In Art Spiegelman's Maus and Eden Robinson's Monkey Beach post memory is explored. Marianne Hirsch defines post-memory as: "Postmemory" describes the relationship that the "generation after" bears to the personal, collective, and cultural trauma of those who came before-to experiences they "remember" only by means of the stories, images, and behaviors among which they grew up. But these experiences were transmitted to them so deeply and affectively as to seem to constitute memories in their own right. (Hirsch 2016) In Maus, Spiegelman uses a third person narrative to tell the story of his father's experiences in the Holocaust. In contrast, Robinson uses the first and second person to tell the story of Lisa's family's hardships due to Residential …show more content…
Schools. Both narrators do not directly experience these traumatic events in history, but their lives are forever changed because of them. Through the use of historical references, relationships and evoking emotion in the reader, Eden Robinson's narrative better exemplifies how individuals of second generation trauma use the experience of post-memory to connect with the reader when compared to Spiegelman's Maus. Throughout Monkey Beach, the oppression of Haisla people is confronted. The permanent effects of the residential school system, a form of assimilation of First Nations children, is epitomized in this novel. Lisa's cousin Tab speaks to the lifelong impression left by the school system, "You're really lucky that your dad was too young to go to rez school. Aunt Kate, too, because she was married. Just Mick and my mom went and it fucked them up." (Robinson 254). Here, Tab explains to Lisa that the institution messed up her mother's life. It is evident that the lasting effects of colonization and views from survivors are passed to successive generations. As stated by Mrak, the persistent impact on individuals and indigenous peoples due to colonization by the mode of residential schools is evident in this text by Robinson. Although the suffering due to residential schools is not always directly observed in Monkey Beach, it is often confronted indirectly (Mrak 3). Additionally, having a narrator that is a modern day woman allows readers to relate to her coming of age story. In contrast, Maus is a report of all the experiences Vladek had during the Holocaust. It is almost strictly Art interviewing his father about his past and recounting his memories. The issue of the Holocaust is directly addressed and talked about between father and son. The impersonal structure of Vladek's character can be seen when he does not want Art to include their conversation about a former girlfriend, "But this isn't so proper, so respectful … I can tell you other stories, but such private things I don't want you should mention." (Spiegelman 23). As seen in this passage, Vladek only wants his son Art to know the history of the Holocaust and is constantly trying to hide his emotions. Readers are therefore unable to connect and relate with Art. In comparison, both books display how children, such as Art and Lisa continue to experience the consequences of historical events they did not live through and create their own personality (Kohli 2). However, Robinson's ability to evoke emotion in the reader through learning Lisa's stories allows the audience to understand how the impact of residential schools has directly affected her own life. Events that occurred in the past, but continue to affect present day life are exemplified in the complex relationships in Maus and Monkey Beach (Hirsch, 2016). Maus begins with Vladek's statement, "Friends? Your friends? If you lock them together in a room with no food for a week…THEN you could see what it is, friends!" (Spiegelman 6). This foreshadows the psychological effects the Holocaust has had on Vladek which is passed on to Art. The experience of Vladek having to rely solely on himself has given him an underlying mistrust of people that he has continued to devolve to Art from a young age (Kohli 3-4). Vladeck does not allow Art to create and learn from his own experiences. The repercussion of trauma has created a void in the relationship between Vladek and Art. Art can only imagine what his father went through, and never really feels the direct effects of the Holocaust. Whereas, Lisa still lives with racism to this day and thus can understand what her family members went through in the residential school system. Although Lisa's second generation trauma does not come from her parents', she is still a victim of post-memory.
As Mrak expresses, there are still three characters with relationships to Lisa in Monkey Beach that are involved with residential schools, "Josh … who perpetuates the sexual violence to which he was subjected to by a priest at school; Lisa's aunt Trudy who succumbs to alcoholism; and uncle Mick who abandons his family to become an activist" (Mrak 10). When Mick utters, "Crazy? I'm crazy? You look at your precious church. You look at what they did. You never went to residential school. You can't tell me what I fucking went through and what I didn't" (Robinson 109) during grace at dinner, it is disregarded by Lisa's family. These outbursts are seen throughout the novel and show a continuation of violence created by residential schools that cause a disjoint between relationships in families. These family disputes have a lasting impact on Lisa's life as she continues to construct her own memories (Mrak 10). Although families are often thought to come together in times of struggle, it is seen in both Monkey Beach and Maus that they often just continue to tear them apart. However, the more developed familial relationships depicted in Monkey Beach allow readers to identify with Lisa's continued trauma from …show more content…
post-memory. The ability to feel empathy for a character allows a reader to relate to a story. However, while telling Vladek's story of survival, it is rare that Art's feelings are ever expressed to the reader. When Vladek tries to change the topic from his story, Art returns to the story of the Holocaust which does not allow the readers any insight to Art's feelings or personal memories. However, the impact of second generation trauma is realized in the chapter "Prisoner on the Hell Planet". With a dark tone and a completely contrasting black background compared to the white seen throughout the novel, the burden of his family's past that he continues to carry is understood. The image of Art wearing concentration camp clothing allows readers to recognize how connected he feels to his father's experiences in the Holocaust (Kohli 14). The only other time Art's true feelings are expressed is when he accuses his father of being a "murderer" (Spiegelman 159) for destroying his mother Anja's diaries. This shows a true loathing towards his father that has not been lessened even though these diaries would bring back awful memories to his father. Without always knowing Art's feelings it is difficult to relate to and feel the passion for his second generation trauma. In comparison, Monkey Beach is told predominantly in the first person from the memoirs and personal distress Lisa has experienced.
Subsequently, the readers also learn the story of the Haisla community in Kitimaat. Readers experience her life events as she does, which creates a delicate relationship not established in Maus. When Robinson addresses the reader directly and transitions from the first person to second, "Ignore the tingling sensations and weakness in your arms and legs, which make you want to lie down and never get up" (Robinson 366) it facilitates a vicarious experience for the reader. The change in narrative notifies the reader to pay closer attention to the horrific assimilation of First Nations peoples in Canada, which is often repressed in official historical recounts (Mrak 7). Learning the personal trauma of the protagonist reveals the larger issue of the lasting impact of the residential school system and how post memory still continues to affect First Nations people today. As a reader, empathy is felt towards both horrific tragedies, however, the emotion evoked by Lisa's continued suffering is much greater than that of Art
Spiegelman. Through the use of recounts of historical evidence, familial interactions and arousing passion in the reader, the narrative style of Monkey Beach better demonstrates how characters can connect to their reader through the use of post-memory when compared to a third person account, Maus. As Hirsch describes post memory as, the idea of describing the relationship of the second generation to powerful, often traumatic experiences that preceded their births, "these events happened in the past, but their effects continue into the present" (Hirsch 2016) which is evident throughout both novels, but emphasized more in Monkey Beach.
This again shows the traumatic effects of residential schools and of cultural, psychological, and emotional upheaval caused by the intolerance and mistreatment of Aboriginals in Canada. Settlers not only displaced Aboriginal people from their land and their homes, but they also experienced emotional trauma and cultural displacement.
Overall, individually, the characters Aunt Trudy and Josh have their share of suffering; it is inevitable to attend residential school without experiencing trauma or abuse, all of which leads to needing a source of escape, whether that be through the indulgence of alcohol or continuing the cycle of injustice that they are victims
Joshua Foer’s “The End of Remembering” and Kathryn Schulz’s “Evidence” are two essays that have more in common than one might think. Although on two totally different topics, they revolve around the central point of the complexities of the human mind. However, there are some key elements both writers have contemplated on in differing ways.
In conclusion, it is through these contradictions between history and memory that we learn not to completely rely on either form of representation, due to the vexing nature of the relationship and the deliberate selection and emphasis. It is then an understanding that through a combination of history and memory we can begin to comprehend representation. ‘The Fiftieth Gate’ demonstrates Baker’s conclusive realisation that both history and memory have reliability and usefulness. ‘Schindler’s List’ reveals how the context of a medium impacts on the selection and emphasis of details. ‘The Send-Off’ then explains how the contradiction between memory and history can show differing perspectives and motives.
The fundamental characteristic of magical realism is its duality, which enables the reader to experience both the character’s past and the present. In the novel, Monkey Beach, Eden Robinson uses this literary device to address the the trauma and mistreatment of the Haisla community in Canada by unveiling the intimate memories of the protagonist, Lisamarie, and the resulting consequences of this oppression. Monkey Beach illustrates how abuse in the past leads to another form of self-medication in the future - a neverending, vicious cycle for the members of the Haisla community. Many characters in Monkey Beach are scarred from childhood sexual abuse and family neglect, and resort to drug and alcohol abuse as a coping mechanism. These appalling memories are an account of the impact of colonization on the Haisla territory which continues to haunt the Aboriginal community throughout generations.
Canadians are just recently beginning to realize the detrimental aftermath of the years of trauma experienced by Indigenous peoples of Canada, such as the survivors of the residential school system. It is often difficult for these people to overcome the impact that follows. Undoubtedly, it requires help and support from others, but these people must make their personal healing journey themselves. The passages “Rock Bottom” by Steven Keewatin Sanderson and the “Legend of the Sugar Girl” by Joseph Boyden prove that although trauma can significantly undermine groups of people, they can overcome their difficulties. Both authors illustrate how trauma negatively affects characters, causes them to fall victim
Art Spiegelman's Maus II is a book that tells more than the story of one family's struggle to live thought the Holocaust. It gives us a look into the psyche of a survivor's child and how the Holocaust affected him and many other generations of people who were never there at all. Maus II gives the reader a peek into the psyche of Art Spiegelman and the affects of having two parents that survived the Holocaust had on him. Spiegelman demonstrates the affects of being a survivor's child in many ways throughout the book. Examining some of these will give us a better understanding of what it was like to be a part of the Holocaust.
What if you were a holocaust survivor and asked to describe your catastrophic experience? What part of the event would you begin with, the struggle, the death of innocent Jews, or the cruel witnessed? When survivors are questioned about their experience they shiver from head to toe, recalling what they have been through. Therefore, they use substitutes such as books and diaries to expose these catastrophic events internationally. Books such as Maus, A survivor’s tale by Art Spiegelman, and Anne Frank by Ann Kramer. Spiegelman presents Maus in a comical format; he integrated the significance of Holocaust while maintaining the comic frame structure format, whereas comic books are theoretically supposed to be entertaining. Also, Maus uses a brilliant technique of integrating real life people as animal figures in the book. Individually, both stories involve conflicts among relationships with parents. Furthermore, Maus jumps back and forth in time. Although, Anne Frank by Ann Kramer, uses a completely different technique. Comparatively, both the books have a lot in common, but each book has their own distinctive alterations.
Memories are symbols that are used to demonstrate the progression from the past into the development of one’s current personal identity. We often use our personal memories to investigate our thoughts. Native Guard by Natasha Trethewey and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro are 21st century works that reflect on the use of memoires to enhance personal thoughts to impact perspectives. Perspectives are created and altered by addressing and reflecting on thoughts and feelings towards previous events. In Native Guard, Trethewey uses her memories to develop a perspective on her past and history. In Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro uses Kathy’s memories to develop her actions and decisions. Tretheway and Ishiguro both demonstrate that a memory is a symbol
The books Maus I and Maus II, written by Art Spiegelman over a thirteen-year period from 1978-1991, are books that on the surface are written about the Holocaust. The books specifically relate to the author’s father’s experiences pre and post-war as well as his experiences in Auschwitz. The book also explores the author’s very complex relationship between himself and his father, and how the Holocaust further complicates this relationship. On a deeper level the book also dances around the idea of victims, perpetrators, and bystanders. The two books are presented in a very interesting way; they are shown in comic form, which provides the ability for Spiegelman to incorporate numerous ideas and complexities to his work.
Repressed memories is a topic that has been an ongoing dispute among some, however ac...
In the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind stresses the importance of memory and how memories shape a person’s identity. Stories such as “In Search of Lost Time” by Proust and a report by the President’s Council on Bioethics called “Beyond Therapy” support the claims made in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Lebow, Richard Ned. "The Future of Memory." American Academy of Political and Social 617 (2008): 25-41. JSTOR. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
The Jew Holocaust is one of the horrific events in which many great works of literature present the aftermath of the Holocaust using a different medium. One of the outstanding pieces of literature by Art Spiegelman the Maus written in the 1980s, which is a different literary composition, based on the Holocaust events. With his graphic novel, Maus, Art Spiegelman explored his father's experience as a Holocaust survivor
It has been stated that the application of memory functions in fictional works which act as a reflective device of human experience. (Lavenne, et al. 2005: 1). I intend to discuss the role of memory and recollection in Kazuo Ishiguro’s dystopian science-fiction novel Never Let Me Go (2005).