IndexIntroductionThe role of intergenerational traumaThe relationship between Vladek and ArtieConclusionReferencesIntroductionArt Speigelman's graphic novel Maus shows an increasingly strained relationship between him and his father, Vladek. Although Vladek is initially depicted as frivolous, contrived, self-pitying, harmfully abusive to his loved ones, and compulsive, the reader eventually learns, through his memory of the horrors of the Holocaust, that Vladek is this way because of the hellish prison that Adolf Hitler put him in. he entered. In this essay I will analyze the father-son relationship between Vladek and Art through close reading using themes such as time, guilt, and communication problems that run rampant throughout their damaged relationship. I will discuss the ways in which Maus themes such as racial issues, xenophobia, and historical trauma pave the way for generational trauma towards Vladek and Art, and how this trauma negatively impacts their relationship even more. I will also discuss the ways in which Art is also a trauma survivor and support my belief with examples from his tangible emotions laid out for readers like me in Maus. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The role of intergenerational trauma In Art Spiegelman's Maus I and Maus II, his use of language and imagery not only worked to develop the narrative, but also a tool to overcome the intergenerational trauma resulting from parents' experiences during the Holocaust. In the book we discover that although Spiegelman began by illustrating his father's experiences during the Holocaust, Spiegelman explores his own trauma through the concept known as post-memory. Post-memory is described as how children of first-generation trauma survivors, i.e., their parents, relate to that trauma. This is related to intergenerational trauma, an issue he experiences, considering that often the trauma experienced by the second generation is overshadowed by that of the first generation. In this case, the trauma his parents experienced was the Holocaust, with negative effects that continued to reverberate through future generations, affecting Spiegelman. Throughout Maus, Vladek can be seen scolding Art for several small infractions such as making a mess with cigarette ash while Vladek reluctantly recounts one of the many humiliating experiences he had in the concentration camp where an officer scolded him for making a mess in the field. This correlation between past and present events causes Art to begin to feel guilty for the unhelpful way he has always treated his father, and instills a deep sense of guilt in his heart. From throwing away Art's coat to burning Anja's journals, Vladek constantly did things that upset Art, and vice versa. Through careful reading I realized that many of these transgressions were simply misunderstandings, and if Art and Vladek had understood this, their relationship could have been very different. Constantly searching for a father figure, Art is blinded by Vladek's angry, neurotic antics and distraught by the distance between him and his son, coupled with haunting memories of the Holocaust and his first wife's tragic suicide, Vladek is unable to act. as a true father figure for Art. Eventually, Art becomes so deprived, confused and alone that he wishes he had been in Auschwitz with his parents just so he could truly know what they went through. This is an extreme sign of generational trauma resulting from years and years of Vladek mistakenly attempting to deal with his own trauma.Emotion runs rampant in this graphic novel and helps explain the complex relationship between father and son that is depicted. Hidden behind Vladek's account of his traumatic past in the camps is Art coming to terms with how the story affected his father. At the beginning and end of each chapter, the reader is hit with an emotional surge of Art's feelings in the present after hearing what his father had to say that day about the Holocaust. At the beginning and end of each chapter, Art describes how frustrated and guilty he feels when it comes to his relationship with his father. At first, Art describes his father as he is: a traumatized survivor just trying to deal with what once happened around him, despite being a fussy, self-pitying old man. As the plot thickens, so does Art's understanding of his father through first-hand stories of what his father experienced. At first the reader may find themselves against Vladek because of the way he treats those around him in the present, but as the story progresses, it is easy to come to terms with why Vladek is the way he is. An example of Art's progressively growing understanding as the book goes on is when Vladek accidentally calls him, Art's brother who was murdered in the ghettos. At the beginning of the story, if Vladek had made a mistake and made this mistake, Art may have been angry with him because he believed that his father loved Richieu more, but at the point in the story where Vladek actually calls him Richieu, it can be seen that Art actually feels satisfied with his father's mistake, and Art sees that it was out of love for both him and his brother. I appreciate the graphic novel's telling of this particular topic because I believe it is able to engage the reader in ways that run-of-the-mill novels cannot. Throughout Maus, a recurring motif is a fireplace, illustrating the brutal fate of the victims without having to say it. This recurring chimney symbolizes the constant weight of fear on the shoulders of Holocaust victims; fear that they may soon be exterminated. Another reason why a graphic novel was a wonderful way for Art to tell his father's story is because he can simultaneously show how he feels without interrupting his father's narrative and vice versa. I don't think this can be done in the form of a novel. Vladek and Artie's Relationship After analyzing Vladek and Art's relationship, Vladek's strange quirks cause Art to be annoyed by him in many ways. Although Art's mission was to spread the word about his father's story, his father's mannerisms annoy him greatly along the way. The tantrums between father and son throughout this story quickly become a source of guilt for Art as he tries to understand why his father acts the way he does. This important theme of guilt is shown in many ways throughout the graphic novel. Art feels guilty for not being a good son, Art feels guilty for his mother's suicide, and Art feels guilty for succeeding and capitalizing on Maus. “Maybe your father needed to prove that he was always right – that he could always survive – because he felt guilty about surviving. And he placed his guilt on you, where it was safe… on the real survivor.” This quote from Maus describes the tension between father and son and its cause, guilt. Vladek constantly felt survivor's guilt, after the death of so many of his fellow Jews and the death of Anja, which led him to blame his son, “the real survivor.” But the question remains whether or not Art believes his is a real survivor, as he always feels extremely down about hisrelationship with his father and his sense of guilt. It is very important for the reader to see that Art is affected by his father's traumatic narrative so that the reader can fully understand what second generation trauma means when it comes to the relationship between father and son. Art even goes so far as to state, “I know it's crazy, but somehow I wish I had been to Auschwitz with my parents so I could actually know what they experienced! … I guess it's a kind of guilt for having had an easier life than them. This really shows the heartbreaking impact of Vladek's telling; his story had touched his son so much that, to fully understand his father's pain, he wanted to put himself in his shoes... literally. The impact of his father's grief and his mother's suicide shaped Art as a person, and in order to tell his story fully, Art had to bring all of this to the readers' table. Vladek's character has been greatly shaped by the Holocaust, and this is seen throughout the graphic novel as he is unable to lead a normal life, as well as Mala and Art berating him for his behavior. Vladek's instinct is to ration money and food in case tragedy strikes again, and he has certainly developed a particular xenophobia due to Hitler's control of the Jews during World War II. Vladek is also obsessive compulsive, which causes great annoyance to Mala and Art, only putting a strain on their relationships. Vladek has also isolated himself from the public due to his extreme trauma. Art actually helps Vladek give meaning to his survival by having him tell stories of his treacherous past, but this doesn't happen without many obstacles between the two. The graphic novel form allows Art to candidly expose his concerns in describing his father's frugality. He feared that showing the truth about how stingy his father was would perpetuate the stereotype of the "stingy Jew," but the strain this quality placed on his family was too much to not share. Art's attraction to recording Vladek's description of the forces of the Holocaust causes him to hang out with his father much more often than usual, and Vladek's surly resistance doesn't help at all. The beginning of Maus illustrates this and shows that neither the father nor the son are able to understand each other and relate to what the other is going through. Art can't get over the fact that his father has trouble talking about what happened to him during his horrible past, and Art has trouble putting himself in his father's shoes. This causes frustration in Art, and he tries to force information on his father that his father no longer has due to trauma. Soon, Art discovers that Vladek has destroyed Anja's diaries, the only remaining tangible evidence of her life, and Art calls Vladek a murderer, only setting them apart more than before. “Congratulations! … You committed the perfect crime… You put me here… you shorted out all my circuits… you cut my nerve endings… and you crossed my wires! … You killed me, Mom, and left me here to get me the blame!!!” Art feels betrayed by both of his parents for their actions because of the Holocaust, and he still can't put himself in their shoes. He feels that they are very selfish and doesn't think their actions were fair to him because he was alone a little boy. Another aspect that separates Art from his father is his father's estate. "Talking about your estate makes me uncomfortable." He also worries about his father's legacy “in a broader sense, in the sense of a cultural tradition, and also in the sense of psychological or emotional baggage” (Shmoop). Together with the looming memory of the “perfect little girl” Richieu and the lack of input from Anja due to her suicide, Art feels)