Character Likability
I think that one of my favorite aspects of Maus is just how “human” the characters are. I know that is sort of an oxymoron given that the main characters are talking mice, but they are genuinely relateable to me. Not every character that we encounter is likable, which is odd if you consider the subject matter. When writing about the holocaust, you might not expect the hero to be mean, miserly or racist. But as is the case for Vladek, this serves to make him more real in my eyes. Honestly, he reminds me of some of my own older relatives. It's all of his faults that makes Vladek such a great character, and Maus such a great story—If Vladek or Art were a perfect characters, it wouldn't make for such an honest and true tale.
I can't really decide how honest Vladek was throughout Maus, however. Some parts of his story just seem too “larger than life”. There are only so many times you can escape impossible situations with wit and daring alone. I have no doubts that he survived a great many ordeals, but how much was embellished? Did he really do everything on his own, or was he helped? Since this story is told only from Vladek's perspective, those are questions that will probably never be answered.
Art struck me as a genuinely nice person, albeit a bit short on patience. Like the other characters in Maus, he is not without his flaws. Again, I think that this makes him more relateable to the readers. He was definitely not a perfect person—he was frequently annoyed with his father, and that is something I think that most people can relate with.
I think that the way the author represented the characters of Vladek and Art is incredibly important to the effectiveness of the story. If everyone were a so-called perfect character, it would take away from the effectiveness of Maus. Since everyone has their own flaws and personalities, this makes the story that much more believable to me. Had this story been done in any other kind of style, it probably would not have resonated so well with so many different people. There is a reason that Maus is one of the most famous Halocaust books, and I believe that it has to do with the portrayal of the main characters.
1 Reply
Charlie,
I completely agree with you on how Vladek may not have told the story with 100% truth. I feel this is because of two main reasons.
One, Perhaps Vladek is telling the story in such a way so as to not recall some of his more darker memories. I feel this could simply be to protect Art but also his mind may be protecting him from some memories from within his subconsciousness.
Two, Perhaps Vladek is simply forgetting due to his age. This could entail him forgetting small details of the story so he is filling them in as he goes.
I think both of these are highly probably due to Vladik's age and the severity of events he lived through. I know in my class Prof. Rosenblatt mentioned how his grandmother told him stories which he has heared from other survivors. So perhaps art simply fill din the blanks or perhaps he is remembering communal memories and putting them into Art's story.
alexander king
Apr 25, 2013 at 10:43 AM