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THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS

By John Boyne

Title The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Author John Boyne

About the writerJohn Boyne was born in Dublin on 30th April 1971 and studied English Literature at Trinity

College. This Irish novelist has published about 70 short stories, besides he is the author of seven

novels for adults and three novels for younger readers.

With his 2006 novel addressed to young readers, THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS, he achieved

a global success. Amongst other accolades, it spent more than 80 weeks at no.1 in Ireland,

topped the New York Times Bestseller List, and was the bestselling book in Spain in both 2007

and 2008. Worldwide, it has sold more than 5 million copies.

Genre Short novel for younger readers

Publisher David Fickling Books

1st Publication date 5 January 2006

IntroductionJohn Boyne in his novel takes us to the Nazi time to reflect on the Holocaust from the point of

view of a 9-year-old Bruno, son of a high-ranking SS officer who has to move away from acomfortable life in Berlin to a place called Auschwitz to serve in.

The horror of the death camps is left to the reader's imagination, as Boyne doesnt deepen in

this. Thus, the narrative is complemented with prior knowledge that the reader may have on

the subject.

PLOT

Bruno is a 9-year-old boy growing up during the Second World War in Berlin, where he lives in ahuge house with his parents, his twelve-year-old sister Gretel (whom he refers to as aHopeless

Case), and maidservants. His whole world changes when The Fury promotes his father to

Commandant and the family has to move away to a place called Auschwitz (Out-With as

Bruno pronounces throughout the book).

Theyll arrive at the new house, a grey, ugly, in what looks like the countryside, but a grey field,

arid ash color ... When Bruno gets there, he feels a surge of homesickness after leaving behind

his grandparents and his three best friends. Unhappy with his new home, Bruno becomes

lonely and has nobody to talk to or play with. From Bruno's room there is an amazing view, in

the background tall fences, very high, with long barbed wire ... and on the other side of the

fence many people, all dressed in striped pyjamas.

Bruno is not allowed to explore the back of the house or its surroundings. Due to curiosity and

boredom, he decides to explore anyway. So, one day he walked and walked through that

fence he saw from the window of his room, he wanted to know where it came away. He

spoted a boy on the other side of the fence. It was a Jewish boy named Shmuel. Almost every

day, the two boys meet at the same spot to talk. Soon, they become best friends, so similar,

they are basically the same person in different circumstances, one a Polish Jew, the other a

PERSONAL OPINION

In a language very close to children's stories, Boyne has managed to tell a story whose moral is

clear: all people are above all people and, as such, we must treat them. It doesnt matter our

origin, race, sex, ideology, religion, etc

I recommend this book because I think its important to explain our past failures to avoid tocommit the same in the future.

Brbara Garca Ovies - 1st

Advanced

German. Over the course of the book, Bruno shows to be too naive whilst Shmuel seems to

have more knowledge, as he has felt the suffering first-hand.

Bruno ask about people in striped pyjamas and his sister tells him that these people are Jews

and that they are "guilty", she refers to them as the opposite.

Shortly after this, Bruno and Gretel suffered from lice and Brunos head is shaved. Which made

him seem much more to his friend Shmuel. They werent quite so different at all.

After a year Bruno's mother persuades his father to take them back to Berlin. With Bruno aboutto go back to Berlin with his mother and sister, as a final adventure, he agrees to dress in a set

of striped pyjamas and cap to go under the fence to help Shmuel find his father, who went

missing in the camp. After failing to locate a clue about the whereabouts of Shmuels father

Bruno wants to go home, but people are starting to go on marches". Neither boy knows

where this march will lead. However, they are soon crowded into a gas chamber, which Bruno

assumes is a place to keep them dry from the rain until it stops.

Bruno never came home, only his clothes were found. One day the Commandant returned to

the place where the clothes were found and watching the place noticed the hole beneath

the fence. Using this information, his father eventually pieces together that they gassed Bruno

to death.

MAIN CHARACTERS

Bruno and Shmuel, both children are the protagonists of the novel.

BRUNO - Bruno is a 9-year-old boy, very naive in my opinion for that age, a happy child who

lives in a big house in Berlin and has three great friends, "friends for life" also has a sister

unbearably spoiled, a mother who can not decide which side should be and a father whose

work he didnt know well, just that it's very high, very strong and with a new uniform.

SHMUEL - He's a Jewish boy who has the same age as Bruno. Shmuel is on the other side of the

fence, in the concentration camp. He is an unhealthy child, with his sunken eyes and pale

nasty. Shmuel as a prisoner has to face with rough facts and every day go to the same spot to

talk to Bruno and to escape from that reality.

The other characters: mother, father, grandmother, sister, The Fury, Kotler, the butler, the maid

... are added, what really counts is Bruno, Shmuel and their circumstances.

Shmuel Bruno Gretel Kotler Mother Father