Skip to main content

Taking a Look Into the Past

On the cover page of chapter four, in the graphic novel, Maus, There is an image of modern day Vladek, in front of a multitude of prisoners in Auschwitz. Behind the prisoners is an American flag covering the entire background. Above the prisoners is the word, "saved" in large letters.

Image result for Saved maus

This image could mean an assortment of different things. One thing it could represent is the imprisonment by one's own memories. Vladek may not be physically captive in the death camps any longer, but his memories still haunt him and will never let him be truly free.

Something else interesting about this image is the similarity between the prisoners uniforms and the American flag. They both contain stripes and some form of stars. This could also relate to the idea of being imprisoned by memories. After they were saved from the camps, they went on to a different kind of imprisonment in America, captivity from their memories.                
                                             Image result for maus 112
Also, just six pages later from the chapter heading, there is a panel of an American soldier telling Vladek that he could only stay with the Americans if he cleaned the house they were in and made the beds. This shows the ignorance of the American soldiers. They didn't really have an idea of what happened to Vladek and the other Jews. If they did , they would have given them a place to sleep for free.

These are just my interpretations of this image. I'm sure there are many more that I haven't thought of. Let me hear what you think about this image in the comments section.

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 15, 2017 at 1:10 PM

    I especially like your interpretation in the paragraph 3. The similarity between the clothing and flag has strong support throughout the comic. For instance, we talked about the dog that was looking on as the Jews were being persecuted. Maybe you could go into more depth with this connection. Nice job.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownOctober 15, 2017 at 3:09 PM

    I really like how you compared the prison uniforms and the American flag. Very interesting take on the image and I really enjoyed your post.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Who Said Women Can't Fight? Breaking Gender Stereotypes

When we think of war, what do we see in our minds? Gory battles, tales of valor, and men marching for miles on end. Right? But who said men were the only ones who got to fight? That's right, there are countless stories of women's bravery while in battle. We see examples of this in the tales of Mulan and the Woman Warrior in ancient China, and the struggle of Joan of Arc in medieval France. In the legends of Mulan and the Woman Warrior, both women train for war and take their father's place in battle. In Mulan, she fights in the war against the Huns that have invaded China. In Warrior Woman, she goes near and far to destroy corruption and overthrow the ignorant emperor. Both of these women are very brave, not only because they fought in a war, but because they were breaking the law. Women who dressed up as men and fought in the army and were found out were put to death. Because of this enormous risk they took, many people were saved and these women made a difference in the...
2 comments
Read more

The Dumb Blond

We all have heard, one way or another, a dumb blonde joke. Maybe you were the one to say it. Or maybe you were that unfortunate blond that had to be subjected to such a thing. Either way, this is a well known stereotype, and should be ended. So the question that everyone has, but no one ever bothers to answer is, are blondes actually dumb? The answer, put simply, is no. A study of 10,878 white women with naturally blond hair concluded that blondes had an average IQ within three points of brunettes and other hair colors (Ohio State News). This study shows that, without a doubt, blondes are not statistically dumber than other people. Sadly, even though this is such an obvious fact, many people still are biased when it comes to judging someone's intelligence based on blond hair color. For example, Jay Zagorsky, a lead researcher at Ohio State University, says that " Research shows that stereotypes often have an impact on hiring, promotions and other social experiences". ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sometimes Being Nonlinear is a Good Thing

When trying to properly express respect to those who served and died in a war, using a nonlinear narrative is better than say, a cenotaph. While cenotaphs are great for war memorials, and give us a place to go to remember those who died, there is one thing they lack; details. In a nonlinear narrative, you get to see everything that happened. You get to walk a mile in the soldier's shoes. You get to see what they saw and hear what they hear. Most of all, you get to share in their triumphs, and struggle with them during their losses. With a cenotaph, all you see are names and stone. The novel, The Things They Carried , by Tim O'Brien, is an example of a linear narrative that helps an average citizen understand what the lives of the soldiers were like. Close to the beginning of the book, O'Brien describes the time when one of his fellow soldiers was killed. He says, "Right then Ted Lavender was shot in the head on his way back from peeing. He lay with his mouth open...
Post a Comment
Read more