Vladek Character Traits In Maus

In the novel Maus, Art Spiegelman writes about the past and present traits about a survivor of the Holocaust. Throughout the novel, the author goes back and forth between the character's past and current traits. Art is able to think about what the holocaust is about and how his father fought through it to create a novel. Vladek shows how the holocaust has affected his entire life and how his life has become more complex. When Vladek was a young man, he was a quick thinker; he was able to come up with last-minute plans that saved his and many others' lives. Though, while he is an old man, he is seen as impulsive, as he makes choices in his daily life that affect him and the people around him. Ultimately, the novel suggests how our past traits

As a young man during WW2, Vladek proves that he is a quick thinker with ethical ideas. During the Holocaust, it was a tough time for everyone, especially the Jews. Vladek had to move from place to place just to keep himself and his family safe. This was very difficult because the Polish and Gestapos were everywhere. Vladek had ideas that were enough to save his life and keep him safe. While trying to get home on the train, Vladek tries to pretend to be a Pole when he is really a Jew: “The Poles were very bitter towards the Germans so it was good to speak badly of them.” (Spiegelman 66) Vladeks quick thinking got him a ride on a train so he could get home safely. If he hadn't thought of this he would not have been able to get home since people despised Jews. Additionally, he was able to quickly come up with the idea to play the role as a Polish man, he came up with ideas that made him seem like a more realistic Pole. His intelligent ideas made this situation a little easier on him since he could get away with small things to keep himself and his family safe. In addition to being able to disguise himself as Pole, Vladek was able to create a hiding spot for his family to stay safe. Through the course of the

Vladek, now an older man with a son and wife, is always impulsive with his actions. These actions are usually poor and lead to something totally unnecessary. Vladek found out that the drain pipe was leaking and quickly called his son to help him fix it. His son said he did not know this type of work and he should just call a professional to fix it. Though Vladek did not want to spend a single penny, he jumped on the roof and started fixing the pipe: “But I’m no good at fixing that kind of stuff. Why don’t you just call someone? Ach! You and Mala both think money grows on bushes I’ll fix it myself.” (Spegialman 75), “Your father-he just climbed on the roof.” (Spegialman 98) Vladek proved his impulsiveness by not even considering calling a professional, straight away climbed up on the roof and assumed that he could fix it himself. He just did it without thinking about the risks of his actions. Additionally, Vladek had no experience in this type of work and he could have made it worse but he did not make a single consideration to any of those ideas. Vladek made quick decisions that were not needed, and were also not a good idea. Furthermore, Vladek proves his impulsiveness once more by not listening to the doctor, taking more than the necessary medications. One evening, Vladek was sitting on the table and counting pills. He started naming the types of