Captain Obvious Aesop: Don't discriminate against people based on what they're born with! Sadly enough, it still holds true in the present day.
Fandom Rivalry: Not so much a "rivalry" in the traditional sense, but fans of Maus are especially heavily critical of this novel for its depiction of the Holocaust and of the ways discrimination against Jews played out in Nazi-era Germany. As Gwen Katz notes◊, the novel's softening of certain terms, depiction of Bruno as being innocently oblivious to the horrors going on around him, and attempts to make the Holocaust and anti-Semitism a metaphor for all forms of racism and discrimination only serve to make the lessons of the Holocaust less impactful. This in turn has led to the coinage of the term "Pajamafication", which essentially amounts to sanitizing the less savory aspects of history and prioritizes feel-good, often fictional stories centered around the people who aren't victims of discrimination rather than focusing on the more painfully truthful accounts of victims and survivors of certain atrocities.
If that were to come, that would mean Bruno's entire family is gone...
Glurge: Bruno thinking the word "fuhrer" is "fury", even though he's German and would know what the word meant. It's trying so hard to make Bruno seem innocent in the most overbearing and contrived way possible.
Heartwarming Moments: Despite the mayhem that followed, Bruno found that he was still holding Shmuel's hand in his own and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let go. Also a Tear Jerker.
It Was His Sled: Pretty much everyone knows that Bruno and Schmuel are gassed in the end.
Narm Charm: The setup of the two boys meeting at the fence and the contrivance of Bruno being able to dig under the fence can be nit-picked for historical veracity and plausibility, but the story very effectively highlights the evil of locking up and exterminating people because of their race and/or religious background, as well as the danger of indoctrinating impressionable children about the supposed 'evils' of other groups.
Nightmare Fuel: Parents will not have pleasant dreams for quite a while after this.
James Horner's score during the climax of the film version. It's absolutely terrifying, hammering in just how horrifying and tense the event at hand is. It's emphasized very well when Bruno's father looks through one of the barracks. The slow zoom into him from the back of the barracks, coupled with creepy, high-pitched strings that keeps growing... It really shows how much he screwed up in keeping his son safe.
The final shot of the movie, which is a panning-away shot of the gas chamber Bruno and Shmuel died in. The chamber is completely silent.
Overshadowed by Controversy: Since its publication, the novel has received criticism from historians and Jewish activists alike for its depiction of the Holocaust, Jews, and Germans. The scrutiny around it only intensified over the years, especially after 2016 which saw a wave of authoritarian far-right governments rising across the USA and Europe that rode on perpetuating anti-semitic conspiracy theories and in 2022 when a schoolboard in Tennessee cut Maus (a work many could describe as the ultimate Spiritual Antithesis of Pyjamas) out of its curriculum. John Boyne's own responses to the criticisms haven't helped matters either.
Tear Jerker: The ending, as portrayed by both the book and the film.
The final sentence we see narrating Bruno in the book.
"And then the room went very dark and somehow, despite the chaos that followed, Bruno found that he was still holding Shmuel's hand in his own and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let it go."
The sound of Bruno's mother and sister wailing once they learn his fate in the film is haunting.
What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids?: Yes, it's a story about two boys from vastly different backgrounds overcoming their differences and becoming true friends... but it's still about the Holocaust. Generally, it's often placed in middle school libraries.
◊, the novel's softening of certain terms, depiction of Bruno as being innocently oblivious to the horrors going on around him, and attempts to make the Holocaust and anti-Semitism a metaphor for all forms of racism and discrimination only serve to make the lessons of the Holocaust less impactful. This in turn has led to the coinage of the term "Pajamafication"
