1。 Introduction

Schindler’s List is a 1993 American epic historical period drama film, directed and co-produced by director Steven Spielberg and scriptwriter Steven Zaillian。 It is based on the novel Schindler's Ark written by Thomas Keneally, an Australian novelist。 The film is based on the experience of Oskar Schindler in the second World War, who saves the lives of more than a thousand Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories。 By the time Germany falls to the allies, Schindler has lost his entire fortune, and saved 1,200 people from likely death。 Schindler’s List vividly recorded the true story of Oskar Schindler, the Czech-born southern German Businessman, who risks his life to save 1,200 of his Jewish factory workers from the death camps in Nazi-occupied Poland。 The story is based on the recollections of the Schindlerjuden (Schindler Jews), Schindler himself and other witnesses。 Keneally chooses a fictionalized approach to help  deal more freely with his subject and produce aspects of the story which are never recorded in documents or in the survivors' testimonies(Gellately,1993)。

Thomas Keneally is a renowned Australian novelist, playwright and author of non-fiction。 One of the most successful modern Australian writers, Keneally has been short-listed for the Booker Prize on 4 occasions: in 1972 for The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Gossip from the Forest in 1975, and Confederates in 1979, before winning the prize in 1982 with Schindler's Ark。 The book would later be adapted to Steven Spielberg's Schindler’s List, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture。 And Steven Allan Spielberg is a famous American director, producer and screenwriter。 He is considered as one of the founding pioneers of the New Hollywood era, as well as being viewed as one of the most popular directors and producers in film history。 He is one of the co-founders of DreamWorks Studios。 In a career spanning more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres。 Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as archetypes of modern Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking。 In later years, his films began addressing humanistic issues such as the Holocaust (in Schindler’s List), the transatlantic slave trade (in Amistad), war (in Empire of the Sun, Saving Private Ryan, and War Horse), and terrorism (in Munich)。 

Keneally wrote the Booker Prize-winning novel in 1982, inspired by the efforts of Poldek Pfefferberg, a Holocaust survivor。 In 1980 Pfefferberg met Keneally in his shop, and learning that he was a novelist, showed him his extensive files on Oskar Schindler。 Keneally was interested, and Pfefferberg became an advisor for the book, accompanying Keneally to Poland where they visited Kraków and the sites associated with the Schindler story。 Keneally dedicated Schindler's Ark to Pfefferberg: "who by zeal and persistence caused this book to be written。" He said in an interview in 2007 that what attracted him to Oskar Schindler was that "it was the fact that you couldn't say where opportunism ended and altruism began。 And I like the subversive fact that the spirit breatheth where it will。 That is, that good will emerged from the most unlikely places"( Keneally, 2007) The book was later made into a film titled Schindler’s List (1993) directed by Steven Spielberg, earning the director his first Best Director Oscar。 The image of its leading man Schindler still enjoys immense popular support。 The changes of Schindler are unavoidable result of the development of the industrial society。 The changes of Schindler are often studied by literary critics。 However, many literary critics analyze the causes in the aspect of his personality and desire。 There are few studies discussing the causes comprehensively and state why he was changing。 Studying the changes of Schindler is not only helpful for us to learn Schindler’s inner world but also useful in further studying of theme in the film and other works in that period。