1) Why do you think the author interprets Jews as mice and Nazis as pigs?
I think that Art Spiegelman chose to interpret both social groups as animals because of these animals' characteristics. Many people are disgusted by mice and just want to kill them. That is the way that the Nazis envisioned Jews: they felt that the Jews were superior and didn't deserve to live. In the other hand, pigs have a very serious fashion. How many times have you seen a pig smile or have fun? They are always "arguing" with each other, oinking from one side to the other.
2) Why do you think Vladek is saving so much money and doesn't want to the spend the thousands he has on his bank account?
I think Vladek is saving a lot of money thinking about Artie's future. He seems very comfortable with the life that he is having and he seems to be okay about doing things such as fixing the roof because he never asks Artie for help, only Mala does, and it is because she found him there and got scared. He seems to believe that he already went through so much struggle that doing these things such as fixing the roof is not a problem. He also wants his beloved son to have a very good and privileged life and not feel any kind of conflicts compared to what he had to face.
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| This image shows that the person is keeping part of his money in the bank and another part for him to spend, always adding a little more to his savings, exactly what Vladek is doing. Source |
3) What did Artie mean when he called his father a murderer after he found out he had burned all his mother's memories from World War II?
I think Artie called his father a murderer because he "killed" all that left of his mother. Artie really wanted to see those diaries she kept because it was, again, all that was left of Anja; however, because of one depressing day, Vladek had burned them all.
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| This image demonstrates "burning everything that is left". Source |
ReplyDeleteTo start with, I decided to answer question 2: Why do you think Vladek is saving so much money and doesn't want to the spend the thousands he has on his bank account?
First of all, I think that Vladek is saving so much money on his bank account because he is trying to prepare for something in the future. To me, it can be to help towards Artie's future, but I think it is mainly to be prepared for anything upcoming. For instance, since Vladek is already quite old and has occassional attacks here and there, maybe Vladek could be saving money for himself when he really needs a treatment for his sickness. Not only that, but to me this touches on a subject of being selfish, but for a good cause. All the money is not to be spent by Vladek, Artie, or never even Mala. Vladek might be trying to help himself with the money in the future because he can try to live longer and help Artie with his future as a possible author.
Moving on, I agree that the way Vladek uses his money wisely is interesting because as you stated, he saves money even in situations that no ordinary elder could really do, such as fixing the leakage in the roof of the house. Overall, I think that what Vladek really wants is to help himself and then finally help others, just like his son, Artie.
Thomaz, I think you meant cats on your second question. I think that the author chose to interpret mice as Jews and cats as Nazis because of a lot things. Mice are innocent animals which to nothing to cats. The do nothing to harm the cats but are killed by them. That is the same things with the Jews. The Jews did nothing to the Nazis but are still being killed. Innocent people were killed because of one greedy person. Nazis were represented as cats because cats are the ones who eat mice.
ReplyDeleteFor me, Vladek doesn't spend his money because of the experience he had in WWII. Vladek survived through a time where they had nothing. When you face a situation like he did, you learn to appreciate what you have. Although I understand that Vladek doesn't waste money because of what he has been through, I think he goes a little too far with it. Even things that actually need money, he finds a way to do it without wasting money.