SUMMARY

CHAPTER ONE
Art Spiegelman and his wife Françoise is on vacation beside their friends in Vermont.
Vladek, Art’s father, phones their friends and makes Art and Françoise come Rego park. The
couple drives towards Vladek’s house. Vladek wants them to stay with him until the summer
ends. But Art and Françoise doesn’t seem to eager so. They learn Mala, Vladek’s second wife,
left him because of his stingy behaviours and went to Florida. Vladek behaves in pathetic
ways sometimes because of Auschwitz days, when he was in Nazi camp. This makes Art
angry. One morning, father and son go walking towards pines hotel where Vladek usually
enters secretly. Vladek starts to tell those miserable days’ stories which Art commits to the
paper as narrator.
Jews are gathered all together in camps. They are lined as men and women, get dressed,
being worked, fed slightly in these camps. Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II. Anja goes Auschwitz II
which has worse conditions, gas rooms, more and more death. In Auschwitz I, more and more
jews are coming each day, and Vladek has to find a way to survive. One day, he finds that
chance through his English language. Supervisor (kapo), who gives the job to Vladek, feeds
him, dresses him up, and wants him to teach English. Vladek stays safe thanks to him for a
while.

CHAPTER TWO
In this part, author mentions his own life. He tells about present, his father’s dying, his
family issues. He faces publishing, media struggles. And he is having war with himself, his
morality, his father and his father’s condition.
Story begins again. Day by day, more and more jews are dying. Vladek is about to reach
Anja, who is his love. He meet someone who can help him to reach Anja. This is Mancie.
Vladek trades with her and gives her Anja’s number and name. Mancie finds Anja and tells
her everything. Mancie gives Vladek good news. An interaction is about to start so Vladek
is so happy. They start to messaging, food giving each other and for sure support. What a pity;
Vladek gets caıght and beaten harshly. All jews are weakening, getting worse. Among the
jews who are taken to another camp, there is shoe maked too. This is a chance for Vladek
because he did this job before. He interacts with the authority and takes the job. This is
becoming a cover for him and he eats, drinks and gets healthy in some point. Meanwhile, the
camp is broadening, new buildings, barracks are constructed. Vladek plans to take Anja one
of these new barracks. But it is too worthy. Vladek brings the breads for trade but he would
get robbed. He tries again and manages to arrange trade. Anja comes to Auschwitz I but this
time it is turn for Vladek. He goes to black work…

CHAPTER THREE
Art and Françoise decides to leave Rego park. Vladek objects this decision but it doesn’t
seem to be effective on them…
Days are going on. Russians and Americans are becoming close. Jews hear expolisons
nearer and nearer. Nazis are getting worried. At last, Nazis decides to gather camp and run.
Vladek runs his mind and find a solution for escape. He takes one of friends and hide in the
attic. As soon as they think they are free, one of the jews come and say Nazis would bomb
everything, every block. They have to get out and go on with the camp. Nazis doesn’t bomb
the camp. They are walking and walking, day and night. Germans shoot the fallings. Some
time later they make victims ride to the train. Deaths are going on in the train. They stop and
Nazis takes deaths out. Each day it is being routine. They arrive a camp at the end of this
journey. There are bitter situations waiting for them. If there is a lice in shirt, you can’t drink
soup. Victims are fighting each other for meal. Vladek tries everything to survive. He trades
and changes his shirt just for soup. He injures his hand every day to move avay. Not for so
long, he becomes ill and gets very weak. They are taken to Switzerland.

CHAPTER FOUR
Vladek and other jews travel camp by camp. They are in better condition. They get out the
train and Germans say “you are free.”. They run away but get caught another ss group. They
escape again and caught again. Somehow Germans goes away to not encounter enemy
throops. Vladek and Shivek moves barn by barn until they find safe barn. They rest in this
barn and eat, drink from animal resources of barn. Sometime later, Americans come and find
Vladek, Shivek. Vladek and Shivek helps Americans to turn the barn into base and other
works…

CHAPTER FiVE (last chapter)

Art and Françoise are having debates about whether they live with Vladek or not. They can
only wish Vladek and Mala comes together again. After a while, Mala phones Art and says
him she is with Vladek. Flying time towards Florida. Art meets his father Vladek in Anja’s
home. He learns Vladek didn’t want to stay at hospital. Vladek wants to go back New york.
Vladek sells his house and move away with Anja.
Let’s finish the story… Vladek gets identity card in Poland. He travels to Stockholm and
works there. He meets Shivek in Hannover. He is still in search for Anja. He encounters
two girl and take news about Sosnowiec and Anja. Vladek manages and he reunites with
Anja.
End of the story…

CHARACTER ANALYSİS

Art Spiegelman=> He is a main character. He is the narrator and survivor Vladek’s son. He is
also cartoonist and faces struglles while and after preparing story. Story is mainly about him
and vladek, their conversation about story.

Vladek=> He is a main character and father of author, Art spiegelman. He is a jew and
survivor of nazi camp. He worked in many jobs during war to survive and lost his wife and
children during war era. He reflects the effects of those misery days. He is so stingy and
pathetic. He is having health problems and wants his family around him. He is the story teller.
He dies of heart failure in 1982.

Françoise=> She is French jew and wife of Art Spiegelman, author. She is not effective that
much in story.

Anja=> She is Vladek’s first wife. She shares the same period, same grieves with Vladek. She
is died in 1968 by suicide.

Richieu=> He is son of Anja and Vladek, first marrying. He died in war time. He died before
Art was born. Art mentions him by saying ghost-brother.

Mrs. Karp=> She is neighbor of Vladek. She looks after him while Mala is away.
Mr. Edgar=> He is another neighbor of Vladek and husband of Mrs. Karp. He doesn’t support
vladek to live alone.

Mandelbaum=> He is friend of Vladek. They are together in Auschwitz.

Abraham=> He is Mandelbaum’s nephew. He is not seen one more time.

Priest=> He is another person Vladek meets in camp. He tells the meanings of number in their
arms.

Supervisor (Kapo) in Auschwitz I=> He uses vladek for learning English. In return he feeds,
dresses and makes safe Vladek.

Yıdl=> Chief of tinman, Russian communist jew. He is a greedy man and threatens Vladek.

Mancie=> Beautiful, Bulgarisn girl. She constructs communication between Anja and Vladek.

Shivek=> He is friend of Vladek, lives in Hannover. They were hiding together in barn when
Americans found them.

Hitchikker=> He is a black guy. Vladek makes racism and thinks he is robber.

Felix=> He is always moaning and hungry. He fears to die badly.

First barn owner=> He sells Shivek and Vladek to ss group but they don’t care.

LOCATİON

Auschwitz I=> It ıs a nazi camp. İt has better conditions for Auschwitz II. Vladek was here in
first session.

Auschwitz II=> It ıs another nazi camp. It ıs also known as Burkineau. Anja is in there. There
are gas rooms, burnt bodies.

Workshop and camp extension=> New buildings are constructed there. Camp extends.

Sosnowiec=> Anja was still there after war. They reunited there.

Rego park=> This is where Vladek lives alone.

Florida=> Anja escapes there from Vladek and his behaviours.

Pines Hotel=> Vladek enters secretyl there and plays bingo games.

Vermont=> Art and Françoise’s friends live there.

New york=> There is Vladek’s house and hospital that Vladek wants to go.
Train=> It changed fate of Vladek. Jew victims had several journeys and died many of them
in these trains.

Barn=> Vladek and Shivek were hiding there when Americans found them.

Poland=> Vladek took identity card there.

TİME
Story is in around the second worls war as before, during and after.Story’s narrating is in
1980’s. Story contains jew’s capturing, their life in nazi camps and afterwards. Story’s
narrating contains Art’s and Vladek’s changing life.

PLOT
When Art and Françoise are beside their friends, Vladek somehow makes them come Rego
park. Story begins at that point. Vladek and Nadja are taken to Auschwitz camps and
separated. They face too harsh conditions and try to survive. They manage to reunite but then
fall apart again. Losing many family members, friends they find each other in Sosnowiec. But
story ends with Vladek and Mala’s marrying problems and Vladek’s ilness.

THEMES
Separation, Poverty, Death=> The most powerful theme is death. There are suicides, burnt
bodies, gas rooms, mass graves. Almost nobody dies humanly. They are exposed to torture,
blackwork,swearing,beating. Everybody is separated from their wives, husbands, children,
mother, father. They don’t get any news from each other. Even if everything is over, they may
not be able to see each other. Maybe dead, maybe far away. Poverty causes fight to death,
robbing and everything bad. If someone finds a piece of bread, he/she eats it even if it is
covered with mud. These affects their rest of life. Vladek’s stingness, reactions proves that.

NARRATING TECHNIQUES AND LANGUAGE EXAMINATION

Metaphor=> Narrator uses different animals for different communities to describe their roles
in era.
Imagery=> Narrator portrays the war, the camps, the animals. He describes us to weather,
environment, emotions and else,
Flashback=> While reading we both go to 1940´s and come to 1980’s.
Symbolism=> Mouse symbolizes victims and cat symbolizes killers.
Language examination=> Narrators are changing always. Sometimes Vladek, sometimes Art
Siegelman. They are having conversation generally.

Reference=> Maus II, A Survivor’s Tale And Here My Troubles Began, Art Spiegelman,1980