Survivor's Guilt

Although Artie did not experience the Holocaust first hand like his father did, Artie really feels the pain that his father is feeling just by listening to the stories that his Father had to offer. Vladek shares the pain and guilt of what had happened in the Holocaust and the ways he and his wife along with many others survived by hiding and working and being saved at the concentration camp.  Need less to say Vladek suffers from a type of PTSD that I would consider as “survivor’s guilt”; which is the feeling of why am I alive but everyone one else is dead.  As Vladek tells his stories to Artie, you can slowly see that Artie starts to develop the “survivor’s guilt” and also the emotions hit him hard. At the end of the first book Artie ends with calling his father a murderer. Which is really ironic since his father was the one who was going through the trouble times and turmoil. However Artie feels that his father was a murder due to the fact that Vladek threw away his mothers journals that depicted her experience of the Holocaust. The small things in the families like Arties family is what can set off the “ticks” or be the “right” buttons being pushed to push someone over the edge and they pretty much go crazy.

The graphic novel is a great way to tell the story of the Holocaust since it is hard to have a “cool” factor when you are writing about a tragedy. Also the graphic novel makes the book easier to read and to enjoy from the readers standpoint. Also personally I learn better with visuals and hands on so with this book being a graphic novel I am having a much easier time reading this book.