Differences And Similarities Between 'Maus And Once A Minute'

Maggie Cheney

Mrs. Mesecher

Literacy 8, 2nd period

10 May 2023 The themes of differences and similarities in Maus Once a Minute

Throughout history, humans have encountered adversity and challenges in large or small ways. The Holocaust is one of the most horrible cases of persecution and oppression in the history of the world. Two pieces of literature that explore the tribulations and triumphs of the Holocaust are Maus by Art Spiegelman and Often a Minute by Magdalena Klein. Maus is a novel that has a son writing a book about his dad in flashback form, however Often a Minute is a poem about rising against the Nazis and fighting back. Both Maus and Once a minute portray the theme Even when times get tough you have to push through.,

Maus portrays this theme by using a flashback plot where Artie, the son, interviews his dad vladek. Artie is writing a novel about his dad's experiences during the Holocaust. Maus shows the theme by portraying Vladeks struggles and issues This demonstrates how Maus portrays the theme because even when there were rats and cold they kept going. Often a minute portrays this theme Even when times get tough you have to push through, for example, in stanza 5, line(s) 1 states, “But fight and contempt give us strength”. This demonstrates how Often a Minute portrays the theme because it's talking about the strength they needed during the holocaust. However, Maus and Often a Minute use vastly different structural elements in order to portray this

Maus and Once a Minute both express a fearful tone in a similar way because Maus tells a story of the father's experience in a flashback plot how many times he was scared and often minute talks about how many people during the holocaust. For example, on page 153 of Maus, panel(s) 2, _this panel shows the terrible living conditions and how scary it was. In Once a Minute it shows fear in stanza 1 line 3 This stanza states“I'm afraid to turn on the radio”. This demonstrates how Maus and Once a Minute express a fearful tone in a similar way because they are both fearful about what may happen to them and how they have to live. However, Maus and Once a Minute as well, both express a fearful tone in different ways because Maus shows a fearful town with a more visual form and is mostly about the nazis whereas Once a Minute. For example, on page 59 of Maus, panel 1-4, Vladek is going through the lines that decide if he goes to the camp or gets to go home, but in stanza 1 of Once a Minute, in lines 2 and 3, she states “My eyes glance at the news with fright and I'm afraid to turn the radio on”. This demonstrates how Maus and Once a Minute express a fearful tone in different ways because Maus shows fear of people getting sent away and not coming back but Once a Minute shows a fearful tone because they are talking about being scared to watch the news or turn on the