An Analysis of the Topic of the Comic Books and the Survivors of the Nazi Regime
Art Spiegelman is written in comic book form that portrays animals to symbolize humans. The author writes about two stories. The first story is of two survivors of the Holocaust. Vladek Spiegelman, a Jew who, along with his wife Anja, survive Auschwitz and came to live in Queens, New York. There, Vladek and Anja raise their post-Holocaust son, Art, (their first son died during the early stages of the Final Solution). The second story is about the son, Art, and his relationship with his father. Art grows up under the shadows of his parents past, the worst, in 1968 when Anja commits suicide. Art himself is the second survivor. The stories come together to illustrate the central theme of resilience and ability to survive.
These two survivors accounts are portrayed throughout as Art records his fathers memories in a series of oral interviews: Vladeks courtship of the wealthy Anja, the marriage that facilitated his rise in the business world of the Jewish community of Sosnowiec, his times in the Polish Army and capture by the Nazis in 1939, and his release and return. Vladek tells about how the Nazis policies of extermination were put into practice. The concentration camps began to fill; yet Vladek and Anja manage to survive using strategies, and blind luck, until they are caught and sent to Auschwitz. We had to make for ourselves bunkers, places to hide (Spiegelman, pg. 110). By hiding in these bunkers they are able to avoid the Germans. For instance Vladek tells Art about one of the bunkers they stayed in.
In the kitchen was a coal cabinet maybe 4 foot wide, inside I made a hole to go down to the cellar. And there we made a brick wall filled high with coal. Behind this wall we could be a little safe (110). The description of this bunker shows one of the ways in which Vladek and Anja survive.
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Throughout, Vladeks story compares to Arts attempt to come to terms with his father. Arts fathers personality is formed in a world and through an experience so completely unlike his own. In order to survive, Vladek has become very opinionated, tight-fisted, and self-involved. Art and Vladek clash because of Vladeks personality.
Vladek is remarried to Mala, and she is also very frustrated because she doesnt understand how Vladek can be so cheap.
He grabs paper towels from restrooms so he wont have to buy napkins or tissues (132)!
This shows how Vladek makes use of everything. I think he does this because if something like the Holocaust ever were to happen again Vladek wants to have money in case hed need it for things like bribery. Vladek quotes, even paper was hard to have there (63). So this could have something to do with him taking paper from restrooms. Vladek does not like to waste anything, and his actions show that he has been through bad times and he does not take anything for granted. He sees a possible future use for any object. I cannot forget itever since Hitler I dont like to throw out even a crumb (78).
Art says, When I was little, if I didnt eat EVERYTHING mom served, pop and I would argue til I ran to my room crying (43). Fortunately for me, mom would eventually feed me something I liked, and throw away the old food while you werent looking (44). This shows how Art has a difficult relationship with his father and that Vladek has a very dominant personality. Everyone around him suffers from his attempts to control. Yet Vladeks controlling personality is what helped him to survive and he believes his actions will help his family continue to survive.
Tensions between Vladek and Mala rise until she finally leaves him. So Art and his wife, Francoise, go live with him for a weekend in the bungalow Vladek rented in Florida for a month. This weekend almost gives Art a mental breakdown. Art helps his father balance his bank papers and it keeps coming up to the wrong number, so Vladek says, Always youre so lazy! Every job we should make so as to do it the right way (23). He says this to Art because Art just wants to forget about it since it was only off by less than a dollar. Art responds to his father, Lazy?! Damn it, youre driving me nuts (12)! Art becomes very aggravated when he stays with his father. Art manages to cope with his father and survive and not give in to a mental breakdown.
Once when Art visits his shrink he tells him that mainly I remember ARGUING with himand being told that I couldnt do anything as well as he could (44). To Art it seems that no matter what he accomplishes, it just doesnt seem like much compared to surviving Auschwitz.
By using animals to portray the Holocaust situation, Maus shows the reader the true animalistic nature of all humans. Spiegelman portrays Jews as mice, Polish as pigs, Nazis as cats, and the Americans as dogs. The Holocaust story in animalistic format, as told by Spiegelman, illustrates the survival techniques of the animal kingdom.
Throughout Maus the characters show their ability to be resilient and survive. Vladek learns to become strong-willed and grasping in order to survive. Art survives a difficult childhood and comes to terms with his father. Anja survives the death of her first child and Auschwitz. Mala survives the Holocaust, and living with Vladek. The comic book style that the author used was a different format and provided a new way to look at the Holocaust.
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An Analysis of the Topic of the Comic Books and the Survivors of the Nazi Regime. (2023, Feb 25). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/an-analysis-of-the-topic-of-the-comic-books-and-the-survivors-of-the-nazi-regime/
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