The Tragic Abyss of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

One of the most notorious tragedies in history was the extermination of six million Jews during World War II, but in the realm of literature, authors have composed tragedies since the beginning of the art of writing. Louise Cowan describes the genre of tragedy as “…an archetypal idea that takes on form at intervals throughout history” (Cowan 2). Tragedies not only take form in works of literature throughout history but in films as well. In fact, tragic films portray the protagonist’s experiences first-hand, rather than in written form where readers “lack the viscera for tragedy” (4). Observers of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas will see an immaculate portrayal of the genre of tragedy through the movie’s inclusion of a protagonist moving toward a shattering conclusion, a rapid movement of time, and the victimization of the feminine character.

Initially, the film identifies Bruno as the lone protagonist. Bruno, a young boy, represents the innocence of childhood and the naivetés untouched by the shadows of adulthood and darkness. However, viewers may identify another possible portion of the protagonist—Bruno’s father, Ralf. This two-fold protagonist form produces a more significant effect of the destruction of the hero and “the established regime that has revolved around him” (9). Like in today’s world, the fatherly character struggles with the balance between two regimes: his work and his family. The established regime of Ralf in this particular film is his work as a Nazi officer. Cowan explains “tragedy as representing a conflict between two values in which, though such a clash generates a new meaning, it nonetheless destroys something keenly valuable” (6). More specifically, fate’s destruction will fall on Ralf’s family because of his loyalty and placement of pride in the regime. Ralf feels a sense of duty to his country, forcing his family to the back of his mind. Because of this avoidance, Ralf sacrifices his family’s safety to live near a concentration camp for his work. Bruno, on the other hand, attempts to live as a child should: free from any responsibility or struggle; however, fate plans something different for him. His innocence leads him to explore the surrounding area that he has no true knowledge of, and he becomes friends with a Jewish boy imprisoned inside the walls of the camp. Eventually, Ralf’s pride blinds him of his family’s safety when Bruno goes missing. Viewers of the film discover that he has entered into the camp to help the boy, but the officers had rounded up the prisoners, including Bruno, to be gassed. His father quickly realizes what has occurred and is ultimately shocked at what he has caused. Cowan is correct when she explains that the “male-protagonist” will “move toward a shattering conclusion, usually concluding with his death” (9). Ralf realizes the gravity of what he has done, but, further, his actions also cause the collapse of the order he placed around his life.

This situation reveals “the collapse of the myth of order” in the very thing Ralf has placed his pride, time and loyalty in when he should have been invested in his family: his job. This causes a split in the protagonist character after Ralf’s actions destroy the innocent portion, portrayed through Bruno. This fulfills tragedy’s goal of ultimately destroying the protagonist and the established regime around him. At this point, tragically, Ralf is not a complete character because his actions demolished such a vital part of him. He began as an “ordinarily good man coming to misery; his hamartia causing the tragic misstep that leads to” chaos (10).

Secondly, tragedy is known for its rapidity of time. Cowan explains that Francis Fergusson characterized different types of tragedies, depending on the timing of the catastrophe. For this particular tragic example, the catastrophe occurred at the end, which falls in the “purpose” classification. The ending scenes portraying the death of Bruno move with such a force, flipping from different perspectives, which differs from the beginning scenes to show the inevitable downfall of part of the protagonist. This particular compilation of scenes confirms that this film should not be placed in the genre of comedy because “comedic time…is elastic enough to allow sufficient leisure for working things out or slipping by and evading consequences” (14). However, even though time is fleeting, “somewhere in it there is leisure for lamentation: the chorus of one of the victimized characters manages to stop time and utter cries and protests” (9). In this specific tragedy, Bruno’s mother is this victimized character. After the shocking discovery of his son’s murder, Ralf is in shock and shows no external reaction; however, the mother is distraught and cries out to the sky upon finding her dead son’s clothes outside of the camp’s fence. “Tragedy” is “cataclysmic, granting its recipients a terrible and exalted kind of wisdom then and there, at that very moment” (10). The viewers and the characters play a part in this particular scene of lamentation and directly feel the true nature of the disaster that has just occurred. The most difficult part for viewers to understand is that the crying mother does not have the ability to change this situation in the least bit. Moreover, the film only portrays the fall of the protagonists and the immediate reactions of other characters. The movie ends before showing the characters’ grieving process, but the pace of the final scenes depicts the rapidity of time within the tragic genre and portrays the ultimate control and destruction of fate.

As previously mentioned, the film victimizes the mother character when she discovers the death of her son, but she also fills the role of the victimized character in the entire tragic film. Cowan explains that “tragedy tends to portray the victimization of the feminine” and is known for “ignoring the maternal” suffering (9). When she discovers the true extent of her husband’s work, murdering Jews, she is outraged at this realization. However, her responsibility to her children forces her to remain at the camp despite knowing of the murderous acts and being unable to stop them. The other family characters struggle throughout the film, but the father ignores and silences the mother’s sufferings. While the movie addresses Ralf’s issues directly, the mother’s suffering goes unnoticed, and she faces oppression from her husband in front of her children. The film shows the mother’s raw suffering when she discovers Bruno’s death. Besides this short realization at the end of the film, she is hidden behind the downward spiral and eventual downfall of the two-part protagonist: her husband and son. This fulfills tragedy’s requirement of ignoring the maternal in her suffering and victimizing of the feminine character.

Finally, after reading Cowan’s essay on tragedy and viewing The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, it is evident that the film falls into the genre of tragedy by the destruction of the two-part protagonist and the established regime around him, the rapidity of time in the ending scenes and the victimization of the mother’s character. Through the devastating destruction of the innocent portion of the protagonist, the remaining portion can “…see what creation was like before its ruin and at the same moment recognize that they themselves have been responsible for the loss” (16). This film’s tragic portrayal is unique because the protagonist is not completely destroyed by death. The remaining part of the protagonist, Ralf, must live with the fact that the effects of his overconsuming pride and a loyalty to insignificant obligations destroyed his most innocent and precious portion. This internal shift, due to fate’s controlling hand, accomplishes the full effect of tragedy in this particular theatrical film.

Works Cited

Cowan, Louise. “Introduction: The Tragic Abyss.” The Tragic Abyss, edited by Glenn C.

Arbery, The Dallas Institute Publications, 2003, 1-19.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Directed by Mark Herman, performances by Asa Butterfield,

David Thewlis, and Vera Farmiga, Miramax, 2008.