Questions from the Discussion Guide to “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” by John Boyne.
Today in class, we discussed our prior knowledge of the Holocaust and World War II. What do you think causes people to treat others in such horrific ways as was done during the Holocaust? Are there people being treated like this anywhere in the world today? What can be done to stop it?
Have you ever been in a situation where a person was mistreated? What actions did you take? How did you feel after acting or not acting?
Prejudice is an attitude while discrimination is a behavior. Explain what you think this means.
Have you ever been discriminated against? When have you witnessed discrimination against other people or discriminated against someone else?
What is a stereotype? Why do people stereotype groups that are different from them?
Feel free to share your ideas about some or all of these questions.
Maybe the reason why some people do such terrible things to others is because…well there isn’t really a good reason why. I really don’t understand why these violent and cruel things happen. Can’t problems just be solved in some way without hurting others? In the Holocaust, many people were put into Concentration Camps and treated very badly or were sent to places such as gas chambers to die. But why? I guess Hitler had something against Jewish people.
In my opinion, just because you are from a different religion or don’t do things the same way as everyone else, doesn’t mean you should be treated in a terrible way.
There are people in the world right now who are still treated differently beacuse of where they come from or beacuse of their culture. Luckily, our world has come a long way from slavery and treating people with dark skin poorly. Especially beacuse America now has Obama for president. Even with these improvements, there are still things we can do to make our word a better place. For example, not judging others because of their race or saying or doing things that could be hurtful to others. With each and every person following these recommendations, I do believe we would be one step further into making this world an inviting place to all cultures.
Maybe the reason why some people do such terrible things to others is because people don’t really like other people who aren’t like them. Maybe because they’re black and we’re white or we have money and you don’t, etc. Even through all this sexism and racism still continues today we are all the same, we bleed red, we eat, we sleep, etc. So what’s the point of hating other people who aren’t necessarily you.
As I mentioned in class, one of the reasons I believe that discrimination and racism occur is ignorance. We tend to be afraid of situations or people who are unfamiliar to us instead of looking at them with an open mind. We can learn a lot from other people, cultures and traditions.
I also think that the media plays a big role. What we see on TV, in the movies, in magazines, in advertisements, in retail stores, etc. influences our perception of beauty. Must we be like these actors or sports figures or models to be accepted? What makes some students popular and others not? Is it how they look or dress or act? If you think about it, the “popular” kids are always the ones who dress and act a certain way. Are they necessarily the nicest people to be around?
We are all human beings and deserve to be treated the same way regardless of our race, religion, beliefs or appearance. We need to remember to be tolerant and kind to each other on a daily basis – in our homes, in our school, in our community and in the world around us. “Be the best, the rest will follow.”
I think that people do bad things to other people because they might be scared of them. Sometimes when people get scared they do things without thinking. They also might do these things if they have a goal to get to and they don’t care who they hurt to get there. I have not been discriminated against directly but I am part aboriginal. Aboriginal people were sent to residential schools and forced out of thier religion, language and culture.
There was no real reason to treat people this way. Some people think differently, and I guess Hitler convinced other to join his sick and twisted beliefs.
There are no places where people are treated this badly, althoguh there is child labour, and war in which children are forced to live through. There are already many things being done to stop these things, for example Craig Keilburger founded Free the Children which is helping many children worldwide.
I have never seen anyone being treated this badly, but at school and around the city I have seen people being hit, bullied and picked on for reasons that are not understandable. People pick on other because they don’t fit in with the crowd and if they don’t they are shunned and picked on. People who don’t fit in are usually of a different race or they don’t have many friends. I never took a stand to say this is not the way people should be treated. I always wanted to but I am afraid of being picked on afterwards for doing the right thing.
Prejudice is an attiude because it is something you believe although you may not act upon your belief. Discriminating is a behaviour because it means you are knowingly doing something to be unfair/not include others. Discriminating is when you take your beliefs to the next level and start hurting others because of what you believe.
I have never been horribly discriminated against, although I myself have discriminated against people before. For example I met someone at camp this summer and I automatically decided I didn’t like them because of all the expensive clothes they were wearing at camp! I automatically thought they were a snob and I didnt want anything to do with them for the rest of the week. I felt bad though once I got home and realized I had been the snob.
A stereotype is when you generalize a group of things/people into one group and your belief cannot be changed. People stereotype becuase they don’t know the actual true story, so they believe the little facts that they do know or what they have heard from other people – which may also be sterotypes.
.
Well, what I believe makes people treat others in certain ways, is their eyes or moreso their minds.
Do you think Hitler was raised properly? I don’t think so. His parents maybe didn’t teach him good values or beliefs. I think something influenced him to do this vile act. Usually, If a person behaves badly, it may have something to do with their past.
I have learned, a child is pure, the environment they live in may taint them. They start to see things in a different perspective from what they’ve come to know. What I’m trying to say is, a person is clean until slowly others infects their mind with their beliefs.
I wonder if there is a way to solve all this evil. But wouldn’t that make our world like the place in the Giver? Do we all need to be the same for people not to judge? Not to have stereotypes? Being different makes a person unique, so is being unique a bad thing?
This is an interesting world and there are more questions than answers. I guess what we can do to make this a better world is to be a better person. Slowly everything will work out.
P.S I was on wiki and I found out that Hitler was abused by his father! Maybe that man was the cause of the world war!
Here’s a link. It actually pretty interesting to hear that maybe Hitler had “Jewish” blood in him!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler
Check it out!
I think that the reason people were and are treated badly because they are different. When others are different, some people believe that different is a bad thing, so they discriminate against them. Or they think that certain kinds of different are not right. It reminds me of what we studied in History. The natives had a different lifestyle than the other Canadians. The Canadians thought that their practice and lifestyle was wrong, so they sent the native children to the Residental schools were they learned the lifestyle of the Canadians.
I think that a stereotype is a believed trait about a certain race or appearance. For example, if someone is a different race like Black, people may think that they are really fast runners. Some very well may be fast but maybe some aren’t That stereotype may not be that bad, but others could be really hurtful.
I believe that the reason people are mistreated is because people are different, just like what cassi22 said. If someone handles something differently than another person, it is taken as a bad thing. I don’t know why different societies can’t be accepted. For example, why do terrorist attacks happen? What caused such things as the Twin Towers?
Because these are such weird things that happen, I believe that something out of the ordinary will settle it. For example, I believe that a simple agreement made by Obama to Afganistan would help settle things. I mean, would just killing more people settle things or would it make matters worse because then more people’s lives would be affected and they would be more stubborn to come to an agreement.
I think that the reason why some people may treat others poorly is because they may think they are better then those certain individuals. For example, right in the book when Bruno asks his father who “those people” are, he says that they aren’t really people. Obviously, this proves that Bruno’s father thinks he is better than the people in the concentration camp.
Now, these people may think this because of their culture, skin colour, religion (this was part of the Holocaust), all sorts of reasons! Some people may just secretly think this and never really express themselves, when others may feel very strongly about differences in people. People, like Bruno’s father, may be harsh in a verbal sense, yet others can be very harmful.
I do not know exactly why people feel this way or feel why some people may feel more strongly than others, but these reasons are a big part of what made the Holocaust so terrible.
I can remember a time where I was watching an introduction to a show. This show was a set-up for many Americans. The director had hidden cameras and disguised actors and actresses. The purpose of the show was to show citizens how people can be discriminated against or treated unfairly, and hopefully teach poeple that this is not okay! The event I watched was one where a Muslim woman walked into a coffee shop (if I remember correctly) and the cashier refused to sell anything to this customer. Other customers passed by and tried to convince the cashier he was being very racist while another man agreed with the cashier’s decision! This was definitely an example of discrimination that takes place today.
Not only do some people treat different cultures differently, there are also a lot of negative remarks towards people who are gay. I think that is very mean. Just beacuse you do things differently or come from different backgrounds and religions doesn’t mean you should be treated with no respect!
You have all made some excellent reflections! Do you think that even in our school, there are some students who think they are better than others? Why do they think this?
I think one of the reasons people mistreat others is to help boost their self confidence. They make fun of others, to feel good about themselves.
Glad you have joined us!
Okay, woops, I accidently posted that ^ without finishing so I’m going to finish now.
I think (like I said before) that people treat others poorly so as to boost their self confidence. If other people are different or they have different beliefs, that is taken as a bad thing and people discriminate against others or ‘bully’ them to feel better of themselves.
I heard recently that the reason for Hitler’s actions towards the Jewish people was because it was something like the Jewish people didn’t have blonde hair and blue eyes. Or, at least this is what I heard.
I have been discriminated against before. People would make fun of me because I have red hair. They would call me things like “Carrot Top” and “Ginger” or they would assume that, because I have red hair, that I also have a bad temper. (Which is true, but that’s beside the point). It really gets annoying after a while, because just because I have red hair doesn’t mean they have to be rude about it. I could easily make fun of their brown or blonde hair.
I have also discriminated against someone before for the same reason that hilarymoran did. I met someone at a camp and her family had a lot of money and she dressed really well and I thought that, because of this, that she was a snob and I didn’t want to go near her at all. I was wrong, though. It reminds me of the saying, “Never judge a book by it’s cover” because I judged her by the way that she looked and I thought she was a snob because of the way she dressed. I know it was wrong, because she turned out to be a very nice person.
I can also remember a time when I saw a show where a black woman wanted to apply for a job at a store, and the store manager would not hire her because she was black. The store manager was white. The woman applying for the job, actually was also very good at it, and the manager even said so herself that she was great at it, but “she doesn’t hire black people”. I thought that was ridiculous.
Well maybe they just are that kind of person, they just like mistreating people. Possibly Hitler was depressed or mad about something and he wanted to take his anger out on some one or alot of some ones.
I do not think people should be treated this way at all! I think the reason people treat others that way is because they do not know how to control their anger or they are down and need a boost. People should not feel joy from other people’s pain. When certain individuals mistreat others it can turn out badly and in this case the “Holocaust” many families were separated and many lives were lost. It is a horrible way to be treated and a horrible period of time.
I believe that Hitler had put the Jewish people in the camps and killed a lot of them because he probably did not know that much about them and was scared so he probably felt that since he had a lot of power over the German people that he could change their mind about them. I think that is still going on today- people with a lot of power try to change their minds about something or about people.
Well, like sukhipukhi said, Hitler was abused when he was younger so maybe he felt that since his father did that to him, it was ok if he did that to other people. And maybe he just had a thing for Jewish people which makes no sense because they didn’t do anything to him, so there is no reason for Hitler to kill them harshly and only because they were Jewish. In our world we still have poverty but we have come a long way since the Holocoast because we don’t have as much sexism and racism anymore.
I don’t know why people decide to do these things. It doesn’t make any sense? We were all taught growing up that war, and poverty is bad/wrong. So why do some people think it is okay? I don’t know…..but I do think that people are still being treated like this around the world. It doesn’t make any sense why someone would want to….. but yes it still goes on.
Oh, and did anyone go to see the movie yet?
Tori was going to go on Friday night and I am going tomorrow (Sunday) at 4:00 with Madame Paquet. It’s supposed to be really good but very sad.
I went and saw the movie tonight with Lydia and Vicky, and it was probably the most disturbing, saddest movie I have ever seen in my life. In my opinion, it was worse than a scary movie. Some parts are just so inhumane, and you just can’t even stand to watch. And the ending was horrible, I cried my eyes out. It was really disturbing and it was probably for the best that we didn’t go see it as a class. Anyway, just wanted to say and just a warning for those who are going to see it this weekend.
So, I went and saw this today with Lydia and Rachel, and it was a movie that evoked a lot of emotion from me. At the end, and right before the end, I was bawling my eyes out. Since I already knew what was going to happen, I didn’t cry as hard as Lydia, but I was trembling really hard. There were superb performances by Asa Butterfield, David Thewlis, and Vera Farmiga. I am still sort of shaking right now.
A recommendation to those who will see the movie: Bring a box of Kleenex. I did, and it was necessary.
I agree with rfinch95: this movie probably wasn’t best seen as a class. There were very mature scenes, and the 14A rating was appropriate.
I also agree with northlake2: it was really good, but really sad. Really depressing, actually. It was the kind of movie that makes you think, and is a really good topic for discussion.
An amazing thing… basically everyone in the theater (which wasn’t actually that many people) was crying. We were basically the youngest people there, also. With the credits rolling, nobody moved for the entire part. We were all so shocked… This is definitely a great movie to watch. Rachel, Lydia and I will most likely be crying while reading the book, since we will be remembering the movie. :’(
The Holocaust was a very tragic period in history and it seems that this movie really brought that out. I think the fact that it is about two young, innocent boys makes it even worse. I will make sure to bring Kleenex tomorrow when I go see it.
The book is not nearly as sad as the movie – you will see the differences as we read further.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
For the questions:
I think that everyone has seen someone else be mistreated, at some point in time. The actions that people take, I think, all depend on the situation. In most cases, the best thing to do is tell somebody else that can do something about it.
Why people were treated the way they were during the Haulocaust? I really don’t know. Maybe like in the Boy in the Striped Pajamas movie, some of the people that were involved thought it was for patriotism, or for their country, or something like that. Maybe some people had their own reasons that we will never know.
“Prejudice is an attitude while discrimination is a behavior.” That quote simply states, that prejudice is they way of thinking, and discrimination is acting upon it.
Have I ever been discriminated against? I guess. Some of the time, it was just meant as a joke, and I took it as such. But other times, I really got quite offended (I was a lot younger, though, and I didn’t really understand to quite the extent how offended I should have been). It wasn’t really major, though, and I think that those people didn’t even know what they were talking about. I witness discrimination a lot on Facebook, there are many groups that discriminate against many races and types of people.
What is a stereotype? According to a submitter on Wikipedia, it is “a preconceived idea that attributes certain characteristics (in general) to all the members of class or set. The term is often used with a negative connotation when referring to an oversimplified, exaggerated, or demeaning assumption that a particular individual possesses the characteristics associated with the class due to his or her membership in it. Stereotypes can be used to deny individuals respect or legitimacy based on their membership in that group.” I think that people stereotype, quite simply, because it is easier to think of a group as a whole, as opposed to many people. If say, many people in a group run fast, people just assume that everyone does.
So, I saw the Boy in the Striped Pajamas on Friday. Oh my goodness gracious! It was one of the best movies I have seen! I can not say how good it was compared to the book as I have not finished the book, but I can say it is very good and very sad. However, the content is true and I liked how it did not “soften up” the movie, for the Holocaust is not something to be softened up. I definitely cried after seeing this movie but for those of you who have seen Titanic, know that it is an awesome and sad movie, and I think that this movie is up on the list along with Titanic. I RECOMMEND IT!
What a privilege it was to hear Ada Wynston’s Holocaust survival story today. To be able to interact with someone who experienced the horrors of this terrible war first-hand was unforgettable. She is a truly remarkable lady.
What did everyone else think?
She’s awesome, she gave us a better understanding of the Holocaust and she gives good hugs.
Her speaking was awesome! I liked it because when I first heard that Ada was coming, I thought (or expected!) that her story would be about concentration camps. However, her story was the other side of the Holocaust. About the hiding part of it, about the stressful part of holding your breath under a mattress. I found it really interesting! And I agree with Matt, she gives awesome hugs
I saw the movie with Vicky and Rachel (the boy in the striped pajamas) and it was really sad! Also it was really embarrassing because I was crying the loudest in the whole theatre! It was a really well done movie and I recommend it to anyone!
I think people treat people poorly because they want what they have. If my brother had something that I wanted, like gum, I would steal it from him. Then he would punch me, and I would punch back, and we would treat each other badly just because of this piece of gum. In the case of World War Two, Hitler wanted everyone to be the same. So, he killed the people who were different just to get what he wanted.
I recently saw a movie called Slumdog Millionare. The guy went on a show and won tons of money. They thought he was a cheat, so they tortured him to figure out how he cheated. It turned out he didn’t cheat so it was wrong of them to torture him. He was mistreated and he was innocent. Just like all of those Jewish people in World War Two. It wasn’t until recently that the USA closed Guantanamo Bay, the place where they tortured captured terrorists. I think it’s horrible that it has taken them this long to close it. They are just as bad as the people they are torturing.