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A Mouse In Motion

A Mouse in Motion
Throughout Maus, Art's father Vladek very humbly and unemphatically recounts tales of how he managed to survive the Holocaust. Through Spiegelman's recount of his father's story one realizes that the author is not attempting to present the horrors of the Holocaust in general, nor is he trying to explain why the Holocaust occurred. In fact, Spiegelman focuses solely on his father's experiences, who, without sounding harsh, is just a regular guy trying to survive a remarkably unnerving time. Based on this view of the book, the question that is presented to the reader is as follows: What is the author endeavoring to convey in this particular graphic novel? Many segments in the novel deal with specific, though not always obvious, choices that were made by individuals during the war that lead ultimately to destruction or survival. I believe that the primary reason Vladek survived the Holocaust is directly related to his making the decisions that he did and acting on them directly.
In my opinion the first major action Vladek takes to surviving the Holocaust takes place well before he and Anja are hiding from the Nazis, in 1939. Vladek has been recruited by Polish army to fight the Germans, and having just been captured by said Germans he speaks to them in their own tongue to avoid any additional abuse. This is a very logical thing to do in the situation, and the fact that Vladek has enough common sense to do so may not sound very extraordinary, but this is the first glimpse the reader receives of Vladek's propensity towards rational action in the face of adversity. Every day he is in the POW camp Vladek bathes in the freezing cold river and does gymnastics to stay strong and healthy, and while the other prisoners were ready to die in the camp, Vladek volunteers to work for the Germans and is treated much better than before.
As we know from the narrative, Vladek is sent home to his family, but his troubles are far from over. After Anja...