Father-Son Relationship in Maus

 

    In class, we discussed about different theme topics in Maus, such as survivor’s guilt and the will to survive, but one topic that was not mentioned was the idea of family relationships. Throughout the story, we have been able to observe the father and son relationship between Vladek and Artie. Sometimes Artie supports Vladek by listening to what he has to say, but other times it can be a little rough. This can be seen when they would argue about Artie smoking in the house and when Artie became frustrated at Vladek and then called him a murderer. 

    In the panels above, Artie is talking about his relationship with his father, and these panels suggest that when people in a relationship have very different or opposing experiences it is pretty difficult to maintain a strong bond. Artie says, “I mean, I can’t even make any sense out of my relationship with my father,” and before that he even admits that spending time with his own father drives him crazy. Essentially, Vladek had to suffer through the concentration camps and face antisemitism while Artie hasn’t had to experience any events that are extremely traumatic and similar to what Vladek faced, they both have lived very contrasting lives. As a result, it is very difficult for Artie to connect with and understand his father, and this also makes Artie feel guilty of himself for having an easy life compared to Vladek. Even though they have different experiences, these differences in their lives are what they talk about and ultimately help bring them closer together.