No questions for the Break, but do keep reading the first part of Maus, which consists of Chapter 4 "The Noose Tightens" (in case you didn't finish it for last time), Chapter 5 "Mouse Holes" and Chapter 6 "Mouse Trap." We'll have an in-class writing over this when you get back to class, so bring your book, since you might want to use it!
Here are some ideas you might consider as you read:
* How does Spiegelman try to offer proof of his father's experience throughout these chapters? Why does he want us to know that this book isn't fiction, but an actual history of an actual man?
* What qualities and philosophies help Vladek survive during their time in the Jewish ghetto? Does Speigelman make his father seem occasionally too smart/capable in the book? Does he emerge as a typical 'hero'?
* Similarly, why does his mother take a back seat in his story? Why do we see so little of her in the comic?
* Why do so many people seem to turn on one another in ghetto? How does Vladek, to a lesser degree, also have to betray his own family?
* One of the most startling passages of the comic is the inclusion of an earlier Spiegelman comic, Prisoner of the Hell Planet, which features some of the main characters of the comic in human form. It's also drawn completely differently and has a much more violent, scary tone than the comic itself. Why do you think he includes this in the book? Do you think it's necessary? (it's one of the main reasons the book is banned from school districts today)
* Why does Artie call his father a "murderer" in the final pages of the book? Though he's not being literal here, is there any truth to this accusation?
Enjoy the break!
No comments:
Post a Comment