Boy in the Striped Pajamas: Shmuell

In the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne, the character Shmuel, a small Jewish boy from Poland, has great reason to be unhappy about many unjust changes that have recently occurred in his life. Firstly, Shmuel was forced to move from one side of his city, Krakow, to the other side, which were separated by a large wall. He and his family used to live in a small flat above a watch shop they owned, and had to relocate to a small dwelling with one room. There they had to share with another family as well, eleven people in all. These would not be very appropriate living conditions placing so many people in such a small place, and Shmuel would be right to be miserable over it. Secondly, Shmuel and his family were removed from this new home and overcrowded onto a train with hundreds of other Jews. In the book, Shmuel had this to say: “ 'The train was horrible'… 'There were too many of us in the carriages, for one thing. And there was no air to breathe. And it smelled awful.' ” (Boyne 129). These would be completely terrible and inhumane conditions to travel in, being crammed into a train car with no windows or doors, with no fresh air to breath. Shmuel and the others should have been very resentful and upset. Lastly, Shmuel was forced to go to “Out-With” Camp (realistically known as Auschwitz Concentration Camp). He had to walk from the train station, and at the camp was beaten, made to work, not fed, and separated from his mother. These are absolutely outrageous offences towards Shmuel, and he should be furious about what has been done to him. In conclusion, Shmuel has had many horrendous, loathsome and undeserved deeds done to him, and should definitely be very