The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne is a novel about two young boys who are living during the holocaust. The two boys are opposites, Bruno being a child of a Nazi commandant, and Shmuel, a Jew. Though they are supposed to be enemies, because of their youth, ignorance and freedom from prejudice, they befriend one another.

The gates to a concentration camp

The prejudice in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas were mostly caused by fear, anger and humiliation. When the Germans lost the war and were forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles, they were humiliated and lost a lot of their wealth and power. Because of their anger, they wanted someone to blame and be responsible for the disgrace of Germany. The Germans decided that the Jews were responsible, even when they had no support or evidence on how the Jews were to blame. The majority of the people thought that they were doing the right thing but the few who disagreed were too fearful to speak up.


This novel has taught and shown me many things about prejudice and biases. In The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Bruno and Shmuel meet each other when they were both still unaware of the holocaust. They befriend one another despite the fact that they are on the opposite sides of the fence. This shows that not all prejudices are correct as Bruno and Shmuel were meant to be enemies but, because of their lack of knowledge, they were willing to get to know and understand each other. 


Prejudice and biases not only affect yourself but others too. Gretel was deeply influenced by her parents and Lieutenant Kotler to believe that all Jews were responsible for Germany losing the war. When Gretel talked to her parents or Lieutenant Kotler about the current situation with Jews, they would tell her information based on their points of view, some of which are not accurate or correct. Gretel chose to trust her parents and in result, became a supporter of the Nazis. She tried to influence and educate Bruno about the Jews but Bruno, who is ignorant and naive, did not listen to Gretel and carried on to be friends with Shmuel. This proves that it is possible to ignore what others say and just do what you believe in.


"Prejudice is a burden which confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible." - Maya Angelou 


Reference:
http://www.krakow-poland.com/i/cms/krakow_auschwitz.jpg