The title, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, is reflective of the naïveté of the main character, Bruno. This title befits the limited third person narration which also reflects Bruno's lack of awareness of many of the realities of his life.
Author John Boyne has stated that he felt that the only way to present the Holocaust respectfully was through the eyes of a child. While this approach to a narrative about the heinous concentration camp of...
The title, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, is reflective of the naïveté of the main character, Bruno. This title befits the limited third person narration which also reflects Bruno's lack of awareness of many of the realities of his life.
Author John Boyne has stated that he felt that the only way to present the Holocaust respectfully was through the eyes of a child. While this approach to a narrative about the heinous concentration camp of Auschwitz in Boyne's novel has been decried by Jewish authorities, Kathryn Hughes, a British historian, biographer and journalist, who concurs with others that the plot is implausible, also observes,
"Bruno's innocence comes to stand for the willful refusal of all adult Germans to see what was going on under their noses."
So, in order to express this willful naïveté of many of the German people, and treat the time period respectfully, Boyne has Bruno not comprehend who the "Fury" is, what exactly it is that his father and Lieutenant Kotler do, or why Shmuel and the others are kept behind a fence wearing some type of pajamas. In addition, another message is contained in this presentation of naïveté: There is a price to pay for keeping one's knowledge of historical changes hidden.
Hughes, Kathryn (20 January 2006). "Educating Bruno". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 March 2015
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