of his day calmly reading a
book, studying or thinking. He is also very innocent; he does not know what his father
stands for, or what actually happens in his surroundings. For example; he envies the people
inside the concentration camp, and he believes that it is just like Berlin. He also doesn’t
understand that Shmuel was forced to remain in this camp; he does not believe that
someone could do that. Bruno knows little about his environment, and always questions for
more, yet his conclusions are not always the best.
Comparing Bruno to Anne Frank is like comparing the two sides of the same coin,
they are opposites. While both Bruno and Anne where born in Germany they stand on
completely different sides. Anne is a Jew and she has to hide in a miserable place, in order
to avoid going to a concentration camp. Bruno is quite the opposite, he lives in a big house,
has abundant food and all the resources he would need. Bruno lives right next to a
concentration camp, yet has no risk of being sent to it, as his father works for the Nazi and
runs the place. Bruno is more submissive, he does what he is told, while Anne is electric and
never obeys. As a last thought, Bruno knows nothing about what is going on in the world,
yet Anne knows enough.
Certain events made a change in Bruno throughout the story. For instance, when he
has to move to “Out-with” the whole story changes, and when he meets Shmuel the plot
changes. He no longer wants to go back to Berlin. He can barely remember the names of his
previous friends, and he learns the truth about that place. Another moment is when
lieutenant Kotler catches him giving food to Shmuel; this is the moment where he realizes
that they live differently. Events shaped this story towards its ending.
If I were to compare myself to Bruno, there would be several differences; for
instance, I would not have acted the same way if I were in his position. We would have been
very different, because at his age I would probably have been conscious of what was
happening in the world while he is completely naïve. I probably wouldn’t have been as
stubborn as him to accept other´ ideas, as he did with Shmuel. It would probably also be
easier for me to realize Shmeul´s condition, and my own. Though considering how I am, I
probably would have never disobeyed orders and left the house in the first place. If I had
been the main character, the story would have been different.
A lesson that I learned from the story is that paying attention is crucial. For example
when Shmuel was telling Bruno about how he got there, Bruno wasn´t really paying
attention, or agreeing with him at all, therefore he missed a chance to understand what was
going on. It happens again, when he goes in the concentration camp, he still thinks it is like
Berlin, yet Shmuel fed hi throughout the story all this information about the camp revealing
it as it really was. Paying attention to details and to people pays off with information that
might be important later on.
Anne Frank once said “I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still
remains”. You could apply this phrase to Shmuel, as he decides not to think about his past,
that makes him sad, and instead to think about the current things that make him happy.
But, we could also apply this phrase to Bruno, and find quite the opposite. Bruno is on the
nice side of the fence, with all the luxury he could need, and abundant food. Yet, he
complains about it. He frequently mentions how much he has lost, but doesn’t realize that
some have much less. His view changes when he meets Shmuel, he no longer complains,
proof that events have changed the story. The events and changes in the plot as well as the
characters themselves leaded the story to its end, and Bruno´s.