A Character Analysis Of Vladek Spiegelman's Maus

As a Polish Jew, Vladek Spiegelman, the main narrator of the Maus series and the author’s father, was sent through concentration camps during World War II and had to undergo many difficult situations along with other Jews in the same situation who were shunned by German Nazis. Vladek and other Jews are portrayed as mice in the author’s illustrations, with the Germans being depicted as cats, representing how Jews were seen as vermin and thought to be inferior to the Germans, who were the “vicious predators”. Throughout his life spent in the concentration camps, Vladek looked for opportunities to use his wide array of skills and resourcefulness to impress the Nazis, in hopes of ultimately receiving better treatment. Although he was able to live through these challenging times, the events he experienced ultimately dominated his entire life and behavior for years following the end of the Holocaust. He is portrayed as a man with his own racial prejudices even though he, too was a victim of racist beliefs. Additionally, he is not trusting of his second wife Mala, whom he constantly worries will …show more content…
Vladek is able to recount their lives together before the Holocaust began, telling Artie how Anja felt very depressed after the birth of their first son, Richieu, and never fully recovered, always anxious and restless. Although Vladek revealed that Anja had kept many journals during her time in the concentration camps, we do not get to see the Holocaust through her eyes since all of these writings had been burned by her own husband in an attempt to erase any memories of her during this time. Therefore, the readers are only able to view Anja as a clingy, overly nervous woman, as depicted through Vladek’s stories and Artie’s memories of