Maus I and II is an interesting graphic novel about the author and his father, a survivor of the Holocaust. It is one of my favorite books. We will spend about a week of activities when we get back to school in August working with the book, so please be ready to go on the first day of school!
To earn your first points of the year, you should post AT LEAST FIVE TIMES TOTAL on this forum. These posts may be your own posts, or responses to someone else's ideas or questions. Your posts cannot be summaries - these won't count for points. Your posts may be... --Questions (I don't get why...I'm confused about why...Do you guys like this character? Because she's driving me crazy!...") --Reactions (I really connect with this character because...The section was hard for me to read because...This chapter made me feel...) --Connections (This book reminds me of...Does anyone else feel like this book is similar to...) --Responses (I agree with you Yarile, but I also think...You make a really good point, Michael! I also thought that...) If you read either of the extra credit books, you do not need to post on the forum. You will get a separate extra credit assignment to complete when we get back to school. Happy Reading :) Mr. Helbig
157 Comments
Susi Delgado
6/26/2019 03:18:32 pm
This is the first comic book I have read in a while and I enjoyed every part of it. It is very intriguing and it makes sense as to why the Jews are mouse and Nazis are cats. I like very much to learn about the Holocaust so that made it even better when I started reading it. I really like how the story of the father is told every time the son comes over and the past is said while the present moments are also included. The jews went through so much and every time I thought things would get better they just got worse from hiding, pretending they were Germans, to then being betrayed and tricked.
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Susi Delgado
6/26/2019 03:22:50 pm
It got me very sad when in Maus l Anja’s son Richiev was sent to Zawiercie and then Tosha poisoned herself, her sons and Richiev. The fear so big that just to not be killed by Germans she chose to die anyway but by her own will and bascically suicide. Was it just me or any time Anja kept saying she wanted to die it really broke my heart. Imagining the pain she must have been carrying all those years the way maybe Vladek felt alone too but had to fight. The pain he must have felt knowing his love has given up and even if maybe he wanted to he had to fight for two people.
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Kofi
6/30/2019 11:07:20 am
Susi it was not only you I felt like every time she said that she wanted to die it broke my heart too.
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Yareli Santoyo
8/11/2019 06:38:12 pm
I agree with you I felt like Anja’s story was very touching and painful to read that she felt like giving up. It must’ve been so hard on her from going living in a ‘perfect’ world with money and a family, to having nothing must have been really hard. I feel like Vladek took really good care of her even though they weren’t together through it all.
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John Reyes
8/18/2019 10:48:57 pm
It was definitely very heartbreaking to here her say that. It must have been hard for both she and Vladek, but probably worse for Vladek because he had to keep going on living. It’s a sad story to bear witness to.
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Susi Delgado
6/27/2019 11:35:32 pm
I have just finished reading Maus ll and I am very sad it has ended. I am left with a few questions that I wished were answered in the book. Like Art I want to know what happened to Anja? I also want to know why she ended up committing suicide, after everything she went through....WHY? I feel very bad for Mala, like why remarry to someone you can't get along with. I wished she didn't get back with him, because obviously he didn't love her, her still loved Anja.
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Susi Delgado
6/27/2019 11:38:47 pm
I think it was very sad how Maus ll started, it was all too much for Art. I can't imagine the feeling of having to hear someone's voice to make a book after they have died. It is all useful, and it got me thinking that even after the war ended Germans still killed Jews and the Jews still had to hide and be careful.
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Kofi
6/30/2019 10:54:47 am
I find this book really great because it has pictures in there so I can visualize it. I really like how the author makes the Jews mice and the nazi cats
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Kofi
6/30/2019 11:04:01 am
I find it really sad that Artie’s dad got two heart attacks and his mother committed Suicide
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Alexandre Martinez
8/11/2019 02:42:56 pm
Yes, it was right in the beginning and we already knew the problems they had in the family. As the story continued more adversities would come.
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Kassandra Morales
7/2/2019 08:31:43 pm
I think the saddest part of the book was how Vladek felt after losing Anja. He still thinks about her and even hangs her picture up in his house. You can see that he isn't happy and wishes for her back. I find this the most dismal part because losing a loved one can be the hardest thing to face
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Kofi
7/6/2019 09:51:03 am
Kassandra I agree with you because he would honestly wish for her back and it is really hard to lose a loved.
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Deyonche Hicks
8/2/2019 05:43:04 pm
I agree with you as well, when Vladek lost Anja it was the saddest part of the story. It showed his true vulnerability and true feelings of the way he feels. It reminds me of how life is too short and you shouldn’t take it for granted. Vladek May have found mala but he will always love Anja forever and keep their memories for a lifetime.
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Gia Aponte
8/11/2019 02:07:42 am
I agree. I was very distraught when Anja had ended her life and Vladek was left heart broken after losing her. It's very hard to lose someone you love in a situation that involves suicide.
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Damian Garcia
8/11/2019 03:43:36 pm
I feel the same way Kassandra, I feel like the saddest part of the book was how Vladek was when Anja passed away
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Ariana Nelson
8/11/2019 11:13:07 pm
I agree that Vladek was not as happy with Mala. Vladek would have went to the moon and back for Anja, but Mala has the least of his respect.
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Kofi
7/6/2019 09:54:31 am
I found it very sad when the nazis made Artie’s dad and other people pray whiles they laughed and beat them and after that they cut of their beards and it was a religious thing.
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Alexandre Martinez
8/11/2019 03:13:01 pm
I agree with you Kofi because that is one of a Jews morals and the Nazis find a way to humiliate them.
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Alyssa Hernandez
7/10/2019 10:14:15 pm
I love how these comics portray the characters as the Jews being mice and the Nazi’s as cats. It just shows the symbolism that the author uses throughout the book. And he used pigs to portray communist. That reminded me about animal farm and how they used pigs to portray Stalin and communism
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Susi
7/11/2019 08:28:31 am
You are right, I didn't notice the similarity to Animal Farm!
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Mr. Raehl
7/11/2019 10:44:09 am
Wow, great connection Alyssa :)
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Kofi
7/18/2019 05:25:17 pm
Alyssa I agree with you I love of how this comic portrays the animal I like the comparison that you connected with animal farm.
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Marcel Torres
8/1/2019 01:08:44 pm
Hey Alyssa, are you sure communists were portrayed as pigs? I could've sworn the animals were based on nationality. Yidl the communist in the camp was still a mouse, and on page 132 of Maus II the Polish person is drawn as a pig.
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Alexandre Martinez
8/11/2019 03:16:24 pm
That was one of the same things that stood out because of the use of animals and how they rank.
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Damian Garcia
8/11/2019 03:46:31 pm
I agree with you Alyssa, I like how the characters portray the Jews being mice and Nazi's as cats. I feel like that really makes people wanna read the book more
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Monserrat Estrada
8/11/2019 06:42:09 pm
I also agree with you Alyssa. I also thought that it was interesting seeing that Jews are mice because of how they might've been portrayed as being weak or powerless and not important to the Nazis. Which is why i think the Nazis are cats because of how much power they have over the Jews.
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John Reyes
8/18/2019 11:32:24 pm
I don’t think they were specifically portrayed as communists. I believe they were meant to be people that were other than Jewish or Nazi.
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Kassandra Morales
7/14/2019 11:39:10 am
I can relate to Artie's character because he is quite curious and determined. When he was working to create a comic, he was very interested in his dad's experience during the holocaust. Even though it is difficult for him to get along his dad, he still is determined on wanting to do this comic, which I can connect to a lot with Artie.
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Kofi yeboah-Boakye jr
7/16/2019 08:15:48 am
I find it really sad in maus 2 how the dad has to fake that he had a heart attack just so his son would call him.
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Kofi
7/17/2019 11:31:46 am
In maus 2 I notice that Artie missed his brother because he asked whether he would have got along with his brother. And I find that really sad that his brother died.
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Kofi
7/18/2019 05:22:01 pm
In maus 2 I felt bad for atrtie’s dad because artie’s Dad girlfriend took all his money and ran away whiles he was sick. And I could not believe why she would do that.
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Kofi
7/19/2019 01:32:52 pm
In maus 2 I felt bad for mala even though she stole Artie’s dads money because they said that she wanted a hairbrush but Artie’s dad could not get it.
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Kassandra Morales
7/21/2019 03:48:05 pm
A question that I have for this book is why did Anja commit suicide. In the book it mentions she wanted to commit suicide whenever she was at a low point during the holocaust. I wonder what caused her to take action this time knowing that the holocaust was over and she had her family with her.
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Marcel Torres
8/4/2019 01:01:47 pm
Hey Kassandra, in the book we see a lot of pain and suffering that Anja and Vladek endured, from this I inferred that she was probably suffering from some form of trauma that caused her depression. Either way we can only guess why she committed suicide because in the book they state that she did not leave a suicide note.
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Monserrat Estrada
8/11/2019 06:49:58 pm
I agree as well. Anja endurred so much pain and suffering throughout the war and i bet that caused a lot of trauma even after everything was over. And it was sad seeing how Artie coped with her mother's death which is by making a comic book about it.
Danna Pichay
8/19/2019 04:20:38 am
It is worth noting that Anja used medications for her anxiety. In addition, she seemed to have been suffering from postpartum depression shortly after giving birth to Richieu. These factors, along with the tragic losses of most of her family members, could have swayed Anja towards committing suicide. I agree that we could only assume the reasons for her decision. The reasons for choosing to end one's life could be many or none at all.
Kassandra Morales
7/21/2019 03:55:32 pm
The part where the Jews believed they were going to take a shower other than knowing that they were going to be killed in a gas chamber reminds me of the boy in the pajama stripes. Both books take place in the camps for Jews where Jews will go hungry and live in poor condition.
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Isabella Hernandez
8/7/2019 10:18:56 pm
I totally agree with you. It is so sad of them thinking that they are going to take a shower but didn't know that they were going to die once they entered the gas chambers and die. It is such a terrible way to die knowing last min that your not going to make it out alive.
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Alexandre Martinez
8/11/2019 02:22:27 pm
I was thinking the same thing too. It shows all the details of how Jews were treated and it is displayed well in the movie and in the book.
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Amber Williams
7/27/2019 07:52:31 pm
When I first looked at this book, the first thought that came to my head was "Another book about the Holocaust." I didn't mean it in a way of ignorance or unconcern, but in a way that I was looking and hoping for something different then the normal Holocaust stories had given me. I never liked Non-fiction books, I didn't want the facts because I had heard them every day at every school. I knew them like the back of my hand and I wanted something I hadn't heard before. Maus I and II gave me that, it gave me the originality, the specifics, the humanity whatever you want to call it. It was something different. One thing that stuck out to me was that it wasn't just a summary of the Holocaust, it was his father's STORY. I felt like I was there and the way Art Spiegelman decided to illustrate the book with comics was an interesting way of depicting it.
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Deyonche Hicks
8/2/2019 05:35:18 pm
I agree with you as well, when you think about the Holocaust you think about the traumatic killings, executions, Injustice and etc. The way Vladek portrayed his story was extremely inspiring, it’s as if we’re living through his story. He detailed every part of his feelings and thoughts emotionally towards Artie.
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Alani Waites
8/11/2019 01:53:54 pm
I agree with you. I thought it was just going to be, like you said, "another Holocaust book" with straight facts about what happened. The fact that this was a survivors story made me so much more interested in the books. It's like we were there with him through it all.
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Damian Garcia
8/11/2019 03:28:28 pm
I agree and disagree at the same time Amber. When I first read the book I thought wow another book about the things that happen way back in our past. But I can also agree with you because a lot of us students are like that when we look at a book
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Amber Williams
7/27/2019 08:33:10 pm
Another thing that I noticed right in the beginning of Maus I was that the father would constantly switch from what he was talking about to something else. It gave the story humanity like I said in my previous post. Whenever Vladek switched the conversation it would be similar to the previous conversation but also have nothing to do with the topic. I liked that the author kept his father’s rambles in the book it made the whole dire story he was about to tell us somewhat better. He could have kept it out and just put the parts based on the question he asked his father in his story. But, he didn’t and it adds a touch of something that I didn’t know the book needed. It was more than making it his STORY, but it also made it all about HIM (Spieglman’s father) too. Without those rambles, I would just be reading about the war without any feelings or humanity about it.
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Danna Pichay
8/19/2019 05:07:44 am
It's interesting that most of your posts mention humanity when "Maus" is displayed with arrays of animals. After reading these graphic novels, I found it difficult to visualize the characters as humans. I could only picture simplified drawings of animals. I can only assume that this is the author's intent.
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Amber Williams
7/27/2019 08:45:52 pm
As you can tell the gist of my posts have been around this idea of humanity. I search for humanity in books I read. Especially, in a book like this, a book on a serious misery filled event, the small humane things are special to me. So another point in this book where I noticed humanity was during 1941 for Vladek when he had formed a relationship with this man name Ilzecki or another time when he was looking for work and found this grocery. In both of these events and in others I hadn’t named, the jewish people or even jewish sympathizers all showed love to the jews who had it terribly or worser. Everyone was going through it during this time, but it didn’t stop them from lending a helping hand to those in need. A small shining light of humanity and kindness in their dark fog of despair. Small things like this kind of gives me hope for the world and the human race.
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Ariana Nelson
8/12/2019 12:24:37 am
I admired how the jews risked everything to help each other out. They would not let such terror drag them in the dirts.
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Amber Williams
7/27/2019 08:56:57 pm
I’m bringing back up my previous statement about the interruptions from Art’s father during his story time into this post. During one of his interruptions, he mentions that the hanging of some of his fellow “workers” still “makes me cry” (p. 84). Through the whole book, I hadn’t read of modern Vladek really talking about how he felt, he mostly talked about what happened and etc. But in that one section, he actually explained how he felt and how he still feels. It allowed me to understand that even though the Holocaust had been over, it wasn’t over for him. It had never ended for him because he carried what he had seen. Especially that part really stuck with him. But, him showing emotion isn’t the only thing that shows that for him the Holocaust wasn’t over. You can tell through his character and the way he carried himself, like not wanting to use too much of things, spend money on things he deemed “necessary” and trying to save all the time. He did this because this is what he was used to having to do every single day during the Holocaust. In order for him to live through it, he had to save, he had to be cheap, he had to use little, etc. To him, nothing had changed, if anything this was just more time to prepare for something equally drastic to happen.
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Monserrat Estrada
8/11/2019 06:10:42 pm
I agree with you Amber. I do think that even after the Holocaust it was never forgotten or even over for Vladek. Years after it shows that the Holocaust really affected him because of his present actions. As i read the books i noticed that Vladek has very odd habits such as counting pills EVERYDAY and even bringing back food that is already open because he didnt want to waste it. A lot of those actions are caused by the way he never had enough food during his time in the camp. Also he was very stubborn and i think because Vladek had to survive by himself and did everything by himself and he thinks he doesn't need anyone to help him.
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Danna Pichay
8/19/2019 04:35:34 am
Perhaps Vladek continued with his unique mannerisms after the Holocaust because he only knows how to live through these actions. His frugal and meticulous habits helped him survive, unlike most of his peers. Obviously, these activities have strained his relationships with the living. I wonder if Vladek's inability to adjust to the present had influenced his health and Anja's death,
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Amber Williams
7/27/2019 09:11:38 pm
This section has nothing to do with the previous four I posted. This one is different in the way that it's actually sadder, but it stuck out to me. In Maus I, Anja's grandparents are forced to go to this place called Theresienstadt, or so they thought, instead they were sent to Auschwitz. This stuck out to me because it was pretty sad because they knew or thought something was up or iffy about the whole thing. They were right, but they still had to do it. I think it takes great strength to try to put your faith into something even if you have doubts about it. I can't imagine what it must feel like and the guilt they must have felt when it came to being one of the causes of Anja's grandparents' death.
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Danna Pichay
8/19/2019 04:47:14 am
Art Spieglman could have altered some of his conversations with Vladek in order to emphasize the themes of "Maus" such as humanity, power, and trust. We may never know the exact truth.
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Dion
7/31/2019 04:38:03 pm
At the beginning of the book i thought Vladek was a player because was going to out with the girl name Anja and like their relationship was serious . And he was still talking to his ex Lucia.
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Dion
7/31/2019 04:49:58 pm
I think its sad that Arite didn't want to help his father with his roof top, making him going up their by himself and plus he is very old to be doing that.
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Dorien little
8/11/2019 10:54:55 pm
I agree with this statement by Dion because it was insensitive to not help Is old father
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Dion
7/31/2019 04:52:55 pm
Im confused why the author had choose rat and cats for the animals in the story like their is other type of animals he can use why them ?
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dion
7/31/2019 04:55:36 pm
i mean pig not cat
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Marcel Torres
8/1/2019 01:00:09 pm
Hey Dion, I'm also confused with the animal portrayals in this book. The obvious analogy with the cats and mice is fine, but does not add with the others. Was Art choosing the animals to represent the people based on the first sound of their nation's name? Like the Polish people were represented by pigs and Art's wife, along with the French dude Vladek met in the camp, were Frogs because they were French. However, if we keep going down the line the Americans are portrayed as dogs, even though America starts with A, and the Swiss are portrayed as some sort of deer, which also doesn't start with S. Or maybe Art was choosing the animals based on characteristics of the people? But I'm not sure if Polish people would like to be compared to pigs then. Or, maybe Art was choosing random animals to depict the different nations at random. In the end it doesn't really matter, I was just curious to the reasoning behind the illustrations.
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Dion
7/31/2019 05:00:54 pm
I feel like the German was going over bored by swinging the kids by their legs against the wall to make them stop yelling.
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Dion
7/31/2019 05:05:42 pm
I'm surprise that the German didn't recognize the Jewish people wearing pig mask walking around the city.
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Marcel Torres
8/1/2019 12:31:27 pm
When reading these two books, the only thing I could think of was how lucky Vladek was to not only survive the cruelty of the Nazis and Auschwitz, but also how he was lucky enough for his son to engrave his story in Maus I and II. Millions of Jews were sent to concentration camps such as Auschwitz and sadly, very few survived. The part I believe to be the saddest in these books is that only one survivor's story is told, but the countless others are portrayed as faceless mice. As a final thought, I was really hoping these books would prove Josef Stalin's quote wrong, "“One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic", but sadly Vladek's story only shows the reality of it.
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Cindy Orduno
8/1/2019 08:20:05 pm
I think one of the main things I learned from reading Maus I and II is that everyone has a story tell and everyone’s story is different. Sometimes you never actually understand a situation until someone that’s experienced it tells their side of the story. I’ve learned about the Holocaust and what the Jews were put through, but it was all history to me. But reading Maus I’ve come to understand what we see as history that we think has nothing to do with us is another person’s life story. But unlike Vladek many people weren’t lucky enough to tell it.
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Isabella Hernandez
8/7/2019 10:00:26 pm
I totally agree with you. We all know about the holocaust but we never actually heard from the perspective of a survivor who had experienced this during the war. I honestly feel that I better understand what happened during that time area and how they were treated terribly since they were judged by their religion as well as being blamed for no reason at all.
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Deyonche Hicks
8/2/2019 05:51:16 pm
Overall I really enjoyed the book, it taught me about discrimination, religion and injustice. Vladek and Artie relationship may not have been the best but they created a beautiful story together. I hope Vladek will move on in peace from Anja and completely mala and if not her than someone else.
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Ariana Nelson
8/11/2019 11:03:06 pm
I agree with enjoying the book. I was sad most of the time, but these books opened my eyes to things I would have never thought happened. Also Artie and Vladek had their up and downs, but they created a beautiful piece of work for generations to learn off of.
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Marcel Torres
8/4/2019 12:51:20 pm
After I have read and thought about these books for some time, it dawned on me how Art really wanted to show his dad, Vladek, as a three dimensional human and not some sort of hero. All humans imperfect, and Art did not want to patronize his father. Art made sure to leave the way Vladek would ramble off topic during his stories and his slight misuse of the English language to show the humanity in his father. I also admire the way Art wanted to include the scene where we find out Vladek is a racist. This scene, I believe, is used to show that even his father, a holocaust survivor, was still prone to contradiction and faults.
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Isabella Hernandez
8/5/2019 04:56:16 pm
As I first read the book, I was very interested as to where the story was going. As I continued to read more and more, I was shocked and surprised as to what the Jews had experienced during the time of Hitler's ruling and in the concentration camps. I can't even imagine to all the and suffering that Arties father had to go through along with the other jews. I honestly can't imagine what it feels to lose it all. I was pretty sad when his son Richieu died during the war. It showed me how dangerous this time era was and how hard it is to survive without anyone trying to sell you out or being caught by the germans in order not to be killed. This was such a sad book and I felt a lot of sad emotions reading this book.This is really a good book which I really did not expect and I do hope that others read this to understand this part of history from a survivor and to not repeat this tragic event ever again.
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Damian Garcia
8/11/2019 03:10:32 pm
I agree with you too Isabella, while I was reading I thought to myself too because I didn't know where the story was going until I came across the same part of the Jews suffering during the Holocaust.
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Randhy Perez
8/7/2019 02:48:57 pm
Do you guys think that Arties Father still kept his Wife's diaries even though he told Artie he burned them?
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Isabella Hernandez
8/7/2019 09:38:24 pm
I feel like he did but I assume it could be pages of her diary that he kept and burned the rest of her diaries to be honest. I really do want to know more about those diaries though.
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Alani Waites
8/11/2019 02:07:21 pm
I think he kept the ones that he believed meant the most and burned the rest, or maybe he just kept one entry and burned the rest. Either way I don't think he burned them all.
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Danna Pichay
8/19/2019 04:58:36 am
It is definitely possible that Vladek had kept an entry of Anja's diary in a hidden compartment in his house or something similar. Although the years of abuse, starvation, and terror almost mentally destroyed him, it's odd that he would impulsively destroy every page with his deceased wife's written words. Maybe Vladek carried a snippet of his lover's encouraging words in his pocket wherever he traveled.
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Emanuel Pacheco
8/19/2019 07:35:02 am
I feel like he did because he probably wanted to keep a memory of his wife and if he told artie the truth of this then artie would probably be mad at him so he told him that he burned it.
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Randhy Perez
8/7/2019 04:08:39 pm
I felt bad when I was reading the part where the mom had poisoned her own children, because she didn't want them dying in the ovens.
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Isabella Hernandez
8/7/2019 09:47:14 pm
I feel the same way too. It was hard for me to process that information of her knowing that she had to go through with it whether she liked it or not. I felt so bad with Arties father for having to lose his son that way. I can't honestly imagine being a kid in the war and not knowing all the things that are exactly happening during that time.
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Alyssa Hernandez
8/8/2019 10:51:17 am
I love how this book is pictured. It gives me a better visual of what actually happened during the Holocaust. In the beginning of Maus I I love how they depicted Vladek’s relationship with Anja and how crazy some people are for “love”
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Rafael Garduno
8/10/2019 09:25:42 pm
I can relate their relationship with that of Romeo and Juliet, because they are going through HELL to maintain their relationship.
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Dorien little
8/11/2019 10:57:22 pm
I also agree with Alyssa because it portrays how love can make you do crazy thing for someone you love
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Ariana Nelson
8/8/2019 07:48:37 pm
Maus 1 and 2 reminded me of the story corps projects that we previously did in Ms. Zeno's class. It was all about learning your family's history and realizing what hardship they went through to make sure you didn't have to. I was upset a majority of times while reading these books because no one deserves to witness or go through stuff like that. For example, Arty's father described how they hung different Jewish merchants for dealing goods without coupons. Also how they threw children against the wall and killed them for crying about the horrendous experiences.
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Alani Waites
8/11/2019 01:58:01 pm
Yes! I was thinking the same thing! It reminded me out sitting in class and listening to people's family members tell their stories. It was intriguing and informative and really made me feel different emotions throughout the read
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Alexandre Martinez
8/11/2019 02:39:47 pm
I agree with you Ariana like when they went out bike riding and he was asking him questions.
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Alyssa
8/11/2019 07:33:24 pm
You read my mind Ariana😂 I think they conspired against us. But I think learning where you came from and your family’ history is a very important thing to keep in mind as we grow up.
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Ariana Nelson
8/8/2019 08:08:47 pm
Right off the bat when I started reading Maus, I thought about the symbolism. The Cats are portrayed as the Nazis and the mice are portrayed as the Jews. This is because cats hunt mice like the Nazis did the Jews. According to Vladek, the Jews were constantly running from town to town just to avoid being sent to Auschwitz . It was sad because they had to go into hiding just to survive and random Jewish strangers were risking everything to help one another out. You shouldn't have to run from your own country because some dictator decides to have an unreasonable hatred for a group of people that has never hurt him in any way, shape, or form.
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Ariana Nelson
8/8/2019 08:47:18 pm
Towards the end of Maus 1 I felt a little humor and a little heartbreak. When Mala and Vladek were getting at each other about money and how Vladek treats her worse than a maid. I felt like she was a gold digger because she was nagging about needing her hair to be done. I felt sad because Vladek broke down to Arty explaining how he missed his wife Anja. In my opinion if Anja and Vladek never went through the hardship that they did during the World Wars, Anja wouldn't have committed suicide and Vladek would be less stressed with Mala. This shows how an uncaused for even can ruin and affect millions of lives and push people to break down. Anja, Vladek, and Arty would have been one happy family if Hitler didn't decide to reign his terror on innocent lives.
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Nathan Borja
8/8/2019 10:32:44 pm
When I first opened the book for MAUS 1 I looked at the second page and a quote caught my eye. The quote stated “The Jews are undoubtedly a race, but they are not human”, Adolf Hitler. Before reading the book I thought to myself, maybe the author of the book was trying to use that quote to help portray the Jews as mice. Mice aren’t human but they are a species which support the quote.
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Nathan Borja
8/9/2019 04:13:32 pm
As finishing MAUS 1 I was confused on why Artie's dad destroyed his wife's old diaries from the war. I feel as if maybe he can't move on from her death and that's the only way he can move on with his life and his new wife.
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Rafael Garduno
8/10/2019 09:23:24 pm
It is really awkward for Mala, because Vladek loves Anja, and is only using Mala for company and maid service.
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Lizette Gallegos
8/11/2019 12:06:28 pm
Yes Nathan! I am also confused as to why Vladek had gotten rid of all that information from Anja. It could have been extremely helpful to Artie as he is gaining information from his father. Since his mother isn't alive, that would have been a huge help. However, in a way I see where Vladek is coming from. He did not want to think about his wife's death. All that pain. It is understandable for him to have taken the action of getting rid of those old diaries. I believe that he wanted to get back up on his feet and start over and fresh.
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Damian Garcia
8/11/2019 03:48:26 pm
While I was reading too I came across that too, I didn't get why Artie's dad destroyed his wife's old diaries from the war.
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Lizette Gallegos
8/9/2019 11:22:13 pm
I have came across a section of the book in Maus where Vladek explained his childhood to his son on how his father did everything he could so that Vladek could avoid war. In a way I found this idea extremely brilliant yet it was difficult to keep up with and remain to stay alive. For example, Vladek's brother Marcus was starved once he reached the age 21. He was super skinny which the illustrations depicted. Vladek's father knew that if he was not healthy, they would have not taken him into war. However, I found it quite disappointing when Vladek had done the same thing but was told to get in shape within a year because he had to serve in war. In a way Vladek's father's plan did not out beat the system.
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Cindy Orduno
8/10/2019 07:08:15 pm
After reading Maus 1 I believe the pages that i most thought about were the pages where Artie put his comic about his mother’s death. Although those events had nothing to do with Vladek’s story during the war he still put it in the book which makes this section of the book a little more personal to himself. It is also the only actual representation of the death of his mother’s death throughout the book.
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Randhy Perez
8/10/2019 07:31:58 pm
I agree, those pages made me understand what Artie was going through when his mother passed away.
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Rafael Garduno
8/10/2019 09:17:54 pm
I don't get why Vladek is so cheap? I think it's because he had to attentive on his ration while in the camps,
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Lizette Gallegos
8/11/2019 11:59:44 am
Something I thought about as I came to the ending of Maus II was the struggles Vladek went through to find Anja and be with her. I love how he never gave up even when things got extremely hard with her emotions and even when they were separated. Vladek has taken Anja's death extremely hard. In the book, till the days he were still alive, he thought about her. He thought about her all the time. It was both a love story gone through a horrible event. He remarried but he wasn't as happy with his new wife as he was with Anja.
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Lizette Gallegos
8/11/2019 12:12:34 pm
As many others have mentioned, I had already a good understanding of what the holocaust was and who was targeted. However, Maus gave a good description on how the Jews were treated. For example, the Jews had to do a lot of manual work. Most Jews were rather of committing suicide than to be killed by Nazi. It is extremely sad to know that this event in history had happened. No one deserves to be treated differently especially if you are different. I believe that if we were all the same, no diversity, this world would be plain and simple. No one would be able to have disagreements and make things better.
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Lizette Gallegos
8/11/2019 12:17:41 pm
As I was reading, I came across a dialogue on page 90 of the book Maus II and it said " No. Everything Vladek went through. It's a Miracle he survived." and the other mouse responded with "Uh-huh. But in some ways he didn't survive." and to me this quote really struck out to me. It shows the readers how even though Vladek survived and went through all those struggles, he still experienced some horrible things that will be stuck with him for his whole life. Nothing will ever be the same for him.
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Lizette Gallegos
8/11/2019 12:24:24 pm
As I came to an end of both Maus I and Maus II, there is not really an actual positive feeling you can get out of this book. There was a lot of people suffering. A lot of people dead. This just shows us how cruel the world really is. Yes even though years have past, this still shows how the world once was and how it can continue to be like that because it once was like that. People fought for their lives just like how today people are struggling and fighting for their lives today. There are similar events that are happening today that you can say are the same motivates as the holocaust. Thousands of innocent people are dying because of one word that does not make sense at all. "Hate"
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Damian Garcia
8/11/2019 03:33:08 pm
As I first looked at the book of Maus 1 and 2 I thought to myself is this really gonna be boring or actually exciting. For me am not really a reader because they don't catch my interest but I can say this book really caught my attention.
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Damian Garcia
8/11/2019 03:40:44 pm
Both Maus 1 and 2 may seem very cruel but in all honestly it just shapes a picture in our head of how our world is and can be at times. Even in our past our world is based on hate of others and the way people are looked at from people's perspective. There has been some sort of change for some people but for some people not so much, they still look at it as hate, cruelty, and racism which is not okay. I feel like that's what I see in this book. The Holocaust is pretty much based like that just because of Hitler
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Cindy Orduno
8/11/2019 03:50:33 pm
I liked the beginning of Maus 2 the first few pages of Artie and Francoise playing around and laughing about what animal Francoise should be. Even though Maus is the story of a man that was part of a horrible event, I liked how Artie began it with something happy.
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Montserrat Estrada
8/11/2019 05:41:33 pm
As i first read the books i sae how it was very interesting seeing how the characters are different animals based on what they are. As I read the books there were so many times where Vladek dodged so many bullets just to stay alive. I dont know if they were miracles or just plain luck because there were so manu times where he could've been killed or sent to be killed. Which amazed me a lot while reading Maus 1 and 2.
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Monserrat Estrada
8/11/2019 06:01:19 pm
When i also first started reading the book it was interesting since it's new to me reading a graphic novel. Throughout my time reading both of the books i found myself getting interested since the topic about the Holocaust is alreading intriguing to me. But i have some questions about it. Like do you think that Vladek might've exaggerated parts of the story? In the past I've learned about the power of story. But through the circumstances that he was living, it's hard to tell.
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Joshua Reyes
8/11/2019 10:54:40 pm
I was also thinking about the same thing. I was asking myself why was vladek making some parts exaggerating or funny?
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Cindy Orduno
8/11/2019 06:35:13 pm
It was interesting to see how much Vladek had changed from his time in the war to the present. And how much his wife’s death impacted him. You can tell he’s not happy anymore and he’s almost always grouchy and he’s also not happy with his new wife. Which was puzzling to me at first. He also became cheap, he almost never liked to spend money on things he thought wasn’t needed, when before he was able to give up all his money for his family.
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Gia Aponte
8/12/2019 07:08:05 pm
I felt the reason why he became cheap and have trust issues was because since he lost mostly everything he ever cared about, he had become psychologically traumatized. His state of mind made him become the he is after horrible experiences he had dealt with.
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Monserrat Estrada
8/11/2019 06:57:04 pm
While i read the books i saw how Arties relationship with Vladek wasn't the best. And if i was Artie i would also be frustrated with Vladek but then again i wouldn't blame Vladek for how he acts because again his past has a lot to do with how he acts in the book. And sometimes i wish Artie could have more patience with his dad but i don't think Artie makes the connections like i do.
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Joshua Reyes
8/11/2019 10:35:09 pm
I agree with you monse. I also felt like Artie should have been patient with his dad but I was also thinking like you that Vladek went through a lot.
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Pedro Martinez
8/14/2019 09:40:00 pm
I agree that Artie didn't sit back and fully understand what his father went through. For him to go and make a comic about it was messed up. Vladek was in real pain.
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Dion
8/11/2019 08:08:13 pm
In the 2 book i think it nice that Dad still have picture of his wife and her brothers after their death.
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Dion
8/11/2019 08:13:43 pm
While i was reading the book i can see how Vladek personality had change after the war and after his wife dead. like more aware and how he needs his family.
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Dion
8/11/2019 08:29:53 pm
i think it nice that Vladek and Anja both take risk too like talk to each other and send each other things and knowing that they cant talk to each other.
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Joshua Reyes
8/11/2019 08:32:58 pm
When I first got this book I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not but once I started reading maus I quickly liked this book because it’s just so interesting knowing that there is a book about this and especially that the dad is telling his story to his son.
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Dion
8/11/2019 08:52:10 pm
im confused why did the author had chosen the animal Dog to represent the USA army . Book :2
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Blessing Nkezea
8/11/2019 11:26:35 pm
Dion, I think the author used Dogs to represent the USA army because the Germans were cats and Dogs chase Cats. Basically the US army are “chasing” the Germans.
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Emanuel Pacheco
8/19/2019 07:32:10 am
The author basically represented characters based on the food chain because the mice are Jews and cats are germans which eat and chase mice, and dogs chase cats.
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Dion
8/11/2019 08:59:46 pm
I thought it was funny how Vladek had made up ways to make his son to stay with then and also come stay with him in book 1 and 2
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Joshua Reyes
8/11/2019 10:47:03 pm
These types of books that are related to the holocaust are kind of shocking and sad at the same time....because in maus they were “supposably” going to take a shower but I’m reality they were just gonna die. Which is honestly sad and this reminds me a lot about The diaries of Anne Frank with all of her family. When they were hiding and trying not to get caught and that also happened in maus.
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Blessing Nkezea
8/11/2019 10:48:43 pm
When I first looked at Maus I. I wasn't really excited or interested in it because I have read so much already about the Holocaust that I know about the killing, concentration camps, etc. Once I started reading Maus I it was different then other books about the Holocaust. It was one person’s story about what happened to them during it and not just another book with facts.
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Dorien little
8/11/2019 10:48:52 pm
In the first book I didn’t quite understand what Lucia was to the father, my guess was she was just a sexual pleasure to the father but I could be wrong.
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Dorien Little
8/11/2019 10:51:11 pm
In book one it shook me how anja became suicidal out of the blue after just giving birth and being married
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Joshua Reyes
8/11/2019 10:51:35 pm
The illustration of maus made lots of sense with what vladek was talking about.....just by reading the book I was already picturing in my head at the fact that it looked nasty in real life. There were a few moments where the illustrations were a little bit to much.
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Blessing Nkezea
8/11/2019 11:22:10 pm
I agree with you Joshua on how the illustrations made sense with what vladek was saying. It also helped visualising what was going on better if you were visualising what he was saying in your head.
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Dorien Little
8/11/2019 11:00:45 pm
I think the author should have showed the seriousness of the father killing his first person I think it was kinda brushed off
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Blessing Nkezea
8/11/2019 11:13:07 pm
In Maus II on pg.45 on of the boxes really stood out to me. “Sign. I'm not talking about YOUR book now, but look at how many books have already been written about the Holocaust. What’s the point? People haven’t changed... Maybe they need a newer, bigger Holocaust. What was written in that box really stood out to me. I guess the reason why it stood out to me was because of what’s actually going on around us in the US and what we are seeing on the news, media and etc. By reading what was on pg. 45 reminded me what’s going on around us.
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Blessing Nkezea
8/11/2019 11:38:27 pm
In Maus II I liked how Mancie helped Vladek found out information about Anja. As well , I liked how every time Anja found out that Vladek was alive, she would get joy. I feel like that joy that she got every time she heard about Vladek helped her keeping going.
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Gia Aponte
8/12/2019 01:06:02 pm
As reading the book, I liked how the author made it into his dad's story and didn't listen to his dad to cut off parts that he didn't want his son to add but it made very intresting how his life was before the holocaust and we begin to understand how his lifestyle was before and after.
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Gia Aponte
8/12/2019 01:07:26 pm
how his lifestyle has changed *
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Gia Aponte
8/12/2019 02:06:26 pm
As I noticed during reading Maus, jews we're willing to commit sucide rather than to be killed by the Nazi's. For example, Anja's sister, Tosha had poisoned herself rather than being capture to be put into concentraction camps. She also poisons Richieu and the chilren so they'll not be taken. I find this really devastitaing how this became one of the jews fate by suicide and they had no other options. It was really sad what the families had to go through and having to take extreme measures.
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Pedro Martinez
8/14/2019 09:34:36 pm
It was sad that the Jews chose to do that, but I can understand why. The Nazis brutally tortured the Jews and they just wanted relief from all of the pain.
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Gia Aponte
8/12/2019 06:16:27 pm
As reading Maus II, Art feels guilt regarding towards the whole situation his family had been through with the holocaust and felt he should've been through the holocaust with his family. And I can relate to art ( though I know it's a completely diffrent situation) because my parents had hardships in their childhood and to become what they are now so I don't have to go through what they did makes me feel sad because I wished life would've been easy on them like how Art feels that he wish life would've been easy on his family and the jews.
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Gia Aponte
8/12/2019 06:47:32 pm
I'm really sadden why anja would commit suicide? Could the reason be about losing her son Richeu? Art makes Anja seem out to be a emotionally needy and blamed her for murdering him. I wondered what he meant "And you left me here to take the rap!"
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Gia Aponte
8/12/2019 07:46:34 pm
As I finshed the books, it made me realized how awful the world was and that I find the survivors incredibilly brave the tell their story knowing it's very hard to speak about. Their stories should be heard and Maus set a great example to educate their readers how the survivor's and non survivors life has changed during the Holocaust and for history to not repeat itself.
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Emanuel Pacheco
8/19/2019 07:26:23 am
I also like how maus has turned into and outlet for survivors of the holocaust to in a way tell their stories and facts of how it was to be treated in concentration camps.
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Iabella Toler
8/14/2019 11:45:37 am
I enjoyed the book at learned lots of things from it. I liked how you can see the characters slowly grow up. The story was well told and im happy ive got to learn and read about the holocaust because it wasnt a wonderful time but i think that us young-ens should read more about the history whether its sad or happy.
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Pedro Martinez
8/14/2019 09:24:03 pm
As I started reading Maus 1 I felt this urge to question our world. How could someone live with hating such an innocent group of people? Hitler's hate for the Jews was saddening because Vladek told an impeccable tale of his struggles through the World Wars. I admire Vladek and the other Jew for their determination and courage against the Germans. The Jews continued to help one another out even though the would be punished if caught.
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Pedro Martinez
8/14/2019 09:28:48 pm
When I read past the part of when Vladek found Arty's comics, I felt anxious. I knew Vladek would be upset because it was about how the trauma of the Holocaust caused the suicide of his late wife. Now he lives in sadness because Mala, his new wife is money hungry. She should help him move on, but she's stressing him out and causing him to almost have a heart attack. Even though we later found out that Vladek dies of a heart attack later on. This just shows how Hitler ruined the lives of so many.
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Pedro Martinez
8/14/2019 09:37:05 pm
Maus 1 and 2 remind me of Ms. Zeno's class where we interviewed our families. Arty interviewed Vladek and learned new strengths and struggles of his father. This proves to me how important family history is and how important it is for us to analyze nd observe every aspect f the stories given to us.
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Marco Nova
8/16/2019 09:11:00 pm
There are parts in the book that are relatable to things I can connect to. Just like the book, my grandmother's aunt was a Jew. She was taken to work and her job was to load dead bodies onto a truck that would be driven to an empty site or plot of land. This connects to the American cross truck in the book.
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Marco Nova
8/16/2019 09:19:02 pm
There were many different types of poeple in the Holocaust, different feelings, roles, etc. Some would do anything to survive like make bunkers to camp out and hide whichh was a restricted lifestyle but they made it theirs. For example when Pesach had a plan to pile shoes around to make a tunnel to sneak around. People were desperate!
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Marco Nova
8/16/2019 09:26:41 pm
Things only got tougher and tougher as time passed. Getting sent to multiple camps at a time to work hard. Lots hated it and hid and scrambled all over the place. But some had a different view twoards the German. Some of he hard workers like Miloch were tired of hiding. He was a skilled worker and said he'd work until he was taken to the ovens. No matter what all Jews were targeted.
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Marco Nova
8/16/2019 09:41:41 pm
All Jews were family at this point no matter what blood. Of the little that survived they had to have eachothers backs because their religio is the one thing they have in comon and the fact that they are going to die. For exxample when a random man followed and said "amcha". He then sent directions to where food was at, Dekerta 8th street, and they could have food like sausagess, eggs, and cheese.
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Marco Nova
8/16/2019 09:47:20 pm
I liked Maus II better because you already know the characters better and lifestyle. The first part describes his life in Poland with the Germans as a Jew. The second part talks about Vladek in the concentration camps which is more interesting to me because of how there can be more detail about working daily and the treatment in the camps.
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John Reyes
8/18/2019 09:45:44 pm
I really like the idea of the Jews being represented as mice and the Nazis represented as cats. I believe Art Spiegelman decided to depict the characters this way because mice are shown being the prey to cats. A very good example is the well-known cartoon, Tom & Jerry, where mouse named Jerry is being comically hunted by a cat named Tom. Just as the Nazis basically hunt Jews.
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John Reyes
8/18/2019 10:12:47 pm
I really like how Artie’s father, Vladek, talked about his relationships before Anja. Like how he basically was calling himself a playboy. It was also pretty nice to see how him and his true love finally came to meet.
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Emanuel Pacheco
8/19/2019 07:24:02 am
I also like that part because it adds a little more of a realism to the story so that you feel for the characters and because vladek told his son to not write it down and he disobeyed him.
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John Reyes
8/18/2019 10:35:50 pm
I was just wondering what the pig-looking characters could represent. At first I thought they were just the authorities, such as policemen. But then they showed up later and were a nurse or a commander. I believe the “pigs” are the people who aren’t known are aren’t Jews at all. Vladek was even drawn to wear a pig mask when saying he didn’t tell the train man he was Jewish.
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Emanuel Pacheco
8/19/2019 07:20:49 am
My first thoughts on the books when I started reading were that the book is a good source that helps tell a good story of a topic that is really sensitive in society, especially because alot of people dont really like talking about this topic In hand, so reading it was a little more relieving.
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Maus is a fascinating book in my opinion. I find it very intriguing the more I read it. I have read a lot about the Holocaust and reading this book gave me an even deeper insights of the horrors that took place in those concentration camps. WW 2 truely was the darkest time in human history>
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In chapter "The Noose Tightens", the section where four Jews were hanged and left there for a week, it saddens me and gives me chills at the same time. Being hanged publicly and left there is bad enough for the victims. But for the people who have to walk by and look at the scene everyday, it must be very uneasy and disturbing to say the least.
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Reading about the Jewish guards, it amazes me and sadden me at the same time. In the time of crisis, nobody cares for anyone. One can betray the rest just to keep themselves from the same fate. It is sad to know how people in the same community can turn on each other for personal gains.
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Meriam Sung
9/2/2019 03:01:33 pm
When I first started to read Maus, I was not that excited to read it but after hearing it was a book about the Holocaust and someone’s real life experience of it.That made me want to really read the book and see what I could learn from it. The first part was a bit confusing, where Artie’s dad did not even like his second wife. I really couldn’t understand why he was so mad at her for and why he was always complaining. When he started talking about how he met Anja and how he felt for Anja. I could really feel the feelings and emotion he had for her.
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Meriam Sung
9/2/2019 03:11:18 pm
A question that really stuck to me is why would the person Richev was with kill herself and the kids along with her? I understand the fact that she didn’t want to die in the gas chamber but she should’ve thought of another plan to save the kids. They were so young and had so much to live for but ended up dying. A major thing that annoyed me the most would be the fact that Anja was going through a tough time but I felt like she was acting like a kid. She was always scared and always complaining. I just wonder did she ever think about Valdek and how he might feel in the situation.
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Meriam Sung
9/2/2019 03:16:04 pm
I wonder how Valdek held on for so long? While reading MAUS I felt like half of the time Valdek hardly ever worried about anything but stayed calm. He always thought of a solution and was also a very skillful man. He never gave up on Anja as well, even when they were separated he still found a way to help her and to keep her full. Even sometimes his solutions led to more problem he still manages to get out of the mess. I feel as if Valdek then and now has change a lot. One would be because of his new wife or many because he’s getting old and jag slowly changing .
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Meriam Sung
9/2/2019 11:51:12 pm
After reading more, i finally realized why Mala did not want to be with Valdek and why valdek didnt like her either. When Mala ran away with the money, that was the moment where I realized how Valdek was right. Mala was only with him for money. Now thinking about it, I feel a lot of sympathy for Valdek. I feel as if he’s an old man who has so much to say but no body wants to listen to him. Therefore he’s ways cranky and complains a lot!
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Meriam Sung
9/3/2019 12:07:11 am
While reading MAUS I and II I feel like if you wants to survive the Holoscust, you’d have to be really good in coming up with a solution to every problem. For Valdek it was no problem and he always found a way to stay alive and get help. He was able to get soup everyday by finding a way to get a new shirt with no lice. Overall once the Americans freed them I felt a sense of joy for them. I actually felt like I was experiencing the same things.
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