The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
“More than anything else, belonging is about finding a sense of our own place in the world”
The book tells a story seen through the innocent eyes of an 8 year old boy, Bruno, who is unsure of his place in the world. The most evident concept of belonging is his hitch in his transition from childhood to adulthood. Throughout the book, he faces the conflict between accepting the harsh "Jew-killing" reality of the world or stay immersed in his fantastical world filled with adventure. Bruno also feels alienated from society having been moved from Berlin to the countryside, resulting in his isolation. On another level, he must further decide his place and to whether support his Nazi father's actions and stay true to his "Fatherland" or stay a companion with Shmuel, the 8 year old Jew that Bruno befriends.
In Skrzynecki’s poems, there is a sense of disconnection with society that the poet conveys due to the characters isolation and seclusion from the world. Similarly, Bruno, in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, experiences the same sense of disconnection due to his unsurity over what is right or wrong. He feels out of place and confused throughout the book as a result of his youth as well as his lack of knowledge about the hostile situation in the world. A key idea to do with the concept of belonging is how a sense of belonging can deplete or enrich one’s identity. This is presented in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas through the character Bruno and how his connection to setting affects his sense of belonging. Throughout the book there are different ways in which belonging is perceived, the need to belong to a society or place or home, the feeling of being alone and the feeling of not realizing what is going on around us.
A strong sense of belonging is presented through Feliks’s connection to Poland, which is emphasised through relationships with ‘Polish friends’ and memories, for example, ‘they reminisced, about farms where paddocks flowered.” Parallel’s can be drawn
The book tells a story seen through the innocent eyes of an 8 year old boy, Bruno, who is unsure of his place in the world. The most evident concept of belonging is his hitch in his transition from childhood to adulthood. Throughout the book, he faces the conflict between accepting the harsh "Jew-killing" reality of the world or stay immersed in his fantastical world filled with adventure. Bruno also feels alienated from society having been moved from Berlin to the countryside, resulting in his isolation. On another level, he must further decide his place and to whether support his Nazi father's actions and stay true to his "Fatherland" or stay a companion with Shmuel, the 8 year old Jew that Bruno befriends.
In Skrzynecki’s poems, there is a sense of disconnection with society that the poet conveys due to the characters isolation and seclusion from the world. Similarly, Bruno, in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, experiences the same sense of disconnection due to his unsurity over what is right or wrong. He feels out of place and confused throughout the book as a result of his youth as well as his lack of knowledge about the hostile situation in the world. A key idea to do with the concept of belonging is how a sense of belonging can deplete or enrich one’s identity. This is presented in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas through the character Bruno and how his connection to setting affects his sense of belonging. Throughout the book there are different ways in which belonging is perceived, the need to belong to a society or place or home, the feeling of being alone and the feeling of not realizing what is going on around us.
A strong sense of belonging is presented through Feliks’s connection to Poland, which is emphasised through relationships with ‘Polish friends’ and memories, for example, ‘they reminisced, about farms where paddocks flowered.” Parallel’s can be drawn