Points of view
The historian has to explore as many views of a particular event or subject as possible before making his or her own judgment. A novelist may also choose to present different points of view in a narrative.
Think about the film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, and answer the following:- Do we see everything through the eyes of Bruno, or are other “points of view” shown in the film? How does this affect our understanding of what is happening in the story?
- Quite often in a film we are asked to sympathise with one character. Is that the case in this film? Who do your sympathies lie with?
- How do the characters of Bruno’s mother and grandmother help to give us different perspectives on what is happening?
- Think about the subject of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Is the main subject the Holocaust, or is it a film about friendship and innocence?
- Do you believe that Bruno could be so innocent of what is happening in the camp and Schmuel’s life as a concentration camp inmate?
- How are we shown Bruno’s father protecting him from the truth about his work?
John Boyne explains what the characters in his novel represent (Transcript)