About the girl from Iraq

Riverbend’s blog certainly provided a different outlook on the lifestyles of the Iraqi people, first off.  I suppose it really does make you feel privileged, the fact that we have all these conveniences, and many of them live without them, yet order to maintain their sanity.  As far as the war goes, it was when she said “Waking up anywhere in Iraq these days is a trial. It happens in one of two ways: either slowly, or with a jolt.” That I noticed that the war in Iraq might be as bad as people make it out to be!  Not that I was thinking about it otherwise, I just always hold assumptions that people draw things out more dramatically than they actually are, but hey…  you know what they say about assumptions right?  Anyways, I guess I also got a good outlook on how war changes lifestyle in Iraq from the time my father went overseas for military purposes.  He would send us Skype calls every night to tell us about it and how crazy things are constantly happening, like how people continue to shoot grenades from grenade launchers at the embassy’s walls on a regular basis.  But back to Riverbend.  I guess one of the biggest things that surprised me about her blog was the first few posts on her blog how she started off complaining, and as the days went by, more and more catastrophes began happening, such as the ten-year-old boy being killed and the tower exploding the next day.  It really goes to show how serious the war was at this time and the actual threat it posed to anybody getting involved in or around it.  Anyways, that’s pretty much all I have to say about this blog, I really liked reading it, the Mannerisms in her speech made it feel like I was actually listening to her talk to me, it’s nice to get to read something like this every once in a while, I dunno.  What are you guys’ thoughts?

We've only just begun...

If I am going to be honest with myself and everyone else, I do not know that much about the Iraq war. My only personal relationship with the war was a friend from middle school who was from Iraq. One night at a sleepover she recounted her story for me and told me of her hate for American soldiers. Other than that, I I knew of the oppression of the Iraqi people. The hijab, in Islamic tradition, is based on a ones personal relationship with God. As a world religions major, that is the way I view the hijab. It's a pretty major thing in Islam to choose to begin wearing the hijab so being forced to wear one for safety takes away a huge piece of the religious meaning behind it, something I find particularly disturbing. 

"Encroaching western values and beliefs have also played a prominent role in pushing Iraqis to embrace Islam"

The idea of the people turning to religion as a form of safety during this time of just pure chaos, but then further bring persecuted because of it is just more proof that aspects of this war were unjust, and cause so much damage. 

Life During the Iraq War

So far, it seems as if though Riverbend has a clear vision on who her enemies are — The Americans. Although there are other enemies in Iraq such as looters and gang members, she mentions the Americans much more frequently. “Americans don’t bother raiding the houses in areas like that… raids are exclusively for decent people who can’t shoot back or attack. Raids are for the poor people in Ramadi, Ba’aquba and Mosul.” Looking back at our previous assignments, I noticed that author O’Connor and director Koppola creates an ambiguous outlook on who the enemy is. However, Riverbend starts her first blog by blaming the Americans for all of their dangers on the way to her aunt’s home. It’s saddening to see how cautious Iraqis had to be in order to stay alive. They had enemies both inside and outside of their own countries, never knowing who they can and cannot trust.

Reading this blog, it surprised me how trained Riverbend’s family was. They were ready to leave the house in case of any emergency. They slept in clothes with paperwork in their pockets. They had to cope with the constant noises of helicopters and explosions. They listened to the radios and became overwhelmed with fears of American tanks coming near their homes. They were ready, yet afraid for their lives. And in this situation, their common sense had to overpower their fear. 

It seems silly, but as I was reading through her blogs, I compared what it is like for Riverbend to live during the Iraq War to my experiences during hurricane season. Of course, the difference is vast. She and I were living in constant fear, not knowing when to evacuate, always prepared to leave in case of an emergency. However, unlike the author, I knew who I could trust.

I'm out of milk.

To be honest, I was pretty naïve about everything that was going on during the Iraq war. I always had a gut feeling that it was an unjustified war, but I was kind of just following what my family was talking about at the dinner table. “The Promise and the Threat” was definitely an eye opener. I remember talking to my father, who’s really wrapped up in politics and global issues, about the reason behind the Iraq War and he said something along the lines of “Because war is profitable.” I nodded thinking ok yea.. cuz of the oil? (This was years ago.)

            “It is also about huge corporations that are going to make billions off of reconstructing what was damaged during this war.”

The reconstruction contracts were given to foreign companies, rather than the experienced and passionate Iraqi engineers, and the thousands of Iraqi people who had no jobs had to stand on the sidelines and watch their country be rebuilt by foreign companies. Great. Reading about the chaotic living conditions was really interesting as well. I had a vague idea about how they were through shows like Generation Kill and such, but reading first hand experiences about how it was just to drive around with such fear and alertness was crazy.

            “Shooting, looting, tanks, rape, abductions, and assassinations aren’t considered chaos, but it’s chaos in *my* world.”

These were great reads. Alright, well, time for class. This is a good song to walk to.

Baghdad Burning

Riverbend did not change my perspective on the war. I always had in mind that the government responsible for declaring war always had a certain more selfish interest in mind than "justice", and is sad to see how easily people can be brainwashed with constant propaganda in order to "serve their country" as pawns for the interests of people in power. However, I do find it surprising that she writes based on reality and facts rather than just ideals, and that she writes her mind opposing the general perspective of American patriotism.

She has a very informed perspective, and a clear thirst for actual justice and righteousness. She is able to debate proposals that involve ridiculously higher costs to rebuild the country; which is unfortunately taken as fact through the power of media. Though, she is able to debate such based on more economicly efficient alternatives that involve engineers from her own country and the use of available resources rather than imported goods.

I respect Riverbend for expressing her informed opinion, in spite of risking her life as a result, since acting against the interests of higher powers have often resulted in tragic consequences.

riverbend

The blog does very little to change how I feel about the war. Hindsight is 20/20 but I think it's evident that we never had any business being in Iraq in the first place. The blog does provide a unique perspective as to what a modern military occupation looks like. Like most places under occupation, Baghdad is in turmoil. The wartime media coverage in the states was, and still is, deceitful and lacking. The fact that Paul Bremer, who was the leading diplomatic authority in Iraq at the time of the blog could publicly state that "Iraq is not a country in chaos, and Baghdad is not a city in chaos" is absolutely ridiculous.

"maybe he's from some alternate universe where shooting, looting, tanks, rape, abductions, and assassinations aren’t considered chaos, but it’s chaos in *my* world" - river 

Violent crime skyrocketed and the people of the city suffered greatly for it, but that's not the kind of information we get when the people in charge of reporting the situation have an agenda to push. 

The Media

"Now, areas are identified as “the one with the crater where the missile exploded”, or “the street with the ravaged houses”, or “the little house next to that one where that family was killed”." This line is what I found to be the story to this war. One had to always be on their feet and to always be ready for something new to happen. There is one thing I found interesting though. I feel like in the Iraq war, things that seem to be insane or that may cause great destruction, become common everyday problems (from the perspective of soldiers or people involved). I also feel that because things like that became common, our misconception of war changed drastically. Why were innocent civilians killed? Were there any sort of justifications to certain killings? Were there any justifications to the war itself? 

Whether one is on the side of pro-war or not pro-war, this war brought up many concerns indeed. What was really going on behind the lines of fire? I was only able to witness what every other American citizen in the nation was able to witness - media covering the war. 

Riverbend

There have been many misconceptions perceived about Iraq and the Iraq war.  American's were fed propaganda by news stations and the government about the Iraq's intentions and Iraq itself.  We were fed these lies in order to accept that was meant to carry out orders different from what we were told.   The biggest joke being WMD's, this was the scape goat the government used in order to fund the nations most expensive war in history that resulted in the findings of no actual WMD's.
    It is embarrassing how our country so poorly misrepresented a country who we claimed we were trying to rebuild.  Who declared us the re builders?  Who is going to stop us from doing this again in the future if our government see fit?  This is something that isn't still common knowledge.  This has been swept under the rug as much as possible by the people who presented us this misleading information.  
   This defiantly makes me not in favor of the Iraq war.  We are not mercenaries out to take down evil dictators. 

Around the Riverbend

In her web blog, a remarkable young Iraqi woman gives a human face to war and occupation. In August 2003, a 2003 a /5 year old Iraqi woman living in Baghdad began a post under a secretive identity. Calling herself Riverbend, she wrote blogs depicting eyewitness accounts of the everyday realities on the ground, with analysis on the politics behind these events. Riverbend recounts stories of life as a woman in an occupied city of neighbors whose homes are raided by U.S. troops, whose relatives disappear into prisons, and whose children are kidnapped by militias. This first person perspective that is transcended with no regulation demonstrated to me that the information available in a blog live Riverbend can be mech more captivating. These captivating details, not only breaking the western mold of media coverage on the Iraq war, give voice to the 'real people' affected by the war. Riverbend's perspective as a woman also gave me a new perspective into the daily lives of women in Iraq during the time of the war. Riverbend's analyses of everything from the works of the Iraqi Governing Council to the torture in Abu Ghraib, from the coverage provided by American media and by Al-Jazeera to Bush's State of the Union Speech. These analyzations of international politics taught me the fate of women under the fundamakistist regimes that took hold of Iraq during post war times. These social pressures, both legally and religiously, imposed on women are rarely explored by western media outlets, especially in such critical detail. Riverbend's perspective as an Iraqi citizen also shatters the traditional, US supported, main stream media that rears oh details the negative co sequences on the daily lives of civilians during the Iraqi war. These gripping stories given in her blog offer a a critically new insight into the co sequences, experience and outcome of the US war on Iraq.

Formalistic Aspects: 2's and 3's

Why Page 46?

There are a lot of other pages I wanted to dissect, but Page 46 will be the most convenient of these, because it is the page in which I am most aware of Spiegelman’s craft working on the reader.

Additionally, I will refrain from discussing the art itself. I’m much more interested in how an author sets out to their use of the economy they have divided their page into, rather than what they’ve chosen to portray.

The technique Spiegelman employs here are as follows:

Firstly the formalistic aspects: for the majority of the book, Spiegelman alternates between three-tier and four-tier grids. For page 46, he uses a four-tier grid. The top half is characteristic of 4 tier grids—in which each tier is split into halves. This means the action or essence of the storytelling—tier-by-tier—functions as 1 and 2 (or, if you will, cause and effect).

Now for the action of the page:

In panel 1 of tier 1: Spiegelman goes from having a tranquil conversation with his psychiatrist to panel 2 of tier 1: being given a fright by the aforementioned psychiatrist.

While there are other aspects factors that make up a good page—such as the push and pull effect of the characters (when the psychiatrist leans in Spiegelman jumps back)—discussing those aspects falls under a different category altogether.

Tier 1 (or 2) Panel: Cause / Tier 1 (or 2) Panel Two: Effect

Tier two follows the same rules, essentially.

In panel one of tier two, Spiegelman is visually “burned out” after his fright. So what does he do in panel two? Why, he lights a cigarette of course (some nice visual comedy). Curiously, the camera angle changes from panel 1 to panel 2. In panel two of tier two, the shot is in profile. The psychiatrist leans in again—although, this time it isn’t for the purposes of scaring Spiegelman—it’s to console him instead. 

Why does this happen? Well, it’s because comedy comes in threes: the joke in the top tier actually concludes in the first panel of the second one. Threes are very important in comics—they permit sequences, transformations and well-timed jokes.

Now for the second half of the page—in which threes become incredibly important. This technique is very old, but most cartoonists I’ve encountered point to Harvey Kurtzman as the storyteller/artist that successfully perfected it.

Threes are like the “turns” that occur within line breaks in poetry—or a phase change between two states of matter—a liquid to gas (or vice-versa).

Tier 3 (or 4) Panel 1: The “Turning” begins / Tier 3 (or 4) Panel 2: The “Turning” is half-finished / Tier 3 (or 4) Panel 3: The “Turning” concludes.   

Despite still being part of a four-tier page: the second half of the page is divided into threes. Why is this? The third tier is all about transition—about travel. Spiegelman is leaving Pavel’s office—his session is concluding. How do we get him out of this scene effectively (quickly but without causing confusion)? By panel 3 of tier 3 Spiegelman has gotten himself out of the door and now the story can continue to progress forward.

In the last tier, we watch the most obvious visual gag—probably in the entirety of the book. This is classic Spiegelman. His appointment with Pavel reduces him to a childlike state—partly because his psychiatrist is older than Spiegelman and also—having encountered Spiegelman’s earlier work—for the purposes of parodying Freudian psychoanalysis. 

The subsequent transformation—or ego boost—Spiegelman receives after departing the offices of his shrink is portrayed in threes. Threes are magical—you cannot with argue them—you cannot question them—you must simply accept them happening before your eyes.

Mice in Graphic Novels

In Maus II, it seems as if Art Spiegelman is more involved than in Maus I. In Maus I, it looks like Speigelman is more interesting in how to create his book rather than what happened to his parents during those times. But of course, Maus II does introduce us into the hardest times Vladek had to face. As Vladek continues to tell his story (as well as his late wife’s), it seems like Art Spiegelman is more and more interested. The traumas of the Holocaust gets passed from father to son through Anja. Because Vladek destroyed all of his late wife’s journals and diaries, Spiegelman can only rely on what his father’s stories to remember his mother and narrate on her behalf. 

The graphic novel is an effective way to tell this tale because what we are reading are words told by Vladek. With so little details on elements such as what the Nazis were thinking and why the Poles did what they did, the answer is ambiguous — we don’t know anything about anyone outside of what Vladek is telling his son. 

Another reason why graphic novels are so effective in telling such a story is because the readers can better visualize what it is like to be in Poland and Germany as a Jew. The fact that Spiegelmen chose to use animals is powerful and allows his audience to really see what it is like being a Jew, hunted, chased, and trapped by Nazis. 

I don’t believe the story could have been more effective if it were written with plain words. Although the story would be told with more depth and less ambiguity, the story would be less effective and using animals to refer to different groups would be almost absurd. 

Lessons Learned

 Many of those who survived the Holocaust did it on their instinct to survive and many of those traits learned in such a harsh experience with stay with them for the rest of their lives. In Maus II, the second chapter, "Auschwitz Time Flies", there is a page midway through that describes the extensive amount of contraband Vladek had to trade for day to day. He does this in order to hide it all and make the numerous bribes it will take to have his frail wife transferred over to the new barracks being built in his part of the camp. The top center of the page is a simple chart the shows just how valuable things like cigarettes were. Three cigarettes, for instance, is worth a whole days bread while for 200 the person may be able to obtain a bottle of vodka. Art never understands why his father hates his smoking habit so much, but an obvious reason could be that while hiding and in the camps Vladek learned that vices, or unessential goods, can be extremely lucrative especially when there is no need of them. To him they are all bad, but he learns that though meaningless in peace times, addictions can turn out to be tragic downfalls in times of distress. This dislike for cigarettes is also to show how Vladek developed his attitude toward not only his own health, but those around him. In death camps there are no doctors only morticians, which made them care for themselves to stay partially healthy and alive. His health is only one of is many worries, for instance Art cannot stand how stingy his father is and how he mush save everything  or continuously count certain possession. This is a post event habit, but was extremely common and necessary during the time in a death camp. Hiding though doesn't always work and in the book under the chart, Art shows that all his fathers bribe for his mother has been stolen. The panels are very dark as in to this was probably one of his worst moments at the camp and all he could do is to restart collecting. The next panels are of Arts shock in his fathers lack of action after the theft. His son immediately asks why he would leave it in a place where everyone was starving, how could it have not been stolen? Calmly Vladek only says that he never really cared, but Art claims that he must have and he doesn't understand. His father only says "Yes...about Auschwitz nobody can understand", which gave the honest truth that nobody knew what to do in the camps or why such horror could ever happen, but the only thing anyone understood was to survive. To Vladek, throughout the rest of his life, he feels obligated to be uptight and save, because to him such an atrocity happened so quick the thought it could happen all over again never leaves the back of his mind. This develops the tragic conclusion that can be applied to almost all Holocaust survivors, in that their paranoia from the experience never leaves. They essentially feel they must be prepared to fight for their lives at any time all over again, because the fist time it happed no one was ready or heeded the warnings and it all happened to fast for them to run from evil.

The Sky is Falling

Page 33 of Maus is a pretty odd part of a comic.  In the first panel we see a continuation of page 32 where the mice are all staring out the window in horror of the Nazi Swastika.  IN the first panel we see one of the mice just plain and simple panicking over the flag and what he's heard about the whole Nazi thing.  And in the next panel we begin to see that the sky has been completely replaced with the swastika for the next four pages.  the black that we see in the sky (the part that has become the flag) symbolizes the really dark nature and atmosphere of the Nazi's business.  Throughout these four panels we things like the Nazis closing down Jewish stores, displaying the corpses of the Jews as warning and even brutally murdering one mouse in one of the panels.  The second outlying feature about the flag's replacement of the sky obviously indicates that that town is now under Nazi control and is simply not safe to live in anymore.  As for the things that are being said, we just see the mouse that was talking from the previous page talking about the incidents that occurred to his family, as well as the things he's heard. We also see that the Nazis are going about their business as the mouse is talking: this shows that his voice doesn't really matter in a time like this.  And obviously, in the last panel of the page, we get a sense of dramatic irony when we read the one mouse saying, "Let's just pray they don't start a war!" and as we all know, they eventually do.  Anyways, that's just my personal take on the page.  I've been known to interpret things in quite unusual ways at times due to the fact that I've been doing it since early high school , so if anything I said was a little too abstract, be sure to comment.  Thanks for reading

Life and Death lie in the tongue and mind (pg.28)

In Maus I the scene in which Vladek had a dream, or vision that he would make it out of the first stages of the concentration camps and it, of course as we know becomes true since his son is telling his father's account, goes to show how an ounce of hope can do wonders. Now after reading Maus II where Vladek regains his sense of self and hope to live, I think that same theme of believing and speaking his life into existence is ultimately what saves him in Auschwitz, not luck. Moreover, I think it's important to see here that when Vladek was crying in the second bubble and goes on to say, "I was worn and shivering a little and no one looked," the person to comfort him is not who you would expect. The comforter turns out to be a Polish priest, not a consoling friend of Vladek as you would otherwise think. This I think is symbolic in showing that no matter the difference of similarity shared between two people anyone can plant the seeds of hope and faith.

Page 64

On page 64 in Maus II, Vladek focuses on the struggles of Auschwitz. He explains to Art how cigarettes could be exchanged for bread and things of that nature. During this time, Vladek was severely missing his wife, Anja, and would do anything to get her near him, even starve a little bit. After having saved up enough, Anja was with Vladek in Auschwitz.
On this page, Spiegelman places a panel that shows how much bread is worth, 3 cigarettes, and how much 1 bottle of vodka is worth, 200 cigarettes. I think that it is interesting that he chose to portray this.
Also, the drawings of Vladek in Auschwitz were extremely dark. Just by reading and viewing this page, a cold feeling came over me. The illustrations on this page helped with the understanding of what Vladek was going through.
In the end, Vladek claims to be "the happiest since being at Auschwitz" when Anja finally arrives at the concentration camp.

Maus & Kanye West - dealing with fame.

     As you may remember in class when we read page forty-one from Maus II I got really excited. I saw an instant connection with how Art Speigleman was talking about fame and how Kanye West talks about fame in his song "Everything I Am" from the 2007 release Graduation.
    The similarities are as follows. First above and outside the cartoons on page 41 Speigleman says "Time flies..." This signals to the ready some since of nostalgia right at the beginning. When you talk to a friend and say "damn man, time flies." They are talking about the past, and usually about the good old times in a bittersweet fashion. However, I think the context of Maus II "Time flies..." is less sweet and more on the bitter. Compare "time flies" to Kanye West's beginning of "Everything I Am" which goes "damn, here we go again." You get the same feeling from both pieces of very different art. The feeling is this reminiscent incredulity at how things are now, compared to what they were.
     Aside from nostalgia Kanye West and Art Speigleman are both dealing with fame. A line in the song goes "You see how I creeped up? You see how I played a big role in Chicago like Queen Latifah?" While this is more of bravadoesque stance, then Art Spiegleman's words of "At least fifteen foreign editions are coming out. I've gotten 4 serious offers to to turn my book into a T.V. special or movie. (I don't wanna). Both authors are addressing their new found fame from taking their area of artistic specialty to a new level. Kanye West has done wonders for the Chicago Hip-Hop scene with artists like Vic Mensa and Chance The Rapper flourishing. Art Speigleman's work has achieved new levels for graphic novels. Speigleman's tone is a little different about fame than Kanye's, but don't worry Kanye reflects later in the song in a much more Speigleman manner.
     Kanye and Spiegleman make statements from their art that similar artists do not make. For example Art Spiegleman uses graphic novels to portray the Holocuast. Using graphic novels is innovate, unusual, and exciting. Kanye West, in everything I am, uses the song to speak about gun violence in Chicago. If you're not aware, you should know that Chicago has one of the highest murder rates in the country. Gangster rap, speaks terribly often about guns. It must be said the artists who make the music that addresses guns say that they are not glorifying gun violence, but they are portraying a reality. That is what artists do. They portray truths. Still, talking about guns in a harsh way is rare in the hip-hop world. The lines go
"I know that people wouldn't usually rap this - Art talking about the Holocuast
But I got the facts to back this - Art's father experienced the Holocuast, Kanye is from Chicago
Just last year, Chicago had over 600 caskets - 6 million jews died in the Holocuast
Man, killing's some wack shit - Both Art and Kanye agree.
Oh, I forgot, 'cept for when niggas is rappin'" - Kanye's commentary on hip-hop's love of guns. 

     Romey mentions often in class how Art is the only one who has license to speak about the Holocuast in the manner he does. While Kanye West is not the only one that has license to speak about gun violence in Chicago, he does have a more authentic voice on the matter due to being from Chicago. 

     Another comparison between Art and Kanye is the pressure from the press. Kanye says on the press "My fifteen seconds up, but I got more to say...That's enough Mr. West, please, no more today" There is a scene in the bottom right on page 41 in Maus II where the press is saying to Art "Alright, Mr. Speigleman...We're ready shoot" First off, they are both ways to end the scene/or song in a creative way which is cool. Secondly, they are both ways of showing the overwhelming nature of the press. Art wants to keep writing his story, but is made to stop and do a photo shoot. Kanye would like to say more, but is told "no more today." 

     One last point I would like to bring up is the artistic similarities in hip-hop verses and graphic novels. Hip-Hop verses are short generally. They range from 8-16 bars. Sometimes 32 if you're Kendrick killing it on Nosetalgia. Still, one cannot say much in even 32 bars. In addition to make a verse run smoothly a rapper has to put the same amount of syllables in each couplet which limits the artist even further. Graphic novels rely on both pictures and words. However, the words in a graphic novel are limited. The amount of space in a graphic novel, especillay Maus since it's so small, is about the equivalent of one line from a song or sometimes up to a whole verse. Both forms are limited to a point where word choice is paramount. 

    At first glance one might think that these two art forms have little in common, but I think it is clear they have more in common than is apparent. The same goes for Speigleman, and Kanye. Two vastly different people from vastly different backgrounds, but still artists in the game. 

...Ok Mr. Church, please, no more today. 

luck and resourcefulness

Throughout Maus 1 you begin to see the dark reality setting in for the Jews.  Although Vladek is not victim of the concentration camps until the second book, he made it for a considerable amount of time in hiding.  He was able to keep from capture so long based from the connections he already had. Connections that in the end got him captured but, ones that were most necessary for bettering his chances of survival.  Once Vladek is in the concentration camp his resourcefulness and sprinkled in luck starts to show itself.  As far as proper attire, which was a necessity for survival, Vladek was considerable lucky that most of his clothes fit him.  His friend with one shoe struggles day to day trying to walk with one shoe, no belt and no spoon.  This can be a huge blow to moral of a prisoner making the end seem closer and more of a sealed fate.  When the guard looking for someone who can speak English presents himself, the situation itself was lucky, Vladek takes the opportunity to impress the guard.  The guard treats Vladek to new clothes, and food he had only been able to dream of.  Vladek's knowledge of English turned an odd question by the guard into a lucky opportunity for better treatment and chance of survival at the camp.  To call Vladek lucky is fair but, it is better to say that Vladek's knowledge and resourcefulness made everyday situations opportunities to keep hope alive.

Maus II Page 51 analysis

Maus II, page 51 describes the Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II and also the workshop camp extension between the two.  Aushchwitz contained 20,000 prisoners but in Birkenau there were five times that.  Auschwitz one was a camp where they used the prisoners to work and you were meant to last longer.  Birkenau on the other hand is described of a camp with 800 prisoners held in a building that was only supposed to hold 50 horses.  It is described as such a horrible place that the Jews wanted to be gassed and put out of their own misery.  The page is divided and a map is put inbetween the top and the bottom of the page to show the trail between camps to get a visual image of where each one was located.  The map is used to limit the text in the comic used to describe where each was located instead of having to go into deep detail about where each camp was.  Paage 51 is used to give a brief overview of which camp was worse and how bad thew Jews had it at each camp.  The fact that they would rather be gassed at Birkenau goes to show how horrible the conditions where without going into a lot of detail.  I don't think the page has a lot of text because it would be hard to fit so much detail and it kind of makes you imagine in your head what the camps may be like.  They were both described as horrible places so I feel like it is intentionally set up this way to leave it up to the reader to imagine the conditions of each camp.

Pg. 50 Analysis

Maus II, by Art Spiegelman, is the continuation of Spiegelman’s work Maus and follows his father’s story through Auschwitz. In chapter two Auschwitz (Time Flies), page 50, the scene is set for Vladek's first explanation of the German Appel process, where they screen for weak Jew's to eliminate from the Auschwitz work force. The first image, occupying the entire top column, portrays line after line of indistinguishable Jewish prisoners standing ready to be counted for inspection by the Gestapo. The prisoners are purposely drawn in such little detail to demonstrate the size of Auschwitz and the scale of prisoners involved. The next image zooms in on a man who starts to complain about how he doesn't "belong here with all these Yids and Polacks! I'm a German like you!" he exclaims (50 Spiegelman). The following image is now half the size of the previous two images and now only focuses on the German who is telling the Gestapo of his various affiliations with the Reich, the background is blacked out. Concurrently, the next image we see the complaining German being characterized as a cat, symbol of Germans within Maus, for the first time which validates this man’s German identity for the reader. Within the same image Spiegelman’s father narrates, explaining "It was a German prisoners also... But for the Germans this guy was Jewish!" (50 Spiegelman). This scene shows how the oppressive nature of the holocaust spared no prisoners, Jews and non-Jews alike, alluding to the fact that no one was really ever safe. The final scene zooms out, filling the bottom portion of the page, depicting a German Gestapo kicking the complaining German on the ground. Vladek contextualizes this violence when he states:

On one Appel he didn’t stand so straight and a guard dragged him away. I heard he pushed him down and jumped on his neck… Or they sent his to the gas, I don’t remember, but they finished him and he never anymore complained. (50 Spiegelman)

This final scene serves to demonstrate the violence, cruelty and undiscriminating murder at the hands of Nazi Germany. Spiegelman uses the German prisoner in Auschwitz to demonstrate the scale of those persecuted by the Nazi’s and to depict their cruelty.

Maus II Pg. 95

Maus II, the third chapter, "...And Here My Troubles Began...," starts off with Vladek hunched over himself, sick. This sickness is Typhus that was brought on by the lice that were found in the hay on the train. He mentions how he "got a very hot fever and [he] couldn't sleep. Typhus!" (95). The gruesome part about this whole scene, however, is that when he needs to use the toilet he is always having to step on the dead bodies that surround it. He said how he could barely move once he was in there and that "you had to go on their heads, and this was terrible, because it was so slippery, the skin, you thought you are falling. And this was every night" (95). The imagery of the scene is one of which is very dark. Dark in term of both the stencil he used to draw the shades, and the expression of the dead faces. I feel he was very scared in that he was going to be next to die and that people would start to step on him. This is where I get the sense of darkness. The panels are also much larger than average comic panels thus he is trying to make a means of importance to the reader.