Maus

There were many parts of Maus that were striking and moving but a part that particularly stood out to me was towards the end of the book when the family was waiting for a van to take them to Auschwitz. Vladek noticed his cousin, Jakov Spiegelman in the courtyard below through the window of the large room where they were being kept. Vladek begged for help and offered a gold watch in return. Haskell, another cousin, offered to get Vladek, his wife, and her nephew out of the crowd waiting to depart to Auschwitz. Part of what made Maus a captivating literary work was the alternating story lines between recollections of the war and the emergent relationship between the author and his father, Vladek. At this point in the book the son interjects stating, “Wouldn’t they have helped you even if you couldn’t pay? I mean, you were from the same family…”the father responded, “Hah! You don’t understand at that time it wasn’t anymore families. It was everybody to take care for himself” (114). I found this part moving because as a listener it is hard to understand the exact characteristics of this time period. Everyday courtesies and obligations did not outweigh the importance of self preservation. I am currently reading a memoir titled, “Man’s Search for Meaning.” The author, Dr. Viktor Frankl, survived the many horrors of Nazi death camps and from his experience developed a new approach to psychotherapy called logotherapy. He discusses man’s ability to find a meaning to life even in the most horrific and inhumane conditions. At one point in his memoir, Dr. Frankl mentions a particular cook who dealt out soup equally to all prisoners and did not favor his personal friends or family. Those individuals, who were subject to more responsibilities on account of being more liked by the Nazis or other arbitrary reasons, could possibly afford their friends, as in the case of the cook, more soup. Vladek used his family connection to delay his departure to Auschwitz. Dr. Frankl does not offer an opinion on whether the cook who handed out soup equally was more respectable or not. Dr. Frankl elaborates, “But it is not for me to pass judgment on those prisoners who put their own people above everyone else. Who can throw a stone at a man who favors friends under circumstances when, sooner or later, it is a question of life or death? No man should judge unless he asks himself in absolute honesty whether in a similar situation he might not have done the same” (68). I believe this is relevant to this particular part of Maus because Haskel, while he saves Vladek and his wife, does not take the risk to save Vladek’s wife’s parents. Vladek refers to Haskel as a “kombinator” or crook.

Another aspect of Maus that I really liked was the language the author used to portray his father. The majority of the book was in English, however, when Vladek spoke the English was not always perfect or grammatically correct. I thought it added authenticity to the story and made the reader really feel like they were listening to a firsthand account of Jewish life in occupied Poland.