Quote 7
“I mean, I can’t even make any sense out of my relationship with my father … how am I supposed to make sense out of Auschwitz? … of the Holocaust?” (II.1.4)
These are questions that <em>Maus</em> doesn’t answer – and perhaps that’s the point.
Quote 8
“The photo never threw tantrums or got in any kind of trouble … it was an ideal kid, and I was a pain in the ass. I couldn’t compete.” (II.1.5)
You thought sibling rivalry was tough. Imagine competing with a <em>dead</em> child, a child so young that he died before he could do anything really bad or disappoint his parents by, oh, becoming an artist.
Quote 9
“It’s so claustrophobic being around Vladek. He straightens everything you touch – he’s so anxious.” (II.1.12)
It’s ironic that Vladek, in Quote #7, talks about how “nervous” Art is, when Vladek himself is so neurotic.