Topic > The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and the Night: The Horrors of War Seen Through the Eyes of Children

Children have an aura of innocence and carefreeness, unless they are children of war. No matter what side they're on, winning or losing, the kids will witness something horrible. Both the film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and the book Night by Elie Weisel express the point of view of a child at war. While the two pieces contrast aspects of the war, they also have similarities based on their perspectives. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The book Night by Elie Weisel is an autobiography about his time as a Jew during the Holocaust. The novel begins when his life is normal, then takes a drastic turn for the worse when he is transferred to Auschwitz. He goes on to describe the horrors of the concentration camps and the cruel treatment by the Germans. However, the film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne, is about a young boy named Burno, the son of a Nazi commander. He talks about how he was blissfully ignorant and how he became friends with the “enemy”. Burno does the exact opposite of what a normal son of Nazis would do, helping his Jewish friend in a camp right in his own backyard. From these summaries alone many can tell that there is a wide variety of differences between the two pieces. One of the many differences in perspective between them is the races. Precisely based on their origins this caused many differences during this period because Elie was Jewish and Bruno was German. Obviously there would be a conflict because of the war and the Holocaust. Another difference was Bruno's ignorance and Elie's knowledge of the situation. Bruno never knew what was happening and costing him his life, and Elie's information about the camps helped him survive because he knew what to avoid and sacrifice, unlike Bruno. Their perspective on the field is also another difference. Bruno at first thought the camp was a farm and then realized it was a camp for Jews, but he never saw the full extent of the cruelty. Elie, however, has a front row seat when it comes to treatment inside concentration camps. Despite these contrasting views there are some similarities between the two. Both boys saw these difficulties through a child's perspective, unlike most. They were involved in the war, to some extent, and because of this it caused a rift between them and their fathers. Another similarity is that they were both forced to move, yes the reasons were very different but this had an impact on them by removing the boys from their previous lives. Both lost their friends, family, and ultimately their innocence to uprooting. Even the barbed wire fences in their lives are a similarity. This was the first sign of the camps for both of them, like the fence Bruno saw in his backyard and the wire wrapped around his old house in the ghettos. These similarities provide readers with connections throughout the timeline, even if they have multiple conflicting points of view. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In conclusion, despite the many differences between the two pieces they still have some similarities in perspective. The novel Night and the film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas offer us an insight into the Holocaust from two separate points of view. Elie's mission was to tell the story of the dead to honor them and impact the living, and the film gave people the same feeling as well. Children are never the same after having.