Centennial Honors College
Western Illinois University
Undergraduate Research Day 2014
Poster Presentation
Steven Spielberg’s Schindler: A Fusion of Biblical Archetypes
Caitlen O’Day
Faculty Mentor: Everett Hamner
Liberal Arts and Sciences
Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List serves as an unforgettable event in cinematic history
for its accurate depiction of the Jewish Holocaust. Its combined historical accuracy and
honest portrayal of humanity perpetuate the film’s artistic relevancy, and allow its
audience to form an array of diverse, yet valid, interpretations. Siphoning inspiration
from the Bible – a cohesive library of texts, also historically contextualized – this paper
argues that the power of the film’s main character, Oskar Schindler, is partially derived
from the combination of biblical archetypes he embodies. He is a fascinating amalgam
of sometimes modified biblical characters: Nicodemus, who immersed himself in a life of
material pleasures; Jonah, who initially responds angrily when he feels that compassion
shown toward a people is unjust; Saul/Paul, who persecuted the Jesus movement
before reversing course and joining it; the Prodigal Son, who first abandons his father,
but ultimately recognizes his mistake and repents; and perhaps especially Job, though
in this case one whose new children cannot replace those he has lost nor fully quell his
anguish.