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?