Bruno’s desperation to find friends to play with leads him through the backyard and to the “farm” when he meets another 8 year old, Shmuel a Jewish boy sitting just inside the fence of the concentration camp. Their relationship has a cute beginning as Bruno reacts to Shmuel’s name, saying “I never heard that name before” and Shmuel responds to Bruno’s name, saying ”I never heard that name before”.But their relationship goes through several twists and turns, and Bruno’s desperation ramps up as his innocence continues, saying to Shmuel from outside the fence “its not fair, I’m stuck over here, while you’re over there playing with friends all day”. Bruno thinks that Shmuel, who is always seen pushing a wheelbarrow to and from his meeting spot with Bruno, is playing games because of the number on his “pajamas”.There is more clever imagery as Bruno finds a pile of dolls in the cellar symbolic of the number of kids that have been killed in the camp.Bruno’s innocence continues as he later discovers the fence is electric, but he thinks its for keeping animals out, even Shmuel thinks its just burning old clothes. Later, when Pavel, the Jewish house servant is beat up by a Nazi officer, Bruno is bothered that his dad did nothing to stop it, saying “dad just sat there”. Bruno starts putting the puzzle together, telling his sister that “dad is in charge of a horrible place” and Greta replies “only horrible for them”. Bruno even asks Shmuel is he ever thought his dad wasn’t a good man.Bruno’s innocence and naivete is a parallel to the many of the people of Germany and the world who were naive to what the Nazis were really doing as he gets a sneak peek of his father and other Nazi officers watching a newsreel about the “camp” its a twisted, unrealistic version of the camp to make it appear the Jews were being treated humanely.
Bruno passed the fence where Schmuel was. Finally they met. In the camp, Bruno saw that nothing was as he expected. People there were sad and horrified. He needed to got back to home. But it was too late. They were pushed into a gas camera with many men. Bruno was afraid, He took hold ogre Schmuel tiny hands in his and whispered. You are my best friend, My best friend for life... And suddenly the room went dark, Despite of the chaos that followed, Bruno found himself still holding Schmuel's hand and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let it go.
