I believe that the novel "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" by John Boyne would be an excellent text for high school students, this is because I believe that the themes of the human nature and friendship during war will interest many people, and if these themes leave some readers disconsolate, then they might appreciate the side of the novel that deals with life inside a concentration camp (Auschwitz). Throughout the novel we as readers learn about a boy named Bruno. At the age of nine, growing up in Berlin, Germany, his father was promoted to commandant, meaning Bruno and his family had to leave their home in Berlin and move to Auschwitz. Bored with his new house, Bruno decides to explore it and discover its purpose. Throughout the novel, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, we as readers see that the two young boys do not fully understand what is happening and why Shmuel is trapped within the camp. I believe that because they are young and don't have a full understanding of what is going on, they only see the good in people and block out a lot of the bad, whereas with people at an older age, people are much more likely to judge and do assumptions about people before they know them. I believe John Boyne focused on this in his novel to show us as readers that the least likely things can bring people together, in the novel the effects of war are what brings Bruno and Shmuel together, and the case in the world we live in today we could meeting someone unexpectedly, but it can play an important role in your life and shape who you are. In the novel, through Bruno and Shmuel's friendship, we see that Bruno comes from a wealthy German family and Shmuel is Polish with his father making watches and his mother teaching languages. This made me think that they lived in the same community and might see each other on occasion, but because they are from two completely different areas of the community they might not recognize each other, but due to circumstances of WW|| the two boys became great friends. I believe the director's intention was to show us readers that two people can come from two areas of the world, have different beliefs and social teachings, but can still become great friends, so as a society as a whole we need to open up and not being too quick to judge people, because you can't judge a book by what it is