Character Analysis for Maus by Art Speigleman

Character List- round or flat machination Spiegelman- r * Art Spiegelman is the author and narrator of Maus, and in any case one of the layers main characters. * Born in Stockholm after the Holocaust, he is the only surviving kidskin of Vladek and Anja Spiegelman. * He is married to Francoise, a french woman who converted to Judaism upon their engagement. * Maus marrow squashs around two primary narratives Vladeks experiences as a Jew in World War II Poland, and Arts birth with his aging aim. * When the layer opens, Art lives in New York and does non see his father re bothy often, though he lives only a short distance onward in Queens. But as Art begins to draw this story virtually Vladeks Holocaust experiences, he begins to visit his father to a greater extent and more frequently. * Their consanguinity is strained, as Vladeks gruff demeanor and un pull up s hold insingness to spend money routinely infuriate his news. * Art is filled with complex feelings towards his f ather ranging from admiration for his extract in Auschwitz, to frustration towards his aggravating tendencies, and guilt for his own neglect of a father who has lived through so many an(prenominal) difficult times. * Art in addition has complex emotions towards the Holocaust.Though he did not live through it personally, he feels that he is constantly affected by it. * His fathers personality was largely formed from his experiences in Auschwitz, and this personality in turn directly affected the way in which Art was raised. Vladek Spiegelman- r * Vladek is Art Spiegelmans father. * He grew up in pre-war Poland, and lots of Maus traces his experiences in the Holocaust, as told in his own words to his son. * As the story opens in 1978, he is married to his second wife, Mala. The couple does not develop on * Vladeks personality is largely dominated by his Holocaust experiences. During the Holocaust, he exhibited a spectacular resourcefulness, work ethic, and presence of mind that o ften enabled him to impregnable food, shelter, and safety for himself and his family. * He was a shrewd businessman, and in the most perturbing times he saved everything of use. In 1978, he still saves everything and tries to flip those things that he no longer needs. * Once so resourceful and competent, he is still constantly working on small projects, some of which he is incapable of completing. Anja Spiegelman- r * Anja is Arts mother and Vladeks first wife.The couple meets in Poland epoch Vladek is in a long-term relationship with another woman, Lucia Greenberg. * Always an aflutter woman, she suffers an acute depression shortly after the birth of her son and spends terzetto months rec everywhereing in a sanitarium. * She survives the Holocaust with her husband, and they immigrate to the United States a few years after the war. * Anja commits suicide in 1968, leaving twain Art and Vladek in emotional turmoil. * Arts last memory of his mother is record in a comic called Pri soner on the Hell Planet, in which she enters Arts room and asks him if he still loves her.His response, a terse and dismissive sure, haunts him for years. Lolek- f * Vladeks nephew and Uncle Hermans son. * Lolek lives with Anjas family for much of the initial German affair, first at Anjas fathers house and thusly in the Srodula ghetto. * When the situation deteriorates and Vladek rack ups preparations to insure in a shelter until the Nazis withstand evacuated the town, * Lolek tells his uncle that he is tired of hiding, and he is soon transported to Auschwitz. He survives the camps and eventually becomes a college professor. Richieu Spiegelman- f Richieu is Vladek and Anjas first child, born in Poland in 1937. * In 1943, Vladek and Anja load him to live under the protection of Uncle Persis, where they think he will be safer. * Richieu travels with Anjas sister, Tosha * But soon after, Zawiercie is liquidated by the Nazis. Rather than be taken to the fluff chamber, Tosha pois ons herself and the children under her c atomic number 18, including Richieu. * After his death, Vladek and Anja keep a photograph of their first child hanging on the wall of their bedroom. Mala Spiegelman- f * Mala is Vladeks second wife, and a maven of his family from before the war. The couple does not target along. * Mala is consumed with frustration towards Vladeks inability to pick with money, while Vladek views his wife with considerable distrust and accuses her of trying to steal his money. Francoise- f * Arts wife. * She is French and converted to Judaism in preparation for their marriage to please Vladek. * She is intelligent, kind, and opinionated, and their relationship is strong. * She plays a relatively minor role in the story, serving by and large as a means for Art to discuss his relationship with his father and the Holocaust. Mr. Zylberberg- f Anjas father. * Before the war, he is a wealthy manufacturer who owns a factory. * When Vladek and Anja are married, he p rovides Vladek with a factory of his own. * He survives with his family in German-occupied Poland, until the family is captured and send to await transport to Auschwitz. * By bribing his cousin, Haskel, Vladek is able to arrange for the release of himself and Anja. Orbach- f * A friend of Vladeks family in Poland. * When Vladek is a prisoner of war, Orbach claims him as a cousin, so that Vladek is released into his custody and eventually returns home to Sosnowiec.Vladeks father- f * Vladeks father is a tough and deeply religious man. * His wife dies of cancer before the tally of the Holocaust. * Before the war, Vladeks father intentionally starves his son so that he will be declared un run across for the army. * Later, the Nazi grip tightens, and all Jews are made to register in a nearby stadium. Those who are fit to work are displace to one side, while the elderly and women with many children are sent to their deaths at the concentration camps. By registering at a table manned by his cousin, Mordecai, Vladeks father is spared. Before he leaves the tadium, however, he sees his daughter, Fela (Vladeks sister) and her four small children standing with those destined for Auschwitz. He crosses over to be with her, and all die in the camps. Uncle Herman- f * Anjas brother. * Along with his wife, Hela, he is tour the New York Worlds Fair when the war begins, and they remain in the United States to black mart the horrors abroad. Tosha- f * Tosha is Anjas older sister. * At the beginning of the German occupation of Poland, she lives with Anjas family in her fathers house, along with her husband, Wolfe, and their small daughter, Bibbi. As the situation deteriorates Uncle Persis offers to keep her safely in nearby Zawiercie ghetto, where he is a prominent member of the Jewish Council. * She agrees, and leaves with Wolfe, Bibbi, and Vladeks son Richieu. Soon, though, the Germans slaughter the Jewish Council and begin to evacuate the Jews of Zawiercie to the camps. Ra ther than be sent to the gas chambers, Tosha poisons herself, her daughter, Hermans daughter Lonia, and Vladeks son Richieu. Mr. Ilzecki- f * A former guest of Vladeks from before the war. The two meet again after the German occupation and begin conducting business on the Sosnowiec black market * Mr. Ilzecki has a son about the same age as Vladeks, and he offers to send Richieu along with his own son to a Polish friend to hide until things get better. Nahum Cohn- f * A friend and business partner of Vladeks during his black market days in Sosnowiec. * Nahum is arrested along with his son for selling goods without coupons. * The Nazis decide to make an example of them and they are hanged in a well- fill in black market center and left thither for a full week. Anjas Grandparents- f During the initial peak of the German occupation, they live in Anjas fathers house with the rest of the family. * Later, they are told to move to a community better prepared to take care of the elderly. * The family hides them for over a month, until the authorities arrest Anjas father and threaten to arrest more of his family if the grandparents are not given over to the Germans. * Anjas grandparents are taken international to Auschwitz, where they are killed. Haskel Spiegelman- f * Haskel is Vladeks cousin, and chief of the Jewish Police in the Srodula ghetto. He is the brother of Miloch and Pesach. He is what Vladek calls a kombinacya, or schemer. * While he is a rather unsavory character, he is a good person to know in the ghetto. * When Vladeks family is discovered in the chandelier bunker and sent to a compound to wait for transport to Auschwitz, Haskel arranges for Vladek, Anja, and Lolek to be released in exchange for valuables. Miloch Spiegelman- f * Miloch is Vladeks cousin, and brother to Haskel and Pesach. * He is Vladeks supervisor at the shoe repair shit in the Srodula ghetto, and an honorable man compared to the scheming Haskel. When the Germans make plans to eli minate all Jews in the ghetto, he prepares a hidden shelter behind a pile of shoes at the shop, where Vladek, Anja, and 15 other people hide for days. Pesach Spiegelman- f * Pesach is Vladeks cousin, and brother to Miloch and Haskel. * Like Haskel, he is a schemer and a rather unsavory character. * His most significant involvement centers on a scheme to sell cake to the inhabitants of the ghetto. * He makes a fortune, but everyone who have it becomes sick the cake was accidentally made with laundry soap in addition to flour. Mr. Lukowski- f The janitor at Anjas fathers house. * When Vladek and Anja escape from the Srodula ghetto, they knock on his gate and he allows them to stay in a shed behind his house. Mrs. Kawka- f * Mrs. Kawka is the owner of a small farm on the outskirts of Sosnowiec, and for a harm she allows Vladek and Anja to hide in her barn. * Mrs. Kawka is the person who tells Vladek about the smugglers who can take him to Hungary. Mrs. Motonowa- f * Vladek befriend s Mrs. Motonowa at the Sosnowiec black market after the liquidation of Srodula, and she offers to hide him and Anja at her farm, with her seven-year-old son. She is a kind woman, and the house is comfortable, except for a ten-day period in which Mrs. Motonowas husband returns home from Germany on vacation, and they are pressure to stay in the basement. * After Vladek and Anja attempt to escape to Hungary, she shelters Miloch and his family for the remainder of the war. Mandelbaum- f * Before the war, Mandelbaum own a pastry store in Sosnowiec where Vladek and Anja often shopped. Abraham- f * Abraham is Mandelbaums cousin. * He agrees to accompany the smugglers, and promises to write Mandelbaum and Vladek if he arrives safely in Hungary. He is betrayed, however, and forced at gunpoint to write the letter anyway. The Karps- f * The Karps are Vladeks neighbors at his Catskills bungalow. * When Art visits his father there, they take him aside and tell him that Vladek cannot possibly ta ke care of himself. Vladeks Kapo- f * A kapo is a Polish supervisor at a concentration camp. * Soon after Vladek arrives at Auschwitz, Vladeks kapo asks the Jews in the barracks if anyone there can speak English. Pavel- f * Pavel is Arts psychiatrist. * Like Arts father, Pavel is a survivor of the Holocaust. Art sees him once a week, and the sessions always seem to make him feel better. Mancie- f * Mancie is a female Hungarian Jew at Birkenau with Anja, * has higher status as a result of an affair with S. S. guard. * She acts as a go-between for Vladek and his wife, carrying notes and food. The Frenchman- f * After Vladek is transferred from Auschwitz to Dachau, he befriends a Frenchman with whom he converses in English. * Because he is not Jewish, the Frenchman is able to receive packages of food through the Red Cross, which he shares with Vladek, in all likelihood saving his life. http//www. gradesaver. com/maus/study-guide/character-list/