Analysis of Bruno and Shmuel's Friendship in The Boy in The Striped Pajamas

“Friendship is just not a word, it's an emotion. Friendship is limitless. It sees no boundaries or languages, it just needs two selfless hearts to connect with each other”- (Srestha Das).

Friendship is a vital recurring theme in the novel “The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas” by John Boyne. This novel takes place during World War 2 in Germany. As the war first began in 1939 and ended in 1945 the time frame of the story would have been between these times. The story revolves around the son of the World War 2 commandant Bruno and his friendship with a young boy named Shmuel who was a Jew captive in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Bruno and Shmuel have a true friendship as shown throughout the story with their forgiveness, support and trust for each other.

The friendship bentween Bruno and Shmuel

Bruno and Shmuel found each other while both experiencing difficult times and helped each other get through them. Although for Bruno, his difficult times consisted of a lot less harsh events compared to Shmuel. As for Bruno his struggles consisted of being forced to move away from his three best friends Karl, Daniel and Martin back in Berlin for his fathers’ new job as a commandant for the Auschwitz concentration camp. Bruno adored his old house in Berlin, it was huge, consisted of 5 floors and many rooms and small spaces for him to explore which he loved doing. The town of Berlin was always full of colour, people and laughter the new house on the other hand was very dark, had no other streets around it or small shops which was one of the memories from Berlin Bruno enjoyed.

As Bruno's old home was clearly much more enjoyable than his new, it is expected that Bruno feels disappointed in his new home and that “Everything around him just felt empty and cold, as if he was in the loneliest place in the world.” (13). Bruno also went on to say, “This isn't home, and it never will be.” (16) and “there was something about the new house that made Bruno think that no one ever laughed there; that there was nothing to laugh at and nothing to be happy about.” (13). This shows Bruno was not happy in his new home and moving away from his friends. Another one of Bruno's struggles was him feeling very alone. At his old home Bruno had his three best friends and his grandparents whereas now in the new home all he had was his mother, father and his sister Gretel.

Having Bruno's mother, father and Gretel there with him may seem like enough company but sadly his parents lacked to show Bruno as well as Gretel the love and support any parents should. They did this by banning certain rooms they were allowed in, hardly communicating with them, the majority of the time they were demanded to stay in their rooms and overall they were very hard on them as they provided no space for their own thoughts and opinions. For Bruno having Gretel around was not much fun for him either as they shared different opinions on the Nazis. That being Gretel was a great supporter of them and Bruno did not envy them as he saw no issues with being friends with the Jewish peoples. For Shmuel his struggle was a lot more painful as he was a starving 9-year-old Jewish boy caged into the death concentration camp of Auschwitz.

Shmuel being one of the Jews meant that he lost his rights and privileges. An example of this would be when Shmuel lost his right to speak. When Shmeul was sent to the commandants (Bruno's father) house to clean the glasses as they wanted someone with “tiny fingers” to do the job. While Shmuel was cleaning Bruno saw him in the kitchen and decided to say hello, and they then were engaging in a whispering conversation. Just then Lieutenant Kotler raided to the kitchen and screamed “who told you that you were allowed to talk in this house? (...) do you dare disobey me?” (171). For all he did was speak in the home. As they were both going through their own versions of hard times having each other provided them with emotional relief, a friend, something to look forward to every day, an opportunity for them to vent their frustrations as well as just engage in friendly conversations. This shows Shmuel and Bruno have found a true friendship because they are there for each other no matter what their races may be.

Bruno and Shmuel show forgiveness and provide each other support. An example of how the two young boys showed forgiveness in the novel would be when Shmuel was sent to Bruno’s house to clean the glasses. When Shmuel was cleaning Bruno saw him and as Bruno still did not fully understand the political and racial boundaries between them, he decided to say hello. As the boys were talking Bruno decided to grab a few pieces of chicken from the fridge and offered to share with Shmuel. At first Shmuel denied his offer but as Bruno kept encouraging him Shmuel's hunger finally gave in, and he began quickly shoving the pieces of chicken into his mouth. Shmuel managed to swallow the chicken before Lieutenant Kotler entered the room, unfortunately Kolter somehow knew what was going on as he immediately questions Shmuel “Are you eating? Have you been stealing food? [shouts] Answer me!” (187). Shmuel in a panic with tears filling his eyes “No, sir. He gave it to me” looking at Bruno. He then added “He's my friend”.

At this point Lieutenant Kotler was furious and went on to asking Bruno if it was true. Bruno now knowing the consequences that may come if he admitted they are friends replied with a lie saying that no, he does not know him and adds that he has never seen him before. The outcome of this event was Lieutenant Kotler taking Shmuel back to the camp to teach him a little about what happens to “rats who steal”. This ended Shmuel up with bruises and a black eye on his face. For the next few days Shmuel stopped appearing at the fence until one day he did and yet again the boys met up and Bruno apologized for what he had caused, and Shmuel then forgave him. This shows Bruno and Shmuel can get through their issues and manage to forgive each other when one makes a mistake with no grudges being held. Bruno and Shmuel also show various amounts of support for each other by providing each other with a friend, but they also show physical support to each other.

An example of physical support Bruno and Shmuel show each other would be how each time Bruno went to visit Shmuel at the fence knowing Shmuel is not getting fed he would stuff his pockets with food such as sandwiches, bread and sometimes even a sweet like cake or cookies. Another way support is shown would be also when Bruno decided to go over the fence to try to help Shmuel find his father. This shows support because Bruno is not telling Shmuel to give up looking for him but that he will join him in the search for his father. This shows they are there for each other, and they care about each other's health and well-being. Bruno and Shmuel's forgiveness and support for each other shows true friendship because at some point especially under pressure everybody makes mistakes, and they have shown they are able to get past and forgive one another for their actions. Their support towards each other throughout the story also resembles true friendship because it distinctly shows they are going to be there for each other and help better one another.

Bruno and Shmuel are very alike and have a great amount of trust in each other. To begin with the two boys are very different racially but when it comes to truly who they are as a person they are very similar. Bruno and Shmuel when they first met discovered they were both born on April 15th, 1939. Both boys were forced from their homes. Bruno moving from Berlin to Auschwitz due to his father becoming the role of a commandant for the Auschwitz concentration camp and Shmuel from Poland to the concentration camp. Bruno and Shmuel were also both educated. Bruno from his previous school at his old home but now from his private tutor at his new house and Shmuel from his own mother who before was a teacher by profession.

Finally, the boys loved to explore as well as both were mostly confused about the situation they were in with the fence and why it was wrong for them to be friends as they were only 9 years old. This shows the boys are very much alike because they have multiple things in common with one another. Having this sort of bond would benefit their friendship because it gave them a sense of connection to each other. Bruno and Shmuel also share a great amount of trust in each other. An example of this would be to begin with Shmuel having enough trust to continue to talk to Bruno as he comes from outside of the fence. This would be an example of trust because for however long Shmuel has been in the camp for it has been all he has known that the people who don't live in the fence kill and abuse them.

For him to crawl under the fence and join him to explore as well as look for his father in the camp. This would be another example of trust because Bruno has to trust Shmuel that it would be okay to leave his clothes out on the other side, to bring him the pyjamas, that he would be safe and that he wouldn't get caught being on the other side. Bruno and Shmuel having trust for each other is important because racially they are not to be allies, but they are, so they need to have trust between them so they knew neither of them would backstab another. Bruno and Shmuel being so alike and having trust in each other shows true friendship because they have things to bond over, connect with and talk about. Having trust is also a vital key in friendships or any relationship because it allows you to feel safe, be able to talk about anything and express how you truly feel inside.

Conclusion

Overall, Bruno and Shmuel throughout this story have shown true friendship can be created with the components of forgiveness, support, connection and trust. The two boys found each other when they were both going through the hardship of their own life issues and managed to provide comfort and be there for one another in a time where they felt they had no one. They were able to support and take care of each other as well as when one made a mistake to forgive and forget. Their friendship was quickly and easily created for them as when they first met, they had an immediate connection and things to bond over. As well as after a short period the boys grew to trust and rely on another. This is how Bruno and Shmuel were able to create the lifelong friendship they had between them. No matter how quickly their lives may have come to an end as the two boys passed away together, hand in hand they would forever live on to be the “best friends for life” (215) as they had agreed to be.

References

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