Thomaz - Line Illuminator - Persepolis

" 'We will do our best. if God wills it, he'll be better. Everything depends on God.'

I need your authorization so he can get his passport!'

'If God wills it.' " (pg. 121)

This is a conversation between Marji's aunt and the director of the hospital, a former window washer. She is trying to get a passport for her husband, whom just recently had his 3rd heart attack and needs to go to England for proper treatment. I chose this quote because it shows how people were very fond of God, but I doubt he actually meant it because, I mean, how can he know it God wills it or not? He just apparently makes up excuses because he knows the country can't afford such transportation: he is trying to hide the truth from the people.

Part of pg. 121

"I couldn't just go. I turned around to see them one last time. It would have been better to just go." (pg. 153)

This is Marji while leaving Iran, with Austria as her destination, and she is in the airport. I chose this quote because I was confused as to what happened to Marji's mother. She appears to be unconscious and in her husband's arms. It doesn't seem as if she's dead because she didn't mention any gunshots or explosions and the people around her seemed normal, not bothered by that scene; however, the way she said it was very dramatic, just as if she had died or a tragedy had just happened, but it doesn't seem like it so I was confused.

pg. 153

Thomaz - Risk-Taking Researcher - Persepolis

Persepolis is an autobiography in which Marjane Satrapi outlines her experience during the Islamic Revolution. It has four volumes and the first one (the one this group read) was first published in 2000. It was originally printed in french, later getting translated into a couple of different languages, english being one of them, of course. The title of the book, Persepolis, refers to the capital of the Persian Empire.

The book is about young Marjane Satrapi's life during the war between Iran and Iraq, also known as the Islamic Revolution. She is very much interested in the topic and wants to know more about it; however, her parents are not willing to share the entire truth with their daughter, worrying she might become afraid and, possibly, traumatized by this experience. As Satrapi grew older, she became very much a rebel: she wore hipster clothes (which, in fact, were strictly prohibited), listened to rock music, talked back to teachers, skipped class, secretly smoked, etc. She got into trouble a couple of times because of this, like when she almost got arrested by the guardians of the revolution for wearing all her hipster clothes, but she, by a miracle, got away. The book mainly deals with Satrapi's rebelty to the new ways of life during the war and how a middle to high-class person lived during this Islamic revolution.

Satrapi back in French school

Satrapi secretly smoking

Satrapi getting caught by the guardians of the revolution

Thomaz - Question Commander - Maus

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.

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. 

This image demonstrates "burning everything that is left".
Source

Thomaz- Word Whisper- Maus

• Flashback- the story is Vladek having flashbacks of his past during World War II and he is sharing that with Artie. (The whole book is basically a flashback)

• Situational Irony- "Most they [the Nazis] took were kids- some only 2 or 3 years [old]. Some kids were screaming and screaming. They couldn't stop. So the Germans swinged them by the legs against a wall... and they never anymore screamed. In this way the Germans treated the little ones what still had survived a little. This I didn't see with my own eyes, but somebody told me. And I said, "Thank God with Persis [the man who was taking care of their children] our children are safe!" (pg 108). This demonstrates situational irony because later Persis is killed and the kids, along with Persis' wife, are going to be sent to Auschwitz and to a concentration camp where they would soon be murdered. So Tocha, Persis' wife, decided she didn't want her and the kids to go through this so she killed not only herself but also the kids.

• Dramatic Irony- "...You've all heard the stories about Auschwitz. Horrible unbelievable stories." "They can't be true!" (pg 107) This demonstrates dramatic irony because many Jews didn't know how bad the concentration camps not only in Auschwitz, but in general, were-- they considered them as rumors; however, they were still afraid, afraid to believe it. They didn't want to believe that all of this was happening to them. While they think this, we, readers, know that it is a completely awful place, much worse than those rumors they hear. 

• Simile- "Everyday the guards marched us about an hour and a half to work. The guards, it was Jews with big sticks. They acted so, just like the Germans." (pg 106) This is a simile because Vladek is comparing the Jewish policemen to the German policemen, saying that the Jewish police acted just like the German police. This is important because it shows the control of the Germans during World War II. During the book, Vladek says that the Jewish police did this just so they wouldn't get many of their already meager privileges away, if not be sent to the concentration camps. 

Thomaz- Connection Captain- Maus

While reading Maus by Art Spiegelman, I was able to connect a part of the book with the movie I watched called The Book Thief. The movie is about Liesel, a girl who is adopted by a family because her mother is a Communist and is escaping from Germany (for more information about the plot click here). It takes place during World War II. Her adoptive father, Hans, is later sent to the German army because he protested against the police saying not to take away a Jewish friend of his and his name is written down by the officers. In Maus, it is Vladek, Artie's father, who is taken away to the army and kept by the german's as a war prisoner.

The two situations may seem very different because Vladek was fighting against the german's and Hans is fighting for the germans, but it shows the immense power of the german's during World War II. In Maus, Vladek was captured by the Nazis and kept as a war prisoner for months working and working the entire time. Vladek and the other war prisoners always did what they were told because they were afraid they might get killed. In The Book Thief, Hans talked back to the Nazi officials and got his name on the list of people that were going to defend the Nazi army during the war. He was then told to present himself to the army immediately. This demonstrates how the Nazi had total control of the people and how they could get what they wanted without people protesting against it.

Hans with Liesel when he returns from the Army
Source

Vladek as a prisoner