I also agree with what Zach said in his response to the post. Frank appeared at first
to be untraumatized by the war but as we get to know him we see he is hurting also
deep down inside. He felt that he had to appear tough for his fellow soldiers to show
that everything was alright when in fact everything wasn’t alright with him. I think
he just needs someone to talk to or just be comfortable with and he really didn’t
have that when he couldn’t find his wife and that led to him getting a little out of
hand at the bar. (Pointing out things not immediately apparent—digging a little
deeper)
I decided to focus on Homer Parrish because he seemed to be the one that was most
affected by the war. During the war he lost his hands and came home with hooks in
place of them. In the beginning of the movie, when he was first introduced, he
seemed to be confident and not see his hands as a disability. However, as the movie
progressed, we could really see it was starting to affect him. I think Homer really
reflected how many people felt after the war, when he first meets Wilma again. It is
almost like he has lost all his affection for her and doesn’t know how to be with her.
We can really see how his hands are starting to be an embarrassment, like when he
is with the family and he is not able to hold a glass. Overall, I thought Homer was
interesting because he really represented the idea of war and the aftermath of it.
(connecting to a larger idea/ concept)
One character I watched closely throughout the film was Al. Of the three in the
plane, Al seemed the most mature and calm. It turned out that he had been married
for 20 years and had 2 children. However, while he was away, his wife had become
the head of the household. His children had grown almost unrecognizable to him
and were used to listening to their mother. Al was upset to have missed out on so
much. Despite that, of the three veterans on the plane, he falls back into society the
easiest. While Frank has issues with his marriage and Homer with his hands, Al
receives a promotion, and love and support from his family. Only his son shows
some discontent, by not accepting his father’s gifts happily, but that doesn’t seem
difficult to mend. His wife and daughter take him out to the city, even though they
weren’t too content about it. (this holds the possibility of making a connection to
something bigger, ie. thesis statement)
The character that stood out to me the most was Al Stephenson. Al was the epitome
of a an American man during the 1940s. He was a well decorated sergeant,a family
man, very hardworking, social and expressive. He also had a sensitive side to him –
which to be honest was quite surprising. See when most people think of war
generals from WWII especially, they think stone cold hearted killing machines with
total disregard for human life- but Al however, was a loving father who wasn’t afraid
to display his affection for his wife Milly, his children, his community and the U S of
A. During the journey back home he mentioned that what scared him the most was
that people would try to “rehabilitate him”-this was a feeling most returning Vets
experienced because they knew that re-assimilating themselves into society
wouldn’t be easy after the horrors they witnessed. (possibility of a thesis
statement).
I agree with Lawrence’s thoughts and the same message can also be applied to
Frank’s position. While in the air force Frank was an important pilot who ran
bombing missions. In a harsh reintroduction to the real world, he find out he can’t
even get his old jog back, something he took for granted. While the men were at war,
the women took over many important jobs. Now with the surplus of troops coming
home, who are unskilled at things not related to war, it would be tough to
reintroduce them to society. Alot of them left jobs and found out they had been
replaced and the job more advanced. (important theme to consider)
When he arrived back to his home he met with his family and a girl he had relations
with. She ran to him with love, compassion, happiness, and excitement.
Unfortunately, he didn’t know how
to respond.The army may have taught him how to cope with his arms but not how to
show affection to others with it. People start to look at you with a disability
which forms the first stage of insecurity. Where many of us can relate. When we
become insecure we tend to care about others perspective of us more. He was
reluctant to come out and speak among his family. He became hesitant to
express himself, restraint to do daily activities because he felt uncomfortable.
I don’t know why I mainly focused on him but he was a very captivating
character. He became a introvert when he came back to his family. Before we
ended the movie I realized that it wasn’t his family that needed to get
comfortable with him but he had to feel comfortable with himself. In life we
must to accept ourselves first before we care about who will accept us.
Maus
Does this form (graphic novel) effectively tell a Holocaust story? How does it
differ from a conventional Holocaust story?
When I think of a Holocaust story, I think of a victim’s first hand story that
experiences the horrors of the Holocaust. The conventional Holocaust stories give
detailed information about events and heartbreaking memories. Although
Spiegelman’s Maus is a graphic novel, I think it effectively tells a Holocaust story.
The story starts off with family relations before the war. It goes on to tell how Artie’s
father became a prisoner of war and went through many life-threatening events as
he was under the control of Nazis. Like a written Holocaust story, the graphic novel
talks about before the war, the Holocaust, and returning home (if they do). Through
these aspects, Spiegelman’s Maus is effective in the telling of a Holocaust story.
The graphic novel is different from a conventional Holocaust story because of its
unique characteristics. In Maus, casual conversations were used between Artie and
his father makes a reader feel like they’re there. We see exactly what one said to
another. Also, the drawings give a visual of maps and events, which simplify ideas
and garners interest. Even though the characters were animals, it grabs the readers
attention because of the unique way of storytelling. Overall, the graphic novel was
different, yet effective in telling a conventional Holocaust story.
Art Spiegelman’s Maus differs from other conventional Holocaust stories, such as Eli
Wiesel’s Night. Unlike Wiesel’s Night, which was based on Wiesel’s firsthand
experience of the Holocaust, Spiegelman’s Maus is a second hand experience of the
Holocaust – he tells the story of his father during the Holocaust. Unlike Wiesel, who
had many different experiences to discuss in his novel, Spiegelman only had his
father’s experience to discuss in his graphic novel. Thus, he was limited to only one
perspective of the story. Furthermore, Spiegelman does not use real human beings
as his characters, instead he uses cats and mice to represent Germans and Jews. He
does this because animals are not capable of comprehending or reasoning; similarly,
many German Nazis found no reasons for killing Jews. He does not only tell an
experience of the Holocaust, he also deals with a father-son relationship. Therefore,
Spiegelman’s Maus is indeed not a typical Holocaust story, but it does succeed in
showing the horrific side of the Holocaust.
I like the approach Art Spiegelman took because it was a very unique way to talk
about the Holocaust. The fact that he used cartoons made the story look a lot less
gruesome and less serious than most recounts I’ve read before. Instead of focusing
on the bigger picture, he told the story through a family lens, which made it much
more personal and easier to resonate with. The fact that Speigelman portrayed the
Jews as mice and the Nazis as pigs was strong symbolism that helped demonstrate
how he viewed society during this time The drawings/depictions also help readers
get a sense of what was going on, rather than having them create the whole story
through imagination. I read Night by Eli Weisel and I think the two are pretty similar
in terms of the way they recall the horrors of the Holocaust.
Maus’ unconventional way of using animal characters instead of human ones in a
graphic novel, in my opinion, was highly interesting and captivating. However, in my
opinion, was not an effective way of telling a Holocaust story. While conventional
Holocaust stories exposes the author’s emotions and makes them and the readers
feel a sense of vulnerability through the use of details, Maus’ graphic novel had few
details during the actual war he was drafted. He did not go in detail of the many
graphic happenings in the time of war. It seemed as if Maus tried to mask away the
severity and lighten up the mood by using animal characters, which differs from the
norms of a Holocaust story. Furthermore, the use of the graphic novel did not let me
have any imagination of what hardships Artie’s father might have gone through and
,to me, changed the tone of a Holocaust story to a light tone compared to a lot of the
other Holocaust stories i read.