Maus II

I personally enjoyed the way in which this story was told. It’s told by showing the process of the book’s creation and Art tells us the story as his father tells it to him. It’s a rather complex story about making a story about the telling of a traumatic story that somehow works. The unique method of storytelling throws in details of normal conversation and arguments to really engage the reader. To me, reading this story felt more like I was participating in the conversation rather than actually reading a scripted tale. Because of this, the reader is more able to feel the trauma that Art and Vladek feel as result to being first and second generation victims of the holocaust. Vladek is noticeably different after surviving Auschwitz. His survival instinct consumes everything he does for the rest of his life. Before the horror he was a good caring husband for Anja. Any time she would show bouts of depression, he was there to pick her back up. But Auschwitz changed him so he was no longer that loving husband like before. His survival instinct caused him to hold onto material items more than people. He could not throw anything away as it could prove to be useful. He refused to waste food. Every bite to him should be eaten and appreciated. It also made him stingy. It’s obvious in his old age that he is a stingy old man but we really don’t get a glimpse of such selfishness in his youth until he is stuck in the boxcar on page 246 (in the complete version). Vladek is more than capable of grabbing snow to give to other suffering prisoners but e refuses to without something in return. Before he would do good deeds just for the sake of doing good for others. His ever present need to survive dictates how he and his loved ones live their lives. The tense atmosphere that surrounds him everywhere he goes depresses his wife and pushes away his son. While his will to live is overpowering, Anja’s slips away and she ends her life.