Maus

Art questions why Vladek went to the frontier with little training. Vladek mentions that his father, following his own negative experiences in the Russian army, tried to keep both sons out of the army by starving them before their medical exams. Vladek relented after the first year and spent 18 months in the army in his early twenties, with periodic training afterward. As for Vladek’s mother, she died of cancer before Nazi subjugation intensified.

Vladek’s experiences at the POW camp prepare him for Survival in the Face of Adversity. His decisions often seem counterintuitive, such as bathing in cold water during the winter and volunteering for the labor camps. Staying clean protects him from disease, and laborers both live in better conditions and have something to do. In addition, he does favors for extra food, conserves goods to trade later, and hides in the back lines of headcounts to mask his presence.

Jewish people faced persecution for their religious beliefs, and Chapter 3 shows the first of several instances where religion and fate influences Vladek’s ordeal. Vladek has reservations about killing others and prays during his time in camp. The dream of his grandfather tells him that he will receive freedom on Parshas Truma, which denotes a year of readings from the Torah. A rabbi tells him that he is a “‘roh-eh kanoled,’ one who sees what the future will bring” (62). In addition, Vladek mentions how other important events in his life coincide with Parshas Truma, including his wedding with Anja and Art’s birth and bar mitzvah.

Vladek faces other challenges upon his return to Sosnowiec, where his risk of execution is higher than as an internationally protected war prisoner. Jews must carry identification papers, use coupons to buy goods, and wear the Star of David on their clothing—a shaming mechanism dating back to medieval times. When Vladek travels without wearing the symbol, Spiegelman depicts him as wearing a pig mask.

While the residents are suspicious of the Nazis from the start, false fronts like the convalescent home and registration drive muddy their true intentions. Citizens want to maintain a sense of normalcy as much as they can, whether it is the Zylberbergs’ unchecked spending or Anja’s refusal to part with Richieu. Since defying orders means certain death, residents and the Jewish council cooperate with them to protect themselves and limit casualties. Vladek notes that they do not believe the stories about Auschwitz until the rumors from escapees become impossible to ignore.

More rifts appear between Vladek and Art as the former treats the latter as a kid, telling him to finish his plate and replacing his coat without his permission. This may be due to Vladek’s past brushes with starvation and a misplaced desire to follow his father-in-law in providing for his son. The father also chastises his son’s smoking habit by pointing out how trading cigarettes for food and gifts helped him during his struggles. Vladek misses Anja and believes that he is restricting Mala’s access to his money for Art’s sake. Vladek’s struggle to survive the Nazi regime continues to inform his attitudes and behaviors decades later, and these attitudes and behaviors in turn impact his son’s live, illustrating The Generational Impact of Trauma and Survivor’s Guilt.

Vladek’s stationary bike allows Spiegelman to portray emotions in scenes that are otherwise talking heads. In Chapter 4, Vladek’s pedaling slows down as he discusses traumatic events like his inability to place Richieu into hiding at a point when it would have saved his life. He then stops out of physical and emotional exhaustion after recounting his final memories of his biological father and sister.