In your essay, compare and contrast the father and son of the family, Vladek and Artie. How does each character struggle to assert his own identity both within the family unit and outside of the family bonds?

Please respond to one of the following 3 questions in essay form. Remember to answer as precisely as possible
and to quote from the text throughout your answer. You may use one sheet of notes and the
book(s) during the exam.
l. In MAUS I and MAUS II, by Art Spiegelman, family members are in conflict with one another throughout the
books. In your essay, compare and contrast the father and son of the family, Vladek and Artie. How does each
character struggle to assert his own identity both within the family unit and outside of the family bonds? Does their
relationship change over time, or do they treat each other in the same antagonistic way? Ultimately, what do you
think Art Spiegelman is trying to show about family through the portrayal of these characters and their overlapping
lives?
2. There are many themes that are significant in MAUS I and MAUS II, by Art Spiegelman. Two of these themes are
loyalty and survival. In your essay, please analyze the importance of these two aspects of the books and also
examine an additional theme of your own choosing. Make sure that you discuss at least two characters in your
answer. In your opinion, and in relation to the themes you discuss, what is Art Spiegelman communicating about
the difficulties of living under wartime conditions?
3. In MAUS II, by Art Spiegelman, Vladek tells Artie about his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp while
contracting typhus. He says, “At night I had to go to the toilet down. It was always full, the whole corridor, with
the dead people piled there. You couldn’t go through . . . . You had to go on their heads, and this was terrible,
because it was so slippery, the skin, you thought you are falling. And this was every night” (95 or 255). In your
essay, please discuss the differing ways that the theme of persecution is present in both MAUS I and MAUS II. How
do at least two of the main characters either participate in or react against the kind of persecution that Vladek
describes? Do you think that Art Spiegelman’s books reinforce the idea that safety can only be found in isolation, or
does Spiegelman suggest that persecution can be overcome through community?

(These are the essay questions I hope you will answer. You can choose any of the three as you wish to make things easier for you. I will upload the pdf files of these books down below. PLEASE USE THE BOOK AS YOUR SOURCE, NO OUTSIDE SOURCES.)

https://beakaaesmit.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/maus-i.pdf
Maus 1

https://www.district205.net/cms/lib/IL01001003/Centricity/Domain/118/Maus%20Part%20II.pdf
Maus 2

Last Completed Projects