Analyzing Vladek's Interviews In Maus By Art Spiegelman

By including more information about his role as writer, Spiegelman is able to humanize Vladek and his experiences. In the first interview in Maus I about Vladek’s wife, Anja, Vladek tells Art once it is completed, “‘But this what I just told you- about Lucia and so- I don’t want you should write this in your book.’ ‘WHAT? Why not?’ ‘It has nothing to do with Hitler, with the Holocaust!’ ‘But Pop- It’s great material. It makes everything more REAL- more human’” (23). Reading about what occurs surrounding these interviews makes Vladek appear to be human rather than just a body that goes through the concentration camps. It further emphasizes the idea that everyone goes through struggles in their lives making him more relatable and human. By restraining

When Art first begins the interviews with Vladek, Vladek yells at Mala, “A WIRE hanger you give him! I haven’t seen Artie in almost two years—we have plenty WOODEN hangers” (Maus I, 11). Although they may have a distant relationship since they do not see each other often, Vladek deeply cares about his only living son because he tries to give him the best. He wishes to have a close relationship with Art because of his insistence of treating Art the best he can. However, Art is not ready to become close with his father. When Vladek is in the hospital in Florida, the doctor tells Art, “‘You’ll be glad to know you can take him home with you!’ (Art then comments) ‘WHAT?!’” (Maus II, 127). Even after spending years interviewing his father, Art wants to distance himself from Vladek as much as he can. Although Art has grown to love Vladek more, he still wants time away from him and to relax without having to help him. Art concludes that, “The problem in the book was to communicate that: this isn’t just images of Art and his father talking into a tape recorder that make up one little fragment of a relationship; this is three-fourths of that relationship. It gave us a site on which we could have a relationship, let’s say” (MetaMaus, 24). Although Vladek and Art remain partially distanced, they are able to connect because of Vladek’s past. Once the

One of the effects is that it makes the survivors extremely frugal and who try to avoid spending too much money because in the camps the prisoners were given poorly fitted clothes and little food. When Mala leaves Vladek and there are some Special K bars left that he cannot eat, he insists that Art takes them or he will return them. With some hassle Vladek manages to return the bars even though Francoise and Art try to tell him it is not worth the trouble. After he returns the goods, Vladek says, “You see? I exchanged and got six dollars worth of new groceries for only one dollar!” (Maus II, 90). He is triumphant over this small savings even though he has plenty of money in his savings. Vladek’s frugalness does not just remain in the supermarket. It is his entire life. He complains about giving Mala money for getting her hair done. Vladek tells Art, ‘You and Mala, you don’t know how to make money, only to make it disappear” (Maus II, 102). Money is no longer scarce, and Vladek is in his seventies and does not need to save for fifty more years of his life. At most, he has about twenty years left in his life, yet he still fears he loses too much money. Vladek constantly complains about how Mala ran away with his money, but he has more than enough of it. Art comments that Vladek and his other survivor friends had other lasting effects. For instance, Art says, “It was important for me to present