Horrors And Criticism In Maus By Art Spiegelman

This also shows the reader that by Hans recognising the old jewish man as human, the life of the Jewish man is significantly impacted as he now feels something of worth and can die now knowing he is a human. This act of giving bread also impacts the life of Hans, as Hans is made to join the army in the most dangerous class of work as he is now seen as a ‘Jew Lover’. Through this quote the audience can see that change is inevitable and impacts the course of ones life, as through one act of kindness, two mens lives are significantly impacted. Zusak explores the concept of changing perspectives through how he incorporates the idea that change is inevitable and impacts the course of ones life, into the roles of his characters in his book ‘The Book Thief’.

Spiegelman’s Maus is a graphic novel which explores events of the holocaust and the uniting of a father and son. Though often overlooked the dedications play an integral role in better understanding the text. The dedications do not influence the meaning of the book but do reinforce events in the book. Spiegelman dedicates the first book to his mother as an attempt to rid himself of the guilt associated with his mother’s suicide. In an attempt to not have the same short comings as his father, Art associates his most prized work with the most prized people in his life. Richieu is often disregarded in the book however he is vital in Spiegelman’s eyes. The book in its entirety is highly important as it is a dedication to a whole race.

Vladek shows heroism in life threatening situations when everyone else has given up. After receiving a letter from the Polish government, Vladek leaves his family to fight the war against Nazi, Germany. After facing the terrible conditions of a P.O.W. camp and the back-breaking work of the “volunteer labor assignments” (Spiegelman 54) Vladek returns home to his family only to find their situation in shambles. In Vladek’s efforts to bring in money when there is none to be made; he constantly risks his life so the Zylberberg’s can live a modest life, compared to the luxury they were used to. When the Jewish families are forced to move to Stara Sosnowiec Vladek

If I leave a tip at an evening party, my father gives up cigars for a week. This is how it has been for twenty two years. Somewhere in Poland we had a farmstead. I’ve never seen it. It was the source of everything; the uniform, tuition, money for theatre tickets, entry fees for exams, and duel fee” (Embers 45). Konrad could have been jealous and envy Henrik’s financial status, but he still held to his friendship. Sometimes people make friends with others who have something they lack. This could be evident that Konrad is only friends with Henrik because he has wealth, while Henrik could be friends with Konrad because of his understanding of Music. Relationships could be built on a foundation of needs to fill in missing parts of one’s life, even if it is below the surface and unnoticed by the couple.

Vladek arranges to be reunited with his wife and son by working with the Polish. Spiegelman shows Vladek wearing a pig's mask to convey his polish

After the Holocaust on May 8th, 1945, a book called Maus was released which is revolved around survival. The author, Art Spiegelman intended the story was to reflect upon his past and express his feelings world how he had to deal life was at the time.The book is a story of Art’s father named Vladek, he tells his point-of-view to the world to show multiple struggles he had to withstand. The theme of Art Spiegelman’s book Maus is survival; Art Spiegelman shows the theme of survival by using tone, mood, and point-of-view throughout the graphic novel. Vladek is the main character of Maus and shares his point of view. Vladek tells a true story about how he survived the Holocaust and the things he had to accomplish to make it through alive. This book is based on a true story of what had happened during the Holocaust.

While Vladek is telling his story about his experience in the Holocaust there can also be a great emotional effect on him as well. By Vladek telling his story it can also make his mental state worse than it already is by not recognizing what really happened during the Holocaust. If Vladek were to actually realize what happened and how he got through it is mental health could actually start to recover from most of the trauma it has gained. It is true that Vladek could possibly heal himself and hurt himself at the same time by sharing his stories from the Holocaust. It is also very true that by Vladek being traumatized it can cause him to be very depressed and denial and

It's obviously showed that with Vladek actions towards people we can understand why they feel so low. Vladek throughout the story, he stresses the importance of his heart (comparing himself of how heroic and very strong he use to be). "It's good for my heart..the pedaling.." (1 12) All the sweat, blood and tears (energy) it took to survive the Holocaust seems to build up and haunt Vladek as present (life now). He needs to know that everyone ages and he has to accept the fact that he's getting old and he cannot be what he once was and that's young again doing all the skillful things he use to do.

The receiver of the gift is better off in a utilitarian sense, if he chooses not to return the favor. Yet why does he have the desire to repay? Why does receiving a gift put him at a social disadvantage? The economy of gift of Bataille differs from Nietzsche’s creditor-debtor relationship with regard to the psychology behind these two dynamics. While Bataille delved into the mentality of the giver, who has the upper hand in this power relation, Nietzsche focused on the psychology of the debtor. Bataille construed the economy of gifting as an act out of man’s “animal factor” that goes beyond the want of acquisition – a human instinct to win and to overpower. It is in man’s nature to covet “prestige, glory and rank” (Bataille, 1997, p. 376), yet they do not come without comparison and competition. Thus, the giver of the gift has to deliberately create a rivalry, and thus, an inequality that favors himself in order to acquire prestige, glory and rank. It is this desire for superiority that gives man the ultimate incentive to give away his wealth. Gifting is to win by losing. It also explains the increment value in the return of the gift, for the receiver of the initial gift not only wants to recover his equality with the initial giver, but also to overpower him, to defeat him. The same desire that fuels the endless cycle of gifting rituals like moka and potlatch. One good potlatch deserves another, and

Luck seems to influence many parts of people’s lives. However, without making smart choices at the right time, luck does not happen just by chance. A graphic novel written by Art Spiegelman, Maus II: A Survivor’s Tale, is about the author’s father as a Holocaust survivor in the twentieth century. Throughout the whole story of Maus II, the role of resourcefulness in survival is presented repeatedly. When the author’s father, Vladek, was in Auschwitz, there were several moments where he was about to be killed. In such circumstances, resourcefulness played much larger role than luck, and it helped him to stay alive. Specifically, Vladek’s ability to save for future, to find work and to trade kept him alive in Holocaust. Therefore, people who survived were mostly the resourceful ones, not the ones who were randomly chosen.

The manner by which Vladek changes throughout the book is reflective of several of the experiences of other Jewish Holocaust survivors. Even after the Holocaust, he, and countless other survivors were stuck in the same state of mind that they were on right before and during the Holocaust. They are unable to move past their experiences and they were trapped in the past. A main example of this is when Vladek called Art “Richieu” shortly before his death. This illustrates the fact that many

In the book “Maus”, Art Spiegelman documents his father’s experiences throughout the Holocaust. Vladek has his life shaped by the Holocaust, affecting even his personality, he is portrayed as a character with an aggravating personality, cheap, selfish, and spiteful. Everything about Vladek can be linked back to the Holocaust, his selfishness to when he had to take things from others to survive, even if it meant stealing. His spitefulness as of being repeatedly betrayed by those who were supposed to help him. With Vladek’s most major trait being how cheap he is, this is most likely linked to how money saved Vladek and his family members on multiple occasions and that because of money he was able to survive the Holocaust. Vladek's entire personality

The books Maus I and Maus II, written by Art Spiegelman over a thirteen-year period from 1978-1991, are books that on the surface are written about the Holocaust. The books specifically relate to the author’s father’s experiences pre and post-war as well as his experiences in Auschwitz. The book also explores the author’s very complex relationship between himself and his father, and how the Holocaust further complicates this relationship. On a deeper level the book also dances around the idea of victims, perpetrators, and bystanders. The two books are presented in a very interesting way; they are shown in comic form, which provides the ability for Spiegelman to incorporate numerous ideas and complexities to his work.

Unfortunately he kept this trait throughout the rest of his life and it is what caused him to lose his second wife, Mala. This quotation shows that Mala was very unhappy living with Valdek. “Your father he treats me as if I were just a maid or his nurse…worse! He only gives me $50.00 a month …” (Spiegelman 130, Maus I). In this quote you see how Mala can’t stand living with Valdek and you also see that Valdek is so frugal that he will not even give Mala, his own wife money.

Art’s choice to include a 2-page prologue before the beginning of the book proper helps to very clearly illustrate the relationship that Art and Vladek have had up until the beginning of the book. Art is abandoned by his friends, and his father attempts to comfort him, however this appears to Art, and therefore the reader, as more of a comparison between Vladek’s experiences during the holocaust and Art’s childhood suffering, especially with the mention of “no food for a week”, which Art has utilised to create a sense of emotional distance, of an incompatibility between the two.