Emotions In John Betjeman's The Boy In The Striped Pajamas

John Betjeman once said, “Childhood is measured out by sound and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows.” In other words, childhood is filled with innocence and experiences that are untainted by the reality that we come to know in adulthood. Every little thing can be a thrill – the sound of the ice cream truck approaching – and children lose this simplicity as we grow older and see how harsh the world can be. The novel, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne, shows the truth of this statement through the eyes its protagonist, “Bruno”. One can argue that John Betjeman is right about how childhood is measured out by sound and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows.

In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, …show more content…
Bruno is experiencing the childhood that is measured out by sound and smells and sights, whereas Gretel is living the dark hour of reason. Bruno is full of innocence and fails to understand all of the brutality surrounding him. This is shown by his ignorance. He hears Auschwitz as “Out-With” and the Führer as the “Fury”. Bruno calls the “farm” Out of Bounds and No Exceptions since he is forbidden to go there (even though he goes there anyway). He calls Gretel a “Hopeless Case” since there is nothing he could do about her. Moreover, Bruno constantly questions what the horrid smell he smells is, and fails to realize the gruesome reality behind it. On the other hand, Gretel is growing into adulthood and the obscure period of thought is growing into adulthood and the opaque epoch of object is growing inside her. Gretel stops playing, and throws away her dolls, and says it is stupid to play with dolls when people are risking their lives for the fatherland (149). Gretel stops reading fiction and starts reading newspapers (factual text) and learns more about the situation that the fatherland finds itself in (the Second World War) (163). Gretel even forms a relationship with Lieutenant Kotler (Kürt), and flirts right in front of Bruno (144). Moreover, Gretel hangs up photos of the NSDAP rather than any other thing a normal female teenager would do. This shows how John Betjeman’s quote is …show more content…
This purity the quote suggests, is adulterated when one achieves adulthood. Even small things that once appeared to be thrilling lose its simplicity, as we get older. The novel, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, shows the truth of this statement through the eyes its protagonist, Bruno. Bruno’s elder sister, Gretel, depicts the dark hour of reason. Therefore, the novel, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas clearly depicts the rationalization of John Betjeman’s