Nazis, concentration camps, Hitler; those are a few words that come to mind when recalling Germany between the years 1933 and 1945. However, all these words were foreign to eight-year-old Bruno, the protagonist of John Boyne’s masterpiece, “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.” When Bruno, the son of a highly-ranked Nazi captain, moves to Auschwitz, his parents declare the intriguing forest behind his home “out of bounds at all times and no exceptions”. Nevertheless, his uninhibitedly curious mind sends him venturing into the forest with little hesitation. In the forest, Bruno meets Shmuel, a Jewish boy imprisoned in Auschwitz concentration camp. Shielded by naivete they become friends, without the merest clue about the irony of their friendship. Through the novel, John Boyne uses an array of literary techniques such as symbolism, tone and word choice to convey the extent to which Bruno’s innocence fosters his and Shmuel’s incredible friendship to ultimately portray a sheltered upbringing as an unnecessary evil.
Boyne navigates through the story from Bruno’s childish perspective. The language he uses to narrate is simple and accessible, but not due to the fact that the story is plot driven but because the language is used to foreshadow Bruno’s thoughts. The straightforward language displays how Bruno is simpleminded and does not look deeply into things, he simply sees things as they are. Bruno never describes anything in detail, which conveys to the readers how little Bruno actually knows about what is going on around him. For instance, on page 200 after Shmuel states his father is missing, Bruno simply says, “‘Can’t find him? That’s very odd. You mean he’s lost?’” Here Boyne expresses Bruno’s sinless thoughts using simplistic diction. Bruno does not even acknowledge the possibility of anything bad happening to Shmuel’s father.
From the beginning of the novel, John Boyne depicts Bruno as a notably innocent boy. His naivete is first conveyed by him mishearing and subsequently calling Auschwitz, “Out With” and the Führer, “ [the] Fury”. From his misinterpretation of words we can see how untouched he is about the world around him, and the atrocities it is committing. The fact that his only knowledge of these concentration camps is based on mishearing. John Boyne uses these uncomplicated words to create a tone throughout the book to show the extent of Bruno’s innocence, as Bruno cannot even pronounce the name of his country’s leader, and also his father’s boss.
In “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas”, a recurring symbol is the fence between Bruno and Shmuel. In the story the fence is what keeps Bruno and Shmuel apart, and represents barrier which all the adult problems create because of polar opposite worlds they live in. Bruno’s existence is tokened by indicators of carefree, privileged childhood; meanwhile Shmuel’s is overwhelmed by pain and confinement. The small hole in the fence symbolizes power of their friendship and tacitly conveys how affection can overcome the barricades built to represent enmity and victimization.
Throughout the novel, Boyne uses several literary devices to illustrate the extent of Bruno’s innocence, but only in the end do we witness the ramifications of his protected childhood. Bruno's friendship with Shmuel cost them both their lives, but his naivety blinded him from the fact that he was walking on the path of death itself when he enters the concentration camp with a shaved head. Boyne teaches many lessons through his writing. However, the most significant is that if one is shielded from reality, they will never experience the world as it is, and ultimately face bitter consequences for their naivete. Just as Bruno did.
By Mehak
No comments:
Post a Comment