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Irony
Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—The Talmud:
In an early interaction between Oskar Schindler and his Jewish accountant and conspirator Itzhak Stern, Stern alludes to the Talmud, an important legal and theological text in Judaism:
In times like these, [Oskar] said, it must be hard for the churches to go on telling people that their Heavenly Father cared about the death of even a single sparrow. […] Stern agreed but suggested, in the spirit of the discussion, that the Biblical reference Herr Schindler had made could be summed up by a Talmudic verse which said that he who saves the life of one man saves the entire world.
“Of course, of course,” said Oskar Schindler.
Itzhak [...] always believed that it was at that moment that he had dropped the right seed in the furrow.
The verse Stern references is significant because it informs Schindler’s actions throughout the war. Even though the number of Jewish people he can save is relatively small, he believes in the importance of their lives and commits himself to delivering them out of the Holocaust safely.
Meanwhile, the metaphor of a seed dropped in a furrow foreshadows the phrase’s importance to Schindler. Though it's a small, seemingly insignificant comment, it grows more meaningful over time, shaping his worldview and informing his heroism.
It’s also worth noting that Schindler references Christian ideology and Stern responds with a Jewish teaching. This moment underscores the similarities between the two belief systems, throwing the horrors of antisemitism into sharp, absurd relief.
Related Themes:
Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Cracow as a Snake Pit:
The novel uses metaphor to compare Cracow to a snake pit:
You never knew, when you were forced into the back of a truck, if the absence would be a short or long one, or what sort of hair-trigger madmen might be supervising the work you would be forced to. Under this sort of regimen you felt that life offered no footholds, that you were slithering into a pit which had no bottom. But perhaps the ghetto was the bottom, the point at which it was possible to take organized thought.
This passage describes why some Jewish people actually welcomed the creation of a ghetto. If the random, disorganized repression of Jewish people in Cracow was like a bottomless snake pit, then the ghetto represented a potential bottom. This metaphor communicates the danger and chaos of life as a Jewish person in Cracow. While reaching the bottom of the pit seems like a negative thing (after all, it's the lowest, darkest point), it actually has some appeal because it offers solid ground on which to stand.
In this way, the novel shows how Jewish people desired predictability and normalcy even within their systemic oppression. At the very least, knowing what to expect allowed them to make plans. It's worth noting that without “footholds,” the Jewish people in Cracow become snake-like, forced to slither rather than walk. This part of the metaphor emphasizes the dehumanizing effect of persecution.
Related Themes:
Chapter 32
Explanation and Analysis—Judgment Day:
The novel uses metaphor to compare the train platform of prisoners headed to Brinnlitz to "a cautionary engraving of Judgment Day":
They joined the line of Schindler people anyway. It is a scene from a cautionary engraving of Judgment Day—the ones without the right mark attempting to creep onto the line of the justified and being spotted by an angel of retribution, in this case Oberscharführer Muller, who came up to the doctor with his whip and slapped him, left cheek, right cheek, left and right again with the leather butt, while asking amusedly, “Why would you want to get on that line?”
In this scene, a group of men who were excluded from Schindler’s list unsuccessfully attempt to sneak into the line of prisoners leaving for Brinnlitz. The passage suggests that the prisoners are like deceased souls trying to sneak into Heaven despite belonging in Hell. Indeed, Schindler’s camps were generally considered heavenly compared to other outcomes and were even sometimes referred to as “Paradise.”
It's ironic that, in this extended metaphor, the SS guard plays the role of an angel. This aspect of the comparison shows how the Nazis essentially played God by treating human beings like pawns in their genocidal scheme. The so-called “judgments” that determine who ends up where are not just at all, but are mostly arbitrary, emphasizing how survival is often determined by chance.
Related Themes:
