When looking into the principles of New Historicism the idea of a writer’s biases seems to hold a significant amount of weight. There seems to be a clear distinction between the ideas of accuracy versus bias and the value they have. In a more traditional form of writing or reading the idea would be to find an accurate story or depiction of a time period or culture. This is what gave texts values because they would work as a representation of their subject matter. Despite this there still exists inaccuracy within texts discussing historical events or set in the past. New historicism takes advantage of these inaccuracy by asking what they bring to the text. If a writer chooses a particular time period and brings to the table a number of things that seem unlikely to happen or down right would not have happened, then what is that saying about the time it was written? New Historicists take into account that these things would not have happened but instead look at the text through an almost double lens that asks about the time period being represented as well as that of the time the text was written. What is the purpose of these changes and what does the presence of bias tell about the time of publishing?

A text that represents these inaccuracies would be The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. Boyne writes a story taking place during the holocaust following a young boy through their journey under the Nazi reign. Boyne manages to create an atmosphere of bleak outlooks on life but also keeps to story telling conventions for the most part. When writing a fictional story there are typical rules that most writers stay within to create a cohesive story that this novel in particular attempts to hold to. These unsaid rules help to make a more enjoyable experience for the reader. In reality life is much less rule based on cares less for what makes a good story. In reality victims of the holocaust had their stories cut short and that’s just part of cruel reality. On the other hand, there’s the similar text, Night, by Elie Wiesel that also tells the story of a young boy during their journey through the holocaust. This text differs though because the author is not just the author, they’re the main character. Wiesel wrote about his own experience in the holocaust therefore taking away the idea of a creative work of literature and becoming a historical account of someone’s life.

The questions that arise here are why did Boyne write in so many particular situations to his novel? What creative liberties did he take for the sake of storytelling? Why did he write his novel in the first place when so many novels exist based on the holocaust already? These questions can be placed against Wiesel’s novel as well to get a more accurate view of the second world war. This could also be used to better understand the 2000s as a decade and how the memories of the holocaust had aged over roughly sixty years.

Boyne, John, 1971-. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas : a Fable. New York :David Fickling Books, 2006.

Wiesel, Elie,Wiesel, Marion.Night. New York : Hill And Wang, 2006. Print.