Examples Of Homelessness In Maus By Art Spiegelman

Refugees/Homelessness

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Refugees/Homelessness

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

The Holocaust is one of the postmodern occurrences that narrate the struggles of the Jews as narrated by the literacy work of Spiegelman; he attempts to understand the Holocaust through the eyes of his father. Using animation framework, he describes

some of the survival tactics used during the holocaust presenting the main character Vladek to depict the traumatic experience of individuals living in a new country. Maus confronts the reality of the Holocaust and how his father resolved to live as a refugee and a survivor.
The paper intends to describe Spiegelman's idea behind the comic character Maus and survival, his narration is based on his father's experience as a Polish Jew who witnessed and survived the Holocaust. The paper highlights some of the survival tactics used during the Holocaust, presenting the main character Vladek to depict the traumatic experience of individual living as a refugee and a survivor. Maus is about survival, therefore this paper gives several tactics used by Vladek and how he managed to overcome the Nazi regime.
Maus confronts the reality of the Holocaust describing how his father resolved to live as a refugee. The main character Vladek in the book goes through traumatic experiences in a new country as he encounters strangers. However, the person he meets shapes his narration and helps him through the horrific experiences, making him a survivor. In his narrations, several incidences portray how difficult of being displaced, including the fear of being caught breaking the law and the need for survival. Through Vladek's reflection on his life during the Holocaust, he reveals the traumatic experience talking about his past, his heroism, his love and struggles as a refugee and a survivor.
After the Germans invaded Poland, the Jews suffered; however, his resourcefulness helped him live through the horrific situation. He tried to be safe and protecting his family from the Nazi hiding those in secret bunker .He used a room underneath the coal bin in his kitchen .When the Nazi searched the Jew houses he made a bunker because he did not want his family to live in camps where many people died. At one point he is forced to hide because he did not have working papers and after the incidence, his father in law arranges for his working papers through one of his friends to enable him to move freely. Vladek was willing to do anything, including risking his life to break the Nazi rules, including buying products without using coupons in a bid to survive.
With so many restrictions imposed on Jews, Vladek went against the Nazi rule when he went to the black market to buy food for his family.

Food was in short supply because the Nazi limited what to buy therefore Vladek traded sugar and jewelry on the black market to feed his family. However, as much as he tried to keep his family safe he was eventually captured. Both Vladek and his wife Anja were taken to the concentration camps and lived as refugees in Auschwitz. While living in the camp, Vladek constantly looked for opportunities for him and his wife to be treated better. He saved food even when he did not have much to

eat.
At some point while in the camp, he pretends to be a pole and walked through the section reserved for the Nazi officials. While in Auschwitz, he enjoys the services of his friend with whom he shared one shoe and one baggy pant. He was a resourceful person who helped people giving them hope to survive. Vladek gave prisoners shirts free from lice to help them survive. Vladek went out of his way to ensure that his wife Anja got easier jobs at the women’s section by bribing the officers. His courage and resourcefulness are the two elements that made him survive the heroic experiences of the Holocaust
Vladek accepted to live his life as a refugee, but developed a different mindset to survive.

When he takes the necessary measures and is ready to face the consequences of his actions. He once forced into hiding in someone' barn. He found many ways of surviving even while living in the camp. At one point he pretended he was a German to a Nazi guard who beat him until he confessed he was a Jew. Somehow he survived the beating, although he was weak. Vladek determination was evident in several occasions, even after being freed by the Nazi, after being released; they were put on a packed train with no food. He decided to eat snow because he felt thirty; however, he also used the snow in exchange for sugar. Although snow was into food it kept them going for a

while.
Even after being freed from the camps, the Jews were still in danger, for Vladek, he was saved by an American after being surrounded by the Nazi who had guns. After surviving all these horrific experiences, Vladek and his wife Anja were reunited in Sosnowiec. Maus vividly illustrates the survival tactics used by Vladek recalls how he had to go out of his way to protect his family, describing some of the tactful ways adopted by those who were displaced by the Nazi regime. Through his will to live, Vladek managed to survive to horrors of the Nazi regime. He was captured, separated from his family and underwent through unimaginable trials.
Through Vladek experiences we can see how those displaced survived due to their resourcefulness and intelligence. Many readers learn the reality of the Holocaust and how Vladek resolved to live as a refugee and a survivor. Maus is a survivor’s tale and the many obstacles his father had to endure during the Holocaust. By presenting the worst event in the world history, Art Spiegelman unique portrayal of survival resonates the Jews experience.
Writing from the perspective of his father, Vladek who recounts his Holocaust experiences .Vladek's refugee status show his endurance and overwhelming impact of the Holocaust. His father's memories come to life in his narration by presenting a portrayal of the life and struggles of the Jewish people. He vividly describes how their lives were altered based on the Holocaust events and the suffering their parents endured.