Comparing and Contrasting Night and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The memoir Night written by Elie Wiesel, and the novel The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by Jonathan Boyne,  have many similarities and many differences.  The most obvious similarity between the two books is that they took place during the same time period.  This was the Holocaust, when Jews and others were massacred.  Also, the protagonists in both stories experienced a concentration camp in one way or another.  Mr. Wiesel and Bruno were both males in uncomfortable situations.  They were forced to adjust to their surroundings and they tried to make the best of them.  Mr. Wiesel realized that there was nothing he could do, single handedly, against the Nazis.  Bruno recognized that the Nazis were committing a terrible crime.  There was little he could do too. 

Night and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas were also different.  Mr. Wiesel was a persecuted Jew while Bruno was the son of a Nazi commander.  The Nazis ordered Mr. Wiesel around and if him wanted to survive, he had to do whatever they commanded.  Bruno was not Jewish and did not have to suffer through the cruelty of the Nazis.  Another difference between Mr. Wiesel and Bruno was the knowledge of their surroundings.  Mr. Wiesel was completely aware of everything that was going on.  He recognized that the Nazis would do anything and everything in their power to exterminate his people.  Bruno knew nothing.  In fact, for the majority of the story, he believed that those in the concentration camp were actually farmers wearing striped pajamas.