Foil

Character Role Analysis

Itzhak Stern/Schindler; Goeth/Schindler

All good mentors challenge their mentees, and Stern does that too. He uses Schindler's factory as a haven when he can, defies Schindler's orders about hiring unqualified people, and generally makes himself a big pain in the butt. But in the process, he helps Schindler ultimately make the big sacrifice to save so many of his fellow Jews from destruction. That's what good foils do: making the heroes better by careful application of pain-in-the-butt-dom.

Schindler and Goth are also foils. They're both Nazis, both looking out for themselves, both dealing with a group of Jews who have no use apart from what they can do for the them. They both love to drink, party, and womanize. By giving them these similar characteristics, Spielberg highlights what makes Schindler very, very, different—his humanity.