Introduction:
Throughout Schindler’s List the director, Steven Spielberg, uses the character arcs of Oskar Schindler, Itzhak Stern and Amon Goeth to convey several ideas. Schindler progresses from a greedy, selfish businessman to one who surrendered his fortune to save the lives of over 1000 Jews. Beginning as Schindler’s shrewd servant, Stern develops a close bond with Schindler. As their two initially separate goals merge into one, respect for his employer followed. Goeth begins as a cruel, cold-blooded murderer but, under the influence of Schindler, deviates briefly, with episodes of forgiveness and mercy, yet unfortunately returns back to his evil ways. These character arcs all convey the theme of change and the place of individual choices
…show more content…
Spielberg uses the window frame divider to juxtapose the two men, asking us to compare the morals of the two men. Following this, a transition to the creation of the ‘List’ with Stern, confirms Schindler has made a righteous decision, signalling a major turning point in Schindler’s character arc.
Second Paragraph:
Itzhak Stern, compared to Schindler and Goeth is stable and reliable, an anchor of morality. What does change is Stern’s relationship with Schindler.
In the first meeting between Stern and Schindler, Stern is cautious, closed and restrained. Spielberg uses a low camera angle and the positioning of the actors to compare the power of Schindler to Stern. Schindler, sitting on the table top, towers over him. Close up shots of Schindler and medium shots on Stern, as well as the closed body language of the actor, convey that Stern is wary and a minion.
Spielberg uses a motif of Schindler offering a drink to Stern used throughout the movie, signifying the relationship between the two men. The first time Schindler meets Stern, Stern does not accept the drink, symbolising the newness and uncertainty of the men’s
…show more content…
Throughout the vignette, Goeth’s height and low angle shots show his domination over the Jews. His dialogue shows his newfound self-control, in one instance bursting out in anger, before calming himself and saying “all right.... all right”.
In the mirror scene, Spielberg uses an over the shoulder shot to show Goeth staring at the mirror, symbolising him reflecting on his new self. Through the camera pan of Goeth’s resolved and sinister expression, Spielberg displays Goeth’s reluctance to change.
We are also shown Goeth’s internalized anti-Semitism and unjustifiable cruelty in the cellar scene. Spielberg uses lighting and shadow to portray innocence and evil. Helen’s face, permanently in light, contrasts with Goeth’s face, shadowed in darkness. Spielberg uses light on part of Goeth’s face to show the conflict between his anti-Semitic values and his sexual lust. The dialogue in this scene is entirely one sided, Goeth talking to himself. Spielberg shows Goeth’s self-justification of his innate
A small, smoke-filled and well-lit room with a small circular table, some buffets and other furniture. Having everything typical to a middle and upper class residence, this room symbolizes the type of citizens who are tired and afraid of M’s reign of terror. Having the mobster’s meet in this room in the first place, Lang highlights the notion of the silent, scared majority of Berlin who will accept any course of action just to see to it that their children are safe and that their normalcy of life continues on, before M began abducting children. The cigar smoke filling the room is symbolic of the haziness and gray area that such a situation presents. One may stop to ask themselves, “Is this right? Are we doing the right thing by setting the mob loose on M?” or “If I was a criminal, would I want due process and a fair investigation and trial?” By the mob and the people taking matters into their own hands, they are essentially submitting to fear and thus usurping the due process of law. By having the mobsters in the room, the citizens are okay with ends being justified by the means and show that have lost complete and utter faith and trust in the police to keep their children
The posters appeal to logos is deeply intertwined with an appeal to pathos due to the poignant nature of the subject matter. Spielberg’s decision to not use faces in the poster emphasizes the gravity of the Holocaust. This coupled with his use of color as well as his omission of color make a poignant statement: The black and white portions of the poster represent the masses of people who will remain unknown as they are merely a name on a list; whereas the red sleeve on the child is like a blatant mark signifying importance of one person who might have otherwise been lost in the sea of people. By marking and highlighting the value of one person, Spielberg comments on the immense bloodshed of the Holocaust as well as emphasizes the value of human life. The firm grip that the adult’s hand has on the child’s hand symbolizes hope despite the strife and carnage that the Holocaust produced. It represents the strong will that many Jewish people had who, even in the face of the crisis, still looked to the future with hope.
Grendel, as a character, has a much more complex identity than just a monster and a human. Some, such as Ruud, classify him as a mixture of three different characteristics, but alone, they tend to conflict with each other. By making the connection that Grendel represents immorality, the previous idea makes more sense, while simultaneously incorporating more aspects of the character into the analysis. In either case, Grendel represents much more than meets the eye, and provides a fascinating insight into
The movie “Schindler’s list” is a compelling, real-life depiction of the events that occurred during the 1940’s. It illustrates the persecution and horrific killings of the Jewish people. It also exemplifies the hope and will of the Jewish people, which undoubtedly is a factor in the survival of their race. The most important factor however is because of the willingness of one man, Oskar Schindler, to stand out and make a difference.
When a Jewish girl living in Krakow under fabricated papers visits Schindler, and she asks that he hire her parents to work in his factory. He is furious with the girl and she runs from him, fearing for her life and her liberty. Schindler expresses his rage at Stern, whom he accuses of giving refuge to Jews in the "haven" of a factory. Schindler is not angry at the idea ...
While the script is often one of the most crucial elements in a film, the brevity of speech and precise movements of the primary character accentuate the changing nature of his integrity. As viewers follow Captain Wiesler of the East German secret police, it is soon clear that he only says what is necessary, such as when noting his surveillance partner’s lateness or setting instructions for the surveillance bugging team (“twenty minutes”). It is important to note that Wiesler does not say a single word when Axel Stiegler cracks a joke in the cafeteria about Honecker, or when Grubitz himself makes a joke. Only
Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief (2005), and Steven Spielberg, director of Schindler’s List (1993), both use their works to portray the theme of racism in Nazi-era Germany. Racism today affects millions of people daily, with 4.6 million people being racial discrimination in Australia alone. However, in Nazi-era Germany, Jewish people were discrimination because they weren’t part of the ‘master race’, causing millions to suffer and be killed. To explore this theme, the setting, characters, conflicts and symbols in both The Book Thief and Schindler’s List will be analysed and compared.
Jews, a religious group of people originating from Israel, have lived in Europe, including Germany, for about 1500 years (Carr; Shyovitz). As Jews moved away from Israel, agriculture was no longer their main form of breadwinning. They have become more educated and many acquired skilled professions. In Europe, Christians were not allowed to lend money and the Jews have become the main money lenders. The knowledge, skills, and money lending abilities that Jews possessed allowed them to become extremely prosperous. During 1000-1500, most Rulers in Europe were Christians, who disliked the Jews (Carr). Although they lived peacefully with their neighbors, Christians blamed
Finally, the analogy to the fruit of knowledge and the downfall of man is played out by Sethe as she gathers her children (her fruit) to her. The text continues the analogy as Sethe does something unthinkable, something evil, and she is cast out of the garden for it. These passages serve to reaffirm the never ending battle between good and evil.
...n idea about the human psyche and the nature of evil. Throughout the novels, we have acts that were dubbed as evil. Some of these were: the acts of the rabbi’s son, the killing of Simon, and even the joy Eliezer felt at the death of his father. All of these points and the many that weren’t mentioned all shared a singular idea. It was that the ulterior motive of these acts revolved around people reacting on instinct and desire. From these, we gain the final message of the novel that was proven time and time again. This message was that evil isn’t an act that just isn’t moral. Evil is the primal, instinctual, an animalistic rage that lives in the darker part of our heart, a part of the heart that is brought to light upon the moment the chains of civilization are broken..... A moment where we fall prey to our instincts and our conscience disappears into the darkness.
feels he must turn his factory into a refuge for Jews. By doing so he
Thomas Keneally’s Schindler’s List is the historical account of Oskar Schindler and his heroic actions in the midst of the horrors of World War II Poland. Schindler’s List recounts the life of Oskar Schindler, and how he comes to Poland in search of material wealth but leaves having saved the lives of over 1100 Jews who would most certainly have perished. The novel focuses on how Schindler comes to the realization that concentration and forced labor camps are wrong, and that many people were dying through no fault of their own. This realization did not occur overnight, but gradually came to be as the business man in Oskar Schindler turned into the savior of the Jews that had brought him so much wealth. Schindler’s List is not just a biography of Oskar Schindler, but it is the story of how good can overcome evil and how charity can overcome greed.
This documentary like film begins with Oskar Schindler getting ready to make the deal of a life time by getting in good with the Nazi Officers. Schindler was a man that knew how to smooze people. He would wine and dine them with the best of wine, food, and women, which was not a cheap thing to do, especially during World War II. He was fond of saying, "Presentation is everything."
(The following text contains major spoilers) From the moment Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) appears on screen as the charismatic, yet cold-blooded “Jew Hunter”, it
A film bursting with visual and emotional stimuli, the in-depth character transformation of Oscar Schindler in Schindler’s List is a beautiful focal point of the film. Riddled with internal conflict and ethical despair, Schindler challenges his Nazi Party laws when he is faced with continuing his ambitious business ideas or throwing it all away for the lives of those he once saw as solely cheap labor. Confronted with leading a double life and hiding his motivations from those allegiant to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, Schindler undergoes numerous ethical dilemmas that ultimately shape his identity and challenge his humanity. As a descendent of a Jewish-American, Yiddish speaking World War II soldier who helped liberate concentration camps in Poland, this film allowed for an enhanced personal