Maus I: My Father Bleeds History

In Maus I: My Father Bleeds History Art Spielgman is retelling the story of holocaust survivor Vladek Spielgman who was also his father. Art shows up at his father's house ready to record one of his father’s Holocaust memories so he can use it in a book he plans on writing about his father's life. His father begins by describing being a young man in Sosnowiec, Poland, during the years that led up to WWII. Then Vladek tells where he met Art’s mother Anja Zylberberg. She was a young, smart woman from a wealthy family who later helped Vladek open up a textile factory. 

         The internal and external conflicts Vladek face pertain to the Holocaust and his deceased wife Anja. Anja committed suicide after she and Vladek had their second son Art. Her first son Richieu was poisoned when he was four years old with his cousins and aunt in an attempt to escape the concentration camps and gas chambers. Anja suffered many losses during the war and she finally couldn't take the depression and killed herself. This loss took a toll on Vladek and he has been very bitter ever since. Vladek also has a lot of medical problems for example, he has cataracts in one eye and the other eye is glass. Art seems to have difficulty getting the story out of his father who sometimes has emotional out bursts, and was a very difficult person to deal with.

         Vladek remarried another Holocaust survivor named Mala but they did not get along at all, they both constantly argued about money. Vladek suffered two heart attacks and has to pedal on a bike so that his heart keeps healthy. He also takes more than forty vitamins and pills for many other medical problems that he has. Whenever the resurfacing nightmare of Vladek’s life becomes too much for him he would cut the recording session early and have Art come back later. Whenever Vladek gets upset about something he can become very hard to deal with, and Art tries to remain patient and ask simple questions.

         Vladek married Mala because she resembled Anja, and he only stayed with her because she looks like Anja. Mala and Vladek clearly couldn't stand each other's company, but Mala wants to inherit Vladek's money when he dies and Vladek just wants to have her because she looks like his only love in the world Anja Zylberberg. Vladek has to take a myriad of medications because of the exposure to certain elements that occurred during the Holocaust, and old age.

         Retelling certain things like your Holocaust story can be extremely painful especially if you have an extraordinarily sad story, so I can understand when Vladek can't talk about it anymore. Retelling his stories also reminds him of the good times that he had before the Holocaust, with his family and marrying Anja, and how it all spiraled toward the end of his marriage with her. Vladek is very stingy and saves a lot of "worthless crap" as Art describes it. Vladek will go to a fast food restaurant and keep the napkins that they give you so that he does not have to bother buying paper towel for the house. When Mala and Vladek got married she asked him if she could borrow some money to buy new clothes and instead of giving it to her he went upstairs to the closet and pointed at all of Anja's clothes and said: "these are all for you," and walked away without another word. Art has had to deal with Vladek's stinginess for his whole life and does not have the strength to fight his father about it anymore. He has thrown in the towel and will remain calm so that he does not aggravate his father any farther. Art will also be very careful about the topics that he brings up. For example, Art won't bring up Mala to his father at all because it will just send his father on a rant about how she spends too much money, and how she only married him to get his money after he dies.  Vladek’s out bursts can get so bad that Art will have to simply sit there until it stops.

         I cannot relate to Vladek because I was not in the Holocaust.  I can on the other hand relate to Art. I have been in situations with people where I try to refrain from certain topics that will set them off easily. Art does the same thing for his father and will try to stay on safe topics so that his father does not explode with anger.