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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.
The setting is extremely important in both novels and films. It can have immense effects on the plot and characters, establishing the atmosphere or mood
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of a story or a specific scene. The Book Thief is set in a fictional town called Molching, a suburb in Munich, Germany during the year 1939. “The book thief … travelling down towards Munich … Fuhrer … January 1939.” [Page 19-21, Part 1]. Although Schindler’s List takes place in Krakow, Poland, mostly in a Jewish ghetto, Krakow was part of German territory during 1939. “September 1939 … German forces defeated the Polish Army … Jews were order to … relocate to major cities. More than 10,000 Jews … arrived in Krakow daily.” [1:47-2:02]. Characters are important elements in novels and films as the types of characters involved create different types of conflicts and tensions, as well as different types of resolutions. Liesel Meminger, the main character of The Book Thief, is a young teenage German girl. While Schindler’s List is set in occupied Poland, the main character Oskar Schindler (portrayed by Liam Neeson) is a middle-aged Czechoslovakian, who works as a German industrialist and is also a member of the Nazi Party. This is shown with a close up shot, as Oskar places a pin with a swastika on his jacket coat [4:15-4:22]. At the beginning of The Book Thief, Liesel is portrayed as an illiterate young girl, who later becomes very intelligent and understands to true power of words. “The faces of depleted men and women reached across to them, pleading not so much for help, but for an explanation. Just something to subdue this confusion.” [Part 7, Page 419]. Conversely, Oskar is an intelligent man and opportunist, motivated by profit. Later during the film, he comes to show extraordinary initiative, tenacity and dedication to save the lives of his Jewish employees. Although Oskar was able to save the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust by employment, Liesel was able to save one Jew with the power of words and created an unbreakable bond with him. Conflicts in texts may be internal or external, occurring within a character’s mind or between a character and exterior forces. Conflict is most visible between two or more characters, usually a protagonist and an antagonists, but can occur in many different forms. To display the racism towards Jews, an external conflict is used in The Book Thief, while an internal conflict is used in Schindler’s List. During The Book Thief, the Hubermann family is keeping a Jew hidden in their basement, named Max Vandenburg. The Hubermanns wanting to keep Max safe, allowed him into their homes, offered him food, water, warmth and a mattress to sleep on. “Max Vandenburg, the Jew, closed his eyes and drooped a little further into safety.” [Part 4, Page 200]. They went against everything their society believed in and still continued to help Max, even if it meant they would be punished or killed. On the other hand, during Schindler List, Amon Goeth (portrayed by Ralph Fiennes) who is silently lusting for his maid, Helen Hirsch (portrayed by Embeth Davidtz), attempts to reach out and converse with her [1:51:34-1:55:29]. The lighting is almost pitch blank, with light only coming through the window. Amon’s face goes from dark to light several times as he paces and talks out his conflict. Through the dialogue, Amon is attempting to justify the face that lusting after a Jew shouldn’t make him feel guilty. “Is this the face of a rat? Are these the eyes of a rat? Hath not a Jew eyes?” [1:54:20-1:54:34]. Society tells that Jews are inhumane and deserve the treatment that they endured, but Amon cannot physically or emotionally tell the difference between them, as they are in fact human beings. The scene ends with Amon coming back to reality and realises that his maid is nothing but a “Jewish bitch” [1:55:16]and beats her excessively to rid himself of guilt. Symbols in novels and films are objects, characters, figures or colours used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
In both The Book Thief and Schindler’s List there is one main symbol that represents the racism towards the Jews. Bread is the symbol in The Book Thief, while a young girl in a red coat is the symbol in Schindler’s List. The bread represents an act of selflessness, representing the kindness society is capable of. The young girl in the red coat represents the innocence of the Jews being slaughtered. In The Book Thief there are two examples of acts of selflessness. The first being Max’s friend bringing him bread to keep him alive. “He left a small bag filled with bread, fat and three small carrots.” [Part 3, Page 152]. The second example is Hans Hubermann giving bread to an elderly Jewish prisoner who was being marched to Dachau. “… Hans Hubermann held his hand out and presented a piece of bread, like magic.” [Part 7, Page 421]. Sacrifices were made giving the bread, as Max’s friend could have been severely punished or killed and Hans was whipped badly by a Nazi party member for his act of kindness. The girl in the red coat, is the only object to be presented in colour during the whole of Schindler’s List. The moment Oskar caught sight of the girl [1:08:30], he is forced to confront the horror of Jewish life during the Holocaust and his own hand in that horror. Later Oskar spots the girl in a pile of exhumed dead bodies [2:16:00], her death symbolising the death of all the innocent Jews
murdered. Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief and Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List both excellently use a range of stylistic conventions to portray the common theme of racism in Nazi-era Germany. Through the use of setting, characters, conflicts and symbols the theme is brought to life and captures the reader and audiences’ attention. These two text bring awareness to the ongoing issue of racism that still continues today in the 21st century and will remain an issue if nothing happens to change this in the future.
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.
In this essay I will talk about The Book Thief Characters. The characters are Liesel, Rudy, And Max. I Will talk about how they are Influenced by society in This Book/Movie. I am going to three Paragraphs about these three characters. This essay is going to be a Compare and Contrast Essay.
The Holocaust is marked as one of the most horrifying events of the 20th century.The person who was responsible for the Holocaust was Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi Party. The question is, how, and why was Hitler able to do this? The actual truth behind all this is that, Hitler could make the world his, just by using words. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, it tells a story about a young girl growing up when Nazi Germany was invincible. The author explores some very meaningful, yet, controversial themes for the most part of the novel. Out of all themes, he believes that words hold a remarkable power. He explores how words manipulate, divide, and connect people.
The victims of the Holocaust lose sight of who they are during this time and begin to live their life by playing a part they believe they were because of their race. Loman discussed the irony behind the cat-and-mouse metaphor that Spiegelman uses in his graphic novel in his article titled “’Well Intended Liberal Slop’: Allegories of Race in Spiegelman’s Maus”. In his article he states,
German citizens had to endure a challenging lifestyle, presented by Adolf Hitler, of fascism, the holocaust, Jewish laws and propaganda during World War II. From 1939-1942, Nazi Germany affected the lives of Jews, Gypsies, Slavic people, and other groups living in Germany by getting rid of the undesirables, known as the Holocaust. Only Germans with the look of blond hair and blue eyes were even considered to live, only if he or she had no defects or disabilities, anyone else was sent to and killed in concentration camps. The Book Thief takes place in a town near Munich, Germany during this time of the holocaust. The novel focuses on the lives of the people and how they cope and deal with the immediate effects of WWII. It emphasizes the danger of hiding a Jew in a family’s basement, and how they are constantly paranoid of being caught.
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.
A hero is a man who, in the opinion of others, is greatly admired for his brave deeds and fine qualities. A hero is a man who, in the opinion of others, is greatly admired for his brave deeds and fine qualities. In Schindler’s List directed by Steven Spielberg, Oskar Schindler is regarded as a great hero amongst many Jews regardless of the fact that he is a German Nazi, because he saves the generations and lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust. The Holocaust was the systematic mass murder of about 6 million Jews and millions of others during World War II that was taken place in Nazi Concentration Camps, under the German Nazi regime. In the midst of this brutal time period, Oskar Schindler finds the heart to undergo a change from being the mere pragmatic, rich man to becoming the virtuous, good man who helps save Jews. But rather than a benefactor, Oskar Schindler was more of a self-motivator who set goals upon his own visions and dreams, and one who undertook goals to have them achieved into reality. We see this characteristic in Schindler being brought forth when he works toward his goal in becoming rich, when he influences some of his self motivation on Goeth, and when Schindler approaches toward his newly changed goal in saving Jews.
In The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, beauty and brutality is seen in many of the characters. Rudy, Liesel, and Rosa display examples of beauty and brutality often without realizing what exactly they are doing, because it is a part of their human nature. Zusak not only uses his characters, but also the setting of the novel in Nazi Germany to allude to his theme of the beauty and brutality of human nature. The time in which the novel is set, during World War II, displays great examples of beauty and brutality, such as the mistreatment of the Jews. As a result of this time period, the characters have to go through troubling times, which reveals their beautiful and brutal nature in certain circumstances. Zusak uses his characters and their experiences to demonstrate the theme of the beauty and brutality of human nature in the novel.
Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 film Inglourious Bastards entails a Jewish revenge fantasy that is told through a counterfactual history of events in World War II. However, this story follows a completely different plot than what we are currently familiar with. Within these circumstances, audiences now question the very ideas and arguments that are often associated with World War II. We believe that Inglourious Basterds is a Jewish revenge fantasy that forces us to rethink our previous understandings by disrupting the viewers sense of content and nature in the history of World War II. Within this thesis, this paper will cover the Jewish lens vs. American lens, counter-plots within the film, ignored social undercurrents, and the idea that nobody wins in war.
The setting or settings in a novel are often an important element in the work. Many novels use contrasting places such as cities or towns, to represent opposing forces or ideas that are central to the meaning of the work. In Thomas Hardy's novel, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, the contrasting settings of Talbothays Dairy and Flintcomb-Ash represent the opposing forces of good and evil in Tess' life.
feels he must turn his factory into a refuge for Jews. By doing so he
The setting of a story is the physical and social context in which the action of a story occurs.(Meyer 1635) The setting can also set the mood of the story, which will help readers to get a better idea pf what is happening. The major elements of the setting are the time, place, and social environment that frame the characters. (Meyer 1635) "Trifles by Susan Glaspell portrays a gloomy, dark, and lonely setting. Glaspell uses symbolic objects to help the audience get a better understanding for the characters. The three symbolizes used are a birdcage, a bird, and rope.
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
Schindler’s List had a great effect on me personally. I thought that Thomas Keneally did an excellent job in making the reader feel the events of the time. Perhaps what I found to be most interesting in Schindler’s List is a question of morality. I began asking myself the question, would I be as heroic as Oskar Schindler if I were in his shoes? I think that this is exactly what Keneally wanted us to do; he wanted us to look at ourselves and analyze what’s inside. Historically, I find Schindler’s List to be very important not only because it is tells of a shameful time in western civilization, but also because the events that took place in the novel occurred only yesterday. After all fifty years is almost nothing in historical terms. Perhaps the novel’s greatest strength is this feeling that the events that transpired in Schindler’s List are in fact modern history.
Many of us have heard stories about the Holocaust, but did you know that over 11 million people died? Death was a very important yet regular aspect of Nazi Germany, and The Book Thief did a great job describing this destruction. In this novel we are guided through a whirlwind of romances, like Rudy and Liesel’s long lived love for each other, and Rosa and Hans’ hidden desire, but equally we are faced with heartbreaks, and even more often, death. The narrator uses many literary devices to describe the process of death, and the fact that even if we foresee it, it never comes easily.