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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Conducting Identity

Writer's picture: Reid MontgomeryReid Montgomery

Bruno kept digging and digging until he could make a wide enough hole to fit through under the fence. “Let’s go!” said Bruno as he spoke to Shmuel while handing him a ham and cheese sandwich. “This sandwich is good, I can’t I don't know where my father is, I haven’t seen him for days,” Shmuel said worriedly. Bruno stood there with hesitation, dressed in his collared shirt, jeans, in his father's old worn-down shoes. “If we go now, you'll leave unnoticed, we can go back to my house,” said Bruno hesitantly, knowing that Shmuel wanted his father, looking towards him with tearful eyes. Shmuel sat there contemplating what will happen if he makes this decision, “What if I won’t ever see my father again” said Shmuel as he ate his sandwich. There was a figure in the distance that kept getting closer, Bruno was trying to depict who it was until he saw the set of striped pyjamas. Shmuel noticed Burno looking in the far distance, as he looked back sitting down, he smiled in shock “Oh my, Father!! Where have you been?” said Shmuel. “Locked away, who is this?” he wondered as he looks at Bruno on the other side of the fence in clean nice clothes with his hand up against the fence like he’s holding a pose. “I'm Bruno, your son's friend, I want to save both of you!” he said urgently with distress. “We don't have a home or anywhere to head, they’ve taken everything from us!” Shmuel’s father said enraged and disturbed. “I have a basement with a side-hatch, you can stay there, it may be dusty as well” Bruno mentioned as his Mother doesn’t clean the downstairs. “...If they catch us we’ll be dead!” Shmuel and his Father both spoke. “...It’s better than staying in a prison the rest of your life,” Bruno said, tryingsaid trying to be persuading.




Reflection

There are many methods that JohnJoyne Boyne uses when writing his novels. In particular, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, is arguably one of the best novels to exist. John Boyne tended to write in a third-person limited omniscient writing style that affected the reader by understanding the innocence in these children which in return results in the reader feeling sympathy, furthermore, engaging the reader deeply. Boyne also likes to narrate about the character after they’ve spoken and described the clothing, body positioning, emotions, and other features of characters that lead to conversation. He also had made the boys very innocent by having them not understand what is actually going on and that it was just behind their eyes. By implementing these techniques and features into the third person limited omniscient writing style, it results in a John Boyne style of writing. An example from the text above could be “...What if I won’t ever see my father again” said Shmuel as he ate his sandwich. There was a figure in the distance that kept getting closer, Bruno was trying to depict who it was until he saw the set of striped pyjamas.” or when Bruno’s clothes and emotions are described “Bruno stood there with hesitation, dressed in his collared shirt, jeans, in his father's old worn-down shoes”. There are many examples that can be extracted from the text that relate into how John Boyne literates his novels.

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