The three main themes that occur in the story, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, are the desire for friendship, boundaries, and the innocence of childhood. To begin, John Boyne explored the theme of friendship by having Bruno walk to the camp fence and meet another boy his age. A problem occurred when Bruno found out the boy's nationality. Shmuel was a Polish Jewish prisoner, who had been imprisoned in Auschwitz with his family. During the war the boys became friends on opposite sides of the fence. Bruno and Shmuel's desire for friendship was so strong that the fence separating them became invisible and non-existent to their eyes. The boys' bond grew beyond measure and they soon became dependent on each other. Additionally, the story explored the theme of borders, when Bruno and Shmuel were separated by a fence which proved that they could never play or explore together. The separation between the two boys was also strengthened by the strict Nazi German rules that prohibited Germans from being friends with Jews, Poles and other groups persecuted by Hitler. Finally, John Boyne successfully told the story from Bruno's point of view, demonstrating the innocence and purity of Bruno's childhood, despite living on the grounds of Auschwitz, a death camp, and meeting Adolf Hitler. Shmuel, who had been imprisoned in the camp, did not seem to understand the gravity of his situation. When his father disappeared, Shmuel was unaware and did not realize that he had been forced into the gas chambers to fulfill his death sentence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The story began with Bruno, a nine-year-old boy living in Berlin, Germany, in 1943 with his family. They have to move from their beautiful house to a new house in an unknown location called "Out-With". Tempted to explore his new surroundings, Bruno is told that there are some places that are "out of bounds at all times and without exception." Unable to resist his adventurous spirit and curiosity, Bruno wanders into the unknown part of "Out-With". He comes across an electric fence which he follows until he sees a little boy sitting on the other side. The shoeless boy was wearing striped pajamas and a cloth cap. Bruno noticed with surprise the boy's armband on which a star was imprinted. Bruno and the unknown boy quickly become friends and establish a relationship of trust. Their bond strengthened when they exchanged family stories and realized they even shared the same birthday. At the end of their first meeting, Bruno asked Shmuel why there were so many people on his side of the fence and what they were doing there. A few days later, Bruno's father had guests for dinner, a man whose name was "The Fury" and his date, Eva. Bruno immediately disliked the couple and their attitude. His sister Gretel, whom he called "the basket case", had caught feelings for "the Fury" and did her best to impress him and her friend. Bruno, however, was disgusted by his sister's behavior and her impending romance with a young soldier. Being so young and innocent, Bruno interpreted the words "Auschwitz" as "Out" and "the Führer" as "the Fury". ' He didn't realize the dangerous territory and external warfare that was occurring right where he lived and played. He continued to explore the woods near his home and often found himself at the paddock spending time with his only friend Shmuel. He felt his friends' hunger and saw his ownmalnutrition, Bruno stole food from his home to provide to Shmuel. The two friends are saddened that they can't explore together or play a game of soccer. Shmuel broke down, confessed to Bruno that he had not been able to find his father and was worried that he was lost. Bruno felt the pain of his friends and promised to help him look for his father, but found himself limited due to the separation of the fence. Shmuel found a solution and promised to get Bruno a pair of pajamas from the basket so he could blend in on his side of the fence. One fateful day, Bruno took off his clothes, put on his dirty striped pajamas and snuck into Shmuel's house. side of the fence through a discreet hole that the boys had previously dug. The search for Shmuel's father came to an abrupt end. The German soldiers, tall and loud, ordered the prisoners to take off their pajamas and go take a shower. Bruno and Shmuel found themselves on the same line, scared and nervous about the unknown. Holding hands, they were pushed together into the gas chambers where they died devastatingly as best friends. The question I decided to answer is "what did you learn after reading the story you chose?" After reading the overwhelming and powerful story, I learned about human nature, genocide, and innocence. The author compared a German boy with a Jewish boy, which showed the purity of children. It was the circumstances and surrounding environment such as war, prejudice, hatred, dictatorship that influenced human beings. Innocence was proven through Bruno, being innocent of his father's crimes, and the Jewish people locked up in Auschwitz are innocent of any crimes. The two boys don't understand what's happening because they don't see Auschwitz as an extermination camp. Genocide was introduced when Bruno saw the camp as a farm where children had fun and played with each other. As Bruno and Shmuel are locked in the gas chambers, the horrors of the genocide are evident and appear. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The genre of this alarming story was historical fiction. John Boyne, the author of the incredible story, wrote this book based on a dream he had about two boys sitting on different sides of a barbed wire fence. The way the fence was built reminded him of the Holocaust, as he wanted to write a story for young children to read and teach them how horribly innocent Jews were treated. Three examples I found in the story that led me to think the book was fiction were that, if a Jewish child spoke to anyone outside the confines of the camp, he would be caught and severely punished. Bruno sat on the opposite side of the fence and talked to Shmuel every day. Furthermore, if a camper or non-Jew dug a hole under the barbed wire fence and entered the camp, the soldiers would kill him instantly. This refers to the story where Bruno dug a hole under the fence and crawled through it to help Shmuel look for his father. Finally, the author wrote the story mainly from the perspective of Bruno's family and briefly talked about how Shmuel and the other people were treated in the concentration camp. I would definitely recommend this informative book to others who are interested in reading stories about the Holocaust. It is very important that everyone understands and recognizes the horrors of the history of the Jewish people and treats everyone with respect. I would absolutely read a book like this again because I like reading the history of other cultures, as it is interesting and educational. A connection..