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Alessandra Palermo

Dr. Askey

English 3Y03March 31, 2016

Innocence in the oy in the !tri"ed Pa#amas

$r%no had read eno%gh &ooks a&o%t e'"lorers to kno( that one co%ld ne)er &e

s%re (hat one (as going to *ind. Most o* the time they came across somethinginteresting that (as #%st sitting there, minding its o(n &%siness, (aiting to &e

disco)ered +s%ch as America. -ther times they disco)ered something that (as

 "ro&a&ly &est le*t alone +like a dead mo%se at the &ack o* a c%"&oard Pg10/

As a yo%ng &oy r%no is incredi&ly ad)ent%ro%s ho(e)er, he has not yet honed the skills

necessary to e'"lore and na)igate the (orld (ith intelligence. As mentioned, most o* 

(hat he kno(s a&o%t e'"loration comes *rom reading *iction &ooks. e also &elie)es that

there are only t(o real o%tcomes *or (hat to e'"ect *inding something interesting, andsomething &est le*t alone. his kno(ledge is )ery na)e and em"hasi4es r%no5s

innocence. his characteristic is )ery "rominent thro%gho%t the no)el and &ecomes a "i)otal theme. Innocence as a theme is an im"ortant one to note, as it is central to the

story and its characters5 "ersonalities. It is &est "resented &y r%no and !hm%el (ho

e'"ress their innocence in di**erent (ays. ho%gh &oth are yo%th*%lly innocent, !hm%elis an innocent "risoner, and r%no is shielded *rom the "olitics o* the holoca%st ca%sing

his nai)ety.

!hme%l (as one o* the many e(ish "eo"le to ha)e &een *orced *rom their homes and "laced in A%sch(it4. e is the em&odiment o* the in#%stice done to those o* e(ish

descent (ithin this no)el. is innocence stems *rom the *act that he is &eing "%nished andtort%red *or the sole *act that he is a"art o* a s"eci*ic *aith, (hich "rior to itler5s reign(as not considered threatening. 7hen r%no asks !hm%el $(hy are there so many "eo"le

on yo%r side o* the *ence8 And (hat are yo% all doing there8 +"g 62, he can5t gi)e

r%no a reasona&le ans(er. e states $all I kno( is this, &e*ore (e came here I li)ed (ithmy mother, *ather and &rother ose* in a small *lat a&o)e the store 9:; and then one day

things started to change +6retel a&o%t the *ence and (hy they are not allo(ed to cross it. >retel states $it5s %s (ho

don5t like them 9:; &eca%se they5re e(s +?/. oth "assages e'"ress that neither a e(

or a >erman can "ro)ide a reason *or this %n"ro)oked homicide. !hm%el, along (ith theother children o* the holoca%st (as "artic%larly innocent and &lameless &eca%se as is

common (ith most children, the *aith they5)e gro(n %" (ith (as im"arted onto them &y

their *amilies. here*ore not only (as !hm%el innocent o* the acc%sations "inned onto thee(s at the time o* the holoca%st, he (as also %na(are o* (hat &eing e(ish entailed. As

Anne @rank mentions, the e(ish ha)e a long history o* %n(arranted o""ression and

!hm%el is the em&odiment o* that (ithin The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

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r%no &rings an alternati)e "ers"ecti)e to the holoca%st that o* a >erman child. e is

%na(are o* (hat has occ%rred in >ermany and is sheltered *rom the kno(ledge o* e)il.

is innocence there*ore is not g%iltless as (ith the e(ish characters, &%t is a yo%th*%llyna)e innocence. ho%gh r%no5s *amily mem&ers are strong &elie)ers in the hird

eich, he is s%r"risingly ignorant o* the "olitical sit%ation and the treatment o* the e(ish

 "eo"le. is constant re*errals to itler as $he @%ry and to A%sch(it4 as $-%tB7ith arechildlike and are there to remind the readers o* his innocence. e also dis"lays his

nai)ety &y ass%ming that $eil itler (as another (ay o* saying $(ell good&ye *or 

no(, ha)e a "leasant a*ternoon +32. hese na)e tho%ghts are the res%lt o* &eingsheltered &y his "arents (hom he still res"ects (itho%t C%estion. his leads him to idoli4e

his *ather and re*%se to think "oorly o* him. E)en (hen !hm%el mentions that the soldiers

took a(ay all his clothes r%no re"lies $my dad5s a soldier, &%t not the sort to take

 "eo"le5s clothes a(ay. Another res%lt o* &eing sheltered is his ignorance a&o%t the e(s.e goes so *ar as to say to >retel $I dont %nderstand (hy (ere not allo(ed on the other 

side o* the *ence. 7hats so (rong (ith %s that (e cant go there and "lay8 +?/ and

contin%es to ask her i* he himsel* is a e(. his "ro)es ho( %ned%cated he is d%e to his

 "arent5s attem"t to maintain his innocence. A*ter ha)ing learned that there (ere childrenon the other side o* the *ence, he imagines them li)ing his childhood in erlin "laying

together and going on ad)ent%res. e is en)io%s o* !hm%el *or this and e'claims, $Its so%n*air. I dont see (hy I ha)e to &e st%ck o)er here on this side o* the *ence (here theres

no one to talk to and no one to "lay (ith and yo% get to ha)e do4ens o* *riends and are

 "ro&a&ly "laying *or ho%rs e)ery day +60. e is not a&le to "ict%re another li*e *or children or a li*e s%ch as the one in the cam"s. his nai)ety dis"layed &y r%no

thro%gho%t the no)el, stems *rom his yo%th*%l innocence.

Innocence is a key theme (ithin the no)el and is dis"layed in di**erent (ays &est sho(n &y r%no and !hm%el. ho%gh &oth are yo%th*%l and innocent, r%no is e'ce"tionally

innocent in his lack o* kno(ledge a&o%t the e(s and his s%rro%ndings. !hm%el on the

other hand is similarly innocent and na)e a&o%t some o* the goings on in the cam", &%thas also &een *orced to mat%re *aster than r%no. is sense o* innocence comes *rom his

%n*ort%nate "osition as a sca"egoat and is th%s "%nished *or it. heir res"ecti)e *orms o* 

innocence and nai)ety are key in this no)el and %ltimately lead to their %ntimely deaths "ro)ing that sometimes ignorance is not al(ays &liss.