Sunday, August 24, 2014

Question Commander for Maus, Jessica Z

1) Why do you think the author chose to make the characters mice? Do you think it was a good choice? Do you think he did it for some sort of reason? If so, what reason? 
I think he made the characters mice to make the story be a bit more amusing. I really like how they are mice because I think it helps some people become more interested in the book. I think it helps make the story a little more interesting. I think that maybe at the end of the book there is going to be something to do with mice. I predict that he will somehow give the reason out about why he chose mice as the characters instead of people.

2) In the beginning of the book it seemed that Artie has asked his dad to share his war story many times and he said no. Why do you think Valdek didn't want to share his story with Artie at first? Do you think he is trying to protect his son from the terrible things he had seen? What do you think?
I think he said no because retelling that story can make him feel upset. Sometimes, when you retell a story I think you feel the same emotions when that event actually happened. I don't think he is trying to protect his son. I think he is trying to protect himself from these past events. For example, in the book, he will just randomly stop telling the story. It might be because he needs to stop telling it and needs to just take a break from retelling his past, or he could be doing that just because he is old and isn't focusing on the story.

3) The section of the book we have to read ends by Valdek coming back home to his family. Do you think he will ever have to go back and fight in the war? Or, do you think he will get in some sort of trouble with the Nazis? Do you think he will just stay with his family for the rest of the war? What do you predict will happen in the next section of reading?
I do not think Valdek will have to go back to the war and fight. However, I think the Nazis will become more powerful. It already seems as though they are gaining more power in Germany. I predict that they will eventually find Valdek and his family and they will somehow get separated. I think they will get separated at a concentration camp. I think that in this next section of chapters the Nazis will gain a lot more power and start taking over different countries.


"World War 2 Facts." MILITARIANA. N.p., 22 Aug. 2014. Web. 22 Aug. 2014. <http://militariana.com/world-war-2-facts/>.



"Fold3." Nazi Germany: Topic, Pictures and Information. Fold3, 22 Aug. 2014. Web. 22 Aug. 2014. <http://www.fold3.com/page/83002423_nazi_germany/>.

7 comments:

  1. I agree with the first question you answered, that the author made the characters all into mice, instead of human, to make it more interesting. While I was reading the book, it made me want to read ahead, because of all the interesting characters. Also, what you wrote on the answer of question 3, made me think about Anja (one of the characters in the book) , because this might be the reason why she committed suicide. As you mentioned, maybe Valdek's family and Anja will be separated.

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  2. I agree with your answer on all of them. But I think there is anther reason why the author choose to make characters mice. As cats are always catching mice and Jews are afraid of Nazis, cats are Nazis and mice are Jew. I believe there are many reason behind the character configuration. Anyways, I like your thought!

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  3. Congrats on you post Jessica! To start off, on your first question I agree with you. In my perspective of the story the characters gaining the physical form of mice can in some way make the story more easier to follow and comprehend. It is really mysterious why the characters are mice and I predict the author won't reveal it completely to us, he may give us some hints in what is the importance or significance of the mice. Subsequently, while I read you second question I agree with you that maybe telling the story Vladek lived can turn on his emotions. In my opinion, anyone who lived a story like him should consider themselves a surviver. The experience of having to be taken to war, kill a man and be "captured" by the Nazis is really horrific. I disagree with you saying that the brief pauses and strange random stops are related to his age. As we all saw in the book Vladek, Arties Dad, has enough willpower and excitement to organize his pills into different categories. Third wise, I completely agree with you. Vladek story must have more action and excitement, I think he isn't going back the ware zone, yet, he is going to witness a carnage/ slaughter. The Nazi force is quickly developing and is close to expand itself. I think Vladk's family will be separated by the reason they are jews. They are probably going to be taken to a "concentration camp" and luckily survive. I remember in the beginning of the book when Artie states that he unfortunately lost his mom. Maybe, this death is related to the Nazi force or maybe who she was a translator to here friend. As a conclusion your post was really good, there were many things in which I agree.

    Thanks,

    Guilhermo Pagnano Gonzalez

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  4. 1. I agree with what you said on question number one, I also think he choose mice because it is a unique way to share his story without using people. So it might draw more attention to his book.
    2.
    I also agree with what you said. I think that he didn't tell his son because the past was to much pain for him to retell the terrible things that happened. But time healed some of the past, I think. Not all of it, but enough to tell his story to his son.
    3.I predict that he will not have to go back to war, but somehow they are going to try to get away from the war. so that they will be more safe.

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  5. On the first question I don't completely agree with you. I thought that the writer chose the jews as mice because cats are the nazis and cats chase mice. I also thought that he used different kinds of animals so you can easily identify who is a jew, who is a natzi, and who is an american.
    I think that on the second question Vladek tried to wait until his son was old enough to hear his story because it must be very interesting to hear this story but you need some maturity to hear it and understand.
    On the third question I think that Vladek will be called to go to war but he will resist so he will have to hide in somebodies house because the natzis will start killing the jews and dominating other parts of Poland, including where he lives.
    I thought your post was very good and your opinions where very interesting.

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  6. Great questions Jessica! I agree with you on your first question but I think there is more to it. I think that the author chose mice to represent the Jews because mice are innocent animals. They don't do anything but are still killed. The Jews were being killed because of a stupid reason: their religion. Just like the mice, the Jews are innocent people who did nothing to us, yet they were killed. Cat are the ones who kill and eat the mice. That is why I think the author chose cats to represent the Nazis.
    I agree with you on the second question. There were a lot of bad things that Vladek went through and it is hard for him to talk about it. When you talk about something that happened to you, you start remembering what happened. Vladek probably started remembering his time in the war. No one likes to talk about bad things that happened to them.

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  7. Jessica, I really like your blog post. I completely agree with your answers and your questions made me think more deeply about the book. I never wondered if Vladek would go back to war, and your question made me think. Your perspective on these questions are really interesting and show a different point of view.

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