Kominek - Maus II

Maus II was, for me, a much more engrossing story, yet it was the saddest story of them all. It got into the nitty-gritty of what Vladek’s life really was like durin the war, and the life of many other prisoners. It seems that, though Vladek definitely had his streak of luck, he also had an incredible business sense that saved his, and probably Anja’s, life in the camps. It makes more sense now that, in the first book, he is always scrimping and saving everything. It was this attitude in Auschwitz that he took home with him and carried the rest of his life. Infuriating as it may have been for his family, without it he would have never survived to have a family, and Art needs to thank that part of his father otherwise he would never have been born. For many survivors, I’m sure they have similar “quirks” that have stayed with them after the war. For Vladek, this is some sort of OCD, and a need to save everything, count everything, and to know exactly what is going on around him. Again, this saved him while in Auschwitz, but causes tension between him and his family.

When searching around the internet, I found some interesting articles and even a companion book, Metamaus, that talks about the story behind Maus. I ordered Metamaus almost immediately and am looking forward to reading it and learning more about this story.  There is an essay (written by another student studying Maus) is about Vladek as an “Unsung Hero of the 21^st Century”.  This is intriguing and almost entirely true, depending on how you look at it. Vladek was not a victim of circumstance or luck. It was almost entirely his business sense and ability to understand his surroundings more in-depth than the average person that led to his survival. Sure, there was a degree of luck, but he was so smart and almost even sneaky in a way that ensured his and Anja’s survival. Anja seems unable to survive on her own, being “weak” and “frail” (Spiegelman), and she requires Vladek’s intervention in order to live. Vladek is a crafty fellow and it is his wit, not his luck, that helped him to survive Auschwitz.

 http://clevelandenglishjenny.wordpress.com/2012/12/05/vladek-spiegelman-unsung-hero-of-the-21st-century/