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Motifs
Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:
Schindler’s List is set primarily in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II. Much of the novel unfolds in various locations in Cracow, including the Cracow ghetto and the Płaszów concentration camp, which are eventually liquidated and disbanded, respectively.
As the Nazis abandon Płaszów, Schindler oversees the transfer of his titular list of prisoners from Emalia, his enamelware factory in Cracow, to Brinnlitz, his armaments factory in Czechoslovakia. Here, he and his workers are able to wait out the rest of the war in relative safety. Although technically associated with concentration camps, Schindler’s factories become a kind of “paradise” for Jews in the midst of the brutal Nazi occupation.
Obviously, historical events associated with World War II directly impact the plot of Schindler’s List. At the beginning of the novel, Schindler is a largely self-interested, politically-indifferent industrialist, but as the horrors of the Holocaust unfold, his sense of morality develops and he becomes increasingly committed to a humanitarian interest in saving Jewish lives. As the war unfolds, Schindler must respond to shifting Nazi policies in order to protect the Jewish prisoners under his charge until German defeat. This explains many of the novel’s shifts in physical location, which are Schindler’s attempts to maintain control of and thereby safeguard his workers.
Related Themes:
