Train Contrast

Bruno and Shmuel in the novel ‘The Boy in Striped Pyjamas’ by John Boyne, have journeys to Auschwitz, Shmuel is a Jewish prisoner while Bruno is a young German. They both have train trips to the location, but the trains are both portrayed in completely different ways, Shmuel’s trip being described as being horrifying, while Bruno’s trip being portrayed as pleasant. Shmuel explains his trip as being horrible saying “There were too many of us in the carriages for one thing. And there was no air to breathe. And it smelled awful.” Shmuel acts very sad as he says this, showing how it was a painful memory to bring up. Bruno said his trip was “a very comfortable train with very few people on it and plenty of empty seats and fresh air when the windows were pulled down.” This shows the differences that the Jewish people and the German people were treated and how much of a privilege Bruno has over Shmuel.