Tuesday, March 10, 2015

What are several geographic details that help establish the setting in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne?

The setting in a novel always has to do with two specific elements:  setting of time and setting of place.  The Boy in the Striped Pajamasis no exception, as it is set in a very specific place and time: Nazi-occupied Poland in the 1940s.  There are several geographic details that confirm this.  First, we know from Bruno's comments that he is upset at being moved from Berlin.  However, because Bruno's father is a...

The setting in a novel always has to do with two specific elements:  setting of time and setting of place.  The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is no exception, as it is set in a very specific place and time: Nazi-occupied Poland in the 1940s.  There are several geographic details that confirm this.  First, we know from Bruno's comments that he is upset at being moved from Berlin.  However, because Bruno's father is a Nazi commandant who is stationed to help control the Polish Jews in the new concentration camp called Auschwitz, the family had to move.  The most important geographic detail is that Bruno can see the prisoners of "Out-With" (Auschwitz) from his house.  This proves that Bruno now lives in Nazi-occupied Poland, where Auschwitz is located.  After the Nazis invaded Poland, they considered Poland to be a part of the Nazi empire.  This detail is furthered by the exact position of Bruno's home in relation to the concentration camp.  Bruno's home is not simply in the same town, but is within viewing distance from his house.  This is what allows Bruno to see the "farmers" in the "striped pajamas" who are "peeling potatoes."  Therefore, in this case, geographical details reveal not only the general place (Poland occupied by the Nazis) but the specific place (a home adjacent to Auschwitz).  

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