As we have discussed in class, the older Vladek Speigelman seems very different from his younger counterpart in Vladek’s narrative of the Holocaust. The younger Vladek is considerate and resourceful; he does not generally exhibit the obsessiveness or paranoia that the older Vladek shows. However, the older Vladek also looks favorably on his former self. Is Vladek cognizant of his stark personality change post-Holocaust? He does mention a couple times during the story that the Holocaust changed him. Does he realize how different he acts in real life than from the story?
This brings me to my second question. Is it possible that Vladek's story may not be entirely accurate. Could there have been parts that Vladek omitted or added to the story? It would seem natural that he would not want to pass on a story in which he is portrayed negatively, especially to his only surviving son. There are a couple of signs within Maus that signal we may have an unreliable narrator. For example, in page 68 in Maus II, Artie catches his father changing the number of months his father claimed he spent in Auschwitz. There may have been other areas where Vladek may have stretched the story as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment