Essay on a novel on the boy in striped pyjamas

‘The Boy in Striped Pyjamas’ reinforces the moral that childhood innocence can be a curse. The author John Boyne suggests this by using a child’s perspective during the Holocaust. Bruno is unaware of the significance of the Holocaust and how it affected people. This is also seen in his relationship with Shmuel and his father. Childhood innocence is shown in the novel as a curse when Bruno does not see the importance of situations. From a child's perspective, Bruno is unable to realise the danger of the Holocaust. This event causes him to be oblivious to reality. ‘Of course, ’ he said, although finding Shmuel's Papa was not as important in his mind as the prospect of exploring the world on the other side of the fence. ’ (pg. 202). Bruno does not see the concentration camp for what it is and sees it as a world to explore. The camp is where people are persecuted because of their religion in this case. It also demonstrates that he is more concerned about the ‘prospect of exploring the world on the other side of the fence’ than he is about finding Shmuel’s papa. The evidence clearly proves that childhood innocence ultimately leads him to the loss of his life because he is oblivious to the reality beyond the fence. Therefore, childhood innocence in this case is a curse for Bruno. Another time in the novel where childhood innocence is displayed as a curse is when Bruno does not understand the significance of his father's job. Bruno thinks his dad has done something wrong and should apologise to the Fury. Bruno says, ‘I think you must have done something wrong and you should go and apologise to the Fury and maybe that’ll be an end to it. ’ Bruno doesn’t understand the significance of his father's job as a commandant. He thinks his father's job is a punishment because of what their home is like. But his father has done nothing wrong relating to his job. Therefore, this evidence shows that this novel teaches that childhood innocence can be a curse. Therefore, Bruno’s lack of awareness of reality is leading him to believe the concentration camp is a place to explore. This ultimately led to his death. He does not understand the sacrifice his father made for work so he feels hard done because he had to leave his old life behind to move to Out-with. This evidence clearly proves childhood innocence can be a curse in ‘The Boy in Striped Pyjamas. ’