The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman

In the memoir, The Pianist, by Wladyslaw Szpilman, the theme of persistence and having the will to live are portrayed as necessary attributes to attain success. Wladyslaw is able to overcome every obstacle that is put in his way such as having to hide in burnt buildings, seeing his family as they are taken away to their death and having minimal food and water. He becomes an example of persistence and a man with the will to survive throughout his struggles by emerging victorious. 

Persistence and the will to live are key to succeed.

Pictured here is my cat, Toby, when he was only 10 days old. I found him outside on the road extremely malnourished and dehydrated while trying to eat an insect. He wasn't even weaned yet and relied on his mother for milk. He had been separated from his mother - either by accident or on purpose. Despite this, he was persistent to stay alive and was willing to do anything that it would take. Similarly in The Pianist, Wladyslaw decides to drink filthy water containing dead insects in order to survive.  He describes the water he finds in a bucket and says that it "was covered with an iridescent film and it was full of dead flies, midges and spiders" (Szpilman 163). He does it in an effort to stay alive and keep pushing forward.

This is a picture of my pet cockatiel, Luna. I adopted her from a friend's house when she was 3 months old since they were unable to provide her with the medical attention she required. She had pneumonia and after doing some tests, it was deemed that she would most likely die within a few months. Luna received medication each day for a month and seemed to be recovering rapidly. After 2 months, she was cleared for pneumonia! She celebrated her 3rd birthday on January 2nd, 2015 which defies all the odds that were placed on her. 

This is a picture of the legendary leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr and a famous quote he said. It displays the strong will and his thirst to convince people-specifically African Americans, to fight for their rights and continue moving forward without giving up. He brought awareness to the issue of racism and helped African Americans attain equal rights. Likewise, Wladyslaw Szpilman fights for the rights of Jewish people through the endurance he displays while pushing the limits and surviving the Nazi rule. 

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Pictured here is Stuart Scott, a former sportscaster and host on ESPN. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2007 and had 58 transfusions of chemotherapy since then. Despite his agonizing battle with cancer, he continued to savour every moment and maintain a positive attitude. He passed away at the age of 49 on Sunday, January 4th, 2015. Despite all this, he will never be someone that lost to cancer due to the reasons outlined in his famous ESPY's speech and shown above. He was persistent to win his battle with cancer-and he did.

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Shown here is Bethany Hamilton, a surfer who survived a shark attack in 2003 when she was only 13 years old in which her left arm was bitten off. She lost 60% of her blood and was in hypovolemic shock which can cause many organs to stop working. Despite this tragic accident, Bethany's aspiring career as a pro surfer was not over. She ended up showing her tenacity as she got back on her surfboard just 3 weeks after the incident! Today, she is a professional American surfer and a motivational speaker. In The Pianist, Wladyslaw suffers various setbacks including the death of his family which weighs very heavy on his heart. Since he knows he must move on, he is able to escape the concentration camp where his family goes and finds a place to hide until he is freed.

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This is a picture of hockey legend, Wayne Gretzky when he won a Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers. As a teenager, he was a very unlikely choice to be in the NHL-let alone win 4 Stanley Cups. He was not the fastest skater, strongest shooter or even the most talented player. Hard work, passion and perseverance is what got him into the NHL. Wladyslaw is also very unlikely to be able to withstand the hardships he ends up facing, but it is all due to his unconquerable nature.

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This image shows the hard work of Dashrath Manjhi, or "Mountain Man." After the unfortunate death of his wife due to an injury requiring immediate medical attention and the nearest hospital being 70 km away, he decided to create a path between a mountain. He carved through the mountain for 22 years and reduced the time it took to get to the nearest hospital to only 13 km. Just as Manjhi was able to achieve an accomplishment that seemed impossible, Wladyslaw Szpilman is able to survive and eventually achieve freedom and happiness when he hides from the Nazis during the invasion of Poland.

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Pictured here are 3 mourning doves sitting on my driveway and eating seeds I provided for them. A hawk has been circling my street and even killed a pigeon on Jan, 1, 2015. However, these doves still mustered up the courage to fill their tummies with food. They understand the need to eat in order to survive and are willing to risk getting eaten alive. Similarly, Wladyslaw lingers out of his hiding place since he knows he is in dire need of food. He states, "I felt so unbearably hungry that I decided I must go and look for food of some kind [despite] whatever happened" (Szpilman 162). Just as the mourning doves risked their lives to the hungry hawk, Wladyslaw risked his to the notorious Nazis.

I saw this plant growing in my backyard a few days ago - in the middle of winter. All the other plants died a long time ago but this one remained. It symbolizes persistence and having the will to survive since this plant withstood the frigid temperatures of a Canadian winter. Likewise, Wladyslaw Szpilman is able to withstand the harsh and terrifying treatment during the Nazi regime. He is like a mouse surrounded by hungry cats but is still able to survive. The fear of being alone, Jewish and living amongst merciless Nazis could have been his downfall, but he is determined to outlast the war. He is one of the few Jewish people that makes it through the war as this plant is one of the few that is able to survive the harsh winter.

This is the end result to a chess game I played with my brother. I was the white pieces and won the game in extreme come-back fashion. I had no pieces except for the King left while my brother had 9 pieces including many that were very powerful. I didn't give up and stuck to my plan until the end which is why I emerged victorious! In The Pianist, Wladyslaw has all the odds stacked up against him since he is alone and the city is crowded with Germans that want to kill him. In spite of this, he hangs on till the end and emerges triumphant and is freed from the emotional imprisonment by the Nazis.

Going back to the first picture (of Toby when he was a kitten), this is the happy ending. Toby is now a very energetic and funloving kitty that in turn, receives endless love from his family and me, of course! He turned 1 on September 20, 2014. In his own little way, Toby displays how persistence can pay off since he lives a life of pure joy and contentment. Wladyslaw's persistence also proves to pay off since he is finally freed. He displays his satisfaction through the words, "I walked through the streets of Warsaw without fear, a free man" (Szpilman 186).  Both Toby and Wladyslaw endured arduous times but were rewarded in the end.