The relationship between Vladek and his son Art seems very distant. Art does not enjoy spending time with his father because of his father’s character. The traumas of the Holocaust affected the way Vladek acts. For example, he is always rationing items, and collecting things that he will one day use. In Maus II, we see Vladek going back to the grocery store to return food that had been opened but not eaten all the way. After arguing with the manager, Vladek received six dollars worth of groceries in exchange for the food he returned. Art was very embarrassed by his dad for acting cheap. Vladek experienced a lot of loss in the Holocaust which in the end made him feel guilty for to having been one of the few survivors in his family. Art did not get along with his dad, but that did not stop him from feeling hurt about their relationship. Vladek felt guilty for surviving and Art felt guilty for not having gone through harsh experiences like his father, “I know this is insane, but I wish I somehow wish I had been in Aushwitz with my parents so I could really know what they lived through…I guess it’s some kind of guilt about having had an easier life than they did” (176). Although the relationship between father and son was not the best, they both felt guilty. The guilt of the holocaust survival affected Art even though he wasn’t necessarily a survivor. A graphic novel is an effective way to tell the story because it helps to see the way events happen. When reading a novel one often pictures in their head the way they see the events occurring. Graphic novels allow the reader to have a face associated with a character. With a graphic novel, you get the author’s interpretation of events, which makes the story a lot more interesting and believable. Also, with the pictures the author’s point is interpreted directly, there is no confusion since one is able to see exactly how things occurred.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
War Traumas
The relationship between Vladek and his son Art seems very distant. Art does not enjoy spending time with his father because of his father’s character. The traumas of the Holocaust affected the way Vladek acts. For example, he is always rationing items, and collecting things that he will one day use. In Maus II, we see Vladek going back to the grocery store to return food that had been opened but not eaten all the way. After arguing with the manager, Vladek received six dollars worth of groceries in exchange for the food he returned. Art was very embarrassed by his dad for acting cheap. Vladek experienced a lot of loss in the Holocaust which in the end made him feel guilty for to having been one of the few survivors in his family. Art did not get along with his dad, but that did not stop him from feeling hurt about their relationship. Vladek felt guilty for surviving and Art felt guilty for not having gone through harsh experiences like his father, “I know this is insane, but I wish I somehow wish I had been in Aushwitz with my parents so I could really know what they lived through…I guess it’s some kind of guilt about having had an easier life than they did” (176). Although the relationship between father and son was not the best, they both felt guilty. The guilt of the holocaust survival affected Art even though he wasn’t necessarily a survivor. A graphic novel is an effective way to tell the story because it helps to see the way events happen. When reading a novel one often pictures in their head the way they see the events occurring. Graphic novels allow the reader to have a face associated with a character. With a graphic novel, you get the author’s interpretation of events, which makes the story a lot more interesting and believable. Also, with the pictures the author’s point is interpreted directly, there is no confusion since one is able to see exactly how things occurred.
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You said the graphic novel helps the reader put a face with the characters. I see what you are saying and agree that this is part of what Spiegelman’s pictures do. However, I think that the pictures give the story deeper meaning. All the mice look exactly the same, and all of the Jews are portrayed as mice. I think this shows that, in one way, the Holocaust was a massive genocide that stripped people of their individual identities. But, when Spiegelman introduces the few actual photographs, it forces the reader to remember that the Holocaust was also murders of millions of individual people, each with their own stories and struggles similar to Vladek’s.
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