Stone 1
Alyssa Stone
Block: 2
Mr. Hanley
AP Composition
The Key to Survival

“Even in this place one can survive, and therefore one must want to survive, to tell the story, to bear witness; and that to survive we must force ourselves to save at least the skeleton, the scaffolding, the form of civilization.” (Primo Levi) Over eleven million people murdered; six million Jews destroyed. The aftermath of the holocaust seems to be a topic almost too devastating to revisit. Millions of innocent lives perished during World War II; however, a mere handful of minorities fought for their survival. Reflecting on such a horrific event in history, Art Speigelman, the author of the graphic cartoon novel Maus I and Maus II, shares his father, Vladek Speigelman’s story. Vladek describes various details about the holocaust from pernicious Nazis, to gas chambers that took the lives of many. It becomes a wonder of how Vladek actually survived. The question seems to be what key factors played a role in Vladek’s survival?
Approximately two thirds of all living Jews in Europe were exterminated. Some holocaust survivors based their theory off of choice, while others are thankful for the lucky path they may have crossed. During Vladek’s experiences in concentration camps, he made many choices that granted him his life. Numerous days Vladek would hide in bathrooms to evade gas chambers, while others walked into their death. Vladek displayed immense amounts of perseverance. He continued making wise choices to guarantee his life another day. He once said, “To die is easy, but you have to struggle for life.” (Maus I, 122) Because Vladek had the urge to live he decided his fate instead of just accepting it.
Another key factor that played a role in Vladek’s survival is the luck he was granted. Many instances Vladek could have been killed off with the rest of the Jews; however, he somehow managed to survive through the holocaust. He always managed to be in the right places at the right times. When the Nazis were taking volunteers to transfer camps and work for them at a new location, Vladek became one of those men. Although he suffered hard, brutal work, he received cloths, a bed, and a warm place to sleep. “survival in the holocaust wasn’t based on skills or resources, ultimately it was random, based purely on luck.” (Maus II, Ch. 2) Jews were selected randomly by the Nazis to die, and any one that survived was thought to be extremely lucky. When Vladek’s friends had plans to run from the gaurds, they were all shot in the back, Vladek took no part in it; he survived.
Although Choice and Chance seem to be the conflicting ideas that accompanied Vladek’s impeccable survival through such a tragic event, both seemed to create a balancing effect. Vladek would make certain choices, choices that were extremely risky and sometimes even crazy. Those risks he made guaranteed him is life, but the fact that he was granted survival after making such choices it becomes evident that numerous times Vladek got lucky. Vladek would Jump in freezing cold rivers at night to make him feel warmer in the cold. Many others that committed the same stunt got hypothermia, luckily Vladek did not. Every action he made benefitted him rather than harmed him. He also saved food and cigarettes to give to the gaurds as bribery to be switched to another camp. Vladek’s strategy gained him successful outcomes rather than being killed on the spot. These choices led to positive outcomes, and ultimately Vladek’s survival. Strategy was his game and luck was his guidance. Vladek said that “the last moment we must struggle together! I need you! And you’ll see that together we’ll survive.” ( MAUS I,122) He was a man of determination, not only did Vladek seem to be a lucky man, outliving many other prisoners, but he had the will to live. Vladek wanted to survive and not once did he make the decision to give up.
While both choice and chance played a role in Vladek’s survival, it becomes evident that neither factor outweighed the other. Although it seemed that Vladek was predestined to live, his personal skill and strategy helped as well. Vladek was born intelligent and blessed with luck.

See you in summer.

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Don’t hit me again with that hammer. Don’t let it eat me or digest me with its feels. Through our bleeding we are one and if our bleeding makes us one then I will have to tell you all about the time that the time that I fucked my ex best friend behind the shed of my moms older house. Many memories I had there. I hate that house. I almost died there. Twice actually. No one understands what it’s like to be a molecule inside of the voice. High and strong and loud. and loud. and loud. louder now is the best album ever written and as long as that fact remains I can’t feel bad about this. I’m all hopped up on. You don’t ever know. You won’t ever know. I don’t talk to you. I don’t talk to anyone. I don’t want to talk to anyone. The most beautiful sound I have ever heard was her crying a song about the shuttle deaths happening every single night in my mind. I see them bright in my ears and I smell them too harshly. It’s putrid really. My fingers can’t understand or make sense of it. Will you love me yet? I don’t deserve to have that dessert. I’ll get fat and then I’ll have to hate myself. I’ll die you know. I’ll fucking kill myself to end your undying dying. Death to my life in the filler. Filler. My life is filler. I am filler. Fuck you. I am in the cd jacket sleeves hiding away in my minds mind. My mind has a mind, have you ever thought of that? I’m better than you. I hate myself. I’m better than you. I hate myself. I’m better than you. I hate myself. I’m better than you. I hate myself. I’m better than you. I hate myself. Canada. I’ll see you there. bring a blindfold. You won’t make it out with your heart intact because this box is going to be going into that box and then our boxes will burst and I’ll feel you change me. You change me you know. You do. You do. You do. You do. You do. And to meet someone who I feel has a SOUL so beautiful and then I breakdown and play the breakdown with the rocket ship. don’t worry about what the rocket ship thinks of you. don’t worry about the rocket ship thinking of you and what you think of it. Read my words. Eat my words. Forget me. I can’t seem to. You can. I’m jealous. I have never been to the tomato. THURMAN? yes. That faggot. Never seemed right in the head. Always knew he was a queer. Can you relate? HUH? CAN YOU RELATE FAGGOT? no. No you fucking can’t. Oh Favey was always a boy of miscalculations. his muscles weren’t big. His legs weren’t lean. Lean. Trim the fat from my awful. Awful. Awful. I can’t eat. Do you know what it’s like? Is my figure appealing yet? I’m disgusting. I cut my thighs. Do you know that? No. You don’t know that I cut my thighs. It’s not like I’m ever sad or anything either. It just feels really fucking good. Have you ever even tried? I’m dead serious. Cut your thighs. Cut your thighs. High fives all around for cutting thights. Blistered wrists black in the soil. Soil. You’ve soiled it. Anything I ever wore. It always ended up smelling like you anyway. It was the best. I’m glad it’s gone. You’re never coming back. I’m never trying to find you. Grind gears into me. The acoustics of this room has got me thinking all these thoughts about you and none of them are good. You wouldn’t like to know the kind of awful person I am when I get around to thinking. I think. and I think too hard. I don’t know what it does to me. Hopefully I’ll go insane and I’ll just eat up eating myself whole. Eating. I love to eat myself whole. I just stop existing for awhile and it all comes to an end. Once again I know I’ll never be brought back to life, so don’t try. Don’t try. Try. Do or donuts are so fucking good christ. Everyone I ever met in highschool doesn’t matter anymore because they were all beta faggots anyway. The scum of the earth you know. They really are. They deserve death. They don’t deserve a woman. Someone to slave after them. Clean up their messes. Make them food. you know. I lie a lot. Did you know? I don’t fight fair and I hate your best friend. I used to love her you know. I loved a lot and I lied a lot. Into myself I write my sins. I don’t write my tragedies. I journeyed into dark. I didn’t come out. It’s silver and silent. It’s silver and cold. I’ll beg for your forgiveness when I’m dead. I’m too stubborn. I deleted you. Out of it. You’re no longer in it, but I want it to stop anyway. All these voices crush me into. into. in two. these. Wasps. Called out. Never. Perspire. the spire has been lost to the horde. If you like my status, like my status. If you like the way my face looks, if you like the way my band sounds, send me pictures of yourself. You’ll be more naked than adam and eve were and I’ll put my hand inside of your mouth. It will have a flavor. Can you guess the flavor? Adultery. It tastes just like adultery. You’re worthless.

False. That wasn’t the correct answer Gerald. Don’t accuse me of that act. Act that way to back that up the actions that acted out altercations in a car accident. I died there. You die in two days. Two days. Do you know what it’s like to feel ugly all the time? Can’t never have never complete will form do me to the youth silverdome. SILVERDOME? yes. Conform. consume. conform. consume. conform. sonic ice cream cones. Sonic. Hedge. Trim the hedges. Trim the hedges now or the pleasure you revive from my phoenix down. USE TACKLE. Ratatatatata is evolving now the charimander tonight inside eevee agumon. Agumon. Yes? No. No. No. No. No. Don’t do this again. Don’t do this to me, Agumon. You were having my shield this side of the fat burns in the failing college and doing lots of and doing lots of and doing lots of do you think it makes you cool? Are you popular now? Do you hang out with stevie kay mcshildner behind the shed with the bad boys? smoking weed and talking about girls you’ve slammed. No. You don’t. And you never will. You’re not like those guys. They’re not like you. Forget about them. Don’t forget about her. That slut. Never again thinking about life in the form of insanity fractures. Fertility has never sounded like this, and chivalry is dead. Much like rock and roll and black metal. Coffee. Black. My heart is cold and black much like the coffee I drink every single day in spite of you. I spite you with my coffee. The money I spend isn’t worth the abuse I take to the body I lend and I can not ever repay my guilty gears in tears for fears of sheers and the frets in my heart are all crooked and wrong and i walk out of order and i talk out of tune and I talk out of tune and I talk out of tune and I talk out of tune the way that you that you walk out of order the way that you way that you talk out of tune. I hate myself and I want to die.

Salad has never been in the shape the the grass has the police answering all the calls to the cellphones and then never have to be returned to the banana. Bananana? Said the young man. Yes young man, Banananana. Indeed. However we shall not forget the last time any of us had any kind of fruit. The fruits had been gone for a long time from here. I have never seen the amount of cash in the wallets of these men. how long they have been in the guild for a century. At least. At least that happens to be the way things seem around here. This jargon has never held me responsible or accountable for my actions. My actions haven’t been declared either. I never hope to see the last seed of the seven countries. Counter the clock said my shoes are too big. I never like to think about shoes. I never even like to think of them being too big, but counter the clock is always right. I never think about it. I never. I. However I. Never I. Sever I. Severed milkshake from my family tree. Nevermind what it thinks of me. I don’t think of me and so the milkshake doesn’t either. I hate that milkshake for not thinking of me. Why does it not show me its true form? Don’t. Start. Please don’t start. can’t you understand that for one moment of my life I feel like this night has been the night to never again see a star falling from the moon into the pool by the shadow of the willow trees branches. They’ll never be recovered. At least I don’t think so. And even if they were recovered what good would it do anyway? Can’t you ever do anything right? can’t you? No. No you can’t

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