Art Spieglman
Last Rotation
Passage #1: " We passed the market where always we bought to eat, and passed even the street we used to live, and we came til the prison, and there they put us. " (Pg.155)
I chose this passage from page 155, when Vladek was telling one of the last occurrences before the book ended. I picked this because it tells us the last thing they saw before going to concentration camp. It was important, because they remembered all the good times they had before they had to hide and be afraid of even leaving their houses. As I read this passage, it made me reflect back to the beginning of the book, and how everything changed. Additionally, I picked this image because we see how this little boy is moving, and how sad he (and the dog) look.
Passage #2: " We came here to the concentration camp auschwitz, and we knew that from here we will not come out anymore... we knew the stories- that they will gas us and throw us in the ovens. This was 1944... we knew everything. And here we were."
I picked this passage for two reasons. Number one is that as soon as I read this, I remembered of the book and movie "The boy in the striped pajamas". It is a very famous book and also very sad. It reminded me of how they tell us about this gas chamber where they dump in poison and kill all the Jewish prisoners. That's what Vladek meant when said "they would gas us". Also, my second reason is that it made me think of how terrified they were. Specially by the fact they knew how they would die, and that they WERE gonna die. It was so sad knowing you would never see your wife or children again.
ReplyDeleteTo begin with, in my mind I think that the thought about the Jews even being afraid to leave their home was something quite frightening because everyone knew that death was lurking nearby. In my opinion, Anja and Vladek were sensing fear every moment of their lives during the Holocaust because of the events that were happening around them. For instance, they saw many Jews being killed by Nazis on the street, and even kids being beat against a wall by the officers. Actually, I think that the couple felt like not being able to leave their homes were already being like in prison and not being able to escape. I guess all Jews knew that once they were found and discovered to be a Jew, then the end was near, as you stated because the people would be put into a gas chamber and had to leave this cruel world. To me, it was interesting how you put a quote and an image that posed a different thought in my head. The fact that the last occurrence before the end of Vladek's story making them remember all the good times they had was interesting. Additionally, the image of a boy and a dog feeling really sad because they had to leave was also interesting. The quote touches on a point that probably everyone already has heard of, which is to enjoy your life as much as possible before leaving the world. In this case, Vladek wasn't able to be happy all his life because of the such events and occurrences in the world that were currently happening during the Holocaust. To me, Vladek was only thinking about ways to survive and how not be found and killed. The boy with his prepared sack leaving to somewhere, I think that he already knew that his end was near and already sad that he was going to be unlucky.
Hi Daphne! I think the first quote you chose was very sad. I agree, it shows how much things have changed in only a couple of years. In addition to that, the picture that you picked is a good one. I say that because I think it shows how the boy is moving somewhere, and I agree with you, he doesn't look happy about it. For the second quote you chose, I feel like he is trying to say that since they knew what would happen if they were caught, they should have been more prepared, and shouldn't have done what they did. I think he might have felt guilty for somewhat leading them into this, but I also think he knows that it is not his fault. He was doing what was best for his family. He was trying to get them to a safe place. When I was reading, I kind of saw it coming that they were going to get caught. I agree with you, they were most likely scared out of their minds knowing they were going to die. Overall, good post.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Hey Daphne! I think your first quote is very sad and deep. It shows how things have changed in very small amount of years due to an irrelevant leader who proclaims that Jews are different so he decides to slaughter their race. This reminds me of what my mom used to tell me all the time, " be thankful for what you have" In life many people loose and many people win, but the ones who are always going to win are does who are going to be able to make themselves up even when they loose and strive for better. A really famous man called Eike Batista is a very prosperous man with very out of this world beliefs. He is a man who has not been grateful with what he had and has not choose to please himself with money in a responsible way. When his company broke it lead him not to know what to do and not know how to make himself back to his feet. In conclusion, the first quote you choose symbolizes to me as persistence and gratefulness.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Gui
Daphne,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, the connection you made was the same as mine. As soon as they mentioned gas chambers, my mind automatically thought of Bruno, what him and his friend were going through without even knowing. The only difference is, Vladek knew what was going to happen to him, that that was going to be the end of him. Either because he was told or because he witnessed it. He knew he was going to lose his life, and this connects to your first quote, he remembered all the good memories he had in those places he saw. I think the author made it a very important scene, he made the reader remember the beginning of the book, when Vladek was happy.
Great Job!!!
Martu
Daphne,
ReplyDeleteTo start with my comment I would like to say that you post was really organized and the first quote was really strong and folded my book on that part so I could talk about it in my last post. It's so upsetting when you remember the holocaust now a days because we already finished Maus and we saw the perspective of someone who lived it. For me the Holocaust is a strong case because of my family and they lived in this wars. The sad part of my family is that they are really scared of any guns for example one day I was playing a game called Call of Duty and we had to shoot each other my grandmother was really mad with my mother because I was playing that game. You ended up strong with the connection of the boy in stripped pajamas. I already saw a bunch of presentations about this book in my 7th grade humanities class. The jew boy on the book reminds me of Vladek in some ways because of the difficult past his family lived and for Vladek he lived this difficult past.
For your first passage, I agree that it was important. I agree that it was when they remembered all the good times they had. I think it really showed how much change happened in a very short period of time. Which I think is really sad. I also like how your picture shows what you were saying. For your second passage, I also think this passage was important. I agree that this passage is really sad too. I think it’s sad because they knew they were going to die and there was nothing they could do about it. Not that there is anything wrong with it, just out of curiosity, why did you choose such sad passages?
ReplyDeleteI think your first line is very deep. That scene was the last and the place, the market and the street that he used to live, was the beginning. It might be confidence, but I feel like that it means something important. After having read your post, I read the part again. As you said, I remembered the time Vladek was happy. He also would have passed through that street with remembering that time. The line remind a reader that he had a good time and he might have been supposed to live as a happy man with Anja if the war did not happen. Don't you think the line also means the beginning of his new life? I don't really know about this, but I believe it can be the beginning, too.
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