Monday, October 20, 2014

Expectations

How did Maus meet your preconceived notions of a Holocaust story? How did it differ?

36 comments:

  1. My expectations for this story were honestly the same because I knew the book would tell the story the best it could without being to graphic or too vulger the comic and the story molded very well. Nbk Robert E, Lee H.S.

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    1. I think the writer did a great job not being so graphic like you said, so everyone could enjoy it. Although the book did exceed my expectations I see why yours could've stayed the same. PF R.E. LEE

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  2. I think this book would be great for people who cannot handle violence because it is in comic form. It explains and mans life who lived through this horrific event, with such detail. You can really get a feeling of what he went through. And it met some of my expectations but I still would like to learn more and dig deeper in this huge event that took place. But other than that I think this book is good so far.
    CD F.H.S

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    1. I also agree with the fact that It suits people that cant handle violence as well as others. I like the fact that anyone can read it.

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    2. I agree, the comics are serious enough but not to a gory level. SH F.H.S.

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  3. I though this book would be more sad and depressing than it was, but I think it gives a very good representation of how a mans life in the Holocaust was. This book is easier to read than books like Night because it doesn't leave you with such a sad feeling as a book like Night did. CB Lee HS

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    1. I agree with CB. the graphic novel went into good detail of someone's specific tribulations in the Holocaust. Robert E. Lee High School

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  4. When I started reading this book, I thought it was going to eventually talk about his experience living inside of a concentration camp, so I was shocked when the book ended right when they got to the concentration camp. I did not like how it ended because it left me with suspense. Even though I did not like how it ended, I still think it is a good book and a great way to portray the Holocaust. I also agree that this book is easier to read than most Holocaust books because I usually cry when I read Holocaust books and this book did not make me cry. The other Holocaust books are more depressing and heartbreaking.

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    1. I agree with your point that the ending was not satisfying, and that event though it is a holocaust book it does not make you as emotional as other holocaust recollections. All of the tension between Vladek and Mala are a good example of straying away from the sadness.

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    2. I also didn't like the huge cliff hanger at the end. It left me in very much frustration wondering why they could've done that. It was indeed a great book in my opinion too. PF R.E. LEE

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    3. I didn't like the ending either, I felt as if it came to a confusing end. I also agree with the fact that the other Holocaust books I've read have more of a depressing feeling and to me thats what the main emotion of the Holocaust is

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    4. I also wish the book wouldn't have ended there but it was still a good book regarding the Holocaust. AR F.H.S

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    5. I was also shocked by the ending and I didn't like it leaving me in suspense. EM F.H.S

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  5. My first preconceived notions of this book were that it would be a flashback of Vladek's time in a concentration camp. Since that is the case, it did not meet my notions of what a holocaust book should be like, but that is not a bad thing. Especially since Maus is a graphic novel that tells the story of a man with many connections that slides through the holocaust to tell his story. The ending didn't satisfy me as much as I wanted to, but why should I complain. The topic of the book should not have a satisfying ending if it has to be a happy one. I think the fact that the ending is not very polished shows that the flashbacks and Artie Interviewing his father make it feel more legitimate, which is a good thing considering the topic isn't fictional.

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  6. Maus exceeded my expectations in very many ways. The comic book feeling to it really made the horrific scenes, not so horrific. I like how instead of showing the Holocaust in a disgusting and gory way, it showed it in a less gruesome way so everyone could enjoy the book, even the squeamish ones! Not knowing what happened to them at the end when they arrived at the concentration camp wasn't very enjoyable though. The big cliff hanger made me wonder what could've happen to make him stop writing. All in all Maus was a great book, sometimes I didn't want to read it, but when i did i couldn't set it down. Amazing book that I think anyone should read, exceeded my expectations by far. PF R.E. LEE

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    1. The ending was also a problem to me because it left me hanging at a time when I really wanted to read on. I also didn't want to read at some points but once I started it wasn't bad. EM F.H.S

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    2. I agree with both of you on the ending of the book. I thought it was pretty good book, but yes at some points it did get boring. JW FHS

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  7. Maus exceeded my expectations a few years ago when my teacher first read to my class. Now that i was able to see the illustrations it demonstrated how to living through the Holocaust was like in a less gory way. As in most graphic novels the ending of the book I didn't like I wanted more out of the book.I would highly recommend someone to read this book as it was a enjoyable experience for me even through I've read it more than once.

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  8. This comic book exceeded my expectations in several ways. The gory scenes weren't so gory. The illustrations helped me through the book. It was a great book.
    M.S. R.E.Lee

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    1. The Illustrations helped me through the book as well, it helped me be able to get a visual idea of what was happening. it was a good book JW FHS

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  9. This graphic novel was very interesting. I thought the book had a great deal of the basics of the Holocaust; however, I wish the story went into a little more depth. I think the story would suit people just learning about the Holocaust.

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    1. I was thinking the same thing, it cut off before more details were revealed. SH F.H.S

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    2. I completely agree with you. This book did not go in to much detail about all of the holocaust. It should have went in to more depth.
      CD F.H.S

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  10. The book in itself held a lot of information about the holocaust in a more entertaining way. The book was interesting and informative. The depth reached in the book reached above my expectations for a graphic novel. I would defiantly recommend this book to anyone interested in the holocaust.
    Dylan Hogsett R.E. Lee

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  11. I enjoyed the book much more than I thought that I would. I'm still not a huge fan of the idea of a comic conveying a documented story. I feel like it takes away from the serious aspect of it all, but I did enjoy it. The pictures could help a visual reader but for me I enjoy a more realistic book. I was really surprise at the emotion conveyed in the story as well, parts of it were really upbeat and happy and others were heartbreaking. All in all, Maus is a book i would definitely recommend to anyone interested in comics and the Holocaust. SH F.H.S.

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  12. The book is a good way to tell the story of the Holocaust especially when it comes to people who may not do well with gore or people who may not be prepared to hear everything about the Holocaust and the total brutality of it. I found that the book grabbed my interest even though I normally don't enjoy non fiction books and I feel it would do the same for others. It was also a good visual and helped people who learn or read better that way. I found the book to be a good way and interesting way to learn. AR F.H.S

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  13. I expected the book to be easier to understand because of the pictures involved and for me it definitely was easier and more interesting with the usage of pictures. Overall I liked the story but at some points it was too slow for me and bland. It differs in a few ways than I expected, one being that I thought Vladek would mention a lot more about the Holocaust. I did not realize how much the present would be brought up but in a way it was good to do that. It shows you where he is today after surviving the Holocaust and the person he has become from his experiences. I was hoping to learn more about his experience; however many of his stories were short, simple, and to the point. More detail would have made it better. EM F.H.S

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  14. I personally didn't like the book and I'm not looking forward to reading Maus II. It was a different way to view the Holocaust and I'd prefer to watch a movie or a documentary on the Holocaust. Although it was very informational. I would recommend this book to a young student that wants to learn about the Holocaust. PB FHS

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  15. Going into reading this book I was kind of scared to see how the holocaust would be depicted in a graphic novel. Personally, I thought it would be easier to understand but I just didn't get how Art Spiegelman was going to capture it. It ended up being a very good book and capture moments perfectly and did what it was supposed to do a reader. It did a good job of keeping me interested. I would recommend this book to any average day reader or someone with a little background on this horrific time. JW FHS

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  16. I have become more aware of the Holocaust from reading several survival stories and from watching movies about the horrible event. Many of the stories are similar as they are usually told from the perspective of someone who survived through unbearable pain and suffering. Although Maus was similar in many ways, many parts of the story differed from other Holocaust stories, making it unique. Its similarities include the survivor’s constant fear of the Nazis and how Vladek, like most Holocaust survivors, was constantly on the run moving from place to place and having to go into hiding. What separated this story from others was how Vladek found a way to get on the good side of a supervisor to obtain the food he needed to live and help is wife out. (131) CAA STA BLOCK 1

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  17. The experience it gave me was one that few people have the opportunity to obtain. Through Maus, I was able to see what it was like inside the camps. There are hundreds of documentary's and stories about the camps, but few that give a detailed account of the day to day events inside one of the most gruesome of camps. From my past knowledge to what I have now, I feel as though I really have relearned the holocaust. With the beginning of the book, I found out how the Nazi's first began their invasion of neighboring states and the seizing of the Jewish population. (105) STA JC Block 1

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  18. 3. To me Maus did conceive the notions of a Holocaust story because it tells the story of a survivor. This book conceive me because of other books that I read told the same story. This book convieved me because I like how they portrayed the Nazis and the Jews. I like this book because it tells how a Jew had to live during that time if they were captured. The Holocaust was a horrible time for the Jews because they tortured them at the camps until they were almost dead or without strenght. They also left the Jews to starve without feeding for days and if they fed them they would get a piece of bread. They would have the Jews work for them. The killed either by putting them in the gas chambers or dying of starvation. To me it didn't differ because this how I expected the Holocaust to be. (134) AV STA BLOCK 3

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  19. I have heard many holocaust stories throughout my teenage life; real, fake, similar, and different. In other words, I know the background history of the Holocaust’ including its main events, concentration camps, process for killing Jewish people, and how the rooms, chambers, and cabins looked like. When I think holocaust, the first thing that comes to mind is death. It’s pretty obvious, about 11 million people died in the holocaust, including Jewish people, non-Jews, and children. In Maus, death is obviously mentioned many times; however, when I first looked at what the story was about, I imagined a really sad story of an event that took away more than 10 million lives. (113) GC STA BLOCK 5

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  20. Maus met my expectation like being a Holocaust story is like Jews are taking away and put in concentration. In that concentration, they are put on to work until they die or if they have no longer used for them they kill them in the gas chamber or shoot them. I thought that would sound like a lot of holocaust where a lot of Jews died. The difference between Maus and a Holocaust story is the Maus is passing of an experience they felt in the holocaust and the knowledge of what it was like to be tortured. Holocaust story is trying to tell how they survived during that and the thing they made sacrifice for in order to live. (120) RR STA Block 3

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  21. Before I read this story and just looked at the cover, I thought this story was a little less graphic and explicit with all the animals and comic style book. But I soon found out this was not the case. It had all the components and image telling, like any other holocaust survivor story. Art used animals to represent the people of Germany/Poland as symbolism to give the story more meaning and understanding.(74) Jacob S sahs block 4

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  22. What I inferred about the book is that it is going to be like all the other books written about the holocaust, but when I actually picked up the book and read it, I realize it was more than a holocaust book with mice instead of humans. I knew this when I read the part of the novel where Artie tells Vladek that he wants to make his story different from all the others. (73)

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