Life Stories

I am really enjoying reading Maus. So far, it’s a very different kind of life writing seeing as how it’s written in comics and it’s a son putting his father’s life into a story. It’s very interesting to read not only because of these reasons, but because my family is from Poland and my grandparents were living there during World War II so I feel like I have a deeper connection with the content than others might. I have been to Poland and visited and toured many concentration camps in Europe and have seen a lot of the history more close up than many here have. Therefore, sometimes I feel as if this book means more to me. Some of the events in Maus, I have heard my grandparents tell stories about. For example, Art’s father talks about how the Nazis would check there hands to see if they were “working hands” or if they were clean and delicate and those with more fragile hands would be taken. This same exact thing happened to my grandma and her mother. They were trying to run away to a safer place and were stopped by officers. My great-grandmother’s delicate hands showed off that she was more privileged than others, so they took her and weeks later, my grandma heard that they found a woman dead in the forest. Although she was never positive whether or not it was her mother, she assumes that is what happened to her. It is hearing stories like this from my immediate family that really shows me that this history has so much to do with my country and who my family is and who I am today.