Vladek Spiegelman Character Analysis

Experiencing one of the blackest periods in the history of humanity leaves a scar on the life of a person. In the book Maus written by Art Spiegelman what is sad is how much the Holocaust changed not only those who lived through the Holocaust, but the people surrounding them as well. Vladek, the father of the author, is the product of war, trauma, and survival.

His character and decisions are also hard to explain unless you look at them with his past experiences in your mind. Greater or lesser variations he may become to the reader at times—he’s frugal, stubborn, often critical—but for most of his life, he had a heavy burden to carry.

A Life Built on Survival

The “Vladek Spiegelman Character Analysis” describes an individual who became what he is due to whatever he had to go through. These are not habits, those are survival tricks that helped him survive the horrors of Holocaust. He saves everything, not for the sake of greed, but because he knows the meaning of nothing. He is prudent, observant, and never misses a step.

Such traits were understandable in war time, but they complicate his relationships with other people in the regular life. His relations with his son, Art, are tense. Art, on the other hand, wants to understand his father’s past, whereas Vladek barely tries to tell it in a way that may make sense to someone who was not there.

This “Vladek Spiegelman Character Analysis” also reveals that trauma doesn’t cease when the war is over. It leaves an individual, creating his or her future. The book’s protagonist is not just a fictional character; he is a reflection of numerous men and women of our world who had to restore their life after serious loss. In his story, we learn the ways in which survival dramatically alters a person in ways unseen before, and how it affects all areas of their life.