Wladyslaw Szpilman

The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman is a novel that takes us through the journeys and life of Wladyslaw Szpilman. Throughout the course of the book, we follow Szpilman’s successes, failures and runs with death during the Holocaust. He had many traits that helped him survive while others didn’t. One of the most important and vital treats that Szpilman had was his humbleness. Many times he demonstrated his humbleness throughout the book. Szpilman’s humbleness came to light many times throughout the duration of the book, and each time, it helped save his life or someone else’s.

The first time Wladyslaw Szpilman’s humbleness saved a life, it was his brother’s. Szpilman’s brother, Henryk, was taken during a human-hunt put on by a German SS officer. Szpilman went to the labour bureau building to beg for his brother. Szpilman said that he “decided to get him away at any price,” (77). Later on. Szpilman stated in his book “I managed to make my way through to the deputy director of the labour bureau and get a promise that Henryk would be home again before dark. And so he was,” (78). Szpilman could have easily been beaten, ridiculed or worse for pleading for his brothers life. He also could have been too proud to ask for help, but he wasn’t.

In chapter 11, he talks about the various places he had to work. Spzilman got moved to the Mokotow district to carry bricks on his back for work. He soon realized this work was to strenous for him. Szpilman put his pride aside and asked for help. Szpilman said “In fact, I don’t know how I would have coped with bout of hard pyshical labour if I had not gone to the group leader and pleaded, successfully, to be transfered…,” (118). Szpilman put his pride and manlihood aside and was big enough to ask for help when needed. This act saved himself from grueling pyshical labour and probably