Survival In Maus II By Artie Spiegelman And Night

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Value is Vital to Survival “Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing” -Unknown. Surviving without having something to value is like walking without legs; tough and grueling. In order to find success in survival during the Holocaust, valuing certain items is key to establishing major foundations to help increase the chance of living. In the Holocaust it is important to protect, care for, and utilize each item. Finding something value and cherish in every way possible is one of the best thing someone can do for not only themselves, but for others too. Creating a safe environment and securing everything of value is extremely important because without protecting the things that someone values most could potentially …show more content…

In the novel Maus II by Artie Spiegelman and Night by Elie Wiesel, having certain valuables are vital to survival because without them it would be almost impossible to survive. Throughout Maus II, if one did not have a spoon or bowl, it would be barely possible to eat without stealing or surviving off someone else for food. Having a spoon and bowl at all times during the Holocaust was extremely necessary to keep safe because prisoners were not allowed to eat food without a spoon or bowl. Therefore, if the spoon or bowl lost, stolen, or broke in any way, it would be almost impossible to obtain a new one. It would be extremely risky to try and steal any type of object because if someone were to get caught, the punishment would most likely be an extremely harsh beating by a guard. Once Vladek retrieved Mandelbaum a spoon, Mandelbaum leaped with joy and replied to Vladek,“‘A spoon! Thank you, Vladek, thank you’” (Spiegelman 34). Vladek asked one of …show more content…

During the time of the Holocaust, prisoners were given ragged clothing and shoes that only had one size. In the concentration camp, clothing and shoe size did not fit all. If someone was larger than another person, the clothing and shoe size would be the exact same, despite body sizes. While in Auschwitz, prisoners would barter and trade for different sizes of shirts, pants, but most importantly, shoes. Shoes are one of the essential items the prisoners use every day to make sure their feet stay comfortable, so if the shoes someone wore were too small, or too big, they would have the opportunity to barter with someone else to find their correct shoe size. While Vladek collected the shoes and brought them back to his friend, Mandelbaum, Vladek spoke to Mandelbaum, “‘Wooden shoes that fit you’” (Spiegelman 43). While Vladek was fixing a guards shoes, he also got the opportunity to choose some new clothing items to help him and Mandelbaum. Once again, Vladek went to fetch Mandelbaum a brand new pair of shoes for Mandelbaum to help him out because his old shoes were falling apart more and more every day. Once Mandelbaum found out the news, he leaped in excitement just seeing the new shoes in Vladek's hands. Mandelbaum knew that it was extremely hard to find a pair of shoes that fit perfectly, so when he finally received a properly sized set of shoes, he could

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