Zelda and Daisy's Interal Conflict

Zelda Fitzgerald, Scott Fitzgerald’s wife, shares many qualities with Daisy Buchanan in the Great Gatsby. In her school, Zelda was considered a popular girl and had many boys after her, and Daisy is described as a beautiful woman that attracted many men, including Gatsby. She was very charming and beautiful and during her time was a flapper. As a child, she was always rebellious and when she matured she became involved in things like drugs and alcohol. Similar to Daisy and her appreciation and love for wealth and power. For example, the visit to Gatsby’s closet she cried because of all his nice shirts. When Zelda was a teenager, Fitzgerald was stationed at a nearby camp and eventually persuaded Zelda to go out with him, and they fell in love. Zelda wanted all the attention and Fitzgerald was willing to give everything he had to her. Furthermore, Gatsby won over Daisy’s heart and has spent all his life planning their reunion. Both Zelda and Daisy did not marry Fitzgerald and Gatsby; at first when Fitzgerald proposed to Zelda she refused because her parents filled the idea in her head that he could not support her, and Daisy married Tom Buchanan instead of Gatsby. The wealthy life that Zelda lived eventually caught up to her and she started to suffer from mental health disorders that led to the couple’s toxic relationship. Zelda also tended to be dramatic and one night Zelda threw herself down the stairs because her husband praised an actress. Daisy is also caught in the complications that come with that much money, she cannot leave Tom but she clearly has a strong love for Gatsby.

Picking Apart the Propaganda

As soon as I saw this Nazi propaganda poster I knew I had to use it because it truly represented how the Nazis saw the Jews. In both Maus and this propaganda poster, the Jews are depicted as rotten mice. However, in the poster, the mouse is a morph between a human and an animal. This makes the creature look even more horrific and displeasing to the eye because not only are they an ugly animal to the Nazis, they are more accurately depicted as an ugly monster.  The image emphases the idea that the Jews did not belong anywhere or to one species; they are some awful “thing” that the Nazis were trying to exterminate.

In both pictures, the Jews are being trapped in some way by the Nazis, and there is a bigger, scarier force surrounding them. They will both be engulfed by the higher power which are the Nazis. Whether it is by the hawk, in the propaganda poster, or the big mouse trap, in Maus, they both are a symbol for defeat and suffering. Even though Mala and Vladek are about to be killed by the mouse trap, they focus on each other rather than dwelling on the idea that they could be walking into their deaths. Unlike Mala and Vladek, the other mouse appears to be terrified of the hawk above him. This could symbolize how the Nazis believed they had all the power against the Jews and that they are strong enough to make an entire population follow them. In their own propaganda poster, they are sure to show the authority they have over the rotten Jews, but that is not the case for Mala and Vladek. They represent the part of the population that will not make their lives miserable because the Nazis, and will not give up so easily.

A Guess on Speilman's Purpose

     I couldn’t help but wonder why Art Speigelman incorporated this set of panels into the book. I know it has some sort of significance and I feel that by bringing a sense of the real world into his writing it would be very effective for the comic. But what is the unique quality that it brings to the comic?

     Speigleman makes many motifs apparent in the chapter, Time Flies. The motif of animal masks is a demonstration of the phony sense of empathy he feels from the men interviewing him. All they want to do is make money off his story, but Art feels guilty. He does not want his story to blame one person or be used as this extreme weapon, instead he intends for it to provide insight onto what happened during the war. Although his story is portrayed in a comic and may inaccurately represent the Holocaust to some people, it also adds to the theme of something being superficial. You can’t put the Holocaust into words and one person’s experience can be extremely different than another’s; so, you will never know what is real.

     The motif of flies throughout this chapter represent little memories from the past that he cannot escape from and he is being tortured with them around. The flies are attracted to the pile of dead bodies that lay under him which can symbolize how he still carries around the guilt of these people because he is keeping them “alive” with his story. No matter where Art goes the flies and dead bodies will always remain a part of life. The dead bodies still appear to be mice, and this contrasts with dates of his relative’s deaths, Speigelman includes. He can never fully comprehend what happened because one can’t explain how something that horrific happens to real people.

Writing the Unwritable

When I first glanced over page 83 of Maus, by Art Spiegelman, I saw four mice being hanged. Although, when I looked closer there were technically three and a half mice. Vladek’s upper body appears to be the top of the last body being hanged. This demonstrates when he saw his friends die or when he pictures that image in his head, a part of him dies with his friends. Vladek feels guilty about living through the war but in a sense, he is not all there anymore. The constant acts of violence he witnesses or experiences wears him down which leaves nothing but a lifeless body there one could say. He is unconsciously functioning and because a person cannot function without their whole body. Half of the lifeless body is his and half belongs to his friend; the top half is his own body because his memories are what dominate his life. 

How would the author be able to portray that feeling of emptiness in a normal picture or in plain writing? Instead of either of these he utilizes the placement of the comic boxes. By doing this he creates a bigger image that holds another abstract meaning. This is more accurate than writing or drawing it because there is really no way to show these feelings. Similar to how Powell said there is no accurate way to portray the Holocaust. Vladek did not necessarily express these emotions with his son directly but looking back, Art realized his body language and moods conveyed another part of his story. Art notices his father’s reactions while writing this comic, and uses it to portray pathos. Adding another element of meaning into his comic book, Art’s work creates a new depiction of the Holocaust.

New Meanings

     This past week, I listened to one of the most influential speeches I have ever heard. A commencement speech, “This is Water” written by David Foster Wallace has opened my eyes to a powerful message. In the beginning of the speech when Wallace says, “The most obvious, ubiquitous, important realities are often the ones that are the hardest to see and talk about” it immediately hooked me into the speech (232).  He defines this phrase above as a “banal platitude.” This means an obvious, overused sentence, like a cliché. In an English class, a cliché is something that is looked at as unprofessional or unnecessary to incorporate in your writing, but in some cases I think they are an extremely power tool.

     When you look at the banal platitude (or cliché) as it’s overused definition, it is another boring message you’ve heard about a hundred times. Although, if you choose to look at it with a deeper meaning you will see that it holds a very powerful truth. Wallace emphasizes that if one can learn to think beyond the basic meaning and get rid of our “default settings” it will lead to real freedom, which is understanding and being aware. Just like when you read a cliché, to find the stronger hidden meaning you must peel it apart. As you learn to think deeper about life situations, it is so much easier to see the beauties in life.

     When Wallace says the important realities are the hardest to see, it completely makes sense. Because we see these realities all the time, we tend to dismiss it and move on. It is similar to a monument that is built in the middle of the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Most people tend to blend it in their heads with the rest of their thoughts. I learned when you look deeper into something obvious, you will develop a new meaning of that entity, and it could change how you view it.