Sunday, November 27, 2011

Authenticity

The creation of Maus appeared to be a struggle for Speigelman. He had to constantly encourage his father to discuss his story. Do you trust his father's memory? Do you believe that the story is authentic? Share your opinion with concrete examples from the atory.

50 comments:

  1. I trust his father's memory because the story seems very true. I believe it because i don't see why his father would create a false account of an event that completely altered his life. I think that when he gives the details of the events leading up to their imprisonment and the constant efforts it took to make it through it shows how the holocaust shaped who he is today.

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  2. I somewhat trust his father's memory for several reasons. I really don't think he remembers everything that had happened during the Holocaust in depth. I do think that he could have changed or altered his stories a bit. I do not think his story is authentic. I think his father's memory is authentic because his story has its own twist and turns. I think the struggles he went through in his life shaped out his life. For example, his wife Anja had a big effect on him when she committed suicide. His efforts to stay alive during the Holocaust as well as dealing with handling his past after the war also shaped his story by making it more authentic and different from other stories.

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  3. I trust his father's memory to a point, though i doubt he would lie to his son about what happened, i doubt that he remembers every detail. On the other hand, i am sure that he remembers very clearly, down to the last detail of the events that were completely devastating in his life. A prime example, an Nate pointed out, when his wife committed suicide. i am sure that he remembers every last detail about that. In conclusion, I believe that the minor details in the story may be off a little bit, but the major event are most likely spot on.

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  4. I believe most of the story is true on what he said. although the major points of the story are pretty much 100% true, he might of forgot or deliberately didn't tell his son some of the minor details. Maybe he didn't want to remember some of those grusome details at times. But like I said, his story for the most part is true.

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  5. I believe most of the story is true on what he said. although the major points of the story are pretty much 100% true, he might of forgot or deliberately didn't tell his son some of the minor details. Maybe he didn't want to remember some of those grusome details at times. But like I said, his story for the most part is true. Some of the major details that he tells are in great detail as some of the previous students said.

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  6. I do trust Spiegelman's memory for different reasons. He remembers certain years and locations of events that took place in the Holocaust. He also remembers names of people who he named off: several friends, family members and Nazi soldiers who either helped him or took advantage of him. I don't think that Spiegelman's memory was far off from the truth because of how deeply it affected his life. His memories where probably hard to bring up to his son because of all the family and friends he had lost through the war. No one but him and the other people who went through the Holocaust could really understand the depth of the situation that they had to struggle through.

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  7. I would do the same thing if is was in Art Speigelman's situation. I trust his memory because this was a tragic event and most people can remember bad things before the good. I believe that his story is authentic as it can being how he experienced it in first person. He leaves out a few details based on the fact that he is trying to forget his past, and he does not feel as comfortable saying a persons story that he may have hardly known.

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  8. Yes, i do believe that the story is authentic. I believe this because some events in life that we experience can never be unseen, unheard, or undone. So i think if Art's dad was going to tell him what happened he would tell him what exactly happened to the best of his ability. If some of the information doesn't add up i think it is because he didn't want to remember those hard events but i am almost sure that this story is true

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  9. Yes, i do believe that the story is authentic. I believe this because some events in life that we experience can never be unseen, unheard, or undone. So i think if Art's dad was going to tell him what happened he would tell him what exactly happened to the best of his ability. If some of the information doesn't add up i think it is because he didn't want to remember those hard events but i am almost sure that this story is true

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  10. I strongly believe that Spieglmans Storys are true because even in his old age he tries his harest to recollect his memories.I beieve that no matter how dark or gruesome his memories of the concentration camps may be i still believe that as a father trying to help out his son, he would tell him every single detail.

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  11. In this story, Speigelman is very descriptive when talking about his experiences in the Holocaust which leads me to say that Maus completely matched the words of Vladek Speigelman. When Jews were killed in the camp during Maus, their wasn't one detail left out of Speigelman's words. I believe that the story is very authentic, due to the fact it is not fiction, for it is a true story told from the words of a survivor.

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  12. I think the fathers story is true, because i don't think he would lie about something that had and still has a huge impact on him. I say this because when he talks about those gruesome times in all of the camps. He details it so well. Plus the ties of the holocaust are indescribable you either tell the truth about it or a lie. There is no kind of the truth or didn't really lie. its yes or no kind of situation. That's why ibeliev the father.

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  13. I believe that the farther's story was not only true but very descriptive. I also hold strongly to the opinion that his father had no reason to lie about his life during the Holocaust. His vivid depiction of life in crowded and dirty ghettos clearly represents his ability to recall his memory. Maus's authenticity is also demonstrated on the countless occasions of the struggle his father went through. I believe that the events of the Holocaust would be difficult not to remember because of the traumatic affect it has on the victim.

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  14. I think the fathers story is true and also very detailed. I don't think he would lie about something that altered his life negatively. I do trust his memory because it seemed like when he was telling his story he could go on and on. This strengthened my trust in his memory. I do believe that it is authentic. An example is when he told Art about how Tosha always carried poison in her necklace and that she poisoned herself, Richieu, Bibi and Lonia. He illustrates everything he says in detail.

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  15. @Garrett

    I agree with you for the most part, but I disagree with you in the part where you say that he would not lie......I think that a person, especially a Holocaust survivor, would lie especially about something like this because he can possible profit from it. Every detail is major, as it can possibly be the turning point of a story.

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  16. @David

    I disagree with you and agree with Garret because i do not understand how in any way Arts father could profit off of lying about his experiences. I believe that in order for him to help his son write the best book possible, that he would give him all of the facts that he could recollect.

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  17. @David

    I also stand where Kevin does. There is not much that Art's father cold profit off of and why would he lie about something that completely changed the course of his life? There's nothing that he could gain from lying about this event

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  18. @David
    I disagree with you because if you were involved with something like the Holocaust and you went through the pain of it you would not lie. The only thing he would get out of lying is shame.

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  19. I believe Art's father Valdek, because I think it would be hard for one to forget about something as painful as the Holocaust. Maus was a very descriptive book and I didn't see anything in the book that sounded like a false statement.

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  20. @Matt
    I agree with Matt. After all the horrific events Vladek went through, their is absolutely no way he didn't remember one detail of his experience in the camps. His stories were very long and I am sure no details of the story were lost.

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  21. I trust is father's memories because such events that took place would be very hard to forget. I believe the story is authentic because Vladek was telling Artie the events with detail and emotion. An example would be when Vladek was sharing with Artie about Anja, how sad he would get that he was now with Mala and how he wishes he could still be with Anja.

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  22. @Kevin Burnham
    I agree with you, and i would also like to point out that Vladek was helping his own son to write a book, and had absolutely no reason to lie to his son about the events that took place.

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  23. @ garret
    I strongly agree with what you say. I don't think that anyone can really make up that story and have a good conscience about it since the Holocaust is such a series event that happened in the past

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  24. @David
    I disagree with your opinion. I believe that Spiegelman's father had no reason to lie to his son about his story. Correct me if I am wrong but I do not think that Speigelman's father had any idea that Spielgelman would write a book about his story. I think that he thought his son was just trying to write down his story before it was too late.

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  25. @ Nathaniel P.
    I agree with you completely. although the father gave his best rendition of what happened during the war many of these events may have been altared through his memory over a long period of time. Even though some of these events might have been altered over time, i still bleieve these stories are mostly authentic because of the detail that was put into them.
    @ Matt M.
    I agree with your example of detail such as when he metions the poison that tosha carried in her necklace and how she used it not only to poison herself but also her three friends as well.

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  26. I believe in the total authenticity of this story because is such a shockingly horrible event such as the Holocaust memories implanted into you mind and it must be very difficult to forget, which Spiegelman did not manage to do. Although, if i were to be skeptical about some of the occurrences of this book i would be of any post war event. While i choose to believe that all the main events in this story to be true i can see how one might be curious to believe something such as how Spiegelman was a 'ladies' man.

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  27. @ Greg Barajas
    I agree with Greg, I think the father had no idea about any of the actions his son would do with the facts his son recieved from him. I also think his father had no right to lie to his son either, i think he shouldve been straight forward with his son throughout their lives.

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  28. I believe that the stories told in this book are true because Vladek had no reason to lie to Art when he was telling him the stories. Also I believe they are truthful because it would be extremely hard to forget what you went through in a concentration camp no matter how old you are.

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  29. In my best reasoning the stories are mostly true, although details may have been blurredd after the fathers various medical conditions and since he was sick with typhous for a portion it may have been hard for Vladek to remember. Ergo, some details may have been ledft out or embelished, but i beleive that the jist of the stories are accuraste.

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  30. Sorry guys, I think I was not clear and you guys took the wrong meaning when I said profit. What I was trying to say was that someone who was an important factor in some plot, war, etc.., or witnessed or gone through something that was big, can write books, be interviewed, tv appearances, etc...Someone can easily do it for the fame and fortune. I am not saying that Vladek's story is false. I am just saying how things can go the other way.

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  31. @ David Hanany
    Are you saying that he is trying to make a profit off of his experiences in the Holocaust? The book was meant to inform us and entertain us, not so author will become famous because his dad was in the Holocaust.

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  32. @David

    Oh, ok I see. your saying he would profit off of the truth of what had happened and not lie to his son. sorry for misunderstanding you.

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  33. I do trust his father's memory in the major parts. Some minuscule details could have been wrong because of how long ago the holocaust was. I believe his father would try harder to remember because he knew Art was going to make a book about it.

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  34. In my opinion, I do trust the father's memory. Atleast most of the story is most likely correct. With age someone can easily forget how something happened exactly but probably has the main view of how it happened. His story probably does contain some false information but it most likely has more truth about it then it being entirely false.

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  35. Art Spiegelman does a great job of using his fathers memories into a novel, but like i just stated its his fathers memories. To be honest there was a couple places in the book were it seemed a little to harsh. Vladek went threw these things whos to say he couldnt of made them sound worse because of the rage and anger built up.

    ps i enjoyed the book not saying its all false.

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  36. @Manny
    I agree with you in saying how memory can be distorted with age. I believe what art's father was saying was very true and an emotional time for him and anything that he could have possibly left out was probably to hard for him to explain.
    And @mattmarty I realize we have the same example in saying how Tosha would carry poison with her. Something like that is hard to reveal to someone and art's father is courageous enough to explain that in detail.

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  37. I do trust Vladek's memory to an extent. He probably remembers the basic idea for everything that happened but not the very minor details like Tosha carrying poison with her for example. He definatly could have remembered it but we can't know for sure. Something that tragic happening to you would traumatize you and possibly make you force yourself to forget it all which could be the case for some of Vladek's memories.

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  38. I believe this story because the small descriptions. No one could make up something like this and remember every small little aspect. The harsh memories help me believe him better because its hard to think someone would make that up.

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  39. @Chris

    I never said he made the book to profit from it. I just gave an example of how one person can make it into a profit.

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  40. Really no story is completely "authentic" because different people have different opinions on certain situation like what he learned in the different points of view of the Holocaust from IMH and SIA. Yes though, I believe that this story is completely authentic from his eyes because a man who saw something saw it theres no denying it. IN contrast he did not tell this story until years after and in my opinion things might have gotten over-exaggerated or forgotten

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  41. @david
    Hey you know man I actually kind of agree because a story can sound a lot better than it actually is because they are trying to sell like I will bet money that maybe a little of this was made up just so they could make the story go along, good observation.

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  42. I do trust Vladek's memory, nevertheless he most likely lied about small things. Examples are peoples names or how close they were to being captured. The point is he wouldn't have lied on big events because they marked his life.

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  43. In my opinion, what needs to be gained from reading the stories of his father is not the specifics of the stories. I believe what should be looked at when these stories are being read are the overall pictures that can be seen in them. I am not saying that I do not trust his father's memory, but on the other side of it, I am not taken his father's memory word for word in a sense, in which case I would not fully trust his memory.

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  44. @ Connor
    I disagree with your point. To me Art's father does not seem to be greedy and willing to lie about his story to make money. Judging from the book Vladek would be to stubborn to go along with the lying about part of his life to the world.

    @MattMarty
    I agree with your opinion. Horrific events often are imprinted in the human mind no matter how long ago it was. Vladek's memory was probably very precise in my opinion for this reason.

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  45. @Nate P.

    I agree with you on the part where you mention that he doesnt really remember all the happened in depth. And that he does mention certsin triwst and turns. Which shows he does give background to it all.

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  46. I rust what his father says about the Holocaust. I mean he has no reason to lie. I belive that he is being honest with his son. The Holocaust is, and was no joke.

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  47. @Connor I do agree with Greg that I don't believe that his father would make up things because he is talking to his son, and has no reason to say it any different then how he remembers it to be. But he might have left important things out or forgotten about events because he is old or might not want to remember it.

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  48. I do not believe his father made up this story. No one would go through the trouble just to lie about a tragedy like the holocaust. Also, the author gives very specific details about the holocaust. No one could make up these things because it gives exact dates and places. I do think the author forgot some things and also added things that might of not happened.

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  49. I believe the story is true. I believe that it is true because of events that his father descibes actually happened. Jew would have to hide in the most awkaward place just to save their lives. There was smuggling of goods for extra money and supllies. The people that would smuggle Jews into their homes were at great risk just as the women that hid Valdek and Anja.

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  50. I believe the story is true because no one would make up a story of pain and regret. In Vladek's story he talks about the different friends he had. How he survived by exchanging goods and being friends with the Kapo. I don't think he would lie about how he worked hard to collect bribes for the Kapo so he would be closer to his wife Anja. In a time of the Holocaust people had to do crazy things just to survive.

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