Trauma's Effects on Vladek in Maus

Throughout Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel of Maus, he presents many issues and themes to be observed. However, one theme in particular that seems to stand out the most revolves around the concept of trauma Trauma exists as a physical injury or a deeply distressing or disturbing experience that greatly affects an individual or the people around them. The immense trauma discussed in this graphic novel relates to the major event in history known as the Holocaust, During this tragic genocide, 11 million people including 3 million Polish Jews and 3 million Polish Christians were exterminated (Pencak) The author of this book, Art, interviews his father Vladek in order to portray his life experience as a Jewish survivor during World War II in Europe Due to this interview, Art experiences the second hand trauma of this event through his father’s first hand account of the Holocaust Vladek, a Polish Jew from Czestochowa in Southern Poland, does anything and everything to survive, including working in the blackmarket trade and working in a shoe shop for the Germans.

Any person would be traumatized after experiencing an event such as this, however, even after this tragic era in history, Vladek’s attitudes and behaviors remain greatly changed He never throws anything away except for his son’s coat, he collects random items such as menus, and he’s always stingy with money never wanting to spend a dime, Spiegelman suggests that trauma is everlasting and has affected his father Vladek long after the Holocaust, causing him to act in these strange ways, which may be considered abnormal by any rational person Had not he undergone this tragic event, Vladek may not have developed these bizarre habits.

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Even with time, the trauma these survivors experience cannot disappearr Many survivors become economical and usually keep a lot of useless items at home because of their experiences with lack of daily items in the Holocaust, which perhaps may be the reason for the development of such habits.

For Vladek, keeping material possessions shows his way of coping with the trauma of having to give up everything during his time of persecution In one comic strip of the novel, Vladek throws Art’s coat into the trash without his knowledge. This action comes as a great shock to Art and he had difficulty understanding his father’s reasoning for throwing something of his away without his permission. However, for Vladek, he believes that if he does not approve of the coat or knows something better can replace it, then, he has the power do with it what he wished, He describes Art’s coat as “such an old shabby coat, It’s a shame my son would wear such a coat! MI can give you my old one; it‘s still like new!” (Spiegelman 71) Because Vladek buys himself a new coat at Alexander’s just a short time before, he believes his old one should live on through his son by giving it to him to wean.

As with most Holocaust victims, parting with any object no matter how old presents a challenge for them because of the fear of having it fade away into nothingnesst Survivors of traumatic experiences might also cope by collecting items that to some people would be considered useless or unnecessary for the same reason that those survivors would never throw anything away. That reason being that due to the ordeal of having to give up everything or having everything taken away, separation anxiety begins to occur with belongings that are now deemed to be treasured even if they have no meaning, In addition to keeping his old coat around by giving it to Art, Vladek also stores “old menus picked up on cruises, a pile of stationery from the pines hotel” and a plastic pitcher from his hospital room (95). His wife Mala describes him as being “more attracted to things than people” (95). In this instance, to disagree with her would be hard, However, everyone copes with trauma differently.

While she may have no issue with throwing away old effects, Vladek very much cannot part with anything new or old simply because his encounter with the Holocaust was more likely than not quite different than Mala’s experience with this tragic eventi During this era after the war and the Holocaust, Vladek becomes very stingy with his money. At the time of the Holocaust, if a person had no money then he or she would use whatever possessions still remained in his or her care to exchange for food or other goods in order to survive. Art’s father has almost everything taken away from him during this massive genocide, As a result, he begins saving whatever money he makes, trying not to spend too much out of fear. These behaviors become his habits because of the atrocities he endured during the Holocaust He believes that keeping his money allows him to feel comfortable and safe.

In order to preserve his earnings he would “[grab] paper towels from restrooms so he [wouldn’t] have to buy napkins or tissues” (132) Some people may find this behavior rather strange. However, for someone who has been a pan of such a traumatic experience, they may find this to be a rather normal activity Vladek’s wife Mala always complains about how stingy he is with his money She says, “He only gives me $5000 a monthi,,it causes him physical pain to part even with a nickel!” (133) Again it can be observed that because Mala may have had a different experience during the war or perhaps deals with her trauma of the Holocaust in a different manner, it is hard for her to understand why Vladek behaves in such ways. Perhaps, as an effect the Holocaust may have had on him, it is hard for Vladek to trust people and open up to them (Long Term Effects) Perhaps that is why he does not want to share his money with her, out of fear of her taking it away from him.

For someone who has not undergone any sort of trauma, or who has not been a part of such a tragic event, these irrational behaviors Vladek develops may seem very uncanny. As a result, someone who indeed had never been traumatized might ask; would Vladek develop these weird habits had not he been a part of the Holocaust? No direct answer to that question can be argued seeing as many people have different opinions. However, one can say that if he had never endured such trauma, then perhaps he could have lead a life without these so called strange behaviors But then again, seeing that he did experience this tragic event in history first hand, these abnormal behaviors have become a part of him and his personality. They have embedded themselves into his mind and instilled in him the comfort and feeling of safety that he had once lost. No one could fully come to understand the physical pain and the fear that a survivor of the Holocaust feels, Once a person encounters such an event, the horrific images and sounds of cries can never escape the memory of those fateful times, The trauma that Vladek endured at this time in history, as suggested by Art Spiegelman, will remain with him for the rest of his life.