“The world. The world is not interested in us. Today, everything is possible, even crematoria…” - Elie Wiesel The graphic novel “Maus” is the story of a Holocaust survivor, Vladek Spiegelman. Vladek lived through the Holocaust and lost most, if not all, of his family along the way. Art arrived at his fathers house to capture the story. In the novel, you witness this very delicate father-son relationship, you see how one managed to escape death when it is the only option, and the lasting impact that a traumatic experience such as Holocaust can have on future relationships. Entering the Holocaust Vladek and Anja had a son, Richieu, who was eventually kidnapped and murdered. After the Holocaust, they managed to conceive another child, Artie. The children of the second generation represented miracles to those who survived and were a sign that they had won. But in Vladeks' eyes, Artie was the son he had lost. Artie began his journey with hopes of bonding with his father. Surviving such an experience made Vladek as well as his mother want to instill his heritage in Artie and made them overprotective of him. Maybe that put Artie off. At the beginning of the story, we see that Vladek thinks less of Artie because he is "wasting" his time drawing instead of doing something that makes money. The problem with Vladek is that he doesn't understand that he and Artie come from different times and places. Artie lives in a new era and hasn't experienced the same problems as him. The problem with Artie is that he doesn't understand what his father went through and the effects it had on him. So they end up arguing constantly. The difficulties of this relationship are illustrated when Vladek faked a heart attack or...... middle of paper...... a good period in time. When Anja was alive, they had money and an overall good life, so they didn't have to worry about wasting and saving money. But losing all his money and control because of the Holocaust, Vladek feels the need to tell Mala what needs to happen at home to save money or how to do things. Vladek's survival was not only a blessing, it was also a curse. Although he survived the Holocaust, he never left it mentally. He felt guilty for surviving when so many others had not, he had this lingering guilt over the loss of his son and wife. The problems led to all the problems he faced in his current relationships. With Artie and Mala. Even though he had no intention of doing so, Vladek unknowingly helped the people in his life reach standards they couldn't handle. By allowing the Holocaust to control his life, how could he escape his past?