Comparitive Essay on Goodbye to Berlin and Cabaret

1453 Words6 Pages
Texts are often influenced by the values and attitudes of their authors, and always reflect the time in which they are composed. Christopher Isherwood's novel Goodbye to Berlin (1939) and Bob Fosse’s musical Cabaret (1972) are both texts that explore the economic, social and political unrest and internal decay of Berlin in the 1930s. Inflation, World War 1, the failure of the Weimar Republic and a hedonistic society form the context of Isherwood's stories. In contrast, Fosse transforms Isherwood's stories into another form of entertainment, Hollywood musical, and demonstrates how a shift in context to a 1970s audience with a post-holocaust retrospection accounts for a shift in values. An inverse relationship is developed between the two texts, which establishes the notion of the Nazis' rise to power and the pursuit of a decadent lifestyle Both Goodbye to Berlin and Cabaret reflect anti-Semitic values and the rise of Nazism in Berlin in the 1930’s.Goodbye to Berlin was written at a time of political and economic instability in Europe, particularly Germany. This was a period of intensifying political factions, especially the tensions between Nazis and communists, and increasing anti-Semitic attitudes. This is evident throughout Isherwood's stories, which track the rise of Nazism and the effects this has on a society of political unrest. Isherwood constructs 'The Landauers' story using a series of brief anecdotes to illustrate how Jews were influenced by the Nazi movement. This is first evident through Frl. Mayr's derogatory comments about Jews; “This town is sick with Jews. Turn over any stone, and a couple of them will crawl out". This metaphorical representation of the Jews as animalistic demonstrates the racial stereotypes that were forming as a result of rising anti-Semitism. This is further illustrated this through the description of the conversation
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