英語讀書心得
The Boy in The Striped Pajamas Book Report
Bruno is a naive nine-year old boy whose story took place during the Nazi regime. His family moved from Berlin to Auschwitz because his father accepted the high-ranking position of Commandant in Hitler’s army. In the beginning, Bruno didn’t enjoy living in Auschwitz, but as time went on, he ended up befriending a Jewish prisoner named Shumel. He visited Shumel nearly everyday, bringing him food, while Shumel told him about his troubles. Though Bruno struggles to understand what life is like for Shumel on the other side of the fence, the two boys developed an unlikely friendship.
One thing I perceived from this novel is that Bruno and Shumel are very similar characters, they are both nine years old, they share the exact same birthday, and they were both brought to a place against their will. Yet, they are insanely different because Shumel is a Jew being treated inhumanly by Nazis, while Bruno lives a life of luxury. However, they both share the same tragic fate of dying in the gas chamber. The heartbreaking ending of the novel made me feel depressed, but I take comfort in knowing the fact that Bruno and Shumel were unafraid in their last moments, and that their childlike perspectives of the world remained intact.
My favorite aspect of this novel is how the author used subtitle hints to emphasize Bruno’s childhood innocence and naive perspective of the cruel world surrounding him by including multiple references of Bruno misinterpereting the name ‘Auschwitz’ and the term ‘Führer” by referring to them as “Out-With” and “The Fury”. Comparing the innocence of the character with the cruel situations against him was an incredibly clever setting, and makes the ending a lot more sadder to the audience.
In the novel, the fence was a barrier to separate the Germans from the Jews. However, we also have a barrier in our mind preventing us from accepting each other for our differences. It reminds me of the first day I stepped into kindergarten in America. No matter what language we spoke, where we came from and what skin color we have, everyone was treated the same way. Therefore, if people can open their minds, this world will become a much more peaceful place.
Moreover, another aspect I recognize from the novel is abusing their power to rationalize horrific actions being committed on other people. Bruno’s family is well aware of their participation in the Nazi regime, in which they are responsible for countless deaths, but it took their son to be killed by the gas chamber, to finally realized how cruel they were. Even though the story took place during World War Two, extremists still exist in today’s world, such as the terrorist group, Isis. It reflects the fact that despite several decades have passed since Nazis dominated Germany, this kind of radical idealogy has not disappeared. While I am fortunate enough to grow up in a democratic country, plenty of people in the world are not as blessed, so we should cherish our freedom. The most important thing is that we learn from past mistakes to avoid this tragedy from happening again.
Overall, “the boy in the striped pajamas” is a story of two boys who crossed barriers in friendship. The fence in the story symbolizes the divide between people in our society. By telling the story through Bruno’s point of view, I was able to read the story through the eyes of a child, someone who is unaware of the biases that separate people from one another. I also learned that people’s ignorance should never be an excuse to ignore the atrocities happening around them. We should always treat people with compassion and respect despite our differences.
Bruno is a naive nine-year old boy whose story took place during the Nazi regime. His family moved from Berlin to Auschwitz because his father accepted the high-ranking position of Commandant in Hitler’s army. In the beginning, Bruno didn’t enjoy living in Auschwitz, but as time went on, he ended up befriending a Jewish prisoner named Shumel. He visited Shumel nearly everyday, bringing him food, while Shumel told him about his troubles. Though Bruno struggles to understand what life is like for Shumel on the other side of the fence, the two boys developed an unlikely friendship.
One thing I perceived from this novel is that Bruno and Shumel are very similar characters, they are both nine years old, they share the exact same birthday, and they were both brought to a place against their will. Yet, they are insanely different because Shumel is a Jew being treated inhumanly by Nazis, while Bruno lives a life of luxury. However, they both share the same tragic fate of dying in the gas chamber. The heartbreaking ending of the novel made me feel depressed, but I take comfort in knowing the fact that Bruno and Shumel were unafraid in their last moments, and that their childlike perspectives of the world remained intact.
My favorite aspect of this novel is how the author used subtitle hints to emphasize Bruno’s childhood innocence and naive perspective of the cruel world surrounding him by including multiple references of Bruno misinterpereting the name ‘Auschwitz’ and the term ‘Führer” by referring to them as “Out-With” and “The Fury”. Comparing the innocence of the character with the cruel situations against him was an incredibly clever setting, and makes the ending a lot more sadder to the audience.
In the novel, the fence was a barrier to separate the Germans from the Jews. However, we also have a barrier in our mind preventing us from accepting each other for our differences. It reminds me of the first day I stepped into kindergarten in America. No matter what language we spoke, where we came from and what skin color we have, everyone was treated the same way. Therefore, if people can open their minds, this world will become a much more peaceful place.
Moreover, another aspect I recognize from the novel is abusing their power to rationalize horrific actions being committed on other people. Bruno’s family is well aware of their participation in the Nazi regime, in which they are responsible for countless deaths, but it took their son to be killed by the gas chamber, to finally realized how cruel they were. Even though the story took place during World War Two, extremists still exist in today’s world, such as the terrorist group, Isis. It reflects the fact that despite several decades have passed since Nazis dominated Germany, this kind of radical idealogy has not disappeared. While I am fortunate enough to grow up in a democratic country, plenty of people in the world are not as blessed, so we should cherish our freedom. The most important thing is that we learn from past mistakes to avoid this tragedy from happening again.
Overall, “the boy in the striped pajamas” is a story of two boys who crossed barriers in friendship. The fence in the story symbolizes the divide between people in our society. By telling the story through Bruno’s point of view, I was able to read the story through the eyes of a child, someone who is unaware of the biases that separate people from one another. I also learned that people’s ignorance should never be an excuse to ignore the atrocities happening around them. We should always treat people with compassion and respect despite our differences.
