The Boy In The Striped Pajamas Research Paper

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Essay Option Number 1: "Innocence and Naivety are two essential themes in The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas. What are examples from the novel where these two themes surface? Can you give an example of a time when you were a young child and saw the world from a more innocent perspective? What are some examples of that? What experiences helped you see the world differently than what you initially thought?" They say that ignorance is bliss, but I know from experience that it isn't. What you don't know can hurt you. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne follows nine-year old Bruno as he unknowingly moves to a home near a concentration camp. There he meets and befriends Jewish boy of the exact same age named Shmuel. The themes of innocence and naivety are key to the way the story is told. Bruno and Shmuel never truly understood the positions they were in, and this…show more content…
Shmuel couldn't even explain to Bruno why he was on the other side of the fence in the first place. This was simply because he didn't know. Although, something like the Holocaust had never happened before, I presume that even if people knew what was going on they decided not to tell Shmuel for the sake of his own emotions. Even so, it didn't seem to work because it was obvious that not knowing what was going on was taking a toll on Shmuel emotionally. He couldn't even talk about it without tearing up. Bruno's innocent view of life often seems to cloud his judgment. It is clear that there is never a point in the book where Bruno thinks his dad is doing any wrong. When he and Shmuel get into arguments about Bruno's father Bruno would be quick to change the subject. In his mind, there can not possibly be a world where his family can do any harm. Shmuel and Bruno's oblivious prospect of life may have been similar, but Shmuel wasn't very
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