It is not easy for an outsider to truly comprehend the atrocities that took place during the Holocaust, but the evocative works of Art Spiegelman and Primo Levi creates a vivid lens for readers to observe this horrific world through. Both Levi’s essay The Gray Zone and Spiegelman’s two installments of Maus bring forth unique and intriguing perspectives about the unfathomable experiences of Holocaust experiences. These works allow the reader to examine the mental framework of both victims and perpetrators; how it shapes them, how it changes them, and how it influences their every action. This paper will address some of the prevailing motifs and important elements that are conveyed in each of these extensive pieces.
The Gray Zone is a compelling …show more content…
When Artie asks his father why he didn’t receive more help from his friends and family in these times of need, Vladek responds, “at that time… it was everybody to take care of himself” (Spiegelman, Part I, p. 113). Because solidarity movements were unsuccessful in bringing all the Jews together, it was that much more important to establish even one strong relationship with another prisoner in the camp. This relationship was evident between Vladek and Anja throughout their time in the camp. Even though they were separated — he in Auschwitz I, and she in Birkenau — their love for each other never faded; Vladek explains to Artie that, “the war put us apart, but always, before and after, we were together” (Spiegelman, Part II, p. 25). This cycles back to the us versus them mentality Levi discusses in The Gray Zone: when one cannot trust any of the people around them, maintaining this strong, unwavering relationship with another is critical in sustaining the “us” part of the dichotomy. Vladek instructs Anja, “don’t worry about friends. Believe me, they don’t worry about you” (Spiegelman, Part II, p. 56), showing that he sees all the other prisoners as “them”, and does not feel confident in trusting anyone else. The us versus them mentality can have many different interpretations, and for Vladek and Anja, it was essentially the two of them against everyone else in the camp; this was the easiest way to simplify the world of Auschwitz and make it decipherable, which is, as Levi suggests, all that the prisoners could
The Gray Zone is a compelling …show more content…
When Artie asks his father why he didn’t receive more help from his friends and family in these times of need, Vladek responds, “at that time… it was everybody to take care of himself” (Spiegelman, Part I, p. 113). Because solidarity movements were unsuccessful in bringing all the Jews together, it was that much more important to establish even one strong relationship with another prisoner in the camp. This relationship was evident between Vladek and Anja throughout their time in the camp. Even though they were separated — he in Auschwitz I, and she in Birkenau — their love for each other never faded; Vladek explains to Artie that, “the war put us apart, but always, before and after, we were together” (Spiegelman, Part II, p. 25). This cycles back to the us versus them mentality Levi discusses in The Gray Zone: when one cannot trust any of the people around them, maintaining this strong, unwavering relationship with another is critical in sustaining the “us” part of the dichotomy. Vladek instructs Anja, “don’t worry about friends. Believe me, they don’t worry about you” (Spiegelman, Part II, p. 56), showing that he sees all the other prisoners as “them”, and does not feel confident in trusting anyone else. The us versus them mentality can have many different interpretations, and for Vladek and Anja, it was essentially the two of them against everyone else in the camp; this was the easiest way to simplify the world of Auschwitz and make it decipherable, which is, as Levi suggests, all that the prisoners could