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A Comparison Of Maus I And II By Art Spiegelman

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In Maus I and II by Art Spiegelman, it exemplifies the before and after effects of war and how it alters the psychological thinking of the brain. Throughout both books, it appears that Vladek suffered a great amount of trauma during and after the Holocaust. Although his son, Art, didn’t go through these experiences first hand, it still ended up having a significant impact on his life. In fact, we see the division that remains between Art and his father after one of these traumatic events.
It appears that Vladek suffered a great amount of trauma during and after the Holocaust. Vladek was put through lots of suffering and manipulation, which became a big factor in how he treated his son. Going from a decent life and having a nice family, friends, …show more content…

In Art's first book, a short comic, "Prisoner on the Hell Planet", depicts the suicide of his mother. Through this short story we see how the death of Anja had possibly created a rift between Art and Vladek. With the absence of his mother and feelings of guilt, Art was expected to put up with this and stand strong for his father. Perhaps Vladek didn’t consider Art worthy of grief because he didn’t acknowledge Art as a survivor like Anja and him. It seems even Art himself might feel this way, as stated on page 16 of Maus II, “I guess it’s some kind of guilt about having had an easier life than they did.” Even during the funeral of Anja, it is seen that Art was feeling overwhelmed by the guilt and needed to leave. Then we see how a family friend makes a remarkable comment invalidating Art’s feelings. As stated by the author on page 694 of The Transformation of Trauma Between the Generations in Art Spiegelman’s Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, “The second generation’s own memories take a back seat to or exist in the shadow of traumatic memories to which they have only limited and highly charged access (“Memory” 8).” It is then shown how Art felt trapped in this guilt and the way his mind goes to war with itself, experiencing some sort of fault towards Anja’s

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