Maus 2

Since we had to read Maus1 it figures that we have to read the second one. In all sense I preferred reading the second novel to the first. The second book was more about Vladek and his wife during their time in the camp of Auschwitz. I liked it more because it stressed survival and it gives a clear reason as to why Vladek’s personality is the way it is. I found it interesting how in order to survive Vladek strives to learn different jobs and skills to make life in the camp a little more tolerable. It also impressed me how he actually did learn all of those job opportunities. And as he learned them he was able to move almost freely in the camp and was able to persuade a lot of the German guards to let him do what he wanted. But I truly admire his ability to forgive and well almost forget. As he is hoarded on to the train that takes them to the border to be freed he still tries to survive and in the present he bares no grudge or resentment towards the German people. Sadly he seems to be more afraid of colored people then the Germans.

Maus 1

Our next greatest read is the graphic novel Maus1 by Art Spiegelman. At first it was funny, the number of pills his father had to take. What made it really funny was the fact that he was counting each pill. Then as they spill he feels he has to count each on over again. But Art’s dad was a real player in his day he had a real woman who pretty much cherished him, then he goes off with Anna who is just introduced to him by I think his cousin. Then as the dad and the mom have the first child she goes and has a nervous breakdown. As they’re going to the sanitarium they pass the Nazi flag and the 1st incident of the anti-Semitic feelings in the comic. The part that got me was when he gets captured by the Germans and is almost beaten on the spot for shooting at them. Then when the soldiers are forced to search for the dead he takes them to the spot where he killed a German who had bushes tied to him as camouflage. Just by being in a comic form made the story all the more gripping and interesting. Most Holocaust books are written by a survivor but Maus really makes you see the devastation and horror.

Views on “Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim”

 So far in Project Renaissance we’ve read “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim” by David Sedaris. The book was quite the read, but a disappointment due to the fact that we didn’t receive enough time to read it thoroughly. It really spoke out about the feelings most people have towards homosexuals. Some of the chapters were a little confusing and seemed random but the others were pretty good. The one chapter that I found funny was the one were Sedaris is carrying coffee for some kid and there’s this Red Scare going around that homosexuals are pedophiles, and he believes that being with this kid and homosexual people might see him as a pedophile. But in the end the parents just think he’s a hotel worker and tip him. But he does seem odd to me, not because he’s a homosexual but because he seems to notice everything in this book. In all the book just didn’t catch my attention as much. It would draw out simple situations for long periods of time. Plus the events were just simple things that everyday people could relate to but stuff most would probably brush off as insignificant. I guess that the point of the book was to relate to the readers and to convey the stereotype of homosexuals.