Memories
As Vladek ends his story during the Holocaust, he finds pictures of his and Anja's family and begins to list their endings, almost all ending in horrific deaths. Almost covering the page are these pictures, highlighting his significant family in which many did not survive the war.
When initially looking at this page, the amount of words, when contrasted with other pages, is quite large, with the font being quite small. The large scale of the photos, which cover the page, oftentimes covering words or extending past the panels, highlights the importance of the lives of these family members. Looking further, Vladek is speaking about the ultimate death of many of these people and how the Holocaust led them to where they passed away. By emphasizing these pictures, Art, in turn, emphasizes the significance of the previous lives of these family members, not their eventual horror. These pictures represent the lives they led before the Holocaust, and that this is the way they should be remembered, not by the atrocities they endured.
Looking deeper, the prevalence of symbols is noticeable on this page. The repeating motif of the stripes is evident as Vladek and his son sit on the couch opening the pictures. Vladek reenters the prison of the Holocaust when opening the pictures, or rather the memories of his family. The lack of emotion portrayed among those in the pictures carries on the meaning of innocence and lack of emotion due to their ignorance regarding their future.
It is important for us to remember the fruitful lives in which those affected by the Holocaust lived, not only remembering their deaths. The pictures which Vladek finds nearing the end of the story is a key way of creating a feeling of finality while reiterating the fact that these people are not mice, but that they are people.
I love how this blog post is structured. Your points on the motif and the pictures were gotten across well, but I think the bold font gave it a powerful effect for me as a reader.
ReplyDeleteI think that your argument is really important to keep in mind. Although Vladek is unable to push past his memories of war, it is important that his legacy be about his virtues-not simply his identity as a Jew surviving the Nazis. Throughout the novel , Vladek is shown to be resourceful and empathetic, but little is shown about who he was as a person before the war, so this panel is such an important addition. In class, when we saw his family tree basically obliterated after the war, it's really hard to understand what their lives were before the war. I completely agree with your agreement, and i love that you brought up this page, showing that Jews should be remembered by more than just their number. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteWoah omg I did not expect this. I agree, the way that the pictures are structured make them seem like they are popping out of the page, and that allows us to see that they don't fit in with the narrative because they are real people who suffered during the Holocaust. Amazing analysis!
ReplyDelete