TRHS AP Euro

Monday, May 14, 2007

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

posted by RJS at 7:19 AM

7 Comments:

  • Chapter three opens with a dinner during which two constant undercurrents surface: Vladek's command to Art that he must eat all of his food, no matter how stuffed he was, and Vladek's constant disagreemnt with his wife Mala. The first obviously comes as a result of having starved constantly during the war. The second may be due to the bitterness surrounding the loss of his beloved first wife Anja. Since he always talks about how perfect Anja was, his current wife probably never will be able to compare to her no matter what she does, so the pressure on Mala is pretty extreme and frays her nerves. During the war Vlad is taken as a prisoner of the Germans and is therefore forced to clean the field of bodies, do the bidding of his captors and live in harsh conditions. Eventually, through careful bribery and disguise he was able to escape to his side of Poland. The chapter concludes with Vlad having thrown away Art's favorite coat because he couldn't have his son wearing a shabby coat. The end shows that Vladek cares about his son, as he wants him to lead a good, stable and respectable life with a bit of wealth, but he is also a dominating father who, although cooperative at times, doesn't entirely appreciate his son's individualism. Art resents this and included this piece to further detail the differences between him and his dad. Everybody in this story seems to have an underlying motive or bias, not necessarily negative, but usually so. It will be obvious later when people try to save themselves by turning in fellow Jews, saving Jews to make some money, etc.

    By Blogger TheBishop, at Monday, May 14, 2007 5:45:00 PM  

  • Chapter three opens with a dinner involving Mala, Vladek, and Art. Art talks about Vladek's constant belief that Art must eat all of his food, while Anja would secretly dispense of it if Art didn't want to eat it. This begins to suggest a consistent stinginess and marital conflict that surrounds Vladek. In the war, Vladek just manages to shoot and kill a German sneaking around as a tree, but gets captured immediately by Germans, somewhat lucky to be allowed to live and go to a POW camp. Chapter three ends with Vladek throwing out Art's old coat and giving Art an ill-fitting wind-breaker to replace it, thinking he is doing Art a favor. Art goes away angry that Vladek is still imposing his will on such pointless things when Art is thirty years old. Vladek is revealed to be rather controlling and willing to do what he thinks is right without taking others' point of view in mind. Art includes these present time episodes to reveal possible effects of the holocaust, but also simply revealing more about the father's character than can be learned through listening to his story from his point of view.

    By Blogger Unknown, at Tuesday, May 15, 2007 7:02:00 PM  

  • Art opens chapter three as he is having dinner with his father and step mother. Art insists that he has had enough to eat, whereas his father seems to think he needs to eat more, later on in the chapter we discover that Vladek's father starved him for a time to where he would not have to go into the army, and while at the POW camp, he was starved as well, obviously giving him reason to insist on Art eating more, because Vladek would be upset at anyone wasting food while others starve. During the war, Vladek is captured by the Nazis and is forced to stay at a POW camp, later the prisoners discover that they could leave the camp in exchange for working for the Germans in return for ample food and a bed to sleep on. So Vladek went to work for the Germans and eventually he is released. In the conclusion of the chapter, Art and Vladek argue over Vladek throwing out Art's coat, while giving Art a new one that he thinks is more suitable for his son. Art is upset by this because he liked his old coat, and he is thirty years old--far too old for his father to be judging the way he dresses and insisting on buying him new clothes as if he were a child. This shows us that Vladek wants nothing but the best for his son, and believes that his son deserves better than he has, and it shows that Vladek is somewhat overbearing of Art still, even in his adulthood. This shows us that Art is striving to be more independent from his father somewhat, to where his father does not treat him like a child while he is actually an adult. This also shows us a more personal relationship between the son and the father, because we can compare this to fighting with our own parents about them letting us make our own decisions. So Art probably included this to better relate to his audience to where the reader feels a connection to Art and can relate to his situation on a certain level.

    By Blogger gabriael, at Wednesday, May 16, 2007 8:31:00 PM  

  • (hey guess what! I'm watching a show on the inquisition right now, though that's not my fault. just thought I'd share that)Chapter 2 ended with Vladek telling Art about his draft, and tonight's chapter began with him picking up where he left off after dinner and a few rants about his wife. He tells us about his own father and how he kept his son from the first draft by starving him and keeping him unhealthy. It's interesting here that the way to keep his son safe was to make him as unhealthy as possible. His father wanted to do the same thing the next time but Vladek insisted not to, so Vladek is drafted in the war. During his time in the trenches a pole asks him why he isn't shooting so he begins shooting and he kills a "moving tree." A Nazi, after the warfare, notices he was shooting and he takes Vladek as a prisoner of war. He stays at the P.O.W. camp for a while then moves to a bit nicer camp where he meets his oppertunity to be released. Vladek finds his way back to Anna and his 2 year old son and that's where Art returns to the present. He adds in the bit about his problems with Mala and how life was so happy with Anna because it shows how families were torn apart by the war, and that it was difficult, if not impossible, to rebuild them. I don't know what it said about Art, but I thought it was interesting that he added in what Vladek said about him not smoking and then showing himself(Art) smoking and messing up the carpet.

    By Blogger TeganLove, at Wednesday, May 16, 2007 9:03:00 PM  

  • Chapter three opens up with a scene at the dinner table in which Vladek acts like an old man who has seen too much. For one, he tells his son to eat more vegetables and tells Mala that he would've starved Art if he would've done this when he was young. And then he just blatantly tells Mala that her dinner was horrible.
    During the war Vladek is captured by the Nazis and sent into a prisoner of war camp in which he lives in a freezing cold tent in the fall. After many days of work he finally gets a break and is sent to work in leveling out some land in replace of Germans. When he moves to this place he is provided with beds and a warm fire although the work is very demanding. But he finally gets another break on a certain Jewish saturday that I can't remember which he dreamed about. On this day he returns to his mother and father and later Anja.
    The story ends with Vladek throwing Art's coat away into the trash without Art even knowing. He says it is much to raggedy and he should not be seen in public with a coat on like that. He replaces him with a coat that he insists on, but Art doesn't like it because he believes he is much too old for his father to be telling him what to wear.

    By Blogger jackson smith, at Thursday, May 17, 2007 8:00:00 AM  

  • *internet did not work last night*
    Chapter Three opens with Art, Vladek, and Mala eating dinner. This scene reveals Vladek's stinginess and his constant arguing with his wife. His stinginess obviously comes from the luxuries he was deprived of during the war. And his fights with Mala confirm that he still grieves for the loss of Anja.
    During the war, the Nazis capture Vladek and take him, along with others, to a P.O.W camp. The work is hard and the punishment is starvation. But then there's a sign asking for volunteers to work in replace of German workers who were called to the front. Vladek decides to go and discovers there's a heated room for them to sleep in instead of a cold tent and him and the others are served plenty of food. Then Vladdek has a dream in which his deceased grandfather told him that on the day of Parshas Truma, he would be set free. Three months later, soldiers arrive and release the prisoners.
    This chapter ends with Vladek throwing out Art's coat because he doesn't want his son wearing such a "shabby coat." This shows Vladek's caring side. He loves his son and he wants him to live a safe, wealthy life and not become an old stingy man like himself.

    By Blogger taylor, at Thursday, May 17, 2007 6:08:00 PM  

  • Chapter three begins with Mala, Vladek, and ARt having dinner together. ARt's father insists that he eat all of his food, and when Art is full Anja would help Art get rid of his leftovers without Vladek noticing. This chapter later tells that Vladek's father starved him so his health would decline and he would not have to fight in the army. THis taught Vladek to use all his resources while he had them. Becuase of experiencing starvation firsthand when he was younger, Vladek got very upset if Art wasted any food.
    During the war Vladek is captured by the Nazis and imprisoned in a POW camp. THe prisoners discovered that if they obeyed the Germans they would be released from the camp.
    chapter three concludes with an arguement between the father and son over the father throwing out ARt's coat. This shows that Vladek is concerned with art because he only threw out the old coat so he could replace it with a newer one, he simply wants the best for his son. THis also shows that ARt is a very independent person and likes to make his own decisions.
    I believe ARt simple included these episodes to show how much the Holocaust changed his father and made his father be very aware and concerned for his son.

    By Blogger SMithVictoria, at Friday, May 18, 2007 12:47:00 PM  

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