Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Vladek's decision making
In Maus, Vladek's great judgement and decisive thinking help him survive throughout the period of the Jews' deportation. Throughout the book, there are examples of his great decision making skills, such as when he decides to stay in the bunker instead of thinking that letting the Nazis deport him would be a better situation. The designs of the bunkers Valdek created saved his life. His great judgment to think ahead to the point when all Jews would be deported let him hide and stay alive. Another example of Valdek's decisive mind is when the others in the bunker want to leave the bunker because of the worms, he knows that the only way to survive is to stay, and so convinces the rest of the Jews in his bunker to stay.
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I agree with you, Vladek does not let emotions in a traumatic time affect his decision making. He stays rational throughout the rugged course of the Holocaust. The problem with rationality comes far after the Holocaust has ended. He becomes to nervous about everything. The last decision he makes in the story proves to be his only wrong one. He has been able to avoid German Nazis for so long, but then instead of staying in the home, he decides to risk he and his wife's safety in search of greener pastures, Poland. He gets caught on the train, which is the climax of the story.
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with your point of view Andrew. Vladek's instincts are a very important key to his survival. Several times he is faced with life or death decisions and each time Vladek's decision seems to save both his, and Anja's life. He does whatever he must to make it through these hard times, whether it be selling cloth without a coupon or disguising himself as a Pole to retrieve food. Also, Vladek understands human behavior well enough to know when to be careful around some people, or when to stay clear of others. He knows to stay away from the Polish people on the train because they can sniff out a Polish Jew, and instead sit in the car full of Nazi soldiers who will, ironically, leave him alone. Vladek's will to live unleashes his natural instinct, which in the end serves Vladek quite well.
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