The Complete Maus by Spiegelman - Essay Example

The quote mentioned above does not identify Vladek as heartless but defines the painful incidents that forced him to believe this way. Closely analyzing the life of Vladek before the holocaust, one can discover the continuous betrayal and deception at the hands of those most trusted and loved by him. People close to his heart - Anja and Mala - made him believe that no one could ever deserve the trust he had. The war itself ripped his heart and the sufferings, miseries sent him down the lane of mistrust because he had absolutely no one he could trust.

Vladek always honored and respected the bond he had with the people he loved. The simple kind attitude is showed towards Kapa whom he taught English for his own benefit. The purity of his love can be proved by the suicide of Anja. He did not love Anja for the money she had or he did not leave her when she accused him of loving her for the money. Vladek was capable of loving and helping others without any benefit or personal gain. It was the depth of his love and care that turned him so cold after he lost everything.

Vladek inability to spend money is another misunderstood trait. The recollections of the past where he reached a point of having not enough money to support himself and his family derived him to save money. Although he had enough money saved up with him, but the flashes of his past stopped him from spending money (Hall, 2003). Mala annoyance at Vladek for not spending money even on important things is prominent at some points but the sufferings made him realize the value of money and he would never want to make his family go through any hard times at any cost due to which spending money was committing like a sin to him.

Mala and Art had hard time with Vladek when it came to cleanliness. His obsession with keeping everything around him neat and clean was considered as a very difficult trait to cope with by Mala and Art, who were constantly pushed to keep things clean if they created a mess (Koehler, 2009). Having analyzed the life he had at the war camps, one can easily register the root cause. The obsession of cleanliness was just the fear that was developed in him during the war days. The fear of being punished for not keeping everything clean ran so deep in his mind that even after surviving the holocaust and all the pains it had to offer, Vladek could not let go of the habit of cleanliness.

Unconsciously, Vladek also kept him busy doing something or the other all the time and insisted others around him as well. This was again due to the chores he had to perform all day at the camps during holocaust. The habits that he formed during the war were inhibited into his personality and forced him to be the changed person he was (Hall, 2003). The traits of not trusting friends, saving money without spending it, and always doing something (cleaning or working) are unreasonable and difficult.

But when studied in the light of Vladek’s tragedies of losing a son during war, the flashbacks of the suicide of Anja and the painful of past related to the time spent during holocaust, explains the behaviors and attitude of Vladek (Koehler, 2009). An individual who has suffered in various areas at so many points in life usually can never let go of the recollections and always lives in that pain and misery. The fear prevents a person to think rationally or to get back to normal. Each trait can be linked to an incident that