PROMPT:
A term used to refer to difficult decisions made during war time is a
"choiceless choice". A modern cliche' would be stuck between a rock and a
hard place. Vladek had to make "choiceless choices" during WWII. Some
of the decisions he made were ones that he may not have made in
peacetime. In your opinion, what are two of those choices? Explain with
textual evidence from Maus I and/or Maus II.
Guidelines:- Your response needs to be 75-100 words. At the end of your response please put your first name, last initial, and school initials in parenthesis.
- Your response needs to be directed to the main prompt but reflect your reading of the responses that have been made prior to your post. You cannot merely restate what those before you have stated.
Two of the choices that I think Vladek made were hiding from the 'Cats' or nazis and going against the nazis even though he knew he shouldn't have. Another time that Vladek made one of these choices was when he he went along with hiding the paintings and he knew that if the ‘Cats’ found them they would hurt him, tortured him and could have even killed him. These choices are choices that Vladek had to make in that second of time and he wasn’t thinking about it until later in the story.
ReplyDeleteOne of Vladek's choiceless choices was when he was in battle and he shot the German. Vladek had not fired a single shot up until his leader ordered him to start shooting. Another choiceless choice is when he had the illness in his hand and he wouldn't let it heal. Vladek kept going to get it checked on and every time he wouldn't allow it to get better. He did this to get out of the work. He figured that he didn't have anything to lose. Later on however his hand gets cut open and he is forced to work anyway.
ReplyDeleteTwo choiceless choices I think vladek made was hiding from the Nazis. Vladek snuck onto a train dressed as a Pole so he could return back to his wife and kids after being freed from the camp he was in. Another choiceless choice Vladek made was when he went into war as a polish solder. Vladek killed a German solder when he was being attacked, the Germans later on found him and toke him in as a POW. Emilio.U,(SAHS)
ReplyDeleteTwo choices that Vladek made were when he gave his son, Richieu, to complete strangers in hopes of safe keeping and the other was volunteering to go to Birkenau in Auschwitz II where Anja was located. He would never have given his son to another family, nor risk his life to speak with his wife during peacetime. Sadly, he later discovered that his first choice still resulted in his son dying and the second resulted in a savage beating by a “Cat” guard though he was able to speak with Anja again.(92 words, Leo dL, SAHS)
ReplyDeleteTwo “choiceless choices” Vladek made were not letting Richieu hide with a Polish family during the Jewish roundups and deciding to trust the smugglers with their lives. Vladek decided to not listen to Mr. Illzecki and send his son to live with a Polish family like he did. Fortunately for Mr. Illzecki his son survived, but Richieu did not. Later Vladek was told by Mrs. Kawka about smugglers that planned to take Jews to Hungary. They all agreed to send Abraham first and if he sent word that he was safe, then they would head over there too.
ReplyDeleteJacob S, SAHS
DeleteI think that Art can write this book because it's his father and plus he gets all the information from him because his dad told him the stories.in the beginning of the book its starts off sad because when he falls off the bike and his friends leave him his dad says “until you spend five days in a locked room with no food then you'll know the meaning of friends” also in the beginning we learned that his dad is a remarried holocaust survivor and his first wife killed herself.
DeleteSam S (SSIV)
Two decisions that Vladek made were when he had Richieu, live with complete strangers in hopes of having him safe and the other was volunteering to go Auschwitz and going to Birkenau where Anja was situated. He would never have had his son live with a family that they hardly knew, or risk his life to speak with his wife during peacetime. Both of these choices went against him, Richieu had died and his second decision led to the beating of him by a “Cat” just to speak with his first wife Anja. (Grant Raby SAHS) (96)
ReplyDeleteTwo decisions that Vladek made during the war was that he killed a German man in the war. He was ordered to shoot at the enemies and he kept shooting a German man until he had stopped moving in the bushes. Another decision that Vladek made was when he gave his son up Richieu to strangers he had never met before. Even though his son was killed, he gave him up in hopes of giving him a safer and better life. (Sebastian K. SAHS 80 Words)
ReplyDeleteTwo decisions that Vladek had no choice to make was when he put Richieu in a safe home with complete strangers for the better good of his life. Even though later on Richieu did not survive. The second choice was when Vladek went into war in a polish uniform and saw a German soldier and in his mind was forced to shoot. Eventually the Germans had caught on and took Vladek as a Prisoner of War. These decisions impacted his life tremendously. (Jonathan B SAHS) (82)
ReplyDeleteTwo choices that Vladek had to make in the holocaust that he rather would not have made in life outside of the holocaust, are the giving up of his son to strangers and killing a man. Vladek had to give up his son to strangers to keep him safe, which in the end did not work out due to Richieu’s death. Of course anyone with a child will do anything possible to assure his or her safety. Vladek, who was drafted as a soldier, killed a man disguised as a tree. He felt oddly accomplished, and figured out the identity of this man was named Jan. Obviously Vladek killed this man for the reason he would have killed him, and otherwise Vladek probably would not have. (Nick S. SAHS) (103)
ReplyDeleteVladek had made many "choiceless choices" but two choices stuck out to me. One choice is when Vladek gave his Richeiu to his friend to keep him safe until the war ended. But he was not kept safe and he was killed. Another "choiceless choice" that Vladek made is when he was shooting in battle. He had not fired a single shot until his commanding officer told him. These choices could have changed Vladek's life forever. (Word Count: 76)
ReplyDeleteBrian McCorkle - SAHS
One of the two "choiceless choices" that Vladek made was letting Richeu go with, Anja’s sister, Tosha. He believed this decision was in Richeu's best interest, even though Richeu died later on because of this decision. The second choice was talking to his wife Anja while he was in Auschwitz even though he risked his own life to just speak to his true love. These decisions were considered choices but not to Vladek because he believed these were decisions that were the best for him and his family.
ReplyDeleteDavid Davalos-SAHS (word count:88)
Vladek made “countless choices” but these two really got to me. One the choices that really stuck out was that he killed a German man, he was ordered to shoot at the enemies but he had shot a German and stopped shooting after the bushes stop moving. The other act that had stuck out to me, was when he had given up his son to Richieu to a bunch of strangers in hope his son livening a better life.
ReplyDeleteXavier Ibanez (Word Count: 84 )
Throughout Maus 1 and Maus 2, Vladek had to make various choiceless choices. An example of this would be when Vladek makes the decision to send Richieu to live with a Polish family, for his own safety. This ultimately resulted in the death of Richieu. The other choiceless choice Vladek made was when he shot the German soldier. The reason Vladek shot the soldier was because he feared for his life, he saw a tree moving and it was his instinctive reaction to shoot at the tree, but it ultimately resulted in the death of a man.(Bruno Lopez, SAHS,97)
ReplyDeleteOne of the two "choiceless choices" Vladek made that stuck out to me was giving Richieu to Anja's sister instead of a Polish family. This was what he thought was best for Richieu's wellbeing but he was unfortunately incorrect. Another choiceless choice he made was dressing up as a Pole to get on a train that would lead him to see his family again. It was a smart choiceless choice nonetheless and it was something he wanted to do since he wanted to see his family. (Rene A SAHS)(86)
ReplyDeleteI was able to find two significant instances in both Maus 1 and 2 in which Vladek had to make “choiceless choices” where the outcome was uncertain. Maus 1, where Vladek proposes the idea to Anja that they should give Richieu to Polish strangers in hopes of saving him. Anja rejects this plan and they later pay the price. Maus 2, is when on the march from Auschwitcz where the other prisoners plan to bribe a guard Vladek must make a decision to run or stay. He later makes the right choice of staying when he sees his friends betrayed by the guard they bribed. (100 words)
ReplyDeleteLuke C. SAHS
Vladek made many “choicleless choices” but the two I’m picking is when he shot the German and hiding from the Nazi’s. When he shot the German, before that he had never shot a single shot yet until his officer told him to shoot. If Vladek had never shot the German he could’ve been a different man when he came out. The second choice was escaping the Nazi’s and going on the train dressed as a pole so he could be with his kids and wife and be a free man. (91 words) Justin M. SAHS
ReplyDeleteVladek had to make many “choiceless choices” in order to live through the holocaust. Throughout both books Vladek was always in hiding and he had to be on top of everything or else he could been caught by the Cats. A choice he had to make was to leave his family in order to survive this horror. He also chose to work hard in the labor camps or else he could have been send to death camp.
ReplyDeleteJoseph C. (SAHS)
Two times that Vladek was forced to make a decision happen during the beginning of the war in Maus 1. The first is when Vladek does not want to hurt any of the "cats" or Nazis, but is threatened by his leader on page 49 and kills a man in fear of being punished. The second is later on in the war when he gives up Richieu to a woman named Tosha believing that he would be able to survive with her, but is killed by Tosha on page 111. (John S SAHS) (95)
ReplyDeleteThroughout Maus Vladek made many choice less choices that he needed to make to get through the Holocaust. Vladek made the choice of leaving his family so they wouldn’t get caught by the Nazis. He works hard at Auschwitz so he does not get killed or beaten. He does everything for the benefit of others and so his family can live out their lives. He made choices that may know have been wrong, but they were necessary for survival and he made the choice knowing he would have to live with his decision. Nick R SAHS
ReplyDeleteThere were many times during Maus when Vladek made choicless choices. When Anja is sent to a mental facility, Vladek goes with her to help her through the process, because nobody else would. Vladek had no other choice but to support his wife. Another choice Vladek was forced to make was to shoot at the German bush soldier. If Vladek did'nt do this, he met have been killed during the war or have his position given away. Fellow soldiers also commanded him to do the task so it might have looked like he was a traitor. John Thatcher SAHS.
ReplyDeleteVladek has made many “choiceless choices” throughout the entire book. One of them was when he gave his son, Richeu, to strangers he had never even met before. He did this because he had thought that this was the best option for Richeu and that he would be safe. Another one of the choices he made was when he killed a German. Vladek was told to shoot even though he can’t see. So Vladek shoots blindly while also being shot at and kills a German soldier. Adam L - SAHS (86)
ReplyDeleteThe first choice Vladek had to make was when he killed a soldier for his and his fellow soldiers. When he was a soldier in the trenches of the war someone was shooting at him but he couldn’t see him. A Polish officer commands Vladek to shoot, even though he can’t see anything. Vladek begins shooting, and before he knows it, he is also being shot at. Vladek shot and killed someone before the Polish soldiers lose the battle and are taken prisoner by the Germans forces.
ReplyDeleteAnother choice was when Vladek has no choice but to surrender to the cruel Nazi forces and be imprisoned. If he tried to resist he would have been beaten or even killed. John K (119 words) SAHS
I believe that the impact of the book is understated in the influence it spreads. Even though I believe the book is rather gritty and dark, despite the anthropomorphic creatures used to represent the three different groups of differing morality. The book intersects two timelines in the story; that of Art interviewing his father, Vladek, and his father's story of how he survived the Auschwitz concentration camp. Throughout the story, the story is bleak, grim, raw, full of imagery one would expect of a story so grim but not the medium used to portray it, including the real life suicide of Art's mother and all of the cruelty involved in the camps. It's truly claustrophobic and bleak in nature, and I'm glad I've read it in order to gain more insight into the truly troubling nature of the story
ReplyDelete