Man's Inhumanity Making Connections

4201 Words17 Pages
The society in which we live in creates the lens through which we perceive life and it is through this lens that people come to accept the inhumanity, cruelty and prejudice that allows people to act this way. I have chosen three books The Boy in striped Pyjamas by John Boyne, Montana 1984 by Larry Watson, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and the movie Mississippi Burning directed by Alan Parker. I chose these texts and this movie because I think they all show links to the main theme of mans inhumanity to man. In my opinion I think they also show that prejudice allows us to accept and sometimes act in an inhumane way. I also felt that the acts of inhumanity that happen in the stories show that people are changed and innocence is lost when they witness terrible cruelty. The Boy in Striped Pyjamas is a story about the Holocaust and the concentration camps that existed during World War II. The story is told through the eyes of two young boys, Bruno the son of a high ranking German officer who is in charge of the camp, and Schmuel a Polish Jew living in the camp. Boyne shows us that Bruno when he writes that Bruno calls his home " out with " instead of Auschwitz one of the most notorious concentration camps in Poland. Although Bruno is unaware of what is happening to the people who live behind the fence Boyne tells us that his mother was not and that she disagrees with it. He shows us this when Bruno overhears an argument between his mother and father. " I'm a soldier. Soldiers fight wars! Said Bruno's father. " That's not war! Said Bruno's mother. " It's a vital part of it! " Exclaimed Bruno's father. In this way he is able to justify the inhumane treatment of the jews in the camp that he is in charge of. A character from the story that helps illustrate the theme of mans inhumanity to man is Lieutenant Kotler, a young Nazi officer who is known for his cruel nature
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