Haihao - The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Book Review

hhliu

,Hong Kong

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~A Book Review~

The story is written in the third person, although it is telling the story from Bruno’s point of view, i.e. follows Bruno, not Shmuel. The setting is not described in particular detail, apart from Bruno’s view of the fence from his window. The exact location of the two boys’ meeting place along the fence is not described in detail either, apart from the fact that it is quite far from the house. I certainly think that this is a very powerful and meaningful book. I enjoyed reading it a lot, and when I finished, I just sort of paused and thought a bit before closing the book. It was deeply moving and tells about one of the darkest periods of human history from a child’s point of view, concealing the awful truths that are silently being communicated to the readers. I think it was very well written, the characters were strongly developed and generally, one of the best books I’ve ever read. I think the author wrote the book to show in detail a child’s feelings and emotions about the Holocaust, when they don’t really understand the horror taking place around them. The author’s note included in the book says that “it’s presumptuous to assume that from today’s perspective one can truly understand the horrors of the concentration camps... after all, only the victims and survivors can truly comprehend the awfulness of that time and place.” That’s why he decided the only respectful way to deal with the subject was to tell it from a child’s point of view. I have read one other book about the Holocaust, "Number the Stars" By: Lois Lowry. It was about two girls who, like Bruno an d Shmuel, were Jewish and non-Jewish. It was about their incredible courage to escape the Nazis. I would definitely recommend this book to as people as possible, because it was such a memorable and inspiring book. I would also recommend watching the movie, because it may explain some sections of the book that might have been difficult to understand. Overall, I think as many people as possible should read this book, because these types of fences still exist today, and the voices of Shmuel and Bruno must continue to resonate in our heart and their story must continue to live on in our memories.

The main characters are Bruno, Shmuel, Bruno’s sister Gretel, Lieutenant Kotler, Bruno’s father (Herr Commandant), Bruno’s mother, Pavel the potato peeler and Maria, the maid. Bruno is very young and naive, and throughout the story, he never really understood fully what was going on. His parents, Pavel and Maria are all constantly hiding the truth from him, and even when they attempt to explain a little bit to him, like Pavel did, he doesn’t comprehend. He is a little bit spoilt and isn’t satisfied with their house, saying it’s too small. Shmuel is quite different: he was Polish and knew how to speak German. Their family was forced to move by the Nazi soldiers because they were Jewish. Even when he told Bruno about how he had to live with ten other people in a tiny hut, Bruno still complains about their big house. Shmuel is often telling Bruno about how life was at the camp and how they have to work, but Bruno is never serious and talks about playing and exploring instead. On one occasion, both Bruno and Gretel get hair lice, and Bruno’s hair was shaved off. That day, when Bruno went to see Shmuel, he said, “I look just like you now.” Shmuel replied, “Only fatter.” At one part of the story, Shmuel was ordered to clean some glasses at Bruno’s house, and Bruno notices how thin and unhealthy Shmuel’s finger’s look. He knew that Shmuel was very hungry as always, and so gave him some food. But Lieutenant Kotler caught him, and Bruno didn’t stick up for his friend admitting that he gave him the food. Bruno later felt very ashamed and apologized to Shmuel. As the story progressed, Bruno starts to understand a little bit more about the war. He realizes that he and Shmuel aren’t supposed to be friends, because Shmuel was a Jew. I can understand how Shmuel feels being in the concentration camp. He must be very horribly treated and always hungry. He probably feels very frustrated whenever Bruno asks if they could play together, because although he is the exact same age as Bruno (they share birthdays), he understands more than Bruno that they are meant to be enemies, even though he doesn’t know about the gas chambers and they will all be killed. He seems more mature than Bruno and doesn’t argue with him when Bruno says that his father is a good soldier.

Bruno is an innocent nine-year-old boy who lives in a big house in Berlin with his father, mother and sister. Everything changes, though, when his father met the Fury, and was given a fantastic uniform. The family moves to a place called “Out-With”, where their house is much smaller. There are no children to play with, and soldiers walk in and around their house all day. But then, Bruno makes a very odd discovery that made him start to wonder. Because what he saw from his bedroom window were lots and lots of people living in small huts. They lived behind the wire fence that was behind his house, and they all wore striped pajamas. Bruno could not hide his curiosity. So one day, he slips out after his studies and walks along the fence. All of a sudden, he a makes an even more surprising discovery: a little boy with a shaven head, sitting behind the fence, far from all of the huts. Bruno decides to befriend the boy, who name is Shmuel. Shmuel and Bruno become the best of friends. They meet their every day, and talk about all sorts of things. They find that they have a lot in common. But Shmuel’s life was a lot different from Bruno’s. He was Polish and was forced to move here by some soldiers. They were forced to live in a tiny squashed hut with another family, and the soldiers are incredibly rude to them every day. They don’t get enough to eat, and Shmuel hates it here. But naive Bruno just doesn’t understand. He thinks it will be great to walk around all day in pajamas. And that is what leads him on his final adventure. Shmuel’s father disappears, and the two boys make a plan for Bruno to sneak under the fence. Does the plan work? Do they find Shmuel’s father? What happens to Bruno in the end? If you want to find out, you’d better read the book! This story was about the Holocaust of World War II, where millions of Jews were slaughtered by the German Nazis. It was also about how millions of completely innocent people, on both sides of the war like Bruno and Shmuel, were affected during this terrible period of history. It took place at the Auschwitz concentration camp; although it doesn’t actually mention the name in the book, we can tell because of Bruno’s mispronunciation: “Out-With”. It took place in 1942, and the main story lasted for about a year and a half based on the time references throughout the story. The ending was really sudden and quite sad... but that’s all I’m going to tell you!

BRUNO

SHMUEL

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

This Glog was made by: Haihao Liu 8W

John Boyne

PLOT

CHARACTERS

Check out the author's website!!!

Style and Opinion

Images

- http://www.orilliapubliclibrary.ca/kidstuff/teenweb/images/striped%20pajamas
- http://wondersinthedark.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/boy-in-stripped-pyjama
- http://www.filmeducation.org.uk/theboyinthestripedpyjamas/images/stills/bruno_on_swing
- http://www.perrotlibrary.org/blog/johnboyne
- http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Arts/Arts_/Pictures/2007/08/07/hitler460
- http://jonasliberal.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/nazi-flag
- cooltext422667395
- Boy in Striped Pajamas
- bgrhtml_basic_009

Video

- The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008) Movie Trailer - HD Quality

Comments:

morachoi added this comment 2011-06-15 09:45:18-05:00

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emolover22 added this comment 2011-08-31 15:58:21-05:00

i lovel this and i am reading this book right now.

alfaaa added this comment 2011-05-23 05:48:11-05:00

watch this movie on this link and have fun http://www.moviewatchlist.com/movie-pirates_of_the_caribbean%253A_on_stranger_tides

willpalmer added this comment 2009-05-18 11:56:31-05:00

Please don't kill me for spelling your name wrong O.O

willpalmer added this comment 2009-05-18 11:51:44-05:00

Haihau, I thought this glog was really interesting and eye catching. You have put in a nice mix of colors and have made the book sound really good. I might get it out myself! You explained the plot very well and gave a very good opinion and style description. Definatly a 5 star :D

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