The boy in the striped pajamas, friendship beyond barriers

The boy in the striped pajamas is a literary work by John Boyne published in 2006, which was later brought to the big screen by Mark Herman. The film and the book present numerous differences, which we will not focus on as they are not very relevant to the development of this article. So, instead, we are going to focus on the main values ​​and reflections that the work transmits, so the film and the book will serve equally as a reference.

The boy in the striped pajamas develops in one of the cruelest and most shameful moments of humanity, the Holocaust carried out during World War II. Episode criticized and repudiated, but which should not be forgotten because, as they say, History helps us learn and not repeat mistakes.

The story begins

We are located in Nazi Germany, in the home of a military family, with values ​​and an ideology already well established, or so it seems, among its members. The head of the family is a high-ranking soldier in Hitler’s service who, because of his “great work,” will be assigned to Auschwitz to continue his work there. The whole family moves to what will be their new homea completely isolated house, but very close to the concentration camp. Here, we will get to know the characters better:

The children: eThe protagonist is Bruno, the commander’s youngest son; Like all children his age, he doesn’t know the world and just wants to play. He likes adventure books and wants to be an explorer. In contrast, there is Gretel, his older sister; At first, we see her surrounded by dolls, although she soon changes the dolls that decorate her room for Nazi propaganda. On the other hand, there is Shmuel, a boy Bruno’s age who, being Jewish, lives in the concentration camp. The parents: eBruno’s father is a very strict high-ranking military official who spends little time at home. His wife at first is unaware of much of the “work” that her husband carries out; However, we can see how this situation of ignorance changes, so that, when she leaves it, her feelings towards her husband will also change, feeling repulsion for the role he plays in her work. Grandparents: they are the commander’s parents. The grandfather is proud of her son, however, the grandmother is very opposed to Nazism and is repulsed by what her son does.

Two realities in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

In the book The boy in the striped pajamaswe see that Shmuel and Bruno were born exactly the same day, however, their lives are completely different. Bruno lives in a wealthy family, he is the son of a military man and his biggest worry is not having anyone to play with. He suffers from boredom and because he is very upset with the new place he has to live in. He doesn’t understand why he has to move and leave his old friends.

Shmuel is Jewish, therefore, he has been sentenced to live in a concentration camp. As a consequence, his concerns are very different from Bruno’s, although he also shows the desires and innocence of children.

This contrast of realities shows us how our origin can mark us for life and condemn us; Nobody chooses where to be born, nobody is to blame for belonging to one cradle or another. Children do not understand these differences and see each other as an equal, a friend with whom to play and share adventures. They cannot understand why a barrier separates them if they were born on the same day, if deep down they are so similar.

The barrier in this case is real, but we can also see it as a symbol. Two children born on the same day, two identical children and two very different realities. Today, we look down on Nazis, but at the time Bruno was born, he was lucky, or at least luckier than Shmuel. We could say that this barrier, this contrast of realities, still exists today; Although in a different way, it is still not the same to be born in one part of the world as in another, in a wealthy family or in a family lacking resources.

Relationship with Nietzsche’s Superman

The ideas of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche were adopted and reinvented by Nazism. This philosopher believed in a class of men with superior characteristics: strong, intelligent, creative, capable of thinking and reasoning. These men were the survivors, the ones who left the herd. The Nazis identified with this superman.

On the other hand, For Nietzsche there were various phases to achieve this superman status:

Camel: represents obedience, the burdens and responsibilities that we have to bear.Lion: the camel, when it no longer wants to be a camel, becomes a lion. This represents the liberation of burdens, rebellion and rejection of traditional values.Child: represents the last phase of metamorphosis. The child lives far from prejudices and established values, he is in charge of creating his own values. As if it were a game, the child builds from nothing.

I would like to identify this image of the child with the characters of Shmuel and Bruno; both appear free of prejudices, or semi-free, they are the only ones in overcome that barrier that adults collide with. By crossing the fence, they challenge established values; No matter what they have been taught, their friendship goes further. Bruno dresses in those striped pajamas, looking like Shmuel, for the children, friendship is everything and there are no differences anymore.

That is, they themselves make judgments about the other as they get to know each other, They themselves create their own values ​​out of nothing… and, based on those values, they decide.

The weight of ideas

The boy in the striped pajamas It raises the problems that a certain ideology can lead to and the ideas that shape it. In the story and in the film itself we see that Ideas can indirectly cause much more damage than any weapon., especially if we take into account the power of some of them, at certain moments, to unite wills. Thus, people’s conviction for a certain cause can lead them to commit any type of act, no matter how unfair and cruel it may seem.

For an idea to last over time, it is important to instill it in the youngestwe see this in the classes that Gretel and Bruno receive and how their teacher teaches them history following the scripts of the Nazi ideology itself, in this way, he ensures that he transmits to the children the values ​​that he considers correct and thus the idea of that belong to a superior or privileged race survives in later generations.

The allusions to Nazi propaganda are also interesting, we see it in the posters with which Gretel decorates her room. or in the way of “selling” the quality of life in the concentration camps.

The outcome is already anticipated by atmospheric phenomenalocus terribilis; We are not aware of the suffering of the other until we become the other.

All this, obviously, in an environment of past history, horror and human cruelty, but which leads us to ask ourselves if, in some way and from the comfort of our home, We have not changed much either and we remain oblivious to the suffering of otherness.

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