The Holocaust left a lingering hurt with many of the survivors and perpetrators of the war. As a result, victims often suffered from post-war trauma. Traumatic responses, by first generation Holocaust survivors, were often projected onto their children. Authors Art Spiegelman and Hans-Ulrich Treichel illustrate the above in their memoirs Maus I and II and Lost. Both the parents in the memoirs re-enact their repressed emotions, regarding their experience in the Holocaust, through their children. Whether it is the war, losing a sibling, or parent, the guilt of the loss is projected onto Art and Treichel. In both cases, the parents are physically or emotionally unavailable to the children, which affects their psychological well-being. Consequently,
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Although both Art and Treichel confront psychological issues, Art specifically deals with displaced anger and depression, whereas Treichel suffers from repressed anger and an identity crisis. By writing the memoir, Art is able to effectively work through these negative forces and reach a sense of resolution, whereas Treichel’s dilemmas remain unresolved up until the end of the memoir.
Throughout the memoir, Art is constantly dealing with displaced anger. In Maus I and II, Art’s father, Vladek, is one of the causes and recipients of Art’s displaced anger. For instance, at the end of Maus I, when Art discovers that Vladek has burnt his mother’s diaries, he says, “God damn you! You-You Murderer! How the hell could you do such a thing!!”(Spiegelman 159). Art experiences displaced anger at this moment, but when Vladek reasons with him by stating that he was depressed, Art immediately apologizes (159). Art is not angry at his father per se, as he realizes his father is also suffering, but is disappointed that he has lost insight into Anja’s, Art’s mother, experience of the Holocaust. Additionally, Art is irritated because Anja’s diaries would have contributed a different perspective to Art’s memoir, and
Although both Art and Treichel confront psychological issues, Art specifically deals with displaced anger and depression, whereas Treichel suffers from repressed anger and an identity crisis. By writing the memoir, Art is able to effectively work through these negative forces and reach a sense of resolution, whereas Treichel’s dilemmas remain unresolved up until the end of the memoir.
Throughout the memoir, Art is constantly dealing with displaced anger. In Maus I and II, Art’s father, Vladek, is one of the causes and recipients of Art’s displaced anger. For instance, at the end of Maus I, when Art discovers that Vladek has burnt his mother’s diaries, he says, “God damn you! You-You Murderer! How the hell could you do such a thing!!”(Spiegelman 159). Art experiences displaced anger at this moment, but when Vladek reasons with him by stating that he was depressed, Art immediately apologizes (159). Art is not angry at his father per se, as he realizes his father is also suffering, but is disappointed that he has lost insight into Anja’s, Art’s mother, experience of the Holocaust. Additionally, Art is irritated because Anja’s diaries would have contributed a different perspective to Art’s memoir, and