In his book, Night, Elie Wiesel wrote, “I told him that I did not believe that they could burn people in our age, that humanity would never tolerate it…” yet they did just that. To this day, one of the most taught and lectured wars is the Holocaust, where around eleven million people died in the most gruesome and evil manner ever imagined. People were burned and gassed but no one did anything to stop it. There are hundreds of books and movies out today that try to help us understand just what it was like in those days. Maus I: My Father Bleeds History written by Art Spiegelman and Night written by Elie Wiesel are two books written by a survivor and a survivor’s son, that illustrate the gruesome yet vivid details of what they lived. Although …show more content…
Additionally, the way the two stories are narrated and dep Villa 2 Artie’s father Vladek was not a nice man, quite the contrary in fact. He was controlling, mean and blunt to his own son. One of the times when Artie went to his father’s house to have dinner, he hung his coat in the coat room and when Atrie was not there, Vladek threw it in the trash can just because he did not like it. Instead, he gave him a new one that he did approve of. Artie does not have too many feelings for his father because of the way Vladek treats him. On the other hand, Elie from the book Night is more attached to his father. Recalling one scene from the book, when he arrived to the concentration camp with his family, he had the option of going with his mother but instead followed his father’s steps and then says, “My hand shifted on my father’s arm. I had one thought— not to lose him. Not to be left alone.” (Spiegelman 27) This shows just what kind of relationship each of the boys had with his father. Words are one way of telling a story and then there is art. These two books used …show more content…
Although not so many words are used in Maus, Spiegelman gave a creative way of depicting the Jews as rats, the Polish as pigs and the Germans as cats. This gives a wonderful sense of how each race was viewed. Diversely, Night goes deeper into detail with emotion, diction and expression. Elie profoundly dictates every moment he lives while at the concentration camp, from the moment he and his family are dragged off those wagons to the moment he is nearing the gas chambers. Night gives a depth not shown in Maus due to the fact that this is a first hand survivor of the holocaust. In Maus, Artie was telling his father’s story, therefore making it less emotional than Night. Villa 3 All things considered, both stories were based in the holocaust showing the harsh living conditions and simultaneously both stories were in the Jewish perspective describing how they had to hide from the Nazis in order to live but ultimately making it to the concentration camps. Each perspective gives a comprehensive insight on what it was like for different classes of Jews; no matter how much money a person had or did not have, unfortunately it was the same
In “Maus,”Art Spiegelman tasks himself with sharing the most accurate retelling of his father’s life story as well as that of he and his father. To achieve a most accurate depiction of he, his father, and their emotions throughout the novel, Spiegelman uses characters Anja and Mala. Both having been married to Vladek, Art’s father, give insight to Vladek, and impart the impression that no matter how stereotypical Vladek’s traits are, the traits unique to him. As Art’s mother, Anja also serves particular purpose in developing a fuller picture of his character. Both Anja and Mala also serve as agitating conflict between the nostalgic, hopeful past and the stressful present for Vladek while drawing a parallel of similar feelings between Art and his lost brother, Richieu. The two women are entry-points for the emotions of Art, Vladek, and
Have you ever been through something traumatic or so life changing that you have doubt the truthness of your faith? Throughout Night, Elie Wiesel, the author shows several instances of his loss of religion throughout the book. Wiesel demonstrates his loss of faith through the experiences he has while in the Nazi concentration camps. Wiesel had many traumatic experiences while being held captive in the concentration camps. Those included his refusal to recite the Kaddish prayer for the dead.
“At last, he said, wearily: ‘I have more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He alone has kept his promises, all his promises, to the Jewish people.’” (Wiesel 22). MAUS written by Art Spiegelman and Night written by Elie Wiesel have different approaches and use of storytelling have led to the same outcome, telling one’s story as a memoir as it shall not be forgotten. Spiegelman approaches his book as a graphic memoir, telling the story using visual and metaphors.
Maus and Night are both very similar in their tone. Maus and Night are both written with a somber tone. The book is very serious and there is little to no comedy in sight. Elie Wiesel makes sure to make the reader feel the darkness and coldness of what it is like to be in the Auschwitz concentration camps. In the memoir, Wiesel and many jews had just arrived at the concentration camps.
Indifference Kills ADL’s Pyramid of Hate states how every genocide that has ever happened on earth will always start with a biased attitude towards a group of people. This biased attitude leads to acts of discrimination, dehumanization, this is followed by, extreme systemic discrimination, then bias motivates violence and finally genocide. Another aspect that most people forget when a genocide happens is the response from the rest of the world. To show what happens when societies disregard their obligation to help each other we can see from Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel's first hand accounts about living through the fascist Nazi regime during the Holocaust.
His father tells him not to talk to anyone, to hide from the mean people (the Germans), and to do what he says in order to ensure he gets enough points, which will result in him winning the tank at the end (Benigni). The theme gives off a rather different mood between both texts. In Night, there is a heaviness seen through Elie and his journey, as well as a darkness because he does not know where his family is, what being an eighteen year old feels like, and if he slips up and tells his actual age, it can come with detrimental consequences. Elie also has to continually check up on his father to make sure he makes it through
In Maus, Art Spiegelman records his personal accounts of trying to delve into his father’s traumatic past. His father, Vladek, is a Jew from Poland who survived persecution during World War II. Art wants to create a graphic novel about what his father went through during the Holocaust, so he reconnects with Vladek in order to do so. Due to the horrifying things that the Jews went through he has trouble opening up completely about all the things that happened to him. But after Art gets together with his father many times, he is finally able to understand the past legacy of the Spiegelman family.
With historical events as large and dehumanizing as the Holocaust was for so many people, representation and retelling of the event becomes a difficult subject. How can someone accurately convey the pain and suffering so many millions of people felt especially when there is the potential for someone to profit? Art Spiegelman's comic book Maus was subjected to the same criticism and more surrounding the ethics from publishing his comic and the issues raised by the tale of his father's survival. The means that Vladek Spiegelman and other Jews used to try and remain alive were considered barbaric by the outside world and brings into question the ethics of survival and the fragility of morality. Art Spiegelman portrays this complex issue on page one hundred and fourteen with the interaction between Vladek and his cousins Haskel and Jakov.
In the memoir, “Night” is the story of a Jewish boy who experiences and lives through the Holocaust. Dehumanization is the process by which the Nazis gradually reduce the Jews to little more than “things” which could easily be gotten rid of in terrible with no remorse. Throughout this memoir one way Jews were dehumanized was by being treated with cruelty. The Jews were forced to watch their family members, friends, & own kind slowly die.
“I'm of that generation of Jews still deeply influenced by the Holocaust. Certainly the notion that the state power to kill can be subject to such extraordinary abuse is always lurking beneath the surface for me. Certainly my experience and identity as a Jew is there,” a quote said by Scott Turow, an American author and lawyer. The Holocaust is tragedy that scarred not only the survivors, but generations to come; it also erased part of the future.
Six out of nine million Jews living in Europe were killed during the Holocaust, but Vladek Spiegelman was not one of them. Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman tells the suspenseful story of how Vladek was captured by the Nazis, and what he had to do in order to survive. Although Vladek’s experience in concentration camps caused him to lose his ability to trust, he was able to gain gratefulness and become more attached to his family. Although he learned many valuable lessons, Vladek also lost an important trait: his ability to trust.
Maus 1 final Essay Introduction: The book Maus is by Art spiegelman, The book takes place in Poland, during World War II. Artie is Vladek's son, and Anja is Vladek's wife who passed away. Artie who is Vladek’s son who writes a book of his father's crucial experience during World War II . Vladek is a Jewish survivor of World War II.
Throughout Maus, Vladek is telling his son Artie about how he survived the Holocaust. He explained to Artie that before the war, life was good for him and his family. He tells him everything about his experience during the war as well, from the relationship he had with his family and Anja, to his friendships with both gentiles and Jews, to things he might of found or kept throughout the war. However now, a few decades after the war, Vladek’s lifestyle has changed drastically from during the war, and even from before the war. Vladek’s friendships, relationships, and everyday life has changed due to the Holocaust and WWII.
Most of Vladek Spiegelman has many (strange) personality traits. He can be headstrong, stingy, short-tempered and even borderline racist at times. As the reader reads through Maus I and II, it is learned that most of these things about him stem from his experience being a Holocaust survivor and living through World War II. Before the war, he didn 't exhibit these traits. With his first wife Anja, he is undoubtedly kind, compassionate, and wealthy.
The Sheik is the first chapter in part one of the graphic novel Maus. Because, it is the first chapter, it is really being used as setup for the rest of story. It introduces our key characters and settings. All in all, Maus is about memories being passed down from generation to generation. We see how these memories of the past have a huge impact on the character’s present lives and future lives.