Coat in the Trash
I am both very interested in, and slightly confused about the ending to Chapter 3. When Art is looking for his coat around the house, and his father reveals that it is in the trash can. There are two and a half pages dedicated to this, I'm curious as to why? Does it have to do with the condition of the coat? Being that it was an old coat, maybe it reminded him of the bad times in his life, and thought his son deserved a new jacket? However, I am still confused as to the significance of showing Art being upset at the end of the chapter?
5 Replies
This is a great question, Patrick. Let's talk about it in class--either today or next Tuesday. Thanks.
Though I also of course welcome, here on the site, any thoughts people have in answer to Patrick's question.
I thought this was funny and also something important since he took up two pages. I think it's because his family wanted him to have nice clothes since he has the ability to do so
When I read this part, I definitely thought it was odd as well. But I think the author was trying to show how controlling Vladek is, in all aspects of life. Though it is manifested through his relationship with Mala, this little anecdote proves that it Vladek seems to treat everyone with a sort of disregard for their own wants and opinions. I think here the author is proving that it's not simply that Vladek isn't fond of Mala, or compares her to Anja, but simply he wants everyone and everything to behave and act as he deems right. Similarly, when he burns the pages of Anja's diary and does not let Art read them for himself, he goes against Anja's own wishes (as he mentions that she wrote that Art would probably love to read them himself, etc.) Clearly, Vladek is more interested in appearances, and things looking and feeling as though they have turned out the way that he wants them to -- even minute/minor things, including Art's clothing.
I've been thinking about this since we talked about it in class. And it just made me think more deeply about how we see our possessions as extensions of ourselves. For all intents and purposed, Art's coat *is* Art himself. And Vladek's act of throwing away Art's coat is just another way in which Art feels discarded and undervalued, criticized and unwanted by Vladek. But where does that leave Vladek in relation to his son? Is he just trying to give his son the best he can, or is the throwing away of the coat a power play? I mean, I know he's a survivor of genocide, but that doesn't mean that he isn't a man with all the machismo bs that sometimes ( a lot of the time) accompanies that identity. Men often don't want to appear weak in front of other men. When it comes to sons and fathers, I wonder how much throwing away Art's coat was really Vladek's assertion of power.
Adam Rosenblatt
Apr 11, 2013 at 1:45 PM