Adversity In Maus

In desperate times, one’s perspective tends to be manipulated by their environment. Thus human beings are drawn to make egotistic decision, and these judgements becomes their crucial tools for survival. In Maus, by Art Spiegelman, Vladek’s character allows his survival instinct dominate in the camps which caused him to devalue others except himself and his wife, Anja. On the other hand, the movie, Life is beautiful, suggests that adversity barely impact one’s decision. This is evident through the character, Guido who remained humorous despite the horrible deaths that surrounds him but soon his character will shows minimal changes in his behaviour. Additionally, one’s knowledge can only be gained when we go through adversity. Therefore it is concluded that one’s understanding can be minimally or largely influence by their …show more content…
He carries this nature all the way to his very death. At the beginning, It might seem that Guido remains unaffected by the harsh conditions however, his humor was merely a facade in order to protect his child, Joshua. This is evident when he stated “Maybe this is all a dream, and in the morning, Mommy will wake us up with milk and cookies” Through this quote, Guido’s inner fear and his attachment to his wife, Dora is presented. In fact these attachments will be the source of his death but he will be remembered as a symbol of hope. Furthermore, Guido tends to use everyone to his advantages. At a certain point, he met Dr. Lessing, a german doctor and ask him to help them escape. But afterwards , he realizes that it’s impossible when he heard Lessing say “Help me, Guido. For heaven's sake, help me. I can't even sleep”. This proves that Guido must maintain a dubois attitude. His situation forces him to make self - centered decision which caused him to devalue other life except his family. Ultimately, one’s ability to decide accurately are affected by how well their life