Imagine that one simple mistake you make could mean the difference between your life and death? The cruel realization of this comes into play in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, when Bruno, a nine year-old German boy meets Shmuel, a nine year-old Jewish boy at a concentration camp called, “Auschwitz. ” Bruno, who is a very naive little boy stuck in the Holocaust, doesn’t understand what’s going on around him. As soon as he leaves the safety of his home and the guidelines of his in-command parents, a whole universe of trouble goes his way.
With this new setting and new surrounding, Bruno starts to slowly realize that there is much he has to learn about the world. Sadly, he is in a place of death and destruction. Because of his new life, Bruno starts to grow and mature which is why he can be considered a dynamic character. As the story kicks off, Bruno lives in a ginormous home in Berlin, with five floors and a banister that stretches from top to bottom. He doesn’t have a care in the world, and has “plans” with his friends Karl, Daniel, and Martin. Coming from a rich part of a rich city, he ends having to move for his Father’s work.
His Father is a very high ranking Nazi official, and they have to move to Poland to take over control of Auschwitz. He sees part of the camp through his bedroom window, “And one final thought came into her brother’s head as he watched the hundreds of people in the distance going about their business, and that was the fact that all of them- the small boys, the big boys, the fathers, the grandfathers, the uncles, the people who lived on their own on everybody’s road, but didn’t seem to have any relatives at all-were wearing the same clothes as each other: a pair of grey striped pajamas with a grey striped cap on their eads.
‘How extraordinary… ” (38) He sees these odd people out the window, and instantly wants to know more. He wants to ask his Dad a million questions about it, why they were there, who are they, and so on and so forth. But his Dad and his office, are “Out Of Bounds At All Times And No Exceptions. ” Bruno’s Father is an extremely busy man, always working in his office and doesn’t have much time for his family. Bruno is only ever in there when he is naughty and needs a talking-to, and after a conversation when he gets there, get Father gets very mad at him for wanting to go back home.
Just before Bruno goes to leave the room, he asks his Father the very question that he has been dying to ask him. “Who are all those people outside? ‘ he said finally. Father tilted his head to the left, looking a little confused by the question. ‘Soldiers, Bruno,’ he said. ‘And secretaries. Staff workers. You’ve seen them all before, of course. ‘ ‘No not them,’ said Bruno. ‘The people I see from my window. In the huts, in the distance. They’re all dressed the same. ”Ah, those people,’ said Father, nodding his head and smiling slightly. Those people… well, they aren’t people at all, Bruno. ‘ … Well at least not as we understand the term. … Just settle into your new home and be good, that’s all I ask. Accept the situation you find yourself and everything will be so much easier. ” (52-53) Bruno’s Dad tried to dodge the question, because he doesn’t want Bruno to learn about the horrors that surround him. Because of the question Bruno asks, he tells him that there is no exploring, and he cannot go near the camp or the fence or anywhere around there.
For a while he obeys, but when he can’t take anymore of the boredom that comes with staying there, he decides to become brave and step out into his new world and explore the fence. “The one thing Bruno tried not to think about was that he had been told on countless occasions by both Mother and Father that he was not allowed to walk in this direction, that he was not allowed anywhere near the fence or the camp, and most particularly that exploration was banned at Out-With. With No Exceptions. ” (103) But once he does this, he barrier of safety is broken, and he meets a new friend, that will lead him to his end. After about an hour of searching along the fence, he meets a jewish boy through the fence named Shmuel. They have the same exact birthday, and they seem to like each other. The fence is detached right where they meet, and a small boy like Bruno could crawl through, but Shmuel believes it to be a bad idea. For just over a year, they meet every day they can at the same spot and talk about their lives. They become best friends, and Bruno stops feeling so lonely.
At the same time, he forgets almost completely what Berlin looks like, who his friends were, and the happy times he spent there. One day, his mother finally convinces Bruno’s father that Auschwitz is no place for children, and that Gretel, Mother, and Bruno would be going back to Berlin in a few days. Bruno breaks the news to Shmuel, and it so happens to be that Shmuel’s Father is missing. They make a plan for the day before Bruno leaves, and that is that Bruno would crawl under and help look for Shmuel’s Father.
The day comes, and Shmuel brings a disguise, a pair of grey striped pajamas and a grey striped cloth cap. Bruno changes and leaves his clothes in the mud next to the fence, and manages to crawl under the barbed wire fence. “Shmuel reached down and lifted the base of the fence, but it only lifted to a certain height and Bruno had no choice but to roll under it, getting his striped pajamas completely covered in mud as he did so. He laughed when he looked down at himself. he had never been so filthy in his entire life and it felt wonderful. (206) He thinks that this is a good idea, but unfortunately, it isn’t at all. In a time of death and destruction, he is one of millions who died for no reason.
After about an hour of searching, they come up with nothing, and Bruno announces that he must leave. Shmuel is disappointed, but gives the a-okay. But just when Bruno steps out to go to leave, he can’t leave, because the soldiers are surrounding the part of the camp he is in. They are about to march. In the pouring rain, they march for a really long time, and once enough is enough, they push them into a building, and Bruno remembers it being very warm.
This is where the story ends and leaves you thinking, “what just happened? ” In conclusion, throughout The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Bruno turns from a naive little boy that will do what he is told, to a brave explorer who will go against his parents boundaries to attempt to find out what is going on around him. He will break the rules and go out there, go out and explore, go out and find out what his parents are hiding from him. He will grow and mature at his year at Auschwitz and was his last one as well. Sadly, it is a change for the worse, and that is why Bruno is a dynamic character.
