Never Let Me Go and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Never Let Me Go, written by Kazuo Ishiguro, is a very unique story that makes the readers think and
comprehend on how the characters are feeling and what they see around them; how
the information they are given is very limited, making the author in full
control of what to tell the readers. The readers saw that the students knew
what was expected of them but did not really comprehend exactly that their life
was all planned out from the very beginning. This was due to the students trusting the guardians’ words and their authority. It wasn’t until Part III where the readers see that Kathy
begins to seriously question the Gallery and their intentions. When reading this novel, I was reminded of a movie that I recently watched called The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is about a boy who is
the son of a Nazi captain that was recently promoted into a higher position in the army.
Due to this new promotion, the family has to move to the countryside where the
Nazi captain can work more at “peace”. The little boy, known as Bruno, is quite
an adventurous character and so he loves to find new things to do. Due
to growing up in an environment where Nazi policies are strongly implemented into them, he
saw the changes in his sister where she went from loving her dolls to praising
their leader of their country. Being a boy of eight years old, Bruno still has
an innocent view of the world, much like the students of Hailsham where they
were protected and sheltered from the harsh realities of life. Growing bored
with the mundane things to do around his new house, Bruno begins to explore the backyard and
eventually finds himself at a wired-fence and sees a boy his age on the other
side. Believing that the boy, known as Shmuel, is playing a game due to the
appearance of the “striped pajamas”, Bruno questions why he wasn’t allowed on the other side and to play with him.
Almost at the end of the movie, he realizes that Shmuel is a Jewish prisoner
and resides in the “happy camp” that his father runs.
At first, Bruno was hesitant in forming a friendship with
Shmuel due to the horrible things his father and tutor said about Jews; they said that they were “violent” and “vile” creatures that
deserved to die. But Bruno soon realized that wasn’t true and began to see his
secret friend behind his family’s back. This eventually made Bruno realize that
what everybody told him about Jews (their personality and the camps that they
were living in) was false. This movie takes the audience on Bruno's journey in
finding the truth about what his father really does “for his country” and of
the realities that were shielded from him.
The ending of the movie, although expecting it, still
surprised me and made me cry. If you haven’t seen this movie, I will recommend
it! We all know the history about the Nazis and the Jews, but this new
perspective of a child’s, gives these events a whole new meaning behind
it. It made me realize the similarities between these two plots. Never Let
Me Go had a theme of concealing the
harsh reality from the students or clones. In the movie, The Boy in the Striped
Pajamas, Bruno is sheltered by his family from the Nazis’ true goal and of the
horrible treatment of the Jews in the concentration camps.
In the book, Kathy knew what exactly her life entailed:
donating her organs and “completing” her
task. Bruno ‘knew’ that the Jews were
living in camps and that his father was an important figure in the “war”. It
wasn’t until at the end of the book did Kathy really know why she and her
friends were made to be creative; to prove that clones were people too and to
show that “they had souls”. So not only were they created to donate their organs but to prove to society that they each had a soul as well. For Bruno it was to continue the legacy of Nazism,
honoring his father, and eliminating the Jews. Bruno, after many trials that he encounters involving Nazism, finds out that he does not want to follow that path and makes his own choice in who he can be friends with. Each character believed in
something that “they were told but not really told”. Even though both had different plots, it still held similar aspects.
It makes me wonder what we believe to be true might
not be the entire truth. It might be a whole different story.
Wonderful comparison between the two! I like how you chose a movie that is also in the perspective of a child, much like that of the students while they were at Hailsham.
ReplyDeleteA main difference I noticed is how Bruno is taught to shun the Jews in The Boy In the Striped Pajamas, while the students at Hailsham were never told to think badly of the outside world. It never seemed as if the students had any horrible thoughts of the outside world. They accepted their fates without much questioning or rebellion. At most, all they could think of were to request deferrals to put off their donations rather than find an alternative way to stop the donations altogether. Comparing the movie with the book makes me wonder how different the students would react had they been educated about the outside world just as how Bruno was educated about the Jews.
Interesting. I've watched The Boy in the Striped Pajamas before and would have not thought to make this comparison. Your argument is very valid as in both stories, the characters do follow what they have been told without much questioning. I think this relates to the theme of ignorance. In Never Let Me Go, the students intentionally shy away from asking more about the gallery, donations, and other social issues present within the book. As for The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Bruno's sister, mother, and father willfully follow their orders to do their duties to Hitler and ignore the ethical issues revolving around the "happy camps." In both cases, there is a lack of questioning and an increase in conformity, believing in something that the characters do not fully understand. Your analysis was great.
ReplyDeleteAwesome comparison! I need to watch The Boy In The Striped Pajamas now!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the fact that you were comparing the aspect of how individuals are told and not told certain things. There are so many instances in movies/books where individuals are not told important information and it places the viewers in a difficult situation about how they will relate to the movie/book. In Never Let Me Go, the reader is connected with the narrator through certain accounts, yet quickly disconnected with a secret that is revealed to the reader. The same is in The Boy In The Striped Pajamas. The viewer knows that there is nothing wrong with Jews and it is all just an outlook, yet the viewer is disconnected from the actors because they feel and believe otherwise. Moreover, this brings a question as to everyday life. Are we told and not told certain things? It is always a question to ponder.
Great connection between these two works - as Wendy already mentioned, I think it is interesting that both are through the perspective of children, which has a profound effect on the reader/viewer. Both works clearly demonstrate the "told, not told" attitude towards these children, and I found it interesting that in Never Let Me Go, the children were not told important information about themselves, whereas in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Bruno is given false information about someone else. In both cases, information is either untrue or limited, and possibly speaks to a larger theme about the dissemination of information - a suggestion to question the information presented to you, because it may or may not be the whole truth.
ReplyDeleteGreat Comparison. I like your argument on the fact that the children follow what they are told without much questioning. in both of the stories the people are almost afraid to question what they are told. in Never Let Me Go, the girls had a silent agreement that they would not bring up the subjects that they were really curious about. And in The Boy in Striped Pajamas, the mother, sister, and father just simply follow orders without questioning it. In both of these cases the people are ignorant of what is really happening around them and they are not putting in effort to change that.
ReplyDeleteBoth stories are similar! I am glad that in the end, Bruno has a choice he can make unlike the kids in Hailsham. I guess depending on who you are and your abilities, you can make decision.
ReplyDeleteIn the of plot, they are both really interesting because the kids in the both stories are hidden from the truth. I think the book, Never Let Me Go, interacts with the reader more because of the gaps (lack of information in between the facts), the readers can imagine more and interpret it in our own way. However for the movie, it does not give that much room for our own imagination because it shows in the pictures, music, and dialogue. Nonetheless, I agree with your last sentence. It just depends on how we view the truth. Depending on what we think is right, the truth does changes.
Such an amazing comparison! I have not seen The Boy in Striped Pajamas, but after reading your blog post, I really want to watch the movie! It was really interesting to read about the parallels you drew between Never Let Me Go and the movie - it definitely seems like both the plots have a similar theme about concealing the truth. I find it interesting that similar to Never Let Me Go, the movie uses a lot of euphemisms to mask the truth. For example, in the trailer you posted, Bruno's father refers to the move as an adventure" and as you mentioned in your post, the Jewish prison is called a "happy camp." The use of such language not only clouds Bruno's perception of things, but it also affects the viewer because it imparts a sense of childish naivety upon serious events such as Nazism. It makes sense though because after all, the movie is from Bruno's perspective, and children often see the world through a lens of innocence. Overall, I think both the book and the movie have a similar underlying message which implies that there is always more than what meets the eye.
ReplyDeleteWow the trailer really was amazing. Hopefully I could watch during spring break. But I love the comparisons! They are very interesting. I can see how the Jews can be seen similar to the students with the big distinction is that the Jews know their fate while the students don't. Here that innocence belongs to Bruno and judging from the trailer, when he realizes the truth it is pretty shocking for him. The terms they use definitely clouds his judgment and its hard for him to think about his father as a bad man. The students as well as Bruno are innocent and helpless which makes their tale even more heartbreaking.
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