In the second book of Maus, we as readers get to explore more of Art’s strained relationship with his father. As miraculous and interesting Vladek’s story in Auschwitz is, so many of my questions about the reading revolve around Art’s relationship with his parents. Early in chapter one on page 14, Art says he’d choose to save his mom from the ovens if he had to choose between his parents. I think this speaks volumes about his relationship with both of his parents.
Respondents: Do you think Art’s decision stems from regret over not having a stronger relationship with his mother before she committed suicide or out of disdain for his father?
I found it interesting that Vladek chose to lie about having a heart attack in order to get Art to come see him rather than flat out telling him that Mala left. Art’s behavior towards his father has made little secret of his feelings towards him (as evidenced in the first book) and Vladek’s acknowledgement of those feelings is really evident in this act of lying. In Vladek, I see the same desire for affection and companionship in his behavior that I saw in my grandparents and sometimes see in my parents. Knowing his time on earth is shorter as his health deteriorates and the years go on, Vladek desire to spend the last of it with Art, the person that matters the most to him, grows immensely. Throughout Art and Francoise’s visit, Vladek drops hints about them staying longer or him moving in with them, but Art is insistent that neither will happen.
Respondents: Do you think Art doesn’t want the responsibility of caring for his father because he feels guilty about the way he treats him?
On page 22, Francoise suggests to Art that Vladek’s experience in Auschwitz is the reason for his anxious behavior. Art’s answer of “maybe” and explaining his father’s not like any of the other survivors makes me wonder why Art is so unsympathetic to his father’s past and how it’s affected him. Later on page 46, Art expresses his hesitance to draw Aushwitz to his shrink and I wondered if it was because he was afraid of it bringing him closer to his parents and their experience, specifically his father.
Respondents: Why do you think Art feels so hesistant to draw Aushwitz? I think it’s possible that he would not be able to blame his father for his feelings of inadequacy compared to Vladek and his brother Richieu if he understood his father’s perspective.
On Art’s decision between parents:
Unfortunately, the question that you provided is loaded. You ask “Do you think Art’s decision stems from regret over not having a stronger relationship with his mother before she committed suicide […]” At first, I thought that that would be the obvious conclusion for that question, however, Art specifically says that he thought about which parent to save when he was a kid, so this would be before his mother’s suicide. This leads to the conclusion that Art may have always had a disliking of his father, probably from Vladek’s resentment of Richieu’s death. This resentment could be mirrored by how Vladek treats Mala throughout the book.
On Art’s feelings of responsibility for his father:
I would like to meet the child that would like to take care of their parents. Most people feel relieved when they are finally able to move away from their parents and have a place of their own. Sure, you can still love your parents, but love can be strained when living with someone. (Just look at how many divorces happen, you know what I mean?) It just seems to me that no one (or at least very few) children want to take care of their parents. It can be hard to break the feeling growing up that they would always take care of you, it’s a little bizarre (in my opinion) when the child realizes that this isn’t true.
On Art’s feelings on Auschwitz:
Once again, I have to wonder who would want to draw Auschwitz. Saying you’re going to do something and actually doing it are two very different things. I’m not sure if one reason would be that by doing so, it will bring him closer to his father’s perspective (and in turn bring him closer to his father). But there are defiantly more reasons than that of just what Auschwitz represents. One reason could be from the pressure that is upon him now after publishing the first half of Maus, another could be his (at that point) impending role as a father himself, and still there is the impending knowledge of how much death will have to be drawn. There are not many that take pleasure from drawing death.