Research Based Question Maus Essay
Joseph Mathew
World War Ⅱ was a devastating event in history, which caused a toll on people’s lives. A tremendous amount of people were impacted mentally and physically. In the graphic novel, Maus by Art Spiegelman characterization of the characters were impacted by the effects of World War Ⅱ. World War Ⅱ affected Vladek and other Jewish Poles which caused many long-term health disorders called PTSD, a Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
World War Ⅱ affected Vladek’s life; changing his aspect towards other people. Vladek has been through a lot of adversities in his life. World War Ⅱ left a toll on his life making his character change dramatically. For example, Vladek doesn’t trust other people and is paranoid. He is antisocial and he behaves this way because of the effects of World War Ⅱ. For example, on page 6 of Maus by Art Spiegelman, Artie is sad and states, “I-I fell and my friends skated away without me.” Vladek responds negatively saying, “Friends? Your friends? … If you lock them together in a room with no food for a week … Then you could see what it is, Friends!” Also on page 114 of Maus, Vladek states, “At [the Getos] it wasn’t any more families. It was everybody to take care of himself.” Vladek doesn’t trust others and is insecure. According to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs people that have posttraumatic stress disorder may be constantly on guard and have social anxieties (Veterans’). Vladek is insecure, antisocial, and has social anxiety because he has faced many harsh adversity and challenges during World War Ⅱ, this changed his character dramatically.
Vladek after the effects of World War Ⅱ became stingy, obsessive, and overly concerned because of his experiences during World War Ⅱ. Vladek’s character became insecure and was keeping everything he finds because it might come in handy one day. For example, on page 116 of Maus, Vladek and Artie were walking to the bank. On the way to the bank, Vladek finds a piece of wire on the floor and keeps it. Artie tells Vladek, “You always pick up trash! Can’t you just buy wire?” Vladek responds back saying, “Why always you want to buy when you can find!? Anyway, this wire they don’t have it in any stores. I’ll give you some wire. You’ll see how useful it is” (Spigelman 116). Vladek always collects things and saves it because it might be useful. Another example is on page 30. Vladek carefully counts his pills. He accidentally knocks them over and is going to recount them. He also states he is an expert in counting pills because he has done it a lot (Spiegelman 30). Vladek is also overly concerned with his health and other needs because of his experiences during World War Ⅱ. According to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs people with PTSD may feel constantly alert after the traumatic event. This is known as increased emotional arousal (Veterans’). Vladek after World War Ⅱ was always alert, obsessive, and overly concerned because of his experiences during the war.
World War Ⅱ has affected Vladek and his relationship with his family and others. Vladek has trouble socializing and has trouble with his relationship with his own family. For example, Vladek and Mala don’t have a good relationship. In the book Maus on page 130, Mala states “Your father [Vladek] treats me as if I were just a maid or his nurse … worse! At least a maid has some days off and gets paid.” Mala states that Vladek doesn't treat her equally and doesn't give her any money (Spiegelman 130). Vladek also states on page 127 that when he was sick and wanted some peace, Mala all she wanted was money (Spiegelman 127). According to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs people that have posttraumatic stress disorder are also associated with impairment of the person's ability to function in social or family life including occupational instability and marital problems (Veterans’). Mala and Vladek have many conflicts between each other because of Vladek’s effects and experiences from World War Ⅱ.
After World War Ⅱ many survivors faced many mental and physical disorders. 7.8 percent of Americans will experience posttraumatic stress disorders at some point in their lives; 30 percent of man and woman who have spent time in war zones also experience a PTSD (Veterans’). Vladek during the time after the war acted differently and his character changed dramatically. People with a PTSD also faced hardships and challenges which also cause their character to change. World War Ⅱ affected Vladek and other poles which changed their character dramatically.