The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

This study guide will help you analyze the novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2006) by John Boyne. You can also find a summary of the text, detailed characterizations, as well as inspiration for interpreting the novel and putting it into perspective.

John Boyne (b. 1971) is an Irish novelist. He wrote novels for both adults and children. Some of his work includes: The Thief of Time (2000), The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2006), and A Traveller at the Gate of Wisdom (2020). His novels have been translated into over 50 languages.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne, however, offers a unique reading of this subject. Boyne has his main character, Bruno, the son of a Nazi commandant, grow up in a world shaped by Nazism, which he does not understand.

The novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne tells the story of 9-year-old Bruno, who grows up during World War II. In 20 chapters, the narrator describes the impressions and experiences of the atrocities from the Third Reich from the perspective of a child. This makes this novel an important part of Holocaust literature.

The main character Bruno moves with his family from Berlin to a house right next to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Wavering between obedience to his parents, who have forbidden him to approach the camp fence, and his childlike curiosity, Bruno decides to explore the fence after all. In the process, he befriends Shmuel, a prisoner of the same age.

The friendship cheers Bruno up, since his life in the house is characterized by boredom and austerity. His father never has time for him because he only works. His sister is going through puberty and no longer wants to play with him. Bruno's mother loves her boy very much, but starts an affair with a young soldier. Therefore, the meetings of the two boys go unnoticed and disaster takes its course.

The monstrous and chilling reality of the Nazi era is portrayed through Bruno's naive eyes. For Bruno, all children are just children and all people are just people without distinctions of religion or race. Boyne has not only written a moving and touching narrative, but has created an award-winning masterpiece.

Excerpt from the study guide:

Although Gretel also said "Out-With" instead of Auschwitz at the beginning of the story, she then uses the correct name, unlike Bruno. It is Gretel who teaches Bruno about the people living behind the fence and why the Jews are locked up there. She tells him that they are not allowed to mix with the Germans. Bruno does not understand this distinction, and Gretel tells him that the Jews are the "opposite" (Chapter 16, 60%).

When Bruno's father is at home, he also tries to influence his son and raise him to be a devoted Nazi. He insists that Bruno greet him with "Heil Hitler" (Chapter 5, 100%). But Bruno does not realize that this greeting has a special meaning. Throughout the story, Bruno is surrounded by Nazi propaganda and symbols such as "red-and-black flags" (Chapter 5, 0%) and notices Shmuel's "armband with a star on it" (Chapter 10, 17%). Although the Nazis have been in power for several years and spread their propaganda everywhere, young Bruno does not understand the historical situation.

The disapproving grandmother

Bruno's grandmother is a very smart woman who rejects Nazism and says so openly. She does not let her husband or her son forbid her to speak out. As an opponent of the new regime, she knows the propaganda methods of the Nazis and knows that this also influences her son. That is why she calls him a "puppet" (Chapter 8, 50%), because she is aware that Bruno's father is in the Führer's favor. It is surprising that the father is very "tolerant" (Chapter 8, 50%) of his own mother's critical comments, which is surely due to his great respect for her.

Bruno's grandmother cannot understand her son's behavior and career choice. She believes she is to blame because she often had to leave him alone as a child due to her work as a singer. She finds her son's appointment as a commandant and the new uniform he now wears appalling. She has an idea of what the new title and uniform mean. Therefore, she reproaches her son for "Not even caring what it means really. What it stands for" (Chaptern8, 50%). The grandmother is the only character in the book who openly criticizes the Nazi regime and shows her disgust for it.