Cruelty In Maus And The Education Of Augie Merasty

Oppression and cruelty are mutual themes in both Maus, by Art Spiegelman, and The Education of Augie Merasty, by Joseph A. Merasty and David Carpenter. Both works of literature contain numerous examples of brutality, abuse, and violence. In The Education of Augie Merasty, Augie was sent to a residential school due to his culture and ancestry, while in Maus, Vladek was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp due to his religion. Both Vladek and Augie faced cruelty and oppression due to their ancestry, religion, and culture. Vladek, Augie, and countless other people were victimized and oppressed, not for any crime or wrongdoing, but simply for a part of their identity that does not make them any morally, physically, spiritually, or ethically better

For Augie, this meant physical, sexual, and verbal abuse. During his time at the Residential School, Augie was abused multiple times, by multiple different authority figures. An example of this abuse was when Augie was sleeping and Sister Mercy had heard him laughing and talking in his sleep, but believing he was awake, she hit the left side of his face with the strap (Merasty 42). This cruelty towards Augie left physical and emotional scars that stayed with him throughout his life, as could be seen in his struggle with alcoholism. For Vladek, this meant that his basic needs were not adequately met to sustain life, he was branded with a number, he was forced to work, and he had the constant threat of death. An example of the cruel treatment against Vladek is the death march that the Auschwitz prisoners were forced to walk. As Vladek described, “All night I heard shooting. He who got tired, who can’t walk so fast, they shot. The more we walked, the more I heard shooting” (Spiegelman 82). As they were on the death march, the guards and Nazi’s continued to exhibit violence and cruelty over their victims, by shooting those who could not keep up. In both cases the cruelty and oppression against Vladek and Augie is obvious. The treatment that they both received during their oppression is horrific, inhumane, and