Personal Study – Higher Exemplar
Text: Schindler’s Ark
Author: Thomas Keneally
Statement of Intent:
In the text ‘Schindler’s Ark’ by Thomas Keneally, the author successfully conveys the importance of life in a time of much death and destruction, and at the same time shows its fragility. I will analyse the techniques the author uses to convey this to the reader, and how in this way the reader is aided in their understanding of the characters’ motives.
‘Schindler’s Ark’ is a non-fiction text, written by Thomas Keneally , telling the story of Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist, and his contribution to the survival of thousands during the Holocaust. This essay will study the techniques used by the author to convey the importance of life in a time of so much death and destruction, and at the same time show its fragility. I will also analyse, in the course of this essay, how in using these techniques the author aids the reader in understanding the motives of the characters.
The majority of the text takes place in 1939 to 1945 in wartime Nazi-occupied Poland. Oskar Schindler, the main focus of the book, was a respectable, high-flying German businessman, who, the author tells us, began to set up the enamel factory known as ‘Emalia’, in 1939. At that time anti-Jewish propaganda was spreading, and the Jews of Poland were quickly exiled to ghettos. The ‘Aktions’ began shortly after this; brutal slaughters whose survivors were taken to labour or concentration camps. On witnessing one of these ‘Aktions’, Oskar Schindler embarked on a mission to save as many Jews as possible, first opening his own camp for workers, and later creating the famous ‘Schindler’s List’. This list was designed as a saviour of all those on it, protecting them from being sent to Auschwitz, and their inevitable death.
The author effectively uses imagery throughout the novel to show both how desperate people were to survive, and how quickly their lives could be taken away.
“The list is an absolute good. The list is life. All round its cramped margins lies the gulf.” P.314
In this metaphor, the author refers to the importance of the list, effectively conveying the vital need to be on it, as it is implied that if your name is not on the list, you are already dead. The author also effectively conveys the fragility of life here, as in the metaphor, all that protects people from death is a simple margin. I found this use of imagery to be thought-provoking as it is successfully used to convey people’s desperation to be on the list, and to live.
“The other suspicion was that Aman would, in the end, have to erase him as one would a classified tape.” P.279
Here, the author uses a simile to show the threat to the life of Mietek Pemper, a young Jew working as a typist for a brutal German army captain. The simile is effectively used to show how easy and quick is would be for Amon Goeth to kill him, like pushing a button, so conveying how fragile the boy’s life is. The word ‘erase’ is appropriate as it has connotations of a mechanical, efficient process, that would instantaneously wipe away life. This use of imagery is, in my opinion, very effective as it conveys the fine line between life and death, and how quickly life can be taken away.
The author makes excellent use of word-choice in order to convey life’s fragility and help us to understand the motives of the characters.
“My teeth would be in a heap in some S.S. warehouse, along with the golden fangs of strangers from Lublin, Lock and Lwow.” P.398
The author refers, in this scene, to the fate of those not on Schindler’s List, whose gold fillings were taken from them either before or after their deaths. The author’s choice of the word ‘heap’ has connotations of a lifeless mass, which conveys how easy it would be to become just another dead body lying in a pile. This also aids the reader in understanding why people were so desperate, as they don’t want to be simply thrown in a ‘heap’ with all the other dead; just one more body among thousands. I found this word-choice both thought-provoking and effective.
“Those crowds at Prokocim, who, for want of a blue tab, stood waiting for the new and decisive symbol of their status, the cattle wagon.” P.138
The author, in this sentence, talks about Jewish people being sent off to camps because they have not been given a label to show they are useful workers. His choice of the simple words ‘blue tab’ effectively conveys how small and insignificant the labels seem, and yet they are the difference between life and death for these people. This word choice was particularly successful, for me, as it shows how simple things can mean death, and so conveys the desperation to stay alive.
Another technique the author utilises in order to convey the fragility of life, and its importance, is juxtaposition of ideas.
“In each car, a pyramid of frozen corpses, their limbs madly contorted, occupied the centre of the floor. The hundred or more still living stank awesomely, were seared black by the cold, were skeletal.” P.385
In this scene, the author describes the occupants of a train car that had been abandoned with them still inside. He makes a comparison between the living and the dead bodies, describing them side by side, and in this way, shows us that there is very little difference between them, as even those alive look dead. The author emphasises this with the word ‘skeletal’, which has connotations of a dead body, and yet is used to describe those still alive. This, in my opinion, is an excellent use of conveying how little difference there is between living and dying.
“A man whose name was called out never knew what to expect, a lump of bread or a bullet.” P.383
The author tells us here about the selections made every day by German officers, deciding who would live and who would die. Keneally makes a comparison between life and death here; the piece of bread symbolising life and the bullet symbolising death.
Alliteration is also effectively used to show how similar the two things are, and so successfully conveying that there is small difference between life and death. The importance of life and people’s determination to hang onto it are also well conveyed through this comparison, as despite the fine line shown between life and death, people still go up to receive what they are given, as there is the small chance they will receive the food needed to survive. I found this comparison both profound in its observation of people’s determination, and very effective.
Sentence structure is also skilfully used by the author, to convey how quickly and easily life can be taken away.
“All children would go to Tarnow to be shot, to Stutthof to be drowned, to Breslan to be indoctrinated, deracinated, operated upon.” P.139
The author makes effective use of a list structure here, to show that death is everywhere and so life is a difficult thing to hold onto. I found this use of structure to be very successful in conveying life’s fragility and its importance in the face of so much death.
“Later in the year they would send poor Scepessi to Auschwitz for being so persuadable.” P.134
Here, the author tells us about a man who allows one of the Jews to survive by giving him a blue sticker. The use of this sentence as a paragraph on its own conveys the abruptness and unexpected nature of Scepessi’s death, as the sentence itself is both abrupt and final. I thought this was a very effective way of conveying the fragility of life and how quickly it can be taken away.
In this essay I have examined the techniques used by Keneally to convey the importance and fragility of life, and how these techniques aid the reader in understanding the motives of the characters; their desperation and their determination to hang onto life. It is these techniques, in my opinion, which make the book both thought-provoking and hard-hitting. This in turn aids the author in his purpose; to have the protagonists of the novel more widely remembered for their deeds.
“On that stony ridge, few of the memorial trees have grown to more than ten feet.” P.426
The author describes here the trees planted in Israel, in memory of those who saved the lives of many Jewish people. In this, the trees symbolise a lack of the remembrance that these men rightly deserve. The author’s purpose in writing ‘Schindler’s Ark’ is to rectify this, so that the memories of these heroes are not lost. I found this text to be highly thought-provoking; a story of winning against all odds, surviving despite all obstacles. In my opinion, the author has done great justice to a serious and inspiring tale.