Sunday, April 11, 2010
Sympathy
Before I start reading the second volume, I just want to comment on the ending of the first volume of Maus. On Thursday, we talked about who we feel sympathetic for after finishing the volume. I personally felt bad for the father because he is painfully retelling the story of the Holocaust and going through the details of the brutal murders that he witnessed, and then his own son calls him a murderer. I can see why the son got so mad but he had a horrible choice of words, something that has happened to me on more than one occasion. I feel bad for the son also, because I know that I’ve been in the situation before where I have been so pissed at someone that I say the worst possible thing to them so they can feel equally mad. This is exactly what Artie is doing at the end of the first book. I have avoided reading posts about Maus Volume 2, but I am very interested in the resolution of this little fight that occurred.
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I agree! I was extremely shocked by Artie's choice of the name calling towards his father. Like you stated, I understand why he is so upset but he must also think about the feelings of his father. As I was reading this volume of Maus there were parts that I actually set the book down and sat there in disbelief. I still, even after researching and reading about the Holocaust so many times, can not even begin to fathom living through something so tragic. I think that it would be nearly impossible to ever live the same or be the same person again after such a traumatizing experience.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read the ending and saw that Artie called his father a murderer, I was really shocked. To me, it just showed how disconnected the father and son are. Artie cannot understand how his father could burn all of Anna's diaries. I feel like Artie should be old enough to at least understand that Anna's death was painful and his dad had to have been going through a lot by himself. Although I do understand at first why Artie is so upset, especially since his dad saves everything possible. Really interested in seeing how this works out between the two.
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