Jack

The Pianist by: Wladyslaw Szpilman

**Summary**  //The Pianist// is a book about the tragic tale of a man who survives World War II, but has to deal with the hardships that come with the war. Wladyslaw Szpilman writes about the terrible events that he experienced during the war, and how he fights to stay alive. He lived in Warsaw, Poland during the war and was a normal Jewish man who played piano for a local radio station. Soon the war dawns upon Warsaw and he has to decide to go with his family in a concentration camp or try to survive on his own. He soon finds himself in hiding among the Aryan people, or people who weren’t jewish and were able to live because they had the qualities that Hitler admired, of the city. With the help of some new found Aryan friends he is able to survive in an old apartment in the city. A life threatening moment occurs when he is found by a german soldier but when the soldier goes to retrieve other officers he quickly hides on the roof of the building. He faces hard choices when his apartment building is set fire to, because if he leaves he’ll be discovered but if he stays he’ll be killed. Amazingly he survives the fire and moves into a deserted hotel. Unfortunately he is discovered by a German officer but luckily his piano skills come in handy in this situation. Later the officer helps him out by giving him food and a place to stay so he wouldn’t get caught. In the loft where he was staying is where he survived the war until being found by polish troops and rescued.

 **Theme**  There are multiple themes in //The Pianist,// but the one that sums it up the best is probably never give up. In the book Wladyslaw Szpilman has several opportunities in which he can kill himself and take the easy way out, but he doesn’t because he believes he can survive. I think He’s trying to say that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel so don’t give up and turn back but keep heading for it and you’ll reach your goal eventually. I think his message is a very good one that really relates to the story. His theme really tells you how hard it was for him to survive this time period, because he had many chances to take the easy way out but he kept going and because he did he lived through the war.

 **My Opinions**  I really enjoyed this book because it had a lot of action and adventure in it and it really captured the hardships during this time. This book keeps you on your toes because you never know what might happen to him. It really goes to show how many decisions people have to make about their lives. Whenever I read about a new decision he has to make I think of Robert Frost’s famous line “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.” One really great thing I like about this book is all the things he has to do to survive like one part talks about how he has to drink dirty old bath water that he found in an abandoned hospital. Reading about the things he does to live really makes sound like a starving person who would eat or drink anything to hang onto life. This book really captures the details of World War II which is why I think this is a great book.

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