A Critical Analysis Of Schindler’s List By Thomas Keneally

This assignment will present a critical analysis of Thomas Keneally’s 1982 novel, Schindlers List. Thomas Keneally is a gifted storytelling writer, who has an eye for detail that will break the readers heart. This novels representation of The Holocaust is one of the most valued literary works. It also shows the masterful portrayal of Oskar Schindler and Amon Goeth. The controversy of this novel is whether or not it really is a novel, as Thomas Keneally states that all the events, and people in the text are true and real (“I have attempted… to avoid all fiction”). However, the dialogue consists of ‘reasonable constructs’ or ‘detailed recollections. For clarity’s sake the novel has been filled in and shaped, but still contains truth for the memory of those present.

The literary technique the author uses is faction, which means it is mostly factual with a little bit of fiction. The creative writing talent of this author is remarkable, however some plot lines disappeared, and sentences were garbled. This is seen when the author mentions that Schindler is a spy for the German counterintelligence, which earns him money to set up his factory, however this fact was not mentioned again. There is no use of literary license, however when the author describes the savage ways of the Germans and the public Jew-hating during the Holocaust, the text is very minimal with details. This is seen when Keneally uses words like, ‘Aktions’ (Jews violently being rounded up into death camps or ghettos), ‘Selection’ (with almost no notice the Jews in death camps were sent to the barracks or gas chambers), ‘Relocation’ and ‘Special Treatment’ (the Jews were routed to the death camps while being crammed into cattle cars). The purpose of all this terror was to make the world Judenrein, “Jew free”.

Thomas Keneally also documents the posters that were plastered throughout the walls of the city, Kracow: ‘Jews-Lice-Thphus,’ “Whoever Helps a Jew, Helps Satan’, or ‘Entrance Forbidden to Jews and Dogs’. The doors to the gas-chambers were also falsely signed “Baths and Inhalation Rooms”. There is no language powerful enough to capture the amount of evil that the Nazis obtained, partially the tyrant Amon Goeth. Schindler, who staffed his factory with Jews to find fortune, soon discovered he was saving innocent lives. By claiming he had “skilled” Jewish laborer’s contributing to “essential” war work, Oskar provided an “acre of safety in that square mileage of horror”. He bribed, bullied, and tricked the SS into leaving the Jews in the factories alone. This unbelievable hero who was a member of the Nazi Party, a womaniser, heavy drinker and a rabid hedonist, yet he saved eleven hundred Jews. In this novel the author does not guess the personal psychology and life experiences that might have shaped and motivated Goeth’s and Schindler’s actions and choices.

This outstanding book, and the heroic and complex figure of Schindler is admired by the world. The chilling portrayal of the inhumanity of humanity makes Schindler’s List terrifying. This novel is not only eye-opening but also inspiring as it demonstrates that humans can do good things for each other. This is shown when a gold dental work was removed by one of the Schindler Jews so that it could be melted into a ring and inscribed with a compelling verse from the Talmud, “He who saves a single life saves the world entire”. The Jews gifted this ring to Oskar Schindler after the war to show their gratitude. Schindler was a persuasive man, who not only talked his way to freedom many times, but he also manipulated the Nazi system and used them to his advantage by operating factories with slave labor. The author has made this a monumental piece writing by capturing the horrendous experience of the Holocaust. The original purpose of Oskar Schindler’s factories was to make money for himself and to supply the Germans with essentials for war, however the factories soon became a safe haven for the Jews. Oskar Schindler was quoted in the book to have said to Goeth that, “Power is when we have every justification to kill, and we don’t”. Amon Goeth was represented as a thoughtless, cold hearted, arrogant, cantankerous, domineering, and controlling man, who had no thought for anyone else. However, Oskar was an industrialist who only wanted to make a fortune by hiring Jews for cheap labor, but in the process was saving innocent lives during World War Two.

This critical review of Thomas Keneally’s 1982 novel, Schindlers List analyses the ideas, attitudes and values that underpin the traumatic events, which influence the audience emotionally. It is an uplifting book, in spite of everything that happened. In conclusion, the author does a remarkable job at capturing these powerful, yet evil events in history.