preview

Maus Act 1 Scene 1 Essay

Good Essays

Memorable Scenes
MAUS has many memorable scenes as Artie goes through his father’s life through his comic. Through guilt, lack of communication, as well as lack of relationship that Artie and Vladek had as a family.
Artie’s mother, Anja, committed suicide shortly after an interaction that she had with her son. In Chapter 5 of MAUS Artie wrote a comic about his mother titled, Prisoner on the Hell Planet, and in this comic, he recalls the last interaction that he remembers having with his mother. She came into his room late at night asking her son if he still loved her. His response was, “sure, ma” (103), as he turned away from her. Shortly after, she committed suicide and Artie feels partly responsible for such event.
Throughout MAUS Artie’s dad, Vladek, calls out to Anja as he misses her and the audience can’t help but feel for both Vladek and Artie as we know how at fault Artie feels for her death and Vladek’s broken heart.
Throughout MAUS, it is shown that Artie and Vladek do not have the greatest father, son relationship. The first line of the comic proves this, “I went out to see my father in Rego Park. I hadn’t seen him in a long time - we weren’t that close” (11). When Vladek needs help from Artie, he either declines to do so or feels burdened by what is being asked of him. There is a small lack of respect towards one another in …show more content…

It is quite a somber piece that has a serious tone throughout. MAUS concentrates on teaching its audience about the emotional trauma people went through during the holocaust. To know the story behind those closed doors creates a different approach to the events that took place. The lack of action in the comic creates a greater understanding as to what the comic is trying to relay to its audience. It does not want the focus to be on how entertaining action can make the comic but how powerful it can be within its

Get Access