Answer TWO of the following as a Comment below:
1. Consider pages 41-46 (the beginning of Chapter Two, “Time Flies”): why does Artie feel guilty for having created Maus? Why is he unable to continue the work (though he is continuing it as he writes it!)? What issues do these pages deal with that are somewhat beyond the storyline?
2. No one book can tell the entire story of something as immense as Auschwitz; even the survivors, themselves, can't document every single detail. How does Spiegelman show the limitations of his book--and of Vladek's own memory--in writing about Auschwitz? What things remain unknown, confusing, or contradictory?
3. How do the characters of Artie and/or Vladek change (or develop) in Maus II? What new threads does he weave into the fabric of the comic that challenges how we see and understand them? Cite a specific passage in your response.
4. Why do you think Spiegelman introduces Francoise into Maus II (though she briefly appears in Maus I)? How does she complement the story or help him discuss ideas/issues that would be impossible without her? In other words, what perspective does she bring to the work?
Kendall Dobbs:
ReplyDelete2. The main scene that comes to mind is the scene in which Vladek is giving a timeline of the different jobs that he held and the length of those jobs. It is obvious that Spiegelman is trying to show that Vladek doesn't remember every single detail of his time in Auschiwitz. Also, the scenes in which Vladek discusses Anja and the experiences that she goes through … Vladek isn't an eye-witness to those experiences so I am guessing that he is telling Spielegman what he thinks could have happened? Or the version that she told him afterward and who knows if he remembers that accurately? While no story regarding the Holocaust will be totally accurate, I think that the most important thing is for the reader understands the overall picture. And I think that can happen without 100% accuracy of a survivor’s story.
4. I think that Francoise is utilized as a way to express Spiegelman’s personal thoughts and opinions. He uses conversations with her to show his thoughts and attitudes, which would be difficult to show in the comic otherwise. I think that Francoise’s presence makes this story more ‘autobiographical.’ I think that she brings context to the father/son relationship which is important! At the beginning of Maus II, her presence and conversation helps add to the metaphor of animals to race. She may not be vital, but she adds another layer of ‘authenticity’ to this story.
Nikki Ennis
ReplyDelete2. One of the things that was contradictory within Vladek's story is his work timeline inside Auschwitz. It doesn't match up with the amount of time he was there, and is therefore not credible. Vladek even comments on this, explaining that he didn't have a watch while inside the camp, so his time recollection is a bit hazy.
4. Francoise I think is important to the story because before, Mala was the barrier between Art & his father, but now she is gone, so Francoise takes that third-party stance. I think she needs to be there, to constantly keep the two men in line. Francoise not only acts as a sort of mediator between Art and his father, she also refers to the flaws within his animal metaphor. Her example being that she is French, but converted to his religion. He says he will draw her as a frog, but then ultimately draws her as a mouse.
1. It is possible that Artie feels guilty as a Jewish man who did not have to suffer through the Holocaust, like a secondary survivor's guilt, but I think he is more guilty about trying to tell such an intense story about a father with whom he does not have a close relationship. On page 14 he admits to feeling presumptuous, and I imagine he felt a little pretentious too, like he was doing someone a service by writing the story. When he reverts to a baby mouse he regresses to a childhood memory of the comfort of his mother, someone he also feels guilty about treating poorly before her death. And all of this because of the Holocaust, a huge issue too complicated for any one family or story, and represented by the dead mice on the floor.
ReplyDelete2. It seems like someone who experienced the Holocaust would want to block out all memory of their time there, but Vladek appears to remember it in great detail. Perhaps he adds details that have been magnified or warped over time, but it is interesting that for how organized and aware he was, the timeline is a blur (p. 68). In some instances, details are unknown, and Vladek does not seem to associate any emotion with things he did not know for sure. For example, on page 35 he describes the many ways in which his friend Mandelbaum could have finished at Auschwitz, but expresses a survivalist mentality in his dismissal of death. He does seem to be an unreliable narrator, taking opportunities to display his actions as heroic lessons to Artie.
Josh Coats
ReplyDelete1. I think he feels guilty because of his relationship to his father, a survivor. The memories his father has are strong, intense, and heartbreaking. He can't relate to his father because he grew up thinking that he was just a frugal, bitter miserly old man. He can't capture everything in his novel, so maybe he also feels guilty because no matter how many Holocaust books are written, the readers will never really relate to what really happened in the camps.
2. When people think of "black and white", they think clear, everything has been stated. However, Spiegelman makes the reader suggest otherwise. For example, his father couldn't remember exactly his timeline. I would think people would remember the amount of time spent in hell on earth. But when living conditions become so extreme and the dehumanization becomes so intense, the brain eventually can't hold it all. You get used to how you're living and I think this is what Siegleman was trying to show; history books help to fill in gaps, but they do not contain every piece of every moment. We are history, and we will forget about everyday life.
Zachary Martin
ReplyDelete1. I think he feels guilty because he's talking with his father about his pain and suffering, when Artie himself didnt go through it. He feels as though is somewhat of an accomplishment or admirable to have survived Auschwitz.He feels bad because he is asking his father constant questions about it and basically making his father remember the horrible things that happened. Artie just really wishes he could of actually experienced it so he wont feel so bad that his father went through it and Artie didnt.
4. I think she is introduced to give Artie someone else to talk to to gather ideas from. She supports him and helps give him more ideas to talk about with his father and help him if he feels down about something.She also adds more to the story like when they were in the car, it gave him an opportunity to talk about his father before he was even brought into Maus II. She acts as a third party person to talk too.
Nesha Pickens:
ReplyDelete1) I believe Artie feels guilty because he is writing this story on his father who he can't get along with about a situation or event that he didn't have to go through. He was unable to continue his work because his father dies and he would never get the rest of the information he needed for his book. The issues that he mainly deals with is the guilt he has towards his mother and father.
4) I think Spiegelman introduces Francoise into Maus II because she was sort of Arties comfort zone when it came to his father. She's kind of was the glue that keeps Artie and Vladek together. For example when they were in Vladek's kitchen trying to do his tax paper and he was driving both Artie and Francoise crazy. That night I think Artie wanted to choke his father but Francoise saved them both when she suggested they go take a walk. To me francoise makes it easier for artie to get along with his father.
Casey Bear
ReplyDelete1. He starts to wander if his father remembers correctly or if hes just babbling about something he barely recalls
4.
Stephanie Callen
ReplyDelete1. Consider pages 41-46 (the beginning of Chapter Two, “Time Flies”): why does Artie feel guilty for having created Maus? Why is he unable to continue the work (though he is continuing it as he writes it!)? What issues do these pages deal with that are somewhat beyond the storyline?
I think Artie feels guilty for the way he treated his father and the relationship they had. His father dies before he can finish the story and Artie is ate up with guilt by the way he treated his father.
4. Why do you think Spiegelman introduces Francoise into Maus II (though she briefly appears in Maus I)? How does she complement the story or help him discuss ideas/issues that would be impossible without her? In other words, what perspective does she bring to the work?
The introduction of Francoise into the book is so that Spiegelman has someone to conversate with. I think she complements the story because her and Spiegelman's conversations help get across some ideas that would otherwise have been impossible.
Stormee Chestra
ReplyDelete2. If it was me I would honestly want to delete every memory of being in the Holocaust, but for some reason he remembers quite a bit about it, which I find strange. who would want to remember?
4. He introduces Francoise in Maus, because he was kind of his comfort zone, like he felt okay with him. He could talk to him about things that maybe to other people would have sounded to stupid or weird.
4.
Amory Morgan
ReplyDelete2. I think he shows it by showing Vdlek struggle to remember things, and saying things out of the time frame then having to go back and restart from somewhere else. All of Vdleks friends that were in the book are dead now, so you can't just ask them what really happened. I think the overall idea is correct, but certain words and conversations i doubt were 100% true.
4. I think she brings a calm perspective. She often helps Artie sort through his thoughts. It shows him being upset a lot and it shows how she just kind of sorts through his thoughts for him and maybe asks questions that he wouldn't have thought about or look at it from a different perspective. Her being in the book shows us how much Artie struggled with it.
Destiny Coley
ReplyDelete2) He feels guilty because he is asking his father to talk about a traumatic event that he went through. This takes a toll on him as well as their relationship. But by asking him to tell his story, he gets a better understanding of why his dad is the way his is.
4) She was good to be introduced because it gives him someone to talk to and communicate. She is able to help him with a number of things and she compliments the book. She gives him many more ideas that he might not have had without her.
Michelle Wyant
ReplyDelete1. I believe that Artie feels guilty because he has no idea how to understand his father. He feels like he has nothing in common with him because he did not go through the Holocaust. I think that this also plays a role in why he feels that he has no meaning in writing the book. He also feels bad because all he can remember doing with his father is argue about how he could never do anything right. On pg (204) Artie says, “No matter what I accomplish, it doesn’t seem like much compared to surviving Auschwitz.” I believe this is why he doesn’t feel like he can finish the book.
4. I think that he brought her in because she had a more important role in helping him with his father in the later years. In the first book the mother in law was there to help with the father, but once she left there needed to be someone that could keep them all sane and in good standards. Even though Artie couldn’t stand to be with his father for very long. She compliments the work by showing us how Artie had an outlet that he could talk to about his father and not worry about being looked down upon. She brings a sense of comfort and compatibility to the work because she holds everything together.
Weston Haynes
ReplyDelete1. Artie feels guilty because he never experienced the Holocaust as his father did, so in a way he can not relate to him. He constantly asked his father various questions about the Holocaust and it always brought back memories of his wife, which made him reluctant to answer these questions. Artie cant relate to such a tragic event, and would feel like he is not giving what happened justice. Mostly because he never went through Auschwitz.
2.) It is hard to put into words all the details that went through Auschwitz, and I don't think that people who went through would care to talk about it too much anyway. Mainly because it would bring back too many traumatizing memories. Vladek gives an insight to Artie on his time in Auschwitz and the work he had partaking in, The problem is that his memory is not all it used to be, and because of that his story doesn't entirely add up. One positive aspect is that Vladek gives a testament of the human spirit and survival. Vladek is not entirely accurate on his story, but presents the general idea of the Holocaust, and its negative aspects on humanity.
Ashley Barnes
ReplyDelete1. Artie feels guilty because he is having to tell a story that isn't his and something that he didn't experience himself. He may feel guilty because the idea of the Holocaust is huge, to believe that it actually happened and people really went through it, not just something you see on the television or see in a history book. And that one of those people was his father and now he has the responsibility of making a book out of his personal struggles and memories. The relationship he has with his father wasn't the best father soon relationship so he may feel like he is exploiting his father's memories and experience since Artie can't relate himself.
2. We see the limitations of Artie's book in many ways, one with Vladek's overall recall, he can be on one subject and switch to something totally different and lose his train of thought, this is normal with anyone but we lose details that we otherwise might have known. Vladek also tells stories that involve Anja and these are just stories of hers that he may just be telling from memory and there are many details and recollections lost since we aren't hearing them from Anja herself. We see that the timeline of Vladek's work history at Auschwitz is a little fuzzy because he can't remember the exact time he worked. Vladeks memories of it are still amazing to me I thing he remembers more than he's forgotten but we can't know what he has forgotten or chooses not to tell. Although he may have forgotten some the eyewitness stories and memories are the best we have from then, they make it real.