Maus: Vol. I, Ch. 6

LAST ONE! :-)

1. Coming as it does after the concluding episode of Chapter Five, what is the significance of Mala and Art's conversation?

2. What is Mala and Vladek's appraisal of Art's book?

3. How do they get arrested, and what does Vladek say when they arrive at Auschwitz?

4. What happened to Anja's diaries? How does Art react?

5. Having come to the end of Volume One, what do you think is the significance of the volume's subtitle, "My Father Bleeds History"?

Due: MIDNIGHT, Monday, May 21

Maus: Vol. I, Ch. 5

So, do you love it yet? Aren't you just wanting to read Vol II, too??

1. Discuss Art's comic strip "Prisoner on the Hell Planet." How does Mala react to the strip? Vladek?

2. After they are relocated from Sosnowiec to Srodula, what happens to the family?Shortly afterward, what happens to many children in Srodula? What later happens in Zawiercie (where Tosha and the children have gone)?

3. How do they get arrested by the Gestapo and how are they able to get out of detention?

4. What does Vladek have in his safe deposit box?How does he feel about Mala? Do you think his characterization of her is accurate?

Due: MIDNIGHT, Sunday, May 20

Maus: Vol I, Ch. 4

Read Ch. 4. Here are your questions:

1. How is Vladek able to get by in Sosnowiec? Describe the increasingly difficult conditions in the town.

2. What happens to Anja's grandparents? What does Vladek say here about Jews's attitudes toward turning in other Jews?

3. What do we learn in the concluding scene with Mala and Art?

Due: MIDNIGHT, Thursday, May 17

Maus: Vol. I, Ch. 3

Read Ch. 3, and answer the following questions. Add extra comments as necessary.

1. How does Art open chapter three? What do we learn?

2. What happens to Vladek in the war?

3. How does Chapter Three conclude? What do these episodes from the present show us about Vladek? About Art? Why does Art include them?

Due: MIDNIGHT, Wednesday, May 16

Maus: Vol. I, Ch. 2

Read Ch. 2. Again, please make general, thought-provoking comments along with answering the following questions.

1. How does Spiegelman portray the Poles?

2. What is the situation when they return to Poland? What happens to Vladek shortly after they return?

3. Why do you think Art concludes the chapter in the way he does, just as Vladek goes to war?What do we learn by this brief return to the present?

Due: MIDNIGHT, Tuesday, May 15

Maus: Vol I, Ch. 1

Read Ch. 1 of Maus Vol. I. Make general comments, and then answer the following questions. Please take time to really put thought into this exercise. This could be a great experience for all of us.

1. Before the memoir proper begins, why does Spiegelman (Artie) present us with the roller-skating episode from his childhood?

2. Why does Art include the story about Lucia, when his father told him to leave it out?What does Art mean when he says he wants to make the story more real, more human?

3. In Chapter One, is there any sense of what's about to happen to Vladek, his family, and his people?

Due: MIDNIGHT, Monday, May 14