The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas

 

1 The seven basic plots

the hero is in some way incomplete or unfulfilled and his thoughts are turned towards the future in hope of some unusual gratification. Some object of desire or course of action presents itself, and his energies have found a focus.

We have read the book the boy in the striped pyjamas. This book is a common tragedy, I’ll tell you why. At the beginning Bruno (the main character) has the desire to explore. He and his family had just moved to Poland in a place called Out-With. He likes to walk and to explore the area around the house. The main character has the desire to explore he feels incomplete because he just moved to a different country, he misses Berlin. I link this to stage one, the anticipation stage.

One day he noticed there was a big fence standing next to the forest. His energies have found a focus. He was wondering what the people from the other side were doing. But he couldn’t tell.  He became committed to this fence in some way. He met a guy named Shmuel. The guys became friends quickly. This is stage two in the book. A common stage in the tragic theme. Everything went well for the hero. But as innocent as this boy was he didn’t know his father was the reason behind this huge fence.

Along the story his mother found out the place they were living wasn’t called Out-With at all, they were living in Auschwitz. His mother became grumpy and when Bruno’s grandma died there came lots of troubles. This is stage 3 the frustration stage, things started to go wrong. At the end of the book everything went completely wrong.

Shmuel couldn’t find his father so Bruno offered him to help. Shmuel had stolen a striped pyjama for Bruno so he wouldn’t stand out. While they were looking for Shmuel’s dad some soldiers told the guys to take a shower so they did. It was a gas shower, the guys died immediately. This is a very dramatic ending, this ending suits stage 4 and 5.

2. Characterization

Bruno

Bruno is the main character in the story. Bruno is 8 years old and like most boys at that age: loves playing with his friends and going on adventures. After bruno and his family moved to another house, he started to know more about what was happening in his life and war and all that. He meets this boy called Shmuel who is also 8 years old and they become friends. But what Bruno didn’t realise at first was that Shmuel is jewish. And Bruno’s dad is a nazi. So obviously that didn’t work out.

 

Shmuel

Shmuel is Bruno’s friend. He’s jewish and stuck in a camp in WW2. Shmuel also doesn’t really know what’s going on at the time but he knows more than Bruno does.

 

Gretel

Gretel is Bruno’s twelve year old sister and she does know what is happening in their lives. Unlike her brother and her mother, she agrees with the decisions her father makes and she thinks like a nazi. She secretly has a little crush on one of her dad’s soldiers.

 

Bruno’s parents

Ralf is Bruno’s father and the commander at out-with/Auschwitz. He is a true nazi and thinks what he is doing is right. Bruno’s mother on the other hand, doesn’t. When she finds out that the nazi’s in Auschwitz are burning jewish people after they killed them, she becomes depressed. Ralf and Elsa had a fight and at the end they even decided Elsa and the children should move to another place because she couldn’t take it anymore and they thought the house they were currently living in, wasn’t the right place to grow up as a kid

3. setting

Timeline

 

Bruno and his family move to Auschwitz

6-1-1943

Bruno meets Pavol the Jewish waiter/doctor

10-1-1943

Bruno meets his friend Shmuel

13-1-1943

Bruno and his sister are home-schooled

15-1-1943

Warsaw Ghetto uprising

19-4-1943

Warsaw Ghetto uprising over

16-5-1943

Bruno, his mother, and Grettle are planning to go back to Berlin

12-1-1944

Shmuel and Bruno went looking for Shmuel’s dad, the kids died in a gas chamber.

14/15-1-1944

 

The family has moved to Auschwitz because of father’s job. He became a Nazi-leader. Grandma was disgusted, she did not approve. Bruno had a hard time leaving Berlin. He didn’t want to go to Poland.

After falling over, a swim Bruno met Pavol the Jewish butler. He putted band-aid on his hand. They immediately became friends.

One day when he was just walking along the fence he met a guy of the same age. His name was Shmuel the guys became friends. They talked a lot about their families. Shmuel has told Bruno a lot about the camp, Bruno wanted to explore everything.

Bruno and his sister Grettle became home-schooled. His father hired a teacher who taught them the basic subjects. Tis teacher was anti-Jewish so he did tell the kids as often as he could how disgusting these people are. Grettle was inspired by this man, Bruno wasn’t. He did not get the point.

The Warsaw Ghetto uprising, complete takeover by the Jews. They attacked the guards and they fought for their freedom.

The Warsaw Ghetto uprising end. Lots of soldiers were sent to this camp so this uprising was crushed by the German army quickly.

The family wanted to head back to Berlin because mother couldn’t handle the camp. She wanted her kids to grow up in a good environment.

The last adventure. This was the last time Bruno could speak to Shmuel. So, when Shmuel told him he had lost his father Bruno believed his friend to help him look for his father. So, the next day Shmuel had taken care of a striped pyjama and Bruno sneaked into the camp. A few soldiers noticed the guys and they were sent to the gas chambers. Bruno’s family noticed the disappearance of Bruno they tried to stop the soldiers but they were too late. The innocent guys died hand in hand.

This story takes place in Auschwitz. A camp where Jews were prisoned because of their religion during world war two. Bruno’s father was camp-leader. At the beginning the story also takes place in Berlin. This is the city Bruno is born.

 

 

4. Point of View

The story is told in the first person. You only read what Bruno’s thoughts are. Thoughts of other characters like Shmuel or his dad are not told. Only when Bruno is with them, you know what they’re doing.

Everything is told from Bruno’s perspective.

5. Themes

The mayor theme in this book is friendship.

This is the main theme because along the story the Shmuel and Bruno’s friendship. They encourage each other and they keep each other company. Without this powerful friendship the entire storyline wouldn’t exist.

Some minor themes in this book are Good versus bad, Family blessing or curse, and Desire to escape.
The setting of the book is in Poland during world war two. Of course, a battle was going on: good versus bad. In the background of the story you will notice this battle. But you will notice this battle in the eyes of an innocent child. Bruno likes to listen to the discussions at the dinner table. But because he isn’t old enough het can’t follow these discussions completely.

There is a lot going on with is Bruno’s family in this story. His father is very strict and his mother dislikes the camps. That’s the reason why she wanted to head out to Berlin with her kids. Although that never happened because Bruno got his self-killed because of an innocent action. At the beginning of the story Bruno’s grandma died. This caused lots of problems in the family. Family is important in this book, that’s why Family blessing or curse is a minor theme in this book.

Shmuel Bruno’s friend lives in the camp. This life is horrible so of course he has the desire to escape. He talks a lot about this desire with Bruno. That’s why desire to escape is a minor theme in this book.
You can compare the mayor theme with the Hobbit. Trust and friendship was really important during this story. The travel companions have been through a lot together, so have Bruno and Shmuel.