Author/Context
This is the full name of the author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.
John Boyne
This is the name of the 9-year-old boy at the centre of the story.
Bruno
The overall feeling created for the reader by a text — often through setting, word choice, and pacing.
Mood
The novel is told from this character's point of view.
Brunos - third person limited
The novel explores prejudice and discrimination based on this.
Antisemitism
Boyne is an author from this country.
Ireland.
Bruno's older sister, who he calls a "Hopeless Case."
Gretel
The attitude the narrator takes towards the subject matter, often shown through word choice.
Tone
This term describes a story told through the eyes of a child, who doesn't fully understand adult events.
Child narration/ naive narration
This term describes treating a group of people as less than human.
Dehumanisation
The genre Boyne himself used to describe this novel — a story with a moral, often not fully "true to life" on purpose.
Historical Fiction
The family's maid in Berlin and at the new house.
Maria
When Bruno first sees the new house, Boyne uses short, blunt sentences and words like "small" and "cold" instead of the warmth of the Berlin house — this contrast helps build this kind of mood.
Sad, lonely, desolate mood
Boyne's technique of having Bruno mishear or misunderstand adult words (like "Out-With" and "the Fury") is an example of this device.
Child misinterpretation - irony
The soldiers' uniforms and the people behind the fence's striped clothing highlight this social issue around power.
Inequality
The real historical event that forms the backdrop of the novel, though it's never directly named in the book.
The Holocaust
This high-ranking soldier is a frequent, intimidating dinner guest at the family's new house.
Lieutenant Kotler
The name Bruno gives Hitler, mishearing it — an example of how the novel's tone stays innocent even in serious moments.
The Fury
This term describes readers knowing more about what's really happening than Bruno does.
Dramatic irony
The war and soldiers are always nearby, but Boyne rarely shows any fighting or violence directly — we only get small hints of it through Bruno's eyes.
Violence
This is the real name of the camp that the novel disguises through Bruno's mispronunciation as "Out-With."
Auschwitz
Bruno's father holds this rank and role, which is the reason the family has to move house.
Commandant (in charge of Out-With)
Even though Bruno is describing something as ordinary as a bedroom window, Boyne's word choice around the fence, the smoke, and the "hundreds of people" creates tension between Bruno's calm tone and the mood the reader actually feels. This gap is an example of this technique.
Tone and mood contrast
The repeated, detailed description of the fence Bruno sees from his window functions as this literary device
Symbolism/symbol
Soldiers, uniforms, and the fence are part of Bruno's everyday life, even though his family isn't fighting in the war.
War