Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Commentaries in Maus II

         Within Maus II, I felt that it was easy to pick up on the fact that different races/nationalities were represented by different animals. This is a very obvious commentary on the racism and anti-semitism during WWII. The beginning of chapter 2 showing Spiegelman as a human wearing a mouse mask represents how individuals are still categorized by their race/ethnicity. Also, it is also a commentary of the presence of racism still even after such a crisis like the Holocaust. Therefore, it is the animal that we see before we see the person which causes immediate generalizing. When Art’s father got frustrated with Francoise for picking up an African-American hitchhiker, there was much hypocrisy considering he was nearly a victim of the Holocaust. This goes to show that different sorts of racism are present in different areas. These idea represent a number of different types of travel. The way that time travels and causes things to change, but the deep rooted faults of society can easily remain the same. Also, much of the novel is travel through memory as Vladek recalls his time at Auschwitz. Additionally, it is travel through wondering what could have been. Art thinks about how he wishes he can relate to his parents’ suffering as he says, “I know this is insane, but I somehow wish I had been in Auschwitz with my parents so I could really know what they lived through! ... I guess it’s some kind of guilt about having had an easier life than they did” (Spiegelman 16). As they are dealing with Vladek’s state of anxiety, Art seems to believe it is his past that has made him the way that he is with needing others and not being able to relax. The many forms of travel that are present in this graphic novel shows how time movement and memories highlight what has changed and what has stayed the same. 

         As this is our last posting for class, I have done a bit of a reflection of the many things we have learned from one another throughout the semester. The main thing I learned that sticks out to me is the fact that I am constantly traveling. I have always said traveling is one of  my passions, and although travel means so much more now, I can still say it is very special to me. I am always traveling whether it is going from one place to another, thinking about people and times that I am missing, being nostalgic, reflecting, meeting new people, reading, anything I do.. I have learned that it is all travel. I am very grateful to say that my passion is apart of my every day life. 

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