The book highlights the life of Vladek as interviewed by Art (Spiegelman). There are situations in life that present personal life, culture and the history of the people. Vladek lives an easy life where most of his ambitions are achieved through his daily involvement with the people in his life. There is a moment when he finds solace in his son by telling his story to his son, Art. Art tells Vladek’s story and he is so keen in instructions. Vladek instructs Art to not put out the personal details of the story to the public.
It means that as much as people want to be open in life, there is need to have a part of life that cannot be shared with everyone. This is the essence of life in which the main stakeholders base on sharing their life stories with the public. The aim is to ensure that people understand what it entails to live life, make decisions, and go through depression. It is what makes people strong and therefore sharing the stories helps to give an example of what life is and the ups felt in it. Sharing the stories also shows the people that life is normal and it is always important to follow and cling on the positives that come with it. This is why the good personal achievements are encouraged by Vladek for Art to expose.
The ability of Vladek to be interviewed, tell his story and share his story with his son shows the love that exists in the family. The family should be free to share their different stories. Vladek shows an example of a good father by letting Art take his story and tell it to the world. It is also important in that it shows the father-son relationship in which the father is free to let his son learn. Vladek understands that in order to let his son grow and not go through some experiences in life, the best is to let the son learn through his experience and he effects this through tell him his story without hiding any details.
The story is rich in exposing the culture of the people in different socio-economic statuses. It exposes that there is a gap between the cultures elucidated by the rich people and the poor people. There are instances when the rich have disgrace in life and the way that they deal with it is different from how the poor people deal with it. There are instances when the society treats the rich in a more favorable way.
It shows rich people and their culture of life and how they are easily embraced, like the time Vladek visits Anja for the second time and they visit the School director who sings Anja’s praises. It shows that Anja is loved by the school director. The only influence is that she is a rich woman, it might be because she supports the school through incentives therefore enabling the school to progress its activities. There are instances when Anja may have contributed to building the school and therefore it guarantees her praises as she meets the school director.
The rich tend to receive favors in their life, they can have time to go for retreats and stay for as long as they wish. Their financial situation is not affected even as they stay out of work. It is three months that they stay at their luxurious Czech sanitarium. This is a life of luxury which the poor cannot afford. This comes out to show that there is a gap between the poor and the rich. This is evident as the couple spends time at a secluded sanitarium where they spend time and money. The poor people cannot afford to spend time off work for a week and survive, unless they are being funded.
The oppression that poor people go through is highlighted even in relationships when the marriage between Lucia Greenberg and Vladek does not materialize. This is despite all the plans and the effort that the two had put in in the relationship. There is an instance when Greenberg found a picture of Anja in the house of Vladek. Vladek did not bother much and Greenberg called off the relationship. Though Greenberg was bitter with the situation, Vladek did not take it serious. One of the reasons that Vladek was not serious with her is that she was a poor woman and therefore had little to nothing to offer.
The situation went above boiling point when Vladek was united to his wife Anja. Anja received mail from an ‘L’ which she took very serious. The mail announced that Vladek was a fraud who did not love her and had no truth in whatever he claimed or offered. It also insisted that he was seeking Anja just because she was reach and he was going after her money. This claims were taken up seriously by Anja.
The story also outlines how men can be clever when it comes to love. You find that Vladek does not take anything to chance and as claims from a letter from ‘L’ tries to implicate him. He has to rake his brains in order to stay afloat in the relationship and maintain the marriage. This is why he convinces Anja that he is not guilty and therefore Anja dismisses the claims as fraudulent from subject ‘L’ which Vladek insists is a ploy from a bitter Ex.
The story uses the flashbacks and flash forward method to highlight the stories in the past and in the present life. It gives two circumstances to the story which is told in the past and how it is being told by the main character Vladek. This enables the reader to read back and forth and understand the magnitude of each situation as it rolls out in the story. There are instances when Vladek gives the details of the story to his son, which the reader can read but still insist that he should not make them public.
Currently he is frustrated due to the death of his wife Anja. He has had two heart attacks in the past and they are weighing him down. This shows that life has its ups and downs and there are instances when an individual cannot always have the best in life. There are instances when a person goes through a hard time in life and they have to take it as it comes. There are heartbreaks as life takes turns but individuals have to be strong. Vladek has gone through two heart attacks but he is still holding on as life takes turns. There is no point in giving up in life.
The story shows the possibilities of the rich people in the society. Their company is robbed and because they are rich, when the company is robbed they come in set it up and it picks up. It means that the rich have unlimited possibilities and they can achieve all the material needs that they have in order to make their life comfortable. It is also the work of money to ensure that the rich people acquire what they want.
The company is robbed when the couple is on a retreat. The act is suspected to have been instigated by the Anti-Semitism. This means that the company was constructed in the region where people were against Semitism. This shows that the region was controlled by the prevalence of cultures and those that did not take positively a certain culture could carry out any ordeal to them. It shows that the culture of the people is important and it determines the various directions that people can take in life.
This story is important in highlighting the various needs that the society has in life. It shows the various ups and downs that a person can achieve in life and what it takes to be poor or rich in life. This can work to an advantage and it can help shield the society from various atrocities that come through the extreme up holds of culture. Therefore, it is all-important to be on the lookout in life for the positive opportunities that come. The family is the most important unit in life.
Works Cited
Spiegelman, A. Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: and Here My Troubles Began. New York: Pantheon Books, 1991. Print.
