ANALYSIS OF A NOVEL

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Author:  John Boyne

Genre: Historical novel

Bruno, nine, lives in Berlin during the 1940s with his family. His father is in the army, and because of his job they move. Bruno and Gretel are sad because they leave their friends behind. One day, Bruno is exploring in the garden and finds a boy in striped pyjamas and they become friends. Bruno wonders why the people in striped pyjamas live behind a fence. One day, Bruno wears striped pyjamas and they go to the other side of the fence. They end up in a gas chamber, where he and Shmuel get gassed to death.

I think the message was: to think about what you’re doing to people who are different, because it could happen to someone like you.

The setting was a house (Out-With) in Poland which has three floors and is next to a concentration camp. It’s much smaller and simpler than their old house, and there’s nowhere to hide or explore. It has a small garden with not much in it. The setting had a big impact on the story, because if they hadn’t moved there, then Bruno and Shmuel never would have met.

Bruno is short, young, naive and ignorant to what’s going on between Germany and the Jews. Bruno is friendly, adventurous, curious and brave. He fights a lot with his sister because she thinks she’s so grown up and that Bruno is just a pesky little brother.

The writing style was second person, and storytelling/narration.

It was interesting because it revealed something interesting and then suddenly cut off, making me want to read the next chapter. The story had a sad twist ending that I didn’t expect, but it was still quite good because it was something that actually probably could have happened.

I thought it was a good story, even though it was a book that I usually wouldn’t read, because it’s a different genre . It made me think, and my books don’t usually make me think as much as this one did.

How The Giraffe Received Her Long Neck

A long time ago, when the world was still young, giraffes had strange necks. They could be extended by stamping their left foot and returned down to their normal size by stamping their right foot. Hundreds of years ago, there was a giraffe named Eve, and her best friend Violet the kitten. Eve had lived with Violet and her family her whole life, and she had never felt like she was special in any way. Little did she know that something would happen to her that would change her life forever...

One day, when Violet and Eve were sitting at the river bank, they heard a cry for help and went to investigate. As they followed the voice, they smelt smoke in the air. Suddenly, they realised they were heading in the direction of their house. They broke into a frantic sprint, using every ounce of energy in their body. A burst of orange and red was between them and the house. There was another scream from the house, and as they looked up, they could see Violet’s baby sister,Scarlett, caught under a plank of wood inside the house! Eve quickly extended her neck up to where she was trapped, and pushed up with her head to lift the plank of wood from the tiny body beneath. Violet climbed up to rescue her sister, and they both slid down Eve’s neck,and clung onto her back. Not having time to stamp her foot and retract her neck, Eve ran as fast as she could away from the fire.

They were nearly at the stream,when suddenly, a branch broke down and blocked their path. Eve skidded to a stop just in front of it, as another tree branch fell on top,trapping her head in between the two branches. Eve used all of her strength to try pull it out, but as she did, she heard something snap. Not having time to investigate, she looked round and found something she could use to jump over the branches. She dove into the river, and swum to the other side with the two kittens still on her back. Violet’s family were searching frantically for her and Scarlett on the other side and were so relieved when they saw them.

Eve went to the trees and stamped her foot. Nothing happened. She stamped her foot again. Nothing. Suddenly, Eve saw her  reflection in a puddle. She finally felt special. Eve was proud of new look, and soon after, everyone was wearing their necks like that.And that’s how giraffes got their long necks.