Art Spiegelman’s ‘Maus’ is a book
that details the story of Vladek and how he survived the Holocaust. Here, the
book offers different perspectives about the Holocaust and the way it has
changed their attitudes and viewpoint about life. For this, I will write a
paper about the character of Vladek in Maus, analyzing the choices Spiegelman
made in creating and presenting the character.
Vladek is describe by Spiegelman to
be someone who has survive the problem of Holocaust. Since Vladek is his
father, the author had to use his interaction and past experiences to show the
character. In the book, Vladek is show
to be happy with his life. In the comic strip, it shows how he feels glad
because he has married to a beautiful woman Anja and lived in a good life
because they are rich. Spiegelman also shows the couple contented seeing their
first son, Richieu. Using this
background, the author want to show the experience of the Jews before the
Holocaust. It helps readers understand that the Jews are successful in living
their life normally.
The next part of the book give idea
to readers that the discrimination to the Jews are becoming a problem. There
are particular scenes in the story where Vladek would see the development of
Nazi and Anti-Jew sentiments from the people (Spiegelman, 27). A good example
to show this experience is when Vladek returned from Czechoslovakia and saw
that the factory has been damaged with writing against the Jews. Using this
approach, Spiegelman introduces the beginning of the problem. It gives the idea
that the hate against the Jews are increasing and even Vladek himself was a
victim of this anger.
The problems of Holocaust give
Spiegelman the chance to describe the hard experience of his father. The comic
strip gave different scenes where Vladek saw the Germans killing Jews in
concentration camps. There is also the problem of losing his wife during the
Holocaust and tried his best to get her back. The death of Richieu is also hard
because Vladek had no time to say goodbye or even rescue him from the
punishment of the Germans. Using the different experiences of Vladek,
Spiegelman is able to show how his father survived. It also gives readers the
chance to understand why Vladek acts that way especially his relationship with
people like his wife and son Art.
Another perspective to consider in
understanding how Spiegelman present Vladek’s character is their relationship
as father and son. In particular, their relationship remains to be distant.
Also, Vladek was hard on not repeating the bad experiences he experienced in
the past. Using this, Spiegelman is able to create a character like Vladek who
was a good man and later on changed due to his hard experiences in the
Holocaust.
Vladek’s character also gives the
impression of how difficult it is to recall the truth. In the different
sections of the book, Spiegelman shows the problem of Art in getting the detail
from his father because he has a hard time telling the story. This also gives a
valid point in understanding the impact of Holocaust even if it happened for a
long time already.
Lastly, Spiegelman also try to show
readers the impact of the Holocaust to Art’s life. The relationship of Vladek
and Art give the idea of how difficult it is to handle the pain and suffering
experienced by the people who survive Holocaust. The different attitudes of
Vladek and his sudden anger and depression influence his relationship with Art.
In conclusion, Spiegelman’s
describes Vladek’s character to be the one that tries to cope and live the
effect of the Holocaust. From a happy life in the past, he had to endure the
harsh treatment of the Germans. It also create situations where his attitude
towards life and other people became different. This influenced Vladek’s
relationship with Art as he tries to cope with the anger, depression and
difficulty of surviving the prosecution that happened during that time.
Work Cited
Spiegelman,
Art. Maus:
A Survivor’s Tale. Penguin Books; United States. Print
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