Morality and Ethics

Morality is the "principle concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior" (Google) while ethics is "the branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct" (Google). Both words mean to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong. It seems easy to decide what is right and what is wrong as we do it every day. However, when the Jews get thrown into the Holocaust, identifying between good and bad becomes the choice between life and death.

In Maus, the recurring theme of morality and ethics emphasizes how emotional strain will inevitably affect the decisions of humans. First of all, the Nazis reduce the Jews to sub-human status such as pests like mice in order to degrade the Jews even further. This shows that the Nazis did not believe the Jews were people worth of ethical consideration. They believed that Jews weren't even capable of differentiating what's a good and what's bad. The Holocaust also creates multiple situations that illustrate the strain of morality and ethics in desperate times. Everything that holds humans together, like friends, family, and community, crumbles. During this time, "it wasn't anymore families. It was everybody to take care for himself!" (Spiegelman 114). Vladek emphasizes this to Art so he realizes that Jews were put in impossible circumstances where people had to throw away their morals to live. For example, the Jews had to start stealing food because it became so scarce. Some Jews ratted out others in hopes they would survive. Whole families were torn apart and friendships were irreversibly damaged. The ones that remained after the Holocaust would forever have to live with the guilt and regret of their selfish behavior.

The Inevitable Doom

Death is a topic that is often avoided. People become uncomfortable when the word "death" is brought up. Everyone knows that they will have to face death one way or another but they are all scared to do so. Few embrace death and live their remaining moments to the fullest but the majority is imprisoned by the fear of an abrupt end. During the Holocaust, the Jews always struggled with life and death. They couldn't rest for one moment without being forever conscious of Nazis right around the corner. However, many Jews were fated for death because no matter how hard they tried to escape, the Nazis cornered and murdered them.

In MAUS, the Jews are represented by mice. They are constantly running from the Nazis who are depicted as cats. Once the Jews realized they were being hunted, they attempted to run away from the Nazis. However, it was all in vain as the Nazis eventually found them and killed them. On this page, Vladek and Anja get captured by the Nazis and get taken to Auschwitz. This is the first time the Nazi symbol is completely visible without anything covering it. It represents how the Nazis have finally rose to complete power and nothing will stop them from killing all of the Jews. It also illustrates that they've finally achieved their true form and have the means to murder millions of more people. In the top panel, the truck's cargo area is striped to serve as prison bars. It shows how even from the transport, the Jews will start to feel their imprisonment and how helpless they really are. The next few panels show how the Jews in the background are shaded in black. This means that they will all meet their death at the concentration camp. Vladek and Anja are shaded in white as they will come out of Auschwitz alive unlike most of the Jews. Finally, the last part of the page is not in boxes. This could mean that this part of Vladek's life was so traumatic that it is not confined to the past. It leaks into the present and the future and haunts him for the rest of his life. The picture doesn't even leave room for the page number. It suggests that time becomes irrelevant and unrecordable as the days before the deaths seem endless and dragged on. For the Jews, the minutes and hours become a mush of numbers as they trudge through the day. In addition, the sign above the truck is covered in ice which radiate a deadly atmosphere. It portrays the cold environment waiting for anyone who enters the camp.

Ultimately, Vladek and Anja were captured even after multiple attempts to hide from the Nazis just like many other Jews. I believe that they survived because they had a will to live and get reunited which leads into my final thoughts: How did they survive over the millions of other Jews that died? Was it Vladek and Anja's will to live that saved them or was it fate that spared them from their inevitable demise?

Male Standards

As I read "The Women Warrior" by Kingston and "Feminism is for Everyone" by Bell Hooks, I thought about how males have to fit a certain mold just like females. Even though it is not mentioned frequently, guys are only considered "men" if they have the necessary qualities. This includes being muscular, tall, handsome, and etc. Why do guys have to endure these standards? Why is it looked down upon if a guy does cheerleading or ballerina? Why aren't guys told to embrace their bodies? These are just a few questions that popped into my head during the class discussions.

We grow up seeing male models, even toys, with chiseled faces and statue-like bodies. We are pressured into becoming an attractive, athletic being just like how Kingston had "to grow up a women warrior" (Kingston 20). I understand that this is the same case for females, but the media never focuses on the unattainable male ideals. We can't cry, show pain, or show any weakness at all unless we want to get bullied. Do the people today even realize how difficult it is for guys to act strong 24/7? Do they care about our self-esteem or emotions? I believe we can spread awareness by combining absurd female and male requirements and maybe create a new movement called "genderism". Since the "feminist movement has lost clear definitions" (Hooks 6), we can start a unique campaign by combining both male and female ideas and "share the simple yet powerful message that 'genderism' is a movement to end"(Hooks 6) unreasonable gender standards.

The Default Setting

I never realized that I could be so self-centered. Anything that happens in my life, I am apart of it. My daily routine from getting up for school to going back to bed, everything I experience is from my point of view. I've been through 12 years of schooling but never thought once about this simple question: Am I self-centered?

I realized after reading David Wallace's story, "This is Water," my default setting is fixed to being a selfish human being. This setting made me recognize that I subconsciously believe that "I am the absolute center of the universe, the realest, most vivid and important person in existence" (Wallace 233). For example, when the hallways get crowded and jammed in Troy High, I often get frustrated and have an urge to scream at everyone's slow pace. I forget to acknowledge that fact that everyone around me is human as well. The emotion of anger and self-righteousness overcomes any logic and reasoning I once had, so it causes me to look down at all the other bodies that are taking up my pathway. As I was reading this short story, I also came to the conclusion that everyone in this world is selfish and egotistical. Even though these words have negative connotations, I believe that people are just following the way of life taught to them when they were young: Live your life to the fullest. As a result, it causes people to become self-centered at times without realizing other people have needs just like they do. However, this setting isn't like a game setting. You can't just switch it from hard to easy. It requires conscious effort from everyone "to stay conscious and alive, day in and day out" (238). Individuals have to comprehend that if they don't attempt to figure out what's truly real, they will drown and fade from reality forever.