Boy in the striped pyjamas 

Mark herman 

Film 

Brief plot overview 

Raised in a loving family in early-1940s Berlin, the wide eyed eight year old boy, Bruno, sees his world turn upside down when his high-ranking Nazi-official father is promoted and accepts an important position as a commander in a strange-looking farm. Now, their new home is surrounded by a high and impenetrable wall; soldiers who are armed to the teeth patrol the perimeter; a dangerous electric fence keeps the intruders away, and, inexplicably, all farmers wearing the same striped outfit. However, on the other side of the wire, Shmuel–a shaven-headed Jewish boy of nearly the same age–has so many stories to recount, and he, too, as Bruno, is convinced that the boringly similar uniforms everybody is wearing, are, in fact, pyjamas. Wouldn’t it be marvellous if this exciting new friend lived on Bruno’s side of the fence?

Characters you found interesting and why?

A character I found interesting was Bruno. Bruno is an eight-year-old boy from Berlin, Germany who has moved with his mother, Elder sister and SS Commander father to a countryside in Europe where his father powers over a concentration camp for Jews. when Bruno goes exploring one day he comes across a and befriends a boy inside the fences of the camp. Bruno and his new friend Shmuel become a large connection in the film. Bruno’s strong relation with Shmuel evolves during certain times of the day often bringing Shmuel food and company. Developed in the film, the care and friendship that Bruno acts upon Shmuel who is trapped in the camp shows the type of person he is as he climbs under the fence one day and puts on striped pyjamas because he wants to play with Shmuel. Resulting in this they are marched to the showers and Bruno becomes part of the jews as he is forced into the showers with Shmuel and other jews. This results in all the jews dying within the concentration camp as well as Bruno being killed by his own father. Bruno is an interesting character because he does not agree with his dads decisions as he often sneaks of to talk to Shmuel. I cannot relate to this character because I have not encountered concentration camps but it gives me an idea of how hard it is for someone on the outside two connect with someone on the inside that is being torn apart every day of their life. “What exactly was the difference? He wondered to himself. And who decided which people wore the striped pajamas and which people wore the uniforms?. As a young boy Bruno does not yet understand the point of concentration camps and the people who are in there and this quote shows him wondering which people are who in the 1940’s world war. 

Messages you took from this text and why?

The Message I took from the text were of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is that we are all more alike than we are different. The innocent friendship of the Jewish boy Shmuel and the Nazi’s son Bruno, set against the horrific backdrop of the Holocaust, highlights the fact that divisions between people are arbitrary. The film also comments on people’s ability to rationalize evil actions committed against “other” people. Bruno’s family rationalizes their own participation in the Nazi regim they are responsible for countless deaths but only feel the true atrocity of the gas chambers when their own son is killed by them. 

Challenges the character had to deal with ? 

Shmuel had many challenges he had to face during his time in the concentration camp. As a young boy growing up in the camp Shmuel does not know what exactly is going. Shumel does not get to live the same life as Bruno and being trapped inside the fences creates a negative environment. Throughout the film Bruno teaches Shmuel many things that Bruno is outside and free world. Trapped in the fences Shmuel does not have many other friends and he is always waiting at the fence for Bruno to show up. Shmuel heavily relies on Bruno during their friendship. Being a jew in WW2 automatically gives Shmuel a horrible lifestyle opposed two other people. Shmuel is only a young boy and this affects him because he never got to know what life is really like on the outside apart from Bruno telling him. “Bruno: We’re not supposed to be friends, you and me. We’re meant to be enemies. Did you know that”/. This quote shows how Bruno is telling Shmuel that they are meant to be enemies not friends. 

Why the title of the text was appropriate ? 

The title of the text is appropriate because it is talking about Shmuel, “ the boy in the striped pyjamas who is in a concentration camp. It is explaining about what Bruno sees on the other side of the fence because Shmuel wore the same striped pajamas that all the other people on that side of the fence wore and a striped cloth cap on his head.

Would you recommend this film and why? 

I highly recommend this film for anyone 14 and up. This film explains the struggles and the situation of the WW2 and the conflict of war occuring between the Germans and the jews. This is a really interesting film showing the significance of WW2 and the jews in a concentration camp through the perspective of a young boy from the outside.