The Boy in Striped Pyjamas

Bruno’s innocence was the only reason he died. Discuss

Exploring the bad decisions made by a young boy, John Boyne’s novel, The Boy in Striped
Pyjamas is a story that revolves around World-War-Two and a boy named Bruno. Although
innocence is a large factor towards Bruno’s demise, it is not the only reason he died. Bruno’s
friendship with Shmuel is a contributing reason to his demise. Moreover, Bruno’s innocence
prompts him to follow Shmuel to his demise. Finally, Bruno’s guilt is one of the reasons he
goes under the fence and stays there.

Bruno’s friendship with Shmuel leads Bruno to his own demise. The friendship between
Bruno and Shmuel is a theme that is constantly shown throughout the novel, even when they
die. When Bruno is about to depart from “Out-With” he states, “‘Karl’s not here and Daniel’s
not here and Martin’s not here.’” This highlights how lonely Bruno is feeling which leads him
to build up a strong friendship with Shmuel. Bruno’s initial comment towards “Out-With” is
that “...[he] hates it [there] .” This suggests that Bruno does not like “Out-With,” this will soon
change once he meets Shmuel which will lead to his downfall. Runo realises “...that things
weren’t too bad since he’d met Shmuel.” This reveals that Bruno has built up a strong
friendship with Shmuel which will lead to him promising to help Shmuel which will keep him
under the fence. Bruno’s friendship with Shmuel makes Bruno wish that “ … [they] [would] …
play together just once.” This makes Bruno have a sense of urgency to join Shmuel over the
fence and play once, therefore placing him in direct danger. Clearly, innocence is not the
only reason that contributes towards Bruno’s death.

Bruno’s guilt is one of the reasons he goes under the fence and stays there. Bruno’s guilt
towards Shmuel is what makes him promise to help find Shmuel’s father. Bruno develops a
feeling of guilt after telling Lieutenant Kotler that Bruno has “... spoken to [Shmuel],” This
highlights that Shmuel’s later eating will create even more guilt in Bruno’s mind which
eventually leads to his death. Bruno has never “... felt more ashamed in his life.” when he
lied about Shmuel, this reveals that Bruno makes the promise out of guilt, this will lead to his
downfall.

Moreover, Bruno’s innocence prompts him to follow Shmuel which leads to their demise.
Bruno’s innocence is a theme that constantly recurs throughout the novel even when Bruno
enters the gas chambers. Bruno never receives a clear explanation of what his father’s job
is, thus keeping him innocent. This is revealed when Bruno asks “‘Where are we going…
[why] can’t we stay here?’” and Mother replies “‘ Your father’s job.” Mother never elaborates
on what father’s job is which keeps Bruno innocent even when he dies. If Bruno had known
the evil behind his father’s job, he would have known to stay away from Shmuel and the
concentration camp, keeping him alive. Bruno also has many chances to figure out that
something is wrong at “Out-With” thus losing his innocence. This is shown when Bruno
states “...it’s not as nice as home, I do know that much.” This makes it apparent that Bruno
should have realised that something was upsetting at “Out-With” thus losing his innocence.
However he still remains innocent which leads to his downfall. Bruno should have lost his
innocence when he saw “...some [jewish] [people] pushing wheelbarrows from one side of
the camp to another.” This connotes that Bruno fails to realise the hardships of the prisoners
thus failing to figure out what is happening behind the scenes at “Out-With.” Clearly
innocence was a factor towards Bruno’s death , but not the only reason he died.

Innocence was not the only factor towards Bruno’s death. Bruno’s friendship with Shmuel
greatly contributes towards his downfall. Bruno’s guilt towards Shmuel gets Bruno under the
fence and keeps him there. Bruno’s innocence leads him down into the gas chambers and to
his demise. John Boyne’s novel, The Boy in Striped Pyjamas