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Essay / Art Speigelman's depiction of the father-son relationship in his book, Maus his father, Vladek. Although Vladek is initially portrayed as frivolous, cunning, self-pitying, offensive to those close to him, and compulsive, the reader eventually learns, through his memories of the horrors of the Holocaust, that Vladek is this way because of the hellish prison that Adolf experienced. Hitler put him there. Throughout this essay, I will analyze the father-son relationship between Vladek and Art through close reading using themes such as time, guilt, and communication issues that plague their damaged relationship. I will discuss how Maus' themes such as racial issues, xenophobia, and historical trauma set the stage for generational trauma as it relates to Vladek and art, and how this trauma further negatively affects their relationship. I will also discuss how Art is also a survivor of trauma and support my belief with examples from his own tangible emotions presented to readers like me in Maus. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay The role of intergenerational trauma In Art Spiegelman's Maus I and Maus II, his use of language and images does not not only served to develop the narrative, but also a tool to overcome intergenerational trauma resulting from parents' experiences during the Holocaust. In the book, we discover that although Spiegelman began by illustrating his father's experiences during the Holocaust, Spiegelman explores his own trauma through the concept known as post-memory. Post-memory is described as the way in which children of first-generation trauma survivors, i.e. their parents, relate to said trauma. This correlates with intergenerational trauma, a problem he experiences, as often the trauma felt by the second generation is overshadowed by that of the first generation. In this case, the trauma his parents experienced was the Holocaust, with ill effects that continued to ripple through future generations, falling upon Spiegelman. Throughout Maus, Vladek can be seen chastising Art for several minor infractions such as smearing cigarette ashes while Vladek reluctantly recounts one of the many demeaning experiences in the concentration camp, involving an officer who blamed him for having caused disorder in the camp. This correlation between past and present events causes Art to feel guilty about the distant way he has always treated his father and instills a deep sense of guilt in his heart. Whether it was throwing Art's coat away or burning Anja's diary, Vladek was constantly doing things that upset Art, and vice versa. As I read carefully, I realized that many of these transgressions were simple misunderstandings, and if Art and Vladek had realized this, their relationship could have been very different. Constantly searching for a father figure, Art is blinded by Vladek's angry and neurotic antics, and distraught by the distance between him and his son, as well as haunting memories of the Holocaust and his son's tragic suicide. first wife, Vladek is not capable of acting. as a true father figure of Art. Eventually, Art becomes so helpless, confused and alone that he wishes he was in Auschwitzwith his parents just to be able to really know what they went through. This is an extreme sign of generational trauma resulting from years and years of Vladek incorrectly trying to deal with his own trauma. Emotion reigns throughout this graphic novel and helps explain the complex relationship between father and son that is depicted. Behind Vladek's account of his traumatic past in the camps is Art coming to terms with how the story affected his father. At the beginning and end of each chapter, the reader is hit with a wave of emotion related to Art's current feelings after hearing what his father had to say that day about the Holocaust. At the beginning and end of each chapter, Art describes how frustrated and guilty he feels about his relationship with his father. At first, Art describes his father as he is: a traumatized survivor just trying to cope with what was once happening around him, while also being a temperamental, self-pitying old man. As the plot thickens, so does Art's understanding of his father through first-hand stories of what his father experienced. At first, the reader may find themselves against Vladek because of how he treats those around him in the present, but as the story progresses, it is easy to understand why Vladek is the way he is. An example of Art's gradually increased understanding as the book progresses is when Vladek accidentally calls him, Art's brother who was murdered in the ghettos. At the beginning of the story, if Vladek had made a mistake and made that mistake, Art might have become furious with his father because he believed his father loved Richieu more, but at the point in the story where Vladek When Richieu actually calls, we can note that Art actually feels satisfied with his father's mistake, and Art sees that it was out of love for both him and his brother. I enjoy the graphic novel's narrative on this particular topic because I think it is able to engage the reader. in a way that ordinary novels cannot. In Maus, a recurring motif is that of a fireplace, illustrating the brutal fate of the victims without having to say it. This recurring chimney symbolizes the constant weight of fear on the shoulders of Holocaust victims; fear that they will soon be exterminated. Another reason why a graphic novel was a wonderful way for Art to tell his father's story is that he can simultaneously show how he feels without interrupting his father's narrative and vice versa. I don't think it can be done in the form of a novel. Vladek and Artie's Relationship After analyzing Vladek and Art's relationship, Vladek's strange quirks cause Art to be annoyed by him in many ways. Although Art's mission was to spread the word about his father's story, his father's ways greatly annoy him along the way. The outbursts between father and son throughout this story soon become a source of guilt for Art, who struggles to understand why his father acts the way he does. This major theme of guilt is illustrated in several ways throughout the graphic novel. Art feels guilty for not being a good son, Art feels guilty for his mother's suicide, and Art feels guilty for being successful and capitalizing on Maus. “Maybe your father needed to show that he was always right – that he could always survive – because he felt guilty for surviving. And he cast his guilt on you, where it was safe…on the real survivor.” This quote from Maus describes the tension between father and son and its cause, guilt. Vladek constantly felt survivor's guilt after deathof so many Jewish compatriots and the death of Anja, which led him to lash out at his son, “the real survivor”. But the question remains whether or not Art believes he is a true survivor, as he still feels extremely depressed over his relationship with his father and his guilt. It is very important for the reader to see that Art is influenced by his father's traumatic narrative so that the reader can fully understand what second generation trauma means when it comes to the relationship between father and son . Art even goes so far as to declare: "I know it's crazy, but I wish I was in Auschwitz with my parents so I could really know what they went through!" ...I guess it's some kind of guilt that I had an easier life than them. This truly shows the heartbreaking impact of Vladek's intervention. his story had affected his son to the point that to fully understand his father's grief, he wanted to put himself in his father's shoes... literally. The impact of his father's grief and his mother's suicide shaped Art as a person, and in order to tell his story in its entirety, Art had to put it all on the table for readers. Vladek's character was greatly shaped by the Holocaust, and this is seen throughout the graphic novel, as he is unable to lead a normal life, as well as Mala and Art reporting him for his behavior. Vladek's instinct is to ration money and food in case tragedy strikes again, and he has certainly adopted a particular xenophobia due to Hitler's control over the Jews during World War II. Vladek is also obsessive-compulsive, which causes Mala and Art great annoyance, only further straining their relationship. Vladek also isolated himself from the public due to his extreme trauma. Art actually helps Vladek make sense of his survival by making him tell stories of his treacherous past, but this doesn't happen without many obstacles in between. The graphic novel form allows Art to candidly express his concerns about the depiction of his father's frugality. He feared that revealing the truth about his father's cheapness would perpetuate the stereotype of the "cheap Jew," but the pressure this quality placed on his family was too great not to share. Art's fascination with recording Vladek's description of the forces of the Holocaust allows him to hang out with his father much more often than usual, and Vladek's grumpy resistance doesn't help at all. The beginning of Maus illustrates this and shows that neither father nor son are capable of understanding each other and what the other is experiencing. Art can't get over the fact that his father has a hard time talking about what happened to him during his horrible past, and Art has a hard time putting himself in his father's shoes. This causes frustration within the art, and he tries to force his father to extract information that his father no longer has due to trauma. Very quickly, Art discovers that Vladek destroyed Anja's journals, the only tangible proof of her life, and Art calls Vladek a murderer, only driving them further apart than before. "Congratulations! ... You committed the perfect crime... You put me here... you shorted all my circuits... you cut my nerve endings... and you crossed my wires!... You murdered me, mom, and you left me here to take the hit!!! Art feels betrayed by both his parents for their actions due to the Holocaust, and he is still unable to put himself in their shoes. He thinks they are very. selfish and he doesn't think their actions were fair to him because he was just a child Another aspect that separates Art from his father is the.)
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