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How does Boyne present friendship in The Boy in Striped Pyjamas?

 Elbert Hubbard once said, “A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.” In the Boy in Striped Pajamas, John Boyne demonstrates the essence of friendship through the relationship between Bruno and Shmuel despite their many differences. For Bruno, a lonely boy who couldn’t find a friend to play with at Out-With (Auschwitz)  and Shmuel, a Jew kid who has to live a deprived life in the concentration camp, the friendship between them is the only happiness that is able to lift their spirit up.

   The riches and splendour of Bruno’s life contrasted visibly with Shmuel’s destitute life in the concentration camp. Bruno’s luxurious and comfortable household is served by a maid called Maria, butler called Pavel and also shares a private a tutor called Herr Liszt with his sister, Gretel when they live at Out-With whereas Shmuel lives in the poorest of conditions as his fate is dictated by the depraved Nazis, imprisoning Jews all over Eastern Europe. Despite this contrast, Bruno and Shmuel still became the best of friends as seen in the last chapter of the story when Bruno did something out of his character, taking hold of Shmuel’s tiny hand in his and while squeezing it tightly, says “You’re my best friend, Shmuel...My best friend for life.” moments before their death in the gas chamber. This depicts that being there beside his best friend; Shmuel, is Bruno’s priority and nothing else in the world matters.

  Bruno and Shmuel also come from different backgrounds that puts them in the current situation they live in, where  Bruno is the son of the one that worked for the reason of Shmuel’s family being kept and  Shmuel is the son of the one being kept in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Bruno is the son of a Nazi Commandant who is serving loyally to the Fuhrer; Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party which discriminate the Jew people. Shmuel and his family were unfortunately imprisoned in the Auschwitz concentration camp because of their race as they were Jews from Poland. However, their friendship overcame these racial differences as they were only 9 and didn’t care or know much about what is going on around them.

  Moreover, Bruno also leads a life where everything is carefree as the harsh truth of Nazi regime’s demeaning manner towards the Jews is not explicitly revealed to him and is only subtly hinted by others, for example when Father says “ Those people... well, they’re not people at all Bruno.” Shmuel on the other hand is suddenly thrown into a confusing situation where his mere existence is the reason why he is abhorred and treated with such cruelty by the German soldiers. Shmuel is derogated and treated harshly when Lieutenant Kotler yells “ Who told you that you were allowed to talk in this house?...Do you dare to disobey me?” just at that moment when Lieutenant Kotler appears in the kitchen and sees Bruno and Shmuel talking to each other. Bruno ponders on the cruelty displayed by the people around him and does not understand why Shmuel is treated this

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way. The cruel attitude, is a norm in the Nazi regime as people have been brainwashed by the regime but is simply not palpable by Bruno. Hence, Bruno innocently befriends Shmuel without any prejudice.

    Despite all these differences that were bound to separate them apart, Bruno and Shmuel were still able to form a friendship that beat all odds and overcome the spite and detest of the people around them. Through thick and thin and until their very last breath, they embraced each other with any prejudice against each other’s differences. Their lifestyle, their backgrounds and neither did their race hinder the true essence of friendship which is loving and caring for one another unconditionally. Hence, this reflects on the question of, what exactly is the real measure of humanity?

Bibliography

"Giao AISS." Giao AISS. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://giaoais10.wordpress.com/2010/11/14/the-boy-in-the-striped-pj-friendship/>.

Http://yareviews.wikispaces.com. Wikispaces.com. Web. <http://yareviews.wikispaces.com/The+Boy+in+the+Striped+Pajamas+Abbie+Dykstra%3B+Jacqueline+Dospil%3B+Tyler+Stephens%3B+Mike+Lihan%3B+Katlin+Freiberg>.

 "Step 7: Write the Conclusion." EarthLink®. Http://home.earthlink.net. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://home.earthlink.net/~khatzi/essay/concl.htm>.