Trauma and survival in Szpilman's The Pianist

Pianist (Novel)

Yes, I do think that most people are indeed capable of working through trauma by writing. According to Mental Health America (2015), writing down of thoughts by a person can be an effective way of working through issues. Research indicates that writing about painful circumstances and events can reduce stress and improve a person's health.

The first chapter portrays Szpilman to be a character that was not only charismatic and good-looking but was also a great pianist. In addition, he was also creative in seeking out ways in which he could use his gifts and mind for instance in his piano and also studying English. It also shows that he was a struggler as his family had been forced to sell everything, even his most prized possession which was the piano (Szpilman, page 10). In reading the first chapter, the tone or attitude of the narrator through different remarks is considered to be intentional sarcasm. This is because Szpilman cannot surely consider the gas chambers to be delightful.

3. Szpilman and Warsaw do parallel each other in the book. This can be seen in the sense that Szpilman and his family opts not to leave Warsaw as the family loves the place and his father loved the near town. More so, in the end, being in Warsaw is the aspect that enables Szpilman to be alive as he is not killed and ends up opening a broadcasting studio in Warsaw.

4. The author mentions two events. The first one is the event that Warsaw Radio went off air and as the second day of a peaceful movement was coming to a closure, a bomb sent out by the Germans destroyed the power station. The other event was the surrendering of Warsaw on the 27th of September. He uses a saddening tone in describing these events and one that was filled with regret as he says "If he had turned down Sosnowa Street instead ." Upon reading about the women and the horse-drawn cab one cannot help but have a sad and somber feeling. The imaginative sight of the lady and also the bombing is a horrid one.

5. One was a formal, fictional life that was centered on rules which enforced people to partake in work from dusk till dawn. In this case these were the Polish people who were being forced. The other was an informal life that had fairy tale prospects to generate profits while thriving in trading diamonds and leather. This was one lived by the Germans.

6. The event that caused Szpilman to react by bursting into tears was when Halina came back with a special edition newspaper that outlined the fall of Paris on the headlines. This was devastating because at first Szpilman and his family were delighted that Poland was not alone in the war as Britain and France had joined them.

7. The ironic aspect about the statement "They'll soon let us out. We only need the Americans to know" is because Warsaw, Poland was completely far from America for them to know exactly what was happening on the ground to them. There was no chance that the Americans would have known what was happening at the ghetto.

8. The Pianist tells me about the psychology of confinement that when one is mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally imprisoned, one can only live for what he or she believes in and his incredible love, which in this case was music for Szpilman.