The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Review

This article is a part of College English Band 3 homework. Reference only. Please do NOT copy.

An introduction of this article can be found at semester ends.

The movie centers on the unusual friendship between two eight-year-old boys, Bruno from a Nazi family and Shmuel, a Jewish child. Greatly distinct from Bruno’s father Ralf and his sister Gretel, who strongly hated Jews due to their belief in Nazi, Bruno was bewildered about the inconsistency between what the tutor said about Jews and the reality.

In my opinion, this confusion roots in human aggression driven by “the dark hour of reason,” which is mentioned in the preface.

On the big picture, World War II pushed Nazi into the mad state of the Holocaust, because their aggression was suppressed by the previous peace pact, and they have no alternative but to wage war and slaughter to express their dissatisfaction. According to the passage, should a constructive means be found, such as mild and fair competition in economics, the war could have been diminished or postponed.

As for the darkness of reason, as we all know, adults tend to make up excuses when doing something immoral. In the movie, for example, Bruno’s father chose to lead the “farm,” clinging to the responsibility of a father, a soldier and a Nazi. He didn’t show sympathy and empathy to Jews, partly because they were merely numbers on the report, too distant to be humans. Worse still, he convinced himself of the false propaganda with other officials, ironically demonstrating lies would become truth when one continually believed in it. Eventually, only when his own son was killed did he and Gretel realize Jews were also breathing and lively humans. But the mistake couldn’t be undone.

Gretel was another story. She started as an innocent girl who loved dolls, but ended up as cruel as Ralf. What made the transformation was just the teaching and books. It reflects that children simply believe what they are told most of the time, instead of manually seeking the truth. The idea of Jews’ evilness reinforced itself when repeated, finally becoming a matter-of-fact thing in her mind. Some mentioned her obsession with Kotler also counted.

Meanwhile, those who opposed the killing didn’t assert themselves. Bruno didn’t dare to help Shmuel, in trouble because of him. His mother couldn’t force his father out of his business. Their compromise encouraged the slaughter.

However, it is the human nature that contributes, and individuals are not to blame, even Ralf. They weren’t evil out of no reason; they were merely victims of reasons. The movie altered people’s stereotype of Nazi, revealing a gray area of morality. Therefore, I disagree with those who criticize the excessive sympathy for the Nazi family.

All in all, humanity is complex, a combination of good and bad.