Maus II "Scheming"

        In “Maus II,” by Art Spiegelman, though so serious and sad in places, I found comic relief in reading the actions of his dad, when I is not talking about Auschwitz.  He seems like this old stereotypical Jewish man.  Spiegelman’s father, Vladek, involved him in tasks preparing bank papers.  This seemed like stereotypical Jewish, as well as being conservative about matches, to keep from buying more.  This behavior could be provoked by him being robbed by the lady he was with, Mala.  This caution to be so conservative, cheap, and focused on money made him an almost annoying character, but I admired his methods of scheming when it came to being in Auschwitz. 

                To point out some of Vladek’s schemes, I would have to reference page 67, when he told the story of himself sitting on the toilet, and planned to tell them, if he was caught, that he had a bad stomach, to avoid the “Selektion” (Spiegelman 67).  He shouldn't feel guilty for surviving; he used his mind to get closer to the guards.  He made himself useful, and after ending up until the third chapter, others have benefited in positive ways, both the Germans and the Jews, from his actions.  For example, he claimed to be a shoemaker, and he did a decent job to get the gig, but later he was confronted with a more difficult task, so he paid an expert shoemaker his food in order to learn and maintain the useful position.  This man was very schematic.  He sacrificed whatever he needed, made necessary connections, to stay alive and comfortable in the worst place to be.