The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Prejudice and Bias

In the novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne, prejudice and bias are recurring images. Bruno's father was a commandant during World War I, which means he was a high ranked soldier under Hitler's power. With his new position he was moved to Auschwitz, a concentration camp that he was put in charge of. Bruno didn't really know what to make of the move, all he new was that his father had gotten a promotion and now needed the family to back him up and go to Auschwitz with him. Bruno's father was obviously a Nazi supporter and detested the Jews. Bruno didn't really know what was happening on the other side of the fence and didn't know anything about Jews. Bruno finally asked Gretel about the people on the other side. Gretel told him that Jews were horrible people and needed to be punished. Bruno grasped onto this idea, but also thought about how him and Shmuel had become friends when they're not meant to be. Herr Liszt, Bruno and Gretel's tutor answered a question from Bruno very biased:

 "There is such thing as a nice Jew, though, isn't there?"

 "I think, Bruno, if you ever found a nice Jew, you would be the best explorer in the world."

How did Bruno and Shmuel remain friends after all the horrible things people had told Bruno about Jews? Bruno had met Shmuel before he had talked to anyone about Jews, therefore he got to know Shmuel without any premature thoughts about him. If Bruno had met Shmuel after Father, Gretel and Herr Liszt had talked to him, Bruno might of judged Shmuel when he met him. This suggests that prejudice is caused by what parents or people we trust think. When kids are growing up, we are influenced by what are parents think and tell us. 

Another was prejudice can be caused is peer pressure. When you're in a group of friends and everyone else had a different opinion, you are most likely going to go with the flow and change your views based on others. In many groups they have a leader. The leader of Germany (a group) was Adolf Hitler. Many Germans followed him and his ways because Hitler persuaded them. Hitler came up with a Nazi Party Plan that included promises to gain the greatness of Germany again. Some of the points included the 'abolition of the Treaty of Versailles' and 'land and territory (colonies) for our surplus population'.

Gretel was influenced by fathers opinions, Bruno on the other hand, was closed minded and talked to Shmuel based on what he had figured out on his own. This shows that in many situations prejudice and bias is caused by others opinions, in other situations people refuse to judge based on a preempt analysis.   

Image: allmoviephoto.com