John Boyne uses narrative voice and other literary devices to convey the main ideas in his novel ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’. The novel tells the story of a young boy of the Aryan race, living in Nazi Germany, who meets a Jewish boy, whom he befriends. Boyne demonstrates the ideas of power of friendship, innocence, and discrimination through his novel. Some of the key techniques Boyne has used to express these ideas are narrative voice, characterisation, dramatic irony and juxtaposition.
Boyne demonstrates the theme of power of friendship through his effective use of narrative voice and characterisation. The unique, powerful friendship of Bruno, the main character, and Shmuel, a Jewish boy, illustrates a barrier where the two boys do …show more content…
Bruno, being a nine year old boy, is clueless in the world of Nazi Germany. Bruno’s father, a commander, and his family are sent to a concentration camp to manage. Boyne uses third person limited narrative in ‘BISP’ which emphasizes Bruno’s innocence by forcing the reader to see the world through the eyes of a young boy. The reader is presented Bruno’s thoughts on each event, exposing his innocence in a world where war and genocide ruled. For example, Bruno questions in the novel, ‘What’s so wrong with us that we can’t go there and play’, indicating that Bruno doesn’t know that the other side is a concentration camp. He is also unaware of multiple other people, places and events that take place through the novel. Some of these including: the Fury being Hitler, a march being a shooting, and the people in the striped pyjamas being captured Jews. Boyne also includes multiple uses of dramatic irony throughout the novel to reinforce the idea of Bruno’s innocence. One of the many uses of dramatic irony can be shown from when Bruno’s sister says, ‘This must be the countryside’, talking about the other side of the fence. Bruno then agrees with his sister. From the descriptions the reader receives, the reader can confirm that the other side is a concentration camp, whereas Bruno believes that it is a farm in the countryside. Through the use of narrative voice and dramatic irony, Boyne
Boyne demonstrates the theme of power of friendship through his effective use of narrative voice and characterisation. The unique, powerful friendship of Bruno, the main character, and Shmuel, a Jewish boy, illustrates a barrier where the two boys do …show more content…
Bruno, being a nine year old boy, is clueless in the world of Nazi Germany. Bruno’s father, a commander, and his family are sent to a concentration camp to manage. Boyne uses third person limited narrative in ‘BISP’ which emphasizes Bruno’s innocence by forcing the reader to see the world through the eyes of a young boy. The reader is presented Bruno’s thoughts on each event, exposing his innocence in a world where war and genocide ruled. For example, Bruno questions in the novel, ‘What’s so wrong with us that we can’t go there and play’, indicating that Bruno doesn’t know that the other side is a concentration camp. He is also unaware of multiple other people, places and events that take place through the novel. Some of these including: the Fury being Hitler, a march being a shooting, and the people in the striped pyjamas being captured Jews. Boyne also includes multiple uses of dramatic irony throughout the novel to reinforce the idea of Bruno’s innocence. One of the many uses of dramatic irony can be shown from when Bruno’s sister says, ‘This must be the countryside’, talking about the other side of the fence. Bruno then agrees with his sister. From the descriptions the reader receives, the reader can confirm that the other side is a concentration camp, whereas Bruno believes that it is a farm in the countryside. Through the use of narrative voice and dramatic irony, Boyne