Genesis' SPJs Essay

The Result of Innocence

James Baldwin once said, “People who shut their eyes to reality simply invite their own destruction, and anyone who insists on remaining in a state of innocence long after that innocence is dead turns himself into a monster”. In  The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, author John Boyne shows that innocence should not be extreme before the truth. It is a novel about the tragic history of Bruno. That for his innocence, he never realized that reality was happening. His ignorance  was so much that it took him to extreme danger and one unexpected death. In John Boyne’s novel “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” Bruno’s innocence is a negative thing for him when he does not understand who Hitler is, he is being influenced by his parents, and he does not have any idea what is on the other side of the fence, which shows the reader that the innocence converts the truth and keeps  people ignorant about the reality that even hard is needed to be accepted .

First, Bruno is naive about the leader of the Nazis. When he is  talking with his father he says “He presumed [Heil, Hitler] was another way of saying, ‘well, goodbye for now have a pleasant afternoon” (Boyne 54). Here the author shows how innocent Bruno is, he can not realize what is going on,and  he does not know who Hitler is. Bruno thinks that [Heil, Hitler] is like another type to say “hello” or “have a nice day.” This is illogical because they are living  during a war, and everyone else know the true meaning of that phrase, which was to show respect towards Hitler who for Bruno was “The Fury.” If Bruno uses this phrase at any time or use it incorrectly, it could cause some conflict or problems between him or some members of his family with the Fury. That is  how Buno fails to understand is the boss of his father.

Second, Bruno tries to follow his father’s ideas. When he is  talking with Shmuel and they argue over their nations, Bruno is by have heard said.Bruno says to Shmuel, “ Well, because Germany is the greatest of countries … We’re superior”’ (Boyne 112). Here the reader can see how igneous  Bruno is; he repeats what he hears from his father, which causes him to believing that they are the best nation. Bruno thinks that they can be superior to the other people. He felt wrong after saying this but at that moment he is so innocent because he was brainwashed by the ideas that his parents tries to impose. If this had continued later on, he will be end up becoming as others with the same idea that Jewish people were less than him. Bruno is being influenced by the words of his father.

Last, Bruno is unsuspicious about what is inside of the concentration camp. When Gretel and him talk about the concentration camp Bruno says, “’I don’t understand why we’re not allowed on the other side of the fence’” (Boyne 181). Here the reader can see that Bruno is ignorant about the concentration camp. He did not have an idea what that place is. He thought it was a farm, and he never thinks about the suffering that people have at this place. Bruno does not comprehend that in that concentration camp, what they actually did was kill people. This leads to be a negative thing for him since it was such a degree of ignorance, he entered the other side of the fence and this led to his death. Bruno is ignorant of what is on the other side of the fence.

In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, Bruno’s innocence is a negative thing when he has no idea who his father’s boss is, his parents try to instill their same way of thinking, he does not realize anything about the concentration camp, which shows the reader that innocence cause people to do not realize about the harsh times that they are living in. In the case of Bruno, his innocence makes him never understand what is happening, it takes this child, who wanted to explore what is on the other side of the fence, dragging him to his sudden death, not understanding what is going on. Innocence is like if someone that is blind tries to go to an unknown place for him, he will probably end up falling and hurting himself.