How and Why Bob Fosse Transforms Key Elements of "Goodbye to Berlin" in "Cabaret" Anonymous 11th Grade

Transformation allows for a re-interpretation of a text from a different perspective. The relationship between the composer, responder, text and context are integral in this metamorphosis. Christopher Isherwood’s novella Goodbye to Berlin (1939) and Bob Fosse’s film Cabaret (1972) demonstrates this, Fosse transforming Goodbye to Berlin’s key ideas about the rise of Nazism and the corrupting nature of money into his own artwork, Cabaret. Christopher Isherwood Isherwood’s semi-autobiographical novel Goodbye to Berlin portrays the rise of Nazism, focusing on the brainwashing of children and the anti-Semitic attitudes of many Germans at the time.

The indoctrination of children had a significant role in the rise of Nazism, illustrated when Christopher sights a young “child of about five… marching along all by himself with a swastika flag over his shoulder and singing ‘Deutschland uber alles’." This literally refers to the Nazi Youth and other right wing organisations that were having increased influence at the time. Whilst Isherwood’s tone is objective, he gives the reader insight into the easy manipulation of the young. The rise of Nazism is also conveyed through the anti-Semitic attitudes, seen in the “Landauers” chapter. The...