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Maus Y10 Exam - Coggle Diagram
Maus Y10 Exam
Tragedy/loss
Vladek and Artie
- The traumatising impacts of the past continue to play out in the present to such an extent that each of them is incapable of putting aside their differences and connecting with one another - Vladek's struggle with past survival and his words to Artie begin Artie's own struggle to survive not only the second generations survivor's trauma, but it also begins Artie's journey to survive his father. - They are both deadened by the pains of the past. Vladek is unable to escape the pains of the past, and in doing so, his deep emotionally legacy is delivered to Art and makes him live in a constant state of melancholia
Vladek
- Tragedy fragmented by loss causes him unable to provide the necessary support needed for Artie to feel loved and cared for - The ongoing traumas limits Vladek's capacity to live meaningfully in the present - Vladek is actively suffering from the first-hand traumas of the Holocaust
Artie
- He has been born in a family of grief, sorrow and loss
QUOTES
- "If you could lock them together in a room for a week... then see what it is, friends!"
- "it was a tragedy among tragedies"
- "Im tired from talking, Richeu, it's enough stories for now"
- Vladek on Anja's coffin, screaming her name in desperation
- Artie listening to the audio to the shared conversations with his father, simultaneously shrinking in size
Survivor's Guilt
Vladek
Vladek continues to inappropriately apply the behaviours that served him well in the camps, unable to adjust to the changed demands of peacetime. His frugality and hoarding, once necessary to survive, seems selfish and obsessive when resources are no longer limited. His shrewdness and astute reading of opportunities saved his life, but annoy his wife and Artie when the threat no longer exists.
Art
Art regrets not being the son his father wants and resents the shadow cast by Richeu. He fears being engulfed by his father's neuroses and wraped perception of the post-war world - he has inherited survivor's guilt.
Art also feels guilty of his mother's suicide, remembering his impassive response to her final words, unaware of what was going to happen. He feels a great loss, and is frustrated by the absence of her diaries, which his father destroyed
Anja
Anja's suffering is evident in the difficulties she endures coping with post-war life, haunted by the death of Richeu and all those others she knew who did not make it out of the camps.
Memory/power of stories
- Artie plays an important role in the construction of Vladek's story, prompting his father for facts and details as his story progresses. This is significant, not only as it demonstrates the frailty of human memory, but also as it shows that Artie and Vladek are both essential to this process; without either one, we would not have a story. - CHAPTER 4: Artie acts as mediator in the novel; he prompts his father and urges him to keep on track. This is an important narrative function, as it shows us Vladek's dependency on Artie, and through this, we can understand that Vladek may not be an entirely faithful or reliable narrator of the story. This also shows that Spiegelman is an active participant in the reconstruction of Vladek's story. Through his involvement, we are able to make sense of Vladek's story
- "we were both very happy and lived a happy, happy ever after"
- "if you don't keep your story chronological, I'll never git it straight..."
- "Auschwitz, Pop. Tell me about Auschwitz."
Family
the impact of Art's guilt about his fractured relationship with his father has on his own sense of self and his interactions with others
He regrets that he is not being the best son that he could be but still pulls further and further away from the aging Vladek. He refuses to help his father fix things around his house, letting neighbours step in and when the ailing Vladek suggest that the young couple move in with him Art is horrified and suggest that the he "should pay for a carer."Art does not present Artie as a long-suffering, self-sacrificial son, but as an impatient, intolerant man struggling to break away from his father's legacy.; the version of reality presented. He is a flawed human being, whose immaturity and need for self-preservation impact upon his desire to truly understand his father.
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