Celeste's SPJs Essay

Child’s Treasure

Churchman Robert South once said that “Innocence is like polished armor; it adorns and defends.” In John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pajamas the audience learns the perks of being naive, and how this quality brings protection. This novel tells the story of the war and the Holocaust from a German boy’s perspective. It all begins when Bruno and his family leave their luxurious home in Berlin when Father receives a promotion as a Nazi commandant in a concentration camp during World War II. Because Bruno is a very curious boy he decides to explore and meets “the boy in the striped pajamas,” a Jewish boy named Shmuel who lives on the other side of the fence with whom he eventually starts an unusual friendship. In the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Bruno’s innocence is a positive thing for him when he does not know who the people on the other side of the fence are, treats Shmuel as if there is no difference between them, and ignores the time period he is living in, which shows the reader that children must keep their innocence even when hard times approach, because it is the best thing that life has given them.

First, Bruno does not have the slightest idea of what is happening to the people trapped in the concentration camp. The reader can perceive this when after looking out the window Bruno says  “‘I don’t think the other children look at all friendly’” (Boyne 26). This is a positive aspect about how clueless Bruno is about everything that is happening around him, because he has made his own impression from what he sees through his window, therefore, his curiosity will eventually fade and his desires to explore the complex will go away. This gives him security because if he does not move from where he is now, then he will not suffer any damage. All this shows how the fact that Bruno ignores what happens on the other side of the fence protects him from getting hurt.

Secondly, Bruno shows his naivety to the reader when he treats his new friend, Shmuel, with respect and equality. When Bruno is with Shmuel at the edge of the fence , and he realizes that his friend is cold, he says “‘What’s the matter?’ he asked. ‘It’s not that cold is it? You should have brought a jumper, you know. The evenings are getting chillier’” (Boyne 141). At this moment, when Bruno says this to Shmuel, the reader discovers how the boy’s unawareness is a valuable thing for him. The fact that Bruno is treating Shmuel with fairness demonstrates that he has not made a conclusion from what his parents and sister have told him, but that he has decided to make one from his own thoughts and experiences, and to not be influenced by others. Bruno has also made a friend thanks to his innocence, and this friendship brings joy, not only to him but also to Shmuel, who had already lost his. Thanks to that Bruno completely ignores about the suffering of the Jewish people, he is not persuaded by the ideas of others, which leads him to treat his new friend politely.

Lastly, Bruno has not figured out about the Holocaust and what his parents and his country are doing at this time. He demonstrates how hopeful he is when he says to Shmuel “‘Well, someday, yes,’ said Bruno. ‘You could come on a holiday to Berlin. You can’t stay here for ever after all. Can you?’” ( Boyne 196). Bruno is still unsuspicious about what his dad is doing, and about what is really happening on the other side of the fence at this point. When Bruno talks about the future and how one day he and Shmuel will freely play all they want, he brings hope to Shmuel, who really needs it after all the horrors that he has seen that take place where he lives at this time. Bruno, being hopeful and clueless about the reality he is facing,  demonstrates the positive aspects about innocence, when he gives some of that hope to his new friend, who needs it desperately.

In, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, John Boyne tries to show the reader that Bruno’s lack of knowledge is positive when he misunderstands the people in the concentration camp, behaves respectfully with Shmuel, and feels uncertain about the Holocaust, which asserts in children’s necessity for their innocence. At the end of the story, when Bruno and his friend Shmuel find their fate, still the reader is aware of the positive aspects in this innocence. Showing that the youth need to preserve their innocence, especially in the adversity. Innocence protects just like armor, like a shield, and opens doors that nobody knew were there.