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NCEA English 2.2 Essays
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Excellence worthy essays for English 2.2 for the text Schindler's List
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____________________________________________________________________________Question: Analyse how conflict was used to reveal the director’s/creator’s purpose.
In the movie, Schindler’s List, directed by Steven Spielberg, conflict was used to reveal the
director’s purpose. This was done through the use of contrast, symbolism and parallel editing.
Conflict can be physical, or mental. Spielberg was able to convey the idea that one man can
make a difference, and that what comes around goes around, especially when there is a change
in power. The director’s purpose was to show the audience that there can still be good in a
world of evil.
Schindler’s List is a movie about a man who finds himself boosted into power due to the racism
and discrimination that existed in places where the Third Reich ruled such as Poland and many
other nations in Europe. Schindler profited from the war as he was able to trade resources with
local Jews for money to start his factory. Workers came in the form of Jews, which were the
cheapest form of labor at the time, and their wages went straight from Schindler’s pocket to the
SS officers. Through the use of parallel editing, it is revealed to us that the director’s purpose
was to show us that it only takes one man to save the world. In one scene, we see Mrs and Mr
Nussbaum being evacuated out of their beautiful apartment with only suitcases. In the following
scene we see Schindler and his wife moving into that very apartment where Mr and Mrs
Nussbaum just left. It jumps back to Mr and Mrs Nassbaum where they, along with many other
Jews, are climbing the stairs of the ghetto where they will live. The stark difference in living
condition highlights the effect of the conflict of the war. It is revealed to us that during world
war two, the suffering of many was the very reason for the happiness and wealth/power of
another.
At the Plaszow labor camp, there is a road that is made up of headstones that were torn up from
Jewish cemeteries. This road not only enhances the historical precision of the film, but reveals
to us the dehumanisation of the Jews. Headstones are a symbol of respect and remembrance for
the dead, as cemeteries are for the loved ones of the deceased to come and grieve for them. By
digging up the headstones, and forcing the Jews to pave the road with their ancestors'
headstones, the director shows us the disregard for Jewish lives. By uprooting the headstones of
dead Jews, they are not only stating that they don’t want any live Jews left, but they don’t want
a trace of any dead ones either. The extent to which they went to show their hatred was clear
and brutal. By making this part of the place where they live, it is a daily reminder that this will
also be their fate. The pavement represents the fact that Jews are worth no more than dirty
shoes, as pavements are where we walk.
, Parallel editing was used to reveal the true meaning of war. The difference between life and
death is purely down to luck. The director crosscuts across three scenes where Schindler and
some Nazis congregate to acknowledge his birthday. We see the war profiteers living an
opulent/rich life, despite the raging war that was happening outside the nightclub. The scene
cuts to the labor camp, where a wedding is occurring. We are shown that even in precarious
times, the Jews are still optimistic that God will see them and right the wrongs that have
happened. However, the third scene shows the camp commandant at the labor camp, Amon
Goeth, beating his maid, Helen Hirsch, after he tried to kiss /sadistically seduce her. This
mainly came from Goeth’s disgust towards Jews, as he became very confronted that he was
attracted to a Jew. He even went to the lengths to stop her wearing the Star of David, which is
how Jews were identified in places where the Third Reich ruled. The difference between
Helen’s misfortune and those that were involved in the other scenes where happiness was
portrayed. This revealed the director’s purpose which was to show us the reality of the
Holocaust. One moment you might be laughing with your friends, but the next you could be the
subject of a beating.
Throughout the film, Schindler’s List, the conflict of world war two and the Holocaust were
used to show the director’s purpose. This was shown to us through the use of contrast,
symbolism and parallel editing. We are able to see that the conflict of world war two and the
holocaust meant that living opposed to dying was a matter of chance.
____________________________________________________________________________
Question: Analyse how motifs were used to develop one or more ideas.
Throughout the film, Schindler’s List, motifs were used to develop the idea that during world
war two, Jews were dehumanised, and the idea that one man can save the life of another. This
was done through the use of lists, trains, death and colour. A motif is a recurring element that
has symbolic meaning.
Throughout Schindler’s List, it becomes apparent that lists became a major influence of life or
death for a Jew. At the very beginning of the film, we see the Jews in Krakow having to register
into the ghetto, as close ups of the typewriters are shown entering thousands of Jews. As the
movie progresses, we see the importance of being on a certain list as a key determinant on the
length of life one has to live. For example, as the final solution became more operational, it is
essential that one is on the list of “essential workers”, otherwise they will be sent to a death
camp. In this case, lists symbolise life is you are on the right one, or death if you are on the
wrong one. As the war intensifies, we see the lists change. When Schindler’s accountant is
named on a list destined for a death camp, Schindler chooses to save his accountant by finding
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