The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

(7th Grade Language Arts - February 2014) 

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Essay

            A young boy stared in admiration through the serpentine banister at his father down below; his father’s freshly pressed uniform, polished boots, and loud, booming voice that he could hear from any part of the house made him stand out among the congregated group of soldiers. Little does this innocent boy know that the words he hears are escaping the mouth of a murderer. This, of course, describes the world of Bruno, the protagonist in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, who inadvertently becomes one of the victims of the most horrendous crimes in history. His demise at the end of the novel brings up a debatable question: who is in fact responsible for Bruno’s death? Hitler (or the Fury as Bruno calls him) offers Ralf, Bruno’s Father a position as a Nazi Commandant and manager of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Ralf takes upon the offer and by doing so he endangers his entire family which eventually leads to his son’s death. Primarily, Ralf’s regimented ways separate him from Bruno. Next, Ralf prioritizes his work over his family. Finally, Ralf shields Bruno from the truth of his job which only augments Bruno’s curiosity. Therefore, Ralf’s zealous pursuit of Nazi ideology jeopardizes Bruno’s safety and directly leads to his death.

            To begin, Ralf’s regimented ways disconnect him from Bruno. Ralf, first of all, is emotionally detached from Bruno and limits himself to solely perfunctory interactions with his son. As it is written on page 45, “ ‘Bruno’, he said, coming round from behind the desk and shaking the boy’s hand solidly…” Even after not seeing Bruno for several days, Ralf does not greet his own son with a hug; he treats Bruno as if he were one of his subjects as he only shakes his hand and forces Bruno to salute him when he leaves his presence. Additionally, for Ralf Auschwitz is simply his work place; it does not occur to him that when he explains who the “people on the other side of the fence” are he is dehumanizing Bruno and therefore shattering his innocence. Ralf describes the prisoners of Auschwitz to Bruno as not people at all, a they have nothing whatsoever in common with him. Bruno is bewildered as he does not understand how someone could not be a person, yet look humane. In this instance, Ralf imposes Nazi ideology onto Bruno and teaches him hatred. Finally, because Ralf does not bond and connect with his son, Bruno is lead to the wrong conclusions about his father. As Bruno thinks on page 210, “…everything was all right, that Father was the Commandant, and if this was the kind of thing that he wanted the people to do then it must be all right.” Bruno has faith and trust in his father, so he assumes he is in no danger because Ralf is in charge. This is dramatic irony at its finest as Ralf immediately endangers his entire family when he accepts the job as Nazi Commandant of Auschwitz. In many ways, Ralf misleads Bruno and betrays him as Bruno lays his trust into his father while Ralf sees Bruno more as a nuisance than his own son.

            Next, Ralf prioritizes his work over his family. Ambition and ideology drive Ralf’s decisions and everything else, including his family, comes second. As Elsa, Ralf’s wife, states on page 40, “ ‘We should never have let the Fury come to dinner…some people and their determination to get ahead.’ ” Elsa refers to Ralf as “some people” as she is upset Ralf did not ask for her consent on the move; Ralf’s own wife does not support his career. Furthermore, Ralf worries more about his reputation at work (if one can even call it that) than the security and safety of his own family. As he explains to Elsa on page 187, “ ‘They will ask questions about my commitment to the work here.’ ” Ralf’s job has greater value in his life than his family; he should have let them stay in Berlin if he were going to ignore them either way. Because Ralf is so oblivious of his family’s emotional state, he is incapable of providing any security for them. Lastly, Ralf orders the construction of a new gas chamber in effort to make his job more efficient, not realizing the cruelty he is exposing to his family and especially Bruno. Ralf is incognizant of Bruno’s daily schedule and activities, so he believes his work will not affect his son; he is clearly incorrect. Ralf’s incredulity of his family’s discontent creates conflict and eventually leads to Bruno’s final adventure.

            Finally, Ralf shields Bruno from the truth of his job which only augments Bruno’s curiosity. Because Ralf shelters Bruno from the truth of Auschwitz, Bruno cannot even imagine a circumstance where one experiences suffering and agony on a regular basis. Bruno actually envies the prisoners as he thinks they are lucky to wear comfortable “pajamas” all day ling while he must wear trousers. When Ralf does not provide Bruno with information about Auschwitz Bruno is left ot assume the best and his curiosity only increases. Moreover, because Bruno is lead to believe life in “Out-With” is all fun and games, he concludes his Jewish friend Shmuel -and Auschwitz prisoner- spends his time player soccer and socializing with his friends. As Bruno says on page 111, “ ‘…you get to have dozens of friends are probably playing for hours every day.’ ” Bruno’s desire throughout the novel is to have company and interact with other kids, so his vision of Auschwitz seems incredibly appealing. Lastly, Bruno’s misconception about life inside “Out-With” makes him want to break into the concentration camp. As he says on page 179, “ ‘it’s a pity we can’t do something more exciting from time to time. A bit of exploring perhaps. Or a game of football.’ ” Bruno longs to explore the other side of the fence and as his goodbye to Shmuel he creates the final adventure; his “final” game is his idea of playful exploration except in this case, the consequences are devastating as they land him in a gas chamber. Ralf is to blame for this; Bruno should no see Auschwitz as an amusement park.

            Ergo, Ralf’s myopic view of life through Nazi beliefs directly resulted in his own son’s death. Ralf’s parental culpability is undeniable. First, his regimented ways disconnect him from his son. Next, Ralf prioritizes his work over his family. Finally, Ralf’s evasive answers shield Bruno from the truth of Auschwitz which only incites Bruno’s curiosity. Despite such evidence, there are those with an alternate conviction; these people may believe that Ralf could not have possibly been responsible for Bruno’s death and that Elsa was the one to blame. This is, quite simply, unconvincing. Ralf is evidently self-absorbed as he has an intense fixation on his career and often treats Bruno more as a nuisance rather than his own son. By no means can Ralf not be responsible for Bruno’s death. In the end, the conversation Bruno overheard was Ralf planning to make Auschwitz the most efficient mass murder enterprise. Indeed Ralf succeeded as Bruno became one of the 1,471,595 people who perished in Auschwitz.