Mr. Coward and Mr. Brazil: 8th Grade English

Maus II Study Questions: Chapter 2: "Auschwitz (Time Flies)" (26 points total)

  1. ( T / F ) In just nine days, May 16 to May 24, 1944, over 100,000 Hungarian Jews were gassed at Auschwitz.

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  2. ( T / F ) Art Spiegelman did not want to adapt Maus into a movie or television special.

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  3. (2) When was Nadja Mouly Spiegelman born?  Did Vladek or Anja ever get to see her during their lifetimes?

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  4. (2) Why do you think Artie has "shrunk-down" to child size?  What point is Spiegelman trying to make?

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  5. (2) Artie's therapist, Pavel, says:


    6. "You think it's admirable to survive.  Does that mean it's not admirable to not survive?"

    -What does he mean by this?  Do you agree with him?
     

  6. Artie quotes a line by Samuel Beckett: "Every word is like an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness."


    7. -What does he mean by this?  Do you agree with him?
     
  7. After the session with Pavel, Artie "grows-back" into his normal size.  How can you explain this?

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  8. (2) Artie listens to his conversation with Vladek, hears himself yell at Vladek, and becomes small again.


    9. -Why does Spiegelman choose to keep drawing attention to this?  Do you think this technique is effective?
     
  9. (2) Why does the tin shop foreman, Yidl, dislike Vladek?  What does Vladek do to change Yidl's opinion?

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  10. (2) Who helps Vladek establish and maintain contact with Anja?  Why does she help Vladek and Anja?

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  11. (2) How does Vladek become a shoemaker?  Why is this a good job for him to have?

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  12. (2) How is Vladek able to help Anja survive Auschwitz?  Would she have survived without his assistance?

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  13. (2) What is Vladek's second job as a tin man?  What were the Germans trying to do then?

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  14. Vladek sees the gas chambers and crematoriums at Auschwitz, yet he was able to live to tell the story.


    15. -Does Vladek's description of those places help you to better understand what happened at Auschwitz?
     
  15. (3) Is the scene with Artie and Francoise, on page 74, ironic?  What is Spiegelman reminding us about?


    16. -Why do we not care about the mosquitos that Artie kills with his can of poison gas?