CHAPTER 4

Maus II Study Questions: Chapter 4: "Saved"

On pages 102 and 103 we once again see conflict between Artie and Vladek.
-What is Vladek's main concern?
-What blocks Vladek from readily achieving his goal?
-What is Artie's main concern?
-What blocks Artie from readily achieving his own goal?

On page 105 we learn that the war is over; yet Vladek does not immediately gain his freedom.
-Why not? Why didn't the German soldiers put down their weapons and surrender?
-The German soldiers had planned to kill Vladek and his comrades at the lake. Why didn't they?
-After their reprieve, why didn't Vladek and his comrades keep the abandoned Nazi machine guns?
-Does it surprise you that Vladek and his comrades get captured again by the Nazis?

Pages 109 to 111 find Vladek once again hiding from the Nazis.
-Can you list all the places that Vladek has hidden in Maus and Maus II?
-How does this fit in with Spiegelman's sustained anthropomorphic metaphors?
-Can a mouse ever be a heroic character, or are they necessarily passive creatures? Why or why not?

Why do the American soldiers like Vladek?

What treasure does Vladek find for Artie?

Can you list six things that Vladek's treasure teaches Artie about his family's history?
These items are priceless, yet Vladek wants to keep the cigar box where he has been storing them.
-Why does this seem so odd to us?
-Why would this seem like perfectly acceptable behavior to Vladek?

What do you think really happened to the other valuables which Vladek and Anja left with Richieu's Polish governess, Janina?

Given the choice, would you prefer to have the treasure Artie gets, or those other valuables that "the Nazi's grabbed away"?

Chapter 4 ends with Vladek worrying about storm windows. Why does this matter so much to him?