Preview

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas

Best Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1719 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Boy In The Striped Pajamas
Shelby Wittkop
Mr. Shumski
US History II
11 March 2015
Can Movies Teach History? Over the course of history it was taught through textbooks and actual footage of what occurred, but now in this time period movies have been made to recreate the footage in modern times. Debates over the years has been is history actually being portrayed accurately and if it gives accurate knowledge of the event. Producers of television series and movies of this generation have become the most powerful historians. Movies expose the viewer to possibly see what history was truly resembling, or it can even give a singularity of knowledge. Hollywood created many motion pictures about previous events, but added in things that was not a part in the true event. During 1989 in the New York Times, it was discussed if movies can accurately grasp the understanding of history. Richard Bernstein researched Mississippi Burning stating it showed violence with realistic detail, but it transformed one of the key events of the recent American experience of the civil workers. During The Final Days it was a highly imaginative reconstruction of the end of Richard Nixon’s final presidency, yet the television series showed accurate knowledge on the tense issue of history (Bernstein). The fictional fable of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas created a motion picture of a representation of the time period of the Holocaust. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas accurately represents the Holocaust and what occurred to all the Jewish Orthodox, yet inaccurately represents history with the impossible actions with the overall plot. During the Holocaust between 1933 through 1945 carbon monoxide was originally used in gas chamber until pellets were developed. During this time period of the eleven million people executed during the Holocaust, six million were Polish citizens. Three million were Polish Jews and the other three million were Polish Christians. Most of the remaining victims were from other countries including

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    How can two best friends simultaneously be enemies? John Boyne answers this question in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. He writes a tale about a Nazi commandant’s son who befriends another boy. They soon become best friends. Everyday Bruno the commandant’s son, visits Shmuel, a concentration camp inmate. Since Bruno’s father works for Hitler and Shmuel and his family are trapped by Hitler, this makes things difficult on the boys. Instead of being able to play with each other, like Bruno wants, they are separated by a fence. Bruno and Shmuel have these secret meetings every day and Bruno’s mother is also having secret meetings. However, her meetings are with the young lieutenant who works for Hitler. Although this is not clearly stated in the book, one can infer that she is having an affair with the man. Eventually, the commandant sends the lieutenant away. After a while of visiting each other Bruno learns that he is moving. As a last adventure, the two devise a plan that involves Bruno crossing the fence. When Bruno finally crosses, a herd of Nazi army officials rush a group of Jews and Bruno into an air tight room. He is only nine-years-old so he is clueless about the…

    • 498 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The story starts off in Nazi Germany in the early 1940s. Eight-year-old Bruno and his family move to the countryside because his father was in charge of a concentration camp in Germany called Auschwitz. One day when Bruno was exploring an area that his parents said was out of bounds he came a cross a fence where a boy his age was on the other side. Bruno quickly becomes friends with this boy, Shmuel, and day after day Bruno visits him at the “farm”. Shmuel decided to tell Bruno that his father is missing and Bruno vows to help him find him. The next day the boys meet at the fence and Bruno changes into the striped pajamas that Shmuel provided and then climbs under the fence into the “farm”. As the boys search the rooms for Shmuel’s father they…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Attributes that pertain to all stories are things such as beginning, middle, and end, characters, a plot, an author, and an intended purpose. So, why are some stories better than others? If every story consists of these components, why are we not moved by every novel we read? There are many things that distinguish bad, mediocre, good, and great stories. The function and the fundamental elements of masterpieces are quite different from just any other published book.…

    • 892 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The main themes of the movie that stand out the most but are certainly not limited to is, innocent and complicity. Though he attends school and his father is a high ranking Nazi official, Bruno is mostly ignorant of the political situation at the time. When Bruno leaves Berlin he wonders why he left to be near the camp full of people in striped pajamas. Another example is the fact that he has no idea what is going on in the camp or Germany and also thinks Shmuel lives in the concentration camp with his family. That is abruptly changed when he actually goes inside to look for Shmuel’s father and realizes its not like the video about the camps. Even though Bruno’s mother is not thrilled at her husband’s job, she does not actively fight his decision to move the family. Through her not protesting and like many Germans, they complied with, did not interfere or think about the harsh realities of what the Nazis are doing. Also Bruno, Gretel or the mother doesn’t do anything when Kotler beats Pavel to death, they continue to eat through…

    • 421 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One can find their place in society by believing that they are influenced by the people surrounding them. On the other hand, they can choose to find their place in society by believing in themselves and what is right for them. An author carefully chooses language to help the reader identify the characters’ place in society. Despite the language of fear in the novels Flowers for Algernon, The cage, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and --by Daniel Keyes, Ruth Minsky Sender, Ruta Sepetys and John Boyne--that conveys a lower place in society, it is the language of hope and love, that inevitably conveys the movement of the characters to a high place in society.…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gas chambers were used in the Holocaust to kill many people. 1.1 million people were killed which is 90% of Jews were killed during the process of the gas chambers. According to The holocaust: A learning site for students article, (https://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007714) The people who were…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The film Malcolm X is very close to actual things that happened to Malcolm in real life even though there were some things that did not actually happen that were shown in the movie just.In this film some of the facts were correct and so many other events were incorrect in this particular films reality are Exaggerated, actuality are lied about and characters are demolished, destroyed and annihilated. In this paper we talk about how Hollywood deceives people into thinking an evidence is an actually fact for views and algorithm change so we shall be figuring out the pro's and con's of History in Hollywood.…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The earliest method conducted by the Nazis was execution by gunfire, but it was ruled to be inefficient and psychologically traumatizing for the soldiers committing the act. The Nazis regularly used Carbon Monoxide poisoning in various fashions to murder the prisoners of the camps. Carbon Monoxide poisoning was commonly used throughout the war in transport trains and vehicles so that the deceased prisoners could be sent to crematoriums or mass burial sites when they arrived at their destination. Prisoners were killed in gas chambers by extremely toxic gasses created from chemicals causing them to asphyxiate from the lack of oxygen. One of the toxic gasses was produced by pellets of the pesticide Zyklon B after it was heated and exposed to the correct environment. Many other camps such as Auschwitz had multiple killing centers within their camps such as gassing chambers and crematoriums.…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Films serve as an effective medium for educating their audience members. For historical events such as the Holocaust, films carry the immense potential to assure that the memory of horrifying systematic brutality inflicted on certain populations and the memory of the horrors these victims’ experienced live on. Films are instrumental in assimilating the remembrance of genocides like the Holocaust into public and popular consciousness. With the pivotal influence that these films harness, finding the balance between upholding historical accuracy and evoking strong emotions from the audience stands at the crux of Holocaust film production. In exploration of this balance, three films from different genres-- Night and Fog, Life is Beautiful,…

    • 2326 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dina Moreno Signed In: 5/5/2013 12:05:02 PM Student: Avangelina Moreno (Grade 11, Beaumont High School) Account Email Notifications Help About Sign Out Report Card Marks…

    • 308 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    History is the study of the past; however, every person’s opinion varies and tends to make history a sore subject. In today’s society the average American knows little to almost nothing when it comes to history. During high school many people have thought of history being not as important as other subjects and put it off to the side. Yet later on in life they have watched a historically based movie or television show and found interest in history. Learning from movies that inaccurately portray history is embarrassing, but it can also motivate people to learn more about the topic.…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The events that took place during the Holocaust began to make its way to film during post-World War II America. In the 1950’s, the film The Diary of Anne Frank, and the Judgment at Nuremberg and the TV show This is Your Life gave the American audience an understanding of the disturbing events. The objective, of most TV and film writers that chose to portray the Holocaust, was to get the American audience to connect with the Jewish people. Through watching universalized versions of the Holocaust American audiences were easily able to identify with the subject and characters on film because they were able to relate it to themselves as well as current events in America. Nice introduction…

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As people decide to pass down stories it is important that we are truthful in the stories because this is now a part of history. History is passed down through storytelling and it is important to know what our history looks like so that we can shape our future. In lots of history the issues are sometimes hard to grasp and to understand but there is importance in what has led us to this point. The Holocaust is definitely one of those segments in history that needs to be remembered in the way that it actually was. In cinema we have the opportunity to see the things that our ancestors have gone through many centuries ago. The message must be conveyed in a truthful manner so that we can respect it in a way that we are able to understand. As we continue to learn about history it may make us upset because we don’t understand the rationale behind the actions. Adolf Hitler believed that the Jews were inferior and for that they were murdered. Although this is a tragedy and it is very hurtful to hear and read about it did in fact…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I’ve always watched movies for the sole purpose of entertainment. Thinking about the historical backgrounds they entail never really crossed my mind. The way Hollywood portrays historical events in films isn’t very accurate, which some people see as a problem. After listening to both James Wermers & Dr.Chiltons presentations and reading The Art of War article my train of thought has changed on how films portray history. First, let’s consider the three perspective on the issue of how movies portray history.…

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Parents and teachers often argue against teaching about the Holocaust to their children and their students. As stated by Adolescent Literacy, “Teachers often find the Holocaust to be an overwhelming subject to approach with their students. While the Holocaust offers important lessons to today's students, it can be a difficult to find the appropriate amount of information to share with young learners.” However, with careful planning and organization, it is possible to find the correct “version” of the Holocaust to teach—that is, a properly watered down version. If a child is shown all the gory details of the Holocaust and given a full understanding of its torture, it may have a permanent effect on the child. However, with a proper understanding of the limits of what children can see, it is well within reason to teach the Holocaust.…

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays