learntoquestion ltq discussions

Originally posted by Pistachio on February 11, 2025 13:44

I believe there's a sort of beauty in expressing such a grim matter in such a more “childish” art form. Symbolically, I think Spiegelman is trying to say how things that take place in the book, and during the Holocaust, cannot be escaped by anyone, even children as comics are accessible even to them. Aside from the symbolic meaning, comic form as a whole allows for a lot more expression than a full writing piece. It adds a layer of realism by being able to see the emotions on the characters faces as opposed to having it described to you in a novel. I think if the book was in a novel form rather than comic it would make it feel a lot less real and almost disconnected in a sense. Visually being able to see these people being lined up and fated for essentially what is execution is just a terrifying situation. Also through the comic format, Spiegelman is able to use the metaphor of different groups being different animals. Since it isn’t explicitly said, but rather something the reader will just notice by looking at the panels, it is quite hard to pull something like this in a full word form. In a graphic novel, Jews being mice, or the prey, and Germans being cats, or the hunters, spoke and put into perspective how the situation often felt. It was a game of cat and mouse for Jews trying to escape and often times when they felt safe they never truly were, like how Vladek was “offered” to sleep in a hole behind the barn by a farmer, only to later be outed out by the same farmer who supposedly didn’t care nor wanted any trouble. These depictions of these different groups not only allowed readers to see the power dynamic but also made it so that readers are able to disconnect from their experience. Our generation is not Holocaust survivors and I doubt we will ever be able to understand their trauma or pain. Had the characters been human, we may have been more inclined to try and relate to them, but we can’t, their experiences are completely different from ours. We can try to understand and process what happened but at the end of the day, they live in different worlds than us and these depictions achieve that message, similar to the dynamic Artie has with his father. Speaking of the father son relationship, Spiegelman constantly shifts between the past and present. This could be brushed off as simply done for fluidity but it can also be attributed to demonstrate generational trauma. As said in “The Shadow of a Past Time”, “ Comics are composed in panels--also called frames--and in gutters, the rich empty spaces between the selected moments that direct our interpretation. The effect of the gutter lends to comics it's ‘annotation’ of time and space” (Chute 7). The comic format is a way to frame individual moments and highlight them but that doesn’t altogether separate them from other events. Artie will never be able to escape his legacy of being a child of a Holocaust survivor, this book is very proof of that. Just as how his father will never be able to escape the horrors and memories from the Holocaust itself. It’s all a loop, Artie and Vladek are connected and although they lived completely different lives they share the same horror that they cannot escape. Also the novel format relies heavily on imagery and using one's imagination to picture the events in the novel. I think Spiegelman wants to get away from that because the events of the Holocaust were very real and not so much as a fantasy as it seems to my generation. The comic form also makes these horrific events a lot more digestible. There’s a lot less processing, reading, and analyzing than a full word form would require. It allows people to be able to take the meaning of the book a lot more easily without taking away from the severity and message of the book itself. Although a comic form is “immature” or “childish”, sometimes for people to be able to understand important and heavy events such as these, they must be simple. Comic format achieves that.

In Pistachio’s post, I liked how they noted the realism that is added by the comic illustrations, despite the drawings not being exactly how they were – with the animal allegories for example. I agree with this idea. I think that there is a certain emotion that this story being a comic conveys that it can’t if it were just a novel. I also liked the point made about the constant flashbacks and flashforwards between Vladek’s story and the present - how it reflects the generational trauma that Artie faces by being the child of Holocaust survivors. The comic panels frame the individual moment, but connect through the story, weaving the moments together. Artie can not escape this so it affects his life greatly. I saw several similar responses conveying similar sentiments - where the comic component adds something that only words can and that Artie will always struggle with generational trauma. Generally, I think that our views are similar, in that I agreed and said many similar points in my response. I particularly liked how this response combined both prompts, having the comic form be a metaphor for generational trauma is something that I did not consider but find to be incredibly compelling.

Originally posted by username on February 09, 2025 17:42

For Artie, I think that it is impossible to be able to completely escape the generational trauma that he goes through. I believe this as we can see how this completely impacts every way that he lives - guilt has simply been driven into him throughout his life. The best example of this is the very first scene of the novel - where Vladek says to Artie “If you lock them together in a room with no food for a week, then you could see what it is, friends!” - this makes Artie always diminish any problem he faces because he knows it is never as bad as the ones Vladek faced in the Holocaust, saying to his therapist “No matter what I accomplish, it doesn’t seem like much compared to surviving Auschwitz”. In addition, Artie constantly feels like a “consolation” for Richieu, and he feels that his parents feel that Richieu would have been a better son, saying to his wife “They didn’t talk about Richieu, but that photo was a kind of reproach. He’d have become a doctor, and married a wealthy Jewish girl”. Artie clearly feels resentment towards Richieu, because of the simple fact that he can never truly understand everything Richieu and the rest of Artie’s family went through. Artie rebels from his parents, trying to find his own self, but he always feels this guilt because he didn’t live up to what his parents wanted him to, so he can not give them the life he feels that they deserved for surviving the hardship. This is best described by Stanislav, he says “Art’s sense of guilt is only aggravated further, because he is aware of the fact that he has failed to meet his parents’ expectations and has become a source of disappointment for them”. This societal expectation of being better than one wants them to be is an example of how this post generational guilt is brought onto children of Holocaust members - they are always supposed to be the best version of themselves simply because they can’t afford not to be. Artie feels that he is an example of what happens when they are not the best of themselves for their parents, as he blames himself for his own mother’s suicide because he was rebelling against society instead of going the way he feels Richieu would have. I think that it is best that one confronts this pain, as without confronting it, a family will never be able to fully heal from all the struggles that they faced, as one can not stop the pain transmitted unless they confront it. On page 5 of Stanislav’s essay, he states “At the same time Art is recognizing that his emotional estrangement from his mother’s suffering is a transmitted effect of the original genocidal violence. In this respect, Hitler did this too, and continues to perpetrate acts of violence and suffering through the generations.” - this is a perfect example of how without confronting this trauma it will continue to bring about the pain that Hitler caused despite the Holocaust having ended. Essentially if the trauma is never confronted then Hitler’s legacy will be able to live on.

I found it interesting how username thinks that Artie's guilt stems from not living up to Vladek's expectations for him because that is not really how I see it. The trauma and the guilt that he experiences are very much real, but I don't think they come from literally failing Vladek's expectations. Their entire relationship is full of tension and frustration that comes from not being able to understand each other on an emotional level. Artie can never understand the horrors his father experiences and Vladek can't understand how Artie doesn't understand him. Because of this and the trauma he experienced, Vladek gets easily frustrated with Artie and this makes Artie feel like he is not living up to Vladek's expectations. However, I don't think that Vladek is actually upset with Artie and just wants his son to have a better life than him in whatever form that happens to be in. It's more about Artie's perceived expectations rather than ones that actually exist. While I may not agree with username's first point, I do agree with their idea that we need to confront pain in order to heal. Without confronting their pain, a person will continue to suffer and the pain will fester and eventually transmit to those around them in some capacity, which is why generational trauma is a thing. I think that username did a good job explaining this and the effect that the trauma had on Artie. Their ideas were clear and overall their response was well written.

Originally posted by aldoushuxley on February 09, 2025 12:11

Generational trauma, particularly in the context of the Holocaust, has left a mark on the children of survivors, like Art Spiegelman. The psychological burden carried by Holocaust survivors seems to be sometimes transferred to their children, and plays a role in shaping their identities, relationships, and worldviews. Spiegelman’s graphic novel Maus is a personal exploration of his father Vladek's survival and a reflection of how this trauma is passed down through generations. Intergenerational trauma is not unique to just the holocaust but is also passed down from family members who have lived through terrible events and conflicts around the world. One of the aspects of Maus that truly stands out is how Art Spiegelman portrays how his father's trauma affects their everyday relationship. Vladek’s obsessive behaviors, frugality, and emotional detachment can be traced back to his experiences in Auschwitz and the struggles he faced both during and after the Holocaust. These traits, while survival mechanisms for Vladek, become sources of frustration for Art, illustrating how trauma affects not only the survivor but also their children. This aligns with Chute’s (2006) analysis in “The Shadow of Past Time,” which argues that Maus’s visual and narrative structure captures the inescapability of the past and how history continues to shape the present. Art’s difficulty in understanding his father's suffering with his own identity reflects the struggle faced by many second generation survivors who have to unpack their parents' past without having ever experienced it. Stanislav (2013) further expands on this idea in "Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma in Spiegelman’s Maus," noting that the children of Holocaust survivors often experience inherited anxiety, guilt, and a pervasive sense of loss. Art feels guilt over not having suffered like his parents or Richiue, which is further intensified by Anja's suicide. It's also clear that the burden of carrying his family's trauma affects his ability to tell their story, because he feels both responsible for preserving history and overwhelmed by the responsibility of carrying such a painful legacy. The narratives of suffering and resilience become interwoven into family dynamics, shaping the identities of younger generations in ways that are often subconscious and deeply ingrained.

Some argue that acknowledging and integrating the past into one’s identity is a healthier approach than attempting to move past it entirely. In Maus, Art engages with his father’s trauma through storytelling, transforming inherited pain into a medium for historical memory and personal catharsis. This suggests that rather than seeking to erase the impact of generational trauma, individuals and communities might find healing through remembrance and storytelling. However, living with trauma does not mean being entirely consumed by it. Many descendants of survivors find ways to honor their history while making new paths for themselves. Psychological research suggests that resilience and growth can emerge from trauma, particularly when individuals have the opportunity to process their inherited histories in meaningful ways. Education, dialogue, and creative expression—as seen in Maus—offer avenues for this engagement. Generational trauma deeply influences the lives of those who inherit it, shaping their identities, relationships, and sense of self. While it may not be possible to entirely move beyond generational trauma, acknowledging and engaging with it can serve as a powerful tool for healing, allowing individuals to carry their history forward without being defined by it.

I agree with almost the entirety of your response, but I do think it would benefit more from talking about the complex relationship which did arise from Vladek and Art. You touched on how Art feels guilty for not having to endure the tragedies of the Holocaust, wishing to be like Richiue, even though Richiue died. For Art, the survivors of the Holocaust, while lucky, did "win" against their companions, and being surrounded by only knowing the survivors, Art feels inadequate for having the easy way out. Similar to survivors guilt, however there is an odd jealousy also found in Art of Richieu, as Richiue is dead, he can be molded to the perfect child, with the idea being had he lived, he would have been a better son than Art. Vladek on the other hand, has been completely disconnected from everyday society, and no longer can understand the basic troubles of everyday life. When Art or anyone isn't performing at their best, he attributes it to weakness or ineptitude, being unable to properly connect with anyone else. The two of them then have completely different worldviews, and when they interact they aren't able to fully connect with each other, and respect each other.

Originally posted by human_rights on February 11, 2025 14:11

Trauma is accrued over time and passed down whether directly or indirectly by the parents and their teachings, becoming generational. The effects of trauma on an individual last a lifetime, changing the way that they think about the world and people in it, perhaps making them hyper paranoid and alert or careless and reckless, but either way these traits can deeply affect future generations. The parenting style of an individual is molded by the experiences they’ve had and their parents before them. The lasting effects of trauma will influence a person’s parenting style by forcing the learned methods of survival into adulthood and onto their children. This may come off as overbearing to the child but perfectly reasonable to the parent, leading to conflict between them and potential new trauma for the child. If one’s parents share their issues to a child at a young age, that child may end up feeling guilty for what has happened to their parents despite having no hand nor share in participating. We can see this highlighted throughout Maus where Art is constantly trying to understand the horror of his parent’s trauma and feeling helpless that he can’t change the past, leading to his hyperfixation. This weight of the past of their parents deeply affects the children and their worldviews. According to Stanislav Kolář in their paper Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma in Spiegleman’s Maus, “Regardless of the degree of the absorption and internalization of this historical and personal trauma, it is possible to say that the transmission of the cataclysmic wartime experiences of survivors has formed a significant part of the identity of the children of survivors, and has become one of the crucial constituents of their Jewishness, regardless of the extent of their assimilation.” (Kolář 2) We can see especially how Art Spiegleman blames himself with the depiction of his mother in the comic about her death. He blames himself for not being good enough and for not being loving enough when in all actuality his mother had struggled with mental health for years before her suicide. Her mental health issues were only exacerbated by the sheer brutality of the Holocaust. Additionally, because of the continuous friction between him and his father, disagreeing on many topics, Art grows up to be cynical about the world and his father, straining their relationship. In the early moments of the book, Art doesn’t seem to recognize that his father’s mind has shifted into a permanent survival mode, always looking for the best possible solution, molded by his trauma. After his father’s death the reader can interpret that Art’s opinion on his father was constantly metamorphosing with the new knowledge of his father’s story and the trauma he went through and while their relationship wasn’t always perfect Art genuinely liked his father. Generational trauma is something people are bound to, its history, however that doesn’t mean it has any influence on their potential. Acknowledging trauma and being able to work with it is a strength and vital in keeping history and family central parts of one’s identity.

This response is very thoughtful and the concept of generational trauma being a fundamental part of our identity is an impactful thing to think about. On the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, or some other categorization, groups share a common history of some shared trauma which can largely influence a group identity within society. This further impacts the individual and their feelings about self-identity regarding their belonging in a group. This is something that’s applicable to survivors of the Holocaust and how they and their families identify with their Jewish ethnicity and Judaism. Moreover, I found this argument compelling, and I enjoyed the quote from Kolar which I noticed in several other responses. Another good point that this response brought up was Anja’s suicide, which acts as another aspect of generational trauma passed on to Art. I agree that this is one of the numerous representations of generational trauma in Maus, which emphasizes Anja’s deteriorating mental health post-war and the legacy of the Holocaust impressed on survivors. One term that really struck me was “survival mode” which is used to describe Vladek in this response. This is a useful term to rationalize Vladek’s behavior such as his frugal nature which manifested in his perpetual cheapness described by Art and Mala.

Originally posted by redpanda on February 11, 2025 20:19

Generational trauma impacts the children of Holocaust survivors as seen in Maus with Spiegelman’s portrayal of Vladek and Artie’s relationship. The immense pain and trauma that Vladek endured shaped the way he parented Artie, which often led to control, emotional distance, and miscommunication and this created a very distinct disconnect between them. This divide is especially evident in their conversations, where tension and miscommunication often arose. One moment that really highlights this is early on in the graphic novel when Art was asking his dad for more details about his experience during the war. As Vladek recounts his story and multitasks by counting his pills, he accidentally knocks over his pills. He immediately blames Artie despite it not being his fault. Artie even offered to help by counting the pills for him, but Vladek refuses, insisting that Artie doesn’t know how to do it his way. This interaction exemplifies the strain in their relationship, showing how Vladek’s trauma manifests in controlling tendencies and how it creates frustration and distance between father and son. Artie, in turn, struggles with his own feelings of frustration, guilt, and resentment. This is evident when Artie angrily calls his father a “murderer” for destroying his late mother’s diaries and even when Vladek is elderly and ill, Artie often reacts with impatience rather than compassion. It really surprised me when I saw how rude Artie would be when speaking to his father especially after Mala had left Vladek because he was so quick to tell his father that he and his wife would only stay for a few days and how quickly he’d snap at Vladek in general. These interactions highlight how unresolved trauma is passed down, affecting now only the survivors but also the children, who have to inherit that emotional weight of the past. Hillary Chute discusses in “The Shadow of Past Time”: History and Graphic Representation in Maus, Maus not only recounts history but it explores how trauma is “transmitted to the second generation” and how it “structures the relationships between those who did and did not live through it”. This is evident in the way Artie struggles to truly understand his father’s experiences but he still feels burdened by them and we see this towards the end when he is talking to his shrink, Pavel. Vladek’s trauma isn’t just a part of his past, but it also actively shapes his present and, in turn, Artie’s life even after Vladek’s death. It is hard to say whether it is possible for one to move beyond generational trauma or if it’s better to live with and acknowledge it. One must confront the trauma in order to heal because denying it or closeting it can only lead to further damage. I know that a lot of people find empowerment in embracing their history and it’s also important for a person to not let trauma define their identity. I believe that generational trauma will never fully disappear, but it is possible to heal or at least try to by acknowledging history and breaking those cycles of pain.

I agree with your observation that Vladek's generational trauma manifests in the distance between him and Art. Art finds it hard to fully understand his father because, as a child who grew up free and without persecution, how could he possibly comprehend the constant horror and fear of the Holocaust? I also agree with your examples of the pill counting scene and the scene where Art finds out that Vladek had burnt his mother's journals, but I do wonder: why do you think Vladek became controlling of his son? Why is he so frugal? His frugality and perfectionism are two very distinct and prominent traits that the reader recognizes right away as Art describes his interactions with his father--so is there some connection Spiegelman wanted us to make? I also found it notable that even as his father, in declining health, was obviously struggling with his separation from Mala, Art was insistent that he not spend any more time with Vladek than necessary. It seems like he doesn't want to deal with his father's problems--which could, by extension, suggest that he doesn't want to deal with the emotional weight of the Holocaust passed down to him by his parents. Do you think Art will ever get to a state where he can understand his father, or is it exactly the point that he can't?

LTQ 6 Reflections on Maus:

Originally posted by snr25 on February 10, 2025 20:31

Generational trauma lingers in the lives of survivors and their children, it shapes behaviors and relationship dynamics. Children, like Art, are burdened with their parents' pain. For example, Vladek’s obsessive behaviors as a result of the horrors of the Holocaust highlights that “From Vladek’s narrative we gain the impression that the Holocaust has never ended for him. He seems to be convinced that the security he enjoys in his life is transitory, because disaster can come at any moment” (Stanislav, 2013). He is consumed by fear of scarcity and danger, this unresolved trauma complicates the relationship between him and his son in the sense that they lack an emotional bond. Many survivors tend to struggle to connect with their children due to barriers they've built as protection. Unresolved generational trauma in particular impacts children by exposing them to trauma responses that they cant fully comprehend.

Young people tend to seek answers and feel a responsibility to honor, remember and understand the past in regards to the weight of trauma experienced by direct ancestors and communities. In Art’s case, when young people struggle to represent the stories of their ancestors authentically, they experience guilt and internal conflict. On the other hand, some young people don't want the past to loom over their present and tend to detach themselves from the trauma. As stated in the Intergenerational transmission of trauma in Spiegelman’s Maus, “Art uses various strategies ranging from irony and humor to the variety of graphic means distancing him from the Holocaust” (Stanislav, 2013). This distancing reflects Art’s struggle to reconcile his identity as a second generation survivor, through this irony and humor, he is creating a level of separation between himself and the Holocaust. They also act as a coping mechanism in the face of such intense trauma. Lastly, the identity of young people is also shaped by the weight of passed down trauma. It becomes a part of their journey to self acceptance as it influences how they view themselves and their place in the world, leading to a dual identity. Incorporating history and individual traits allows them to not only carry the stories of their ancestors, but also apply it to their life and build awareness.

Generational trauma is incredibly difficult to look past, it's near impossible since it's embedded in the behaviors, thoughts and identity of those it affects. In Maus, Art’s creative way of trying to contextualize and understand his father's past experiences is a prime example of him living with the trauma, he's confronting it head on. Through documenting his fathers story, he's integrating it into his identity as a way to heal his father from his trauma. Asserting agency over his inherited trauma, living and acknowledging it, sets him on a path of healing and reflection instead of ignoring it and it's very real effects. Art's decision to honor his father's experience and taking the time to hear about his stories to gain a decent understanding put many details about his fathers personality and even himself into perspective. Confronting generational trauma opens to progressive conversation and deep understanding which is critical in all households.

The idea I found most compelling in this post was that Art uses irony and humor to distance himself from the Holocaust. I originally only thought about the fact that Art was trying to understand the Holocaust but struggled to, never considering the possibility that Art was trying to distance himself from it. However, I agree because it makes sense that he would use this as a coping strategy to deal with the generational trauma. I think it is very common for people to avoid things that make them uncomfortable. The post also says that this becomes a part of their journey to self acceptance as it influences how they view themselves and their place in the world. I was wondering if it's also possible that there is no journey to self acceptance if they choose to distance themselves or block it out completely? I think that no matter what, everyone has their own journey to accepting themselves, so even if they choose to remove themselves from anything that has to do with the generational trauma, that is their own decision and part of their journey. Maybe for some people, this is the only way they can find peace in it all.

Originally posted by snr25 on February 10, 2025 20:31

Generational trauma lingers in the lives of survivors and their children, it shapes behaviors and relationship dynamics. Children, like Art, are burdened with their parents' pain. For example, Vladek’s obsessive behaviors as a result of the horrors of the Holocaust highlights that “From Vladek’s narrative we gain the impression that the Holocaust has never ended for him. He seems to be convinced that the security he enjoys in his life is transitory, because disaster can come at any moment” (Stanislav, 2013). He is consumed by fear of scarcity and danger, this unresolved trauma complicates the relationship between him and his son in the sense that they lack an emotional bond. Many survivors tend to struggle to connect with their children due to barriers they've built as protection. Unresolved generational trauma in particular impacts children by exposing them to trauma responses that they cant fully comprehend.

Young people tend to seek answers and feel a responsibility to honor, remember and understand the past in regards to the weight of trauma experienced by direct ancestors and communities. In Art’s case, when young people struggle to represent the stories of their ancestors authentically, they experience guilt and internal conflict. On the other hand, some young people don't want the past to loom over their present and tend to detach themselves from the trauma. As stated in the Intergenerational transmission of trauma in Spiegelman’s Maus, “Art uses various strategies ranging from irony and humor to the variety of graphic means distancing him from the Holocaust” (Stanislav, 2013). This distancing reflects Art’s struggle to reconcile his identity as a second generation survivor, through this irony and humor, he is creating a level of separation between himself and the Holocaust. They also act as a coping mechanism in the face of such intense trauma. Lastly, the identity of young people is also shaped by the weight of passed down trauma. It becomes a part of their journey to self acceptance as it influences how they view themselves and their place in the world, leading to a dual identity. Incorporating history and individual traits allows them to not only carry the stories of their ancestors, but also apply it to their life and build awareness.

Generational trauma is incredibly difficult to look past, it's near impossible since it's embedded in the behaviors, thoughts and identity of those it affects. In Maus, Art’s creative way of trying to contextualize and understand his father's past experiences is a prime example of him living with the trauma, he's confronting it head on. Through documenting his fathers story, he's integrating it into his identity as a way to heal his father from his trauma. Asserting agency over his inherited trauma, living and acknowledging it, sets him on a path of healing and reflection instead of ignoring it and it's very real effects. Art's decision to honor his father's experience and taking the time to hear about his stories to gain a decent understanding put many details about his fathers personality and even himself into perspective. Confronting generational trauma opens to progressive conversation and deep understanding which is critical in all households.

Post your response here.

I think that this post's idea that generational trauma shapes behavior and relationships of survivors and their children is true and it is shown by Artie and Vladek’s story. When Art begins his confrontation with his father's trauma through documenting his story in Maus it is shown by Art that he is trying to understand his father and use it as a way to combine his father’s story into his own identity. I think this idea shows that generational trauma doesn’t just affect the individual who experienced trauma but it can create effects within families, and can affect the way that identities and relationships are formed.

I think that the post states that trauma is not easily left behind and that it can result in being manifested in coping mechanisms, like Art’s use of irony and humor or Vladeks’s stubbornness and his inability to understand his son’s behavior at times. These mechanisms go against the weight of trauma and inherited trauma and do not allow for the individual from fully experiencing or understanding trauma. I think that attempting to cope rather than understand distances people from forming emotional connections, as seen with Vladek’s relationship with Art.

I think that expanding on how Art’s actions directly impact his own identity and not just his father’s could be a strong improvement. In the post I think there is an emphasis on the father’s trauma, but not Art’s personal experience.

Originally posted by redpanda on February 11, 2025 20:19

Generational trauma impacts the children of Holocaust survivors as seen in Maus with Spiegelman’s portrayal of Vladek and Artie’s relationship. The immense pain and trauma that Vladek endured shaped the way he parented Artie, which often led to control, emotional distance, and miscommunication and this created a very distinct disconnect between them. This divide is especially evident in their conversations, where tension and miscommunication often arose. One moment that really highlights this is early on in the graphic novel when Art was asking his dad for more details about his experience during the war. As Vladek recounts his story and multitasks by counting his pills, he accidentally knocks over his pills. He immediately blames Artie despite it not being his fault. Artie even offered to help by counting the pills for him, but Vladek refuses, insisting that Artie doesn’t know how to do it his way. This interaction exemplifies the strain in their relationship, showing how Vladek’s trauma manifests in controlling tendencies and how it creates frustration and distance between father and son. Artie, in turn, struggles with his own feelings of frustration, guilt, and resentment. This is evident when Artie angrily calls his father a “murderer” for destroying his late mother’s diaries and even when Vladek is elderly and ill, Artie often reacts with impatience rather than compassion. It really surprised me when I saw how rude Artie would be when speaking to his father especially after Mala had left Vladek because he was so quick to tell his father that he and his wife would only stay for a few days and how quickly he’d snap at Vladek in general. These interactions highlight how unresolved trauma is passed down, affecting now only the survivors but also the children, who have to inherit that emotional weight of the past. Hillary Chute discusses in “The Shadow of Past Time”: History and Graphic Representation in Maus, Maus not only recounts history but it explores how trauma is “transmitted to the second generation” and how it “structures the relationships between those who did and did not live through it”. This is evident in the way Artie struggles to truly understand his father’s experiences but he still feels burdened by them and we see this towards the end when he is talking to his shrink, Pavel. Vladek’s trauma isn’t just a part of his past, but it also actively shapes his present and, in turn, Artie’s life even after Vladek’s death. It is hard to say whether it is possible for one to move beyond generational trauma or if it’s better to live with and acknowledge it. One must confront the trauma in order to heal because denying it or closeting it can only lead to further damage. I know that a lot of people find empowerment in embracing their history and it’s also important for a person to not let trauma define their identity. I believe that generational trauma will never fully disappear, but it is possible to heal or at least try to by acknowledging history and breaking those cycles of pain.

I found the way you integrated outside sources into your writing was very smooth and the way you brought up point after point followed up by evidence was very easy to follow. I found your last couple of sentences to be very compelling, particularly when you said that people find empowerment in their history but that they shouldn’t let their trauma define them, that was really impactful. I feel like it just summed up the book extremely well. Artie was a son trying to make a profit out of his father being a Holocaust survivor and his father never was able to truly survive the aftermath of the Holocaust. People are often told to embrace their identity, but I think there's definitely a difference between embracing yourself and your history versus being unable to escape your past. In other posts I saw a lot of people, when talking about generational trauma, they also brought up how Vladek’s survivor of the Holocaust carried into how he raised Artie, particularly with how he was a little more harshly and disconnected. Although I talked about the comic form instead of generation trauma, I also talked about Artie and Vladek’s relationship. Similarly, I talked about how Vladek could never escape the horrors of the Holocaust which the comic form played around with by connecting the present and past which ties into generational trauma. Since Artie was born post-Holocaust, he struggles to understand his father, which you also mentioned.

Originally posted by Marcus Aurelius on February 10, 2025 19:59

Spiegelman’s use of comics is an effective way of the events and the weight of the Holocaust because this format does several things for the narrative that just plain words can’t. Chute’s article, ““The Shadow of Past Time”: History and Graphic Representation in Maus” states that the comic format provides a structure and image that allows the reader to better grasp and understand the concepts and I agree. I think this format clearly lays out Art and Vladek’s stories and presents images and metaphors that can sometimes convey messages better than a book would. For example, the portrayal of the characters as animals, specifically the Nazis as cats and the Jews as mice really highlights the dehumanization of Jews during the Holocaust. It gives the reader a clear picture of the Nazis attitudes towards Jews with an image many people would view in a similar way. There is also the style of the comic itself. The black and white panels and the kind of “crude” way they are drawn convey the lack of hope, the fear, and the overall bad conditions that the Jews and many others faced. Without these images, it would be hard to really describe the emotions in a way that the reader could maybe understand or even feel themselves. There are also several scenes, like anytime Vladek gets frustrated with Art or when he is talking about losing family and friends, the emotions that he feels are literally expressed right in front of us and shows the reader exactly what they are feeling. Even the images themselves help with conveying the story. They contextualize events and locations in a way that just describing them can’t. Some people can never actually visualize the experiences of the Jews, but in this format we can actually see their experiences and where they took place and how.

Another crucial thing about comics, particularly Maus, is that the format easily allows for time jumps and switches that the reader can easily follow and understand. The story could be in the past in one panel and then in the present in the next and we can easily follow the transition as the different surroundings and circumstances are very clear. As Chute says, ““Time as space” is a description we hear again and again from theorists of comics. However, it is only when one recognizes how Maus is able to effectively approach history through its spatiality that one appreciates the form’s grasp on nuanced political expression.” I think that she clearly captures exactly what Maus does with its expression of time. In the comic there are so many time jumps that are seamlessly woven between panels, sometimes on the same page. These jumps highlight how an event like the Holocaust transcends time and affects people even in the present. It conveys how trauma can carry across time and generations like we can see with Art and Vladek’s relationship, where he pushes his expectations and ideals onto Art and his trauma has affected his behavior. We can also see this with the comic about Anja’s suicide. Each panel is in its own time and depicts her past experiences and how they affected her and then how her death affected Vladek and Art. The shifts in time are essential to understanding the experiences of all characters and it emphasizes one of the reasons we learn history: to understand past events, notice patterns, and to prevent things from happening again.

Overall, the comic medium and Maus in particular don’t always have to be these fun, silly stories we often think of. They can be just as serious as a written work or a documentary and are sometimes even easier to understand than some of them are.

I really like how this post pointed out how the actual artstyle and how Seigalman chose to draw these illustrations had a great impact on the effectiveness of the novel. I think that this artstyle he illustrated could almost be haunting at times with the bold black and white images. I like how Speigalman uses really bold and dark line work especially, since it helps add to the grave atmosphere of the graphic novel. Furthermore, I think that the way that he used hatching to shade instead of blending also adds to the dark nature of the novel. I also like how this post mentions how the comic form helped make the shifts in time in this novel less jarring. The comic form does make it really easy for the reader to tell where in time they are throughout the novel, since instead of having to tell the reader each time there is a shift in time, it's very easy to tell through the illustrations. This is a really important part of this novel as the framing device is given nearly as much importance as the actual story being told.

Originally posted by clock.on.the.wall on February 11, 2025 07:14

Generational trauma has a profound impact on the children of Holocaust survivors. For Spiegelman, it is probably most notably exemplified by the tense relationships depicted in Maus—that between Vladek & Mala and how it, in a way, closely resembles Vladek & Art’s relationship. It makes sense to the reader why Vladek has such a strained relationship with Mala; they both survived the Holocaust, which undoubtedly took a toll on their health, both physical & mental, and they have had very different coping strategies for dealing with their trauma afterwards, with Mala’s attempt to return to normalcy and Vladek’s constant anxiety about money. While to the reader, Vladek sticks out as the obviously less pleasant of the couple, neither of them are entirely in the wrong because much of the way they act, I’d argue, is a trauma response. Mala wants to rid herself of things that call back to the Holocaust, and so tries to live her life as ‘normally’ as possible, while Vladek had been so used to living on so little for so long, and so continues to live that way for fear, conscious or not, that he might someday have to return to that way of life. This accounts for Vladek’s relationship with Mala, but it does not account for his with Art because Art did not live through the Holocaust himself, and therefore was not directly affected by it like Vladek and Mala were. I think it is exactly because of that fact—that Art did not live through the Holocaust—that makes their relationship so fraught. Before sitting down to write Maus, Art had pretty much no idea about his father’s experiences and never really cared to ask, either. Even while interviewing Vladek, Art doesn’t seem to grasp the emotional turmoil the Holocaust caused and why Vladek would have trouble recounting it. He instead constantly pushes Vladek to talk about the events in a chronological, matter-of-fact way that completely disregards the emotional core of the stories and widens the rift between them.

The Holocaust also passed down trauma to Art in another way, through his mother Anja when, after the Holocaust & during Art’s life, she committed suicide. This understandably traumatized Art, who felt both unspeakably saddened and partially responsible for her death. As Stanislav Kolář says in Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma in Spiegelman’s Maus, “it expresses his regret over what he should have done and has not” (230). On the surface, there seems to be no direct connection between the trauma Anja experienced and that Art did. However, it is because of the trauma that Anja was caused during the Holocaust that her mental state was such that she felt the only way to escape her pain was through death—a death which in turn inflicted trauma onto another person.

The weight of the trauma experienced by ancestors further impacts the lives of the young people today as the younger generation can feel survivor's guilt for their mere existence. Their parents made it out when so many others did not, and for no good reason. In a genocide, there is no logical cause for some people surviving and some dying—it’s just up to luck—but people like for things to make sense, so they try to rationalize the reason they are still there. They think there must be some reason for them to be alive, maybe believing their parents were somehow better, and therefore feel an increased pressure to live up to the impossible expectations placed on them.

Art also has some level of trauma from the fact that he was the second son of Anja and Vladek, after their first, Richieu, died in the Holocaust. He feels he has to live up to an impossible standard and knows that he disappoints his parents because he is not as perfect as Richieu was in their memories. This feeling can also be applied to Mala, who likely feels like a replacement for Vladek and cannot possibly live up to Vladek’s expectations based on his life with Anja.

While it is possible to try to grow beyond generational trauma, it is also important to acknowledge that it exists. Generational trauma can play such a major role in a person’s life, so it would be harmful to completely ignore it and try to live without it. No one should let it define them, but to be able to grow, they must first acknowledge that there has been harm cause.

I fully agree with the idea that both Mala’s and Art’s relationship with Vladek are parallels of each other, always trying to live up to an impossible standard of character. Both of them feel as though they are replacements for another person that came before them. While some may think that Vladek’s methods of coping with the trauma he lives with, hoarding money and meticulously recording what he has, Mala’s method of coping is no better. Her desire to leave things in the past and ignore anything that she doesn’t like comes across as dismissive and depreciating of the full extent of the atrocities she lived through. This could end up not only affecting her thoughts on her past but her mindset towards life, minimizing her feelings. I, however, disagree that in his attempt to understand his father’s experiences, Art was dismissive and didn’t understand the full emotional ramifications the trauma of the events had on Vladek. I feel that Art knew he would never understand the extent of what his parents had been through but he wanted to try to understand where his father was coming from. In the moment, his perception of his father may not have been the greatest because of the way he pressured Art, but ultimately he appreciated his father and the impact he left. Overall, generational experiences and trauma can affect the way that future generations think about the world and other people whether negatively or positively.

Originally posted by Gatsby on February 11, 2025 17:39

In the graphic novel “Maus” by Art Spiegelman, Spiegelman illustrates the story of his father, Vladek, living through the Holocaust as a Jewish man. The story shifts between the retelling of this horrid story and the current relationship between Art and Vladek. Though Vladek is a survivor, his life after the Holocaust isn’t a fairytale happy-ending, and his trauma as a survivor of Auschwitz and Nazi Germany follows him after liberation. Throughout the graphic novel, Spiegelman emphasizes Vladek's mentality as a saver and cheapskate, which has affected his relationship with Artie and Mala, Vladek’s wife. Artie is constantly frustrated by Vladek’s stubbornness especially when they go to the market to return groceries. Prior to the Nazi takeover, Vladek was a well-off Jewish business owner and this gave him an upper hand to survive during the war. While the survival of Jewish prisoners was based predominantly on chance, Vladek’s prior wealth and connections to people in his Sosnowiec had influences on his ability to survive and the outcome. Vladek tries to buy his and Anja’s escape to Hungary with money and other goods, though this proves futile. While the small things such as a slice of bread to trade helped Vladek survive, he comes out of the Holocaust traumatized and in a world so far from what he had known before. Vladek’s habitual cheapness is a trauma response that manifests as this need to seek financial security and overall safety in his circumstances. This can be observed in many of Art Spieglman’s illustrations such as Vladek’s numerous arguments with Mala about money including the use of wooden hangers over wire. Vladeck’s frugal nature plays into the generational effects of trauma, and how it impacts Vladek and Artie’s relationship. Artie mentions that Vladek refused to buy Artie basic things when he was a child to save money, leading to the increasing strain on their already distant relationship as Artie grew up. However, Vladek claims all the money is for Artie once Vladek dies even though Artie states that “even for himself he won’t spend any money”. The passing on of these harbored funds represents a carried weight of the trauma and baggage from Vladek’s experience in the Holocaust.

Another aspect of Vladek’s survival that impacts him is the fact that he survived. While the concept of a survivor story may seem like a “happy ending”, this is not the case for most survivors. Simply because one has survived a horrible thing doesn’t make them happy. Vladek’s survival acts as a major internal conflict for him because it puts an unnecessary weight on his back to be successful because he survived. While almost all of Vladek’s family and hometown friends perished in the Holocaust, including his first son, Richieu, Vladek and Anja survive. This adds to the generational pressure to succeed for Artie, since he is the son of two survivors against all odds and the brother of a dead boy. Artie expresses his frustration and his feeling of having to live up to an impossible expectation. While Richieu would have become a doctor by this time, Artie feels like a failure compared to the phantom accomplishments of Richieu. This further perpetuates the generational trauma of Holocaust survivors living with the survivors' guilt.

According to Marianne Hirsch, “[p]ostmemory characterizes the experience of those who grow up dominated by narratives that preceded their birth, whose own belated stories are evacuated by the stories of the previous generation shaped by traumatic events that can be neither understood nor recreated”. This can be applied to an aspect of Artie’s identity that lives on with him is the fact that he was born in the wake of the Holocaust. Vladek remembers Artie’s birth in association to the Holocaust by comparing Artie’s broken arm as similar to that made when Nazis said “Heil Hitler.” This anecdote further puts Artie’s existence in the shadow of the Holocaust.

I agree. I really like how you pointed out that "Simply because one has survived a horrible thing doesn’t make them happy." This helped change my perspective a little bit, and really showed how trauma affects people. It also contextualizes Anja's state of mind, and helps us understand why she killed herself, even after surviving the Holocaust. It helps us see why Art's father is depicted as vapid and cold, when he really is just traumatized and his mind is altered. It makes you wonder if that is how he protects himself from further pain, by being mean to everyone. That definitely doesn't excuse how mean he is to his wife, and to the passerby in the first book. However, it does give some insight into how traumatized he is. Artie does not share this trauma, but still deals with the effects of it from his father. This creates his own type of trauma that he deals with alone, and he probably feels even more alone given that his brother died before Artie was born.
The presence of his brother really impacts Artie, because he lived through the same horrible experience that his parents went through. In another world where Artie had survived the Holocaust, his family dynamic would not be trauma vs trauma, rather one shared experience that they can help each other through.

Originally posted by PurpleChair on February 13, 2025 20:50

Art is one of the most powerful mediums which can be used to express ideas, emotions, and different forms of thought. It is a miracle that it can be harnessed by the human mind, however like all things, it can be used for good, or to hurt. Whether it is by shedding light on experiences by individuals which aren't like you, or creating a symbol to represent hate to rally behind, art has a profound impact on how we digest matters. This means, for such a horrible and tragic event such as the Holocaust, artwork is typically grim and bleak, yet Art Spiegelman proposes an alternative. The Comic book has been long associated with unseriousness, whether it be by portraying silly superheroes, or by being what you see when you turn around a newspaper, by portraying a holocaust story through a comic book, a large amount of backlash was created. Not only that, but Art chose to portray all the human characters as different animals, causing many to believe the story is belittling, and improper. However, I would argue that its unique artstyle provides a variety of benefits, and like other art, can be used to better understand this topic. Similarly to how comic books can be found at the back of most newspapers for comedic relief, this story almost immediately disconnects us from the beginning. While many may consider this a problem, I argue that it allows for us to better connect with the characters directly afterwards, as we do not enter the story fixated on it being “about the Holocaust”. Art Spiegelleman intentionally wanted the story to allow people to realize the plight of the Holocaust, without glorifying its victims completely. We see this with how he depicts his father, who clearly is not a perfect character, and seems to be stuck to the past. We as an audience are disconnected early on, in order to allow ourselves to see the story as a human story, and not like other Holocaust stories, which portray the victims as perfect, and the villains as pure evil incarnate. This does pose moral questions on whether this style should be pursued, seeing as the victims dealt with imaginable pain, however while I do acknowledge this, I believe in order to better understand the Holocaust, we need to be able to understand its victims as people, not just victims. For the book, this makes all deaths more personal, the struggles more real, and the pain more painful, as we can witness these characters in a way they actually are. Ironically, by portraying his characters as different animals, Spiegelman is able to make them more human, which validates this book's artstyle for me. Although not all art may be appropriate for this event in history, the case of Maus in my opinion is able to achieve its serious tone regardless, and actually benefits from the artstyle it is placed in. It could be argued then that, possibly all art could be used if done tastefully enough, and while my opinion on that matter is a bit dubious, I still think it can be achieved, with Maus in particular being a shining example of how typically silly art can be used for gripping serious story.

What I found interesting was the argument that Art Spiegelman’s choice to depict Holocaust survivors as animals actually humanizes them in a way that traditional depictions may not. I also see how it can be seen that Spiegelman’s use of animals is not about belittling the Holocaust but rather about allowing the reader to engage with the characters on a more personal level. Rather, by not seeing them as purely victims, the we the audience and reader can connect with their own personal flaws and humanity. A great example that you brought up that I agree with was Art’s father. Yes he had survived the Holocaust, yes he had gone through the extreme, but in the end he like everyone else has their flaws, which make him human. It completely helps divert the idea that survivors equals saintly and having no wrong, Vladek says racist remarks, hes not much of a great father either, but it shows that sense of humanity that brings him as a person to light. Steering back, I also find it particularly interesting because it challenges the conventional idea that only serious, traditional mediums can handle such a weighty topic. I also agree with your view that the comic book medium initially distances the reader from the gravity of the Holocaust, but this distance ultimately allows for a deeper understanding of the characters.

Originally posted by MookieTheGoat on February 14, 2025 01:13

LTQ 6 Reflections on Maus:

While comic form is not perfect because it reduces the amount of information you can deliver, I think it is the most effective form of written work at conveying the emotional and historical weight of the Holocaust because it combines the visuals of films with the details of a book. The first benefit of comic form is that it allows the reader to connect more with the characters because not only does the comic allow you to see the characters and what they experience, but the imperfection of comics makes it seem like the story is being told right in front of you. For example, on page 25 of Maus II where Vladek is being prepared for life in Auschwitz by the Germans the illustration in the comics allows us to see what Vladek experienced from a perspective as if we were in the room too. This allows us to create a more personal and emotional relationship with Vladek since by experiencing what happened to him we can partially experience his trauma which lets us understand his story and the emotional and historical weight of the Holocaust. Furthermore, the human side is also exemplified by the imperfections of comics since comics cannot tell the full story due to their physical limitations; it mimics a real-life conversation since you can’t remember everything. This improves your emotional connection to the story since it makes it seem as if the person the story is about is right in front of you, forcing you to put yourself in their shoes in ways that books or movies can’t. The second benefit of comic form is that it allows for a simple integration of the past and present. It can do this since both the past and present can happen on the same page and you can switch between them very easily without the need for outside context like in movies or novels. However, some think comics are not the best medium to discuss topics like the holocaust because of their more childish nature. Nevertheless, I think it depends on the way the author uses comics to determine whether it is a good medium for discussing the holocaust. For example, I think Spiegelman was able to remove the childish aspect of comics and portray the seriousness of the holocaust by removing the color. Furthermore, Spiegelman himself struggled when it came to determining if comic form is adequate for discussing the holocaust. As literary critic Stanislav Kolář puts it “A significant part of the paper is devoted to analyzing the presentation of the Nazi genocide in the form of comics. We argue that the social status of this medium contributes to the narrator’s uncertainty about its appropriateness and adequacy to express the tragedy of the Holocaust in its complexity.” This shows that even though Spiegelman struggled with whether the comic form was good enough he eventually concluded that it was. In conclusion, despite its inherent limitations, the comic form proves to be a compelling medium for conveying the emotional and historical weight of the Holocaust. Through the skillful use of visuals and narrative, authors like Spiegelman effectively demonstrate that comics can transcend their perceived childishness, offering a nuanced exploration of this profound tragedy.

I definitely agree that the comic form can be very helpful because the pictures allow the reader to live in the book and see what happened to Vladek as Artie imagines it. This would be much harder if Maus was a non-comic book because the reader would already have their own ideas and preconceived notions of what happened during the Holocaust. It’s an interesting idea to consider that the comics might help readers to be more connected to the characters and like them more, so I wonder if that could be a reason why Spiegelman chose to include Vladek’s interaction with the hitchhiker, to show the reader that everyone has flaws, even Holocaust survivors. I do think, though, that it’s possible to show the colloquial flow of conversation in a typical print book, so the comic book form isn’t necessary for that. In addition, I feel like turning Vladek’s story into a movie allows the viewer to connect with the characters on a much deeper level than a book, even a comic book; also, even if Maus had been printed with color, it would’ve shown the same message and not been childish. I feel like color would make the story’s message more vivid and clear for readers, instead of softening its effect. I liked the layout idea of the essay, where there was a main argument, but also an acknowledgement of the other side’s point.