Samantha Claes English 12 Mr.

Hanley 25 February 2014 Vladeks Choice In Maus, by Art Speigleman, Vladek is portrayed as a survivor due to chance encounters and his own choices. Vladek has had many chance encounters that have lead him to the survivors path. He also had to make a lot of decisions during the war that could of lead to his death, or survival. Ultimately, it was his decisions that got him to where he is now. Lets look at the chance encounters in which helped Vladek survive. I learned a little shoe fixing watching how they worked when I was with my cousin Miloch. (Maus II, pg. 60) Vladek got the job as a shoemaker by chance because he was in the right place at the right time. Had he not been there as a tin man, he wouldnt have become a shoemaker. Had he not become a shoemaker, he could have been killed once his tin man skills werent needed anymore. If they brought you here theyll put you to work. Theyre not ready to kill you yet. (Maus II, pg. 25) Vladek just happened to be with this group, and he got to work. If he had been with another group, he could have died. Being there with that group was a chance encounter. Also, Vladek had to make a big number of decisions that helped him survive. Therefore I arranged for us a very good hiding spot. (Maus I, pg. 110) Vladek made the decision to hide, which helped him and Anja survive the first part of the war. Had he not hidden, he would have

been sent to a camp and his chances of dying would have increased dramatically. At the camps, people were dying quickly for no reason. What this Gestapo wanted, it needed a specialist. So, going from work, I hid this boot to sneak it to a real shoemaker. (Maus II, pg. 61) Vladek had to make a decision about whether or not to take this boot or try to fix it himself. Due to his decision to take it to get fixed, he got a sausage, and lived to see another day. Had he tried to fix the shoe and failed, he could have been beaten to death then and there. Out of the two basic survival tactics, Vladeks decisions were the most important. Had he not had the mind to make rash decisions at the last possible moment, he and Anja would have died in the beginning of the war. Im not going to die here! (Maus I, pg. 54) Vladek chose to sign up for the work and he got to be in a real bed. This was the first decision that led Vladek to Anja and them to freedom. Without his mental decisions, he would have been dead as a war prisoner. However, he kept on going and fighting and making good decisions. Of course he had to keep his sanity for his choices to come out good. That can be attributed to Anja. With the thought of her, He kept on going and he lived. Vladeks decisions are what got him to where he is now. Without his level head, and his sharp instincts he wouldnt have survived the war. Vladek had many life altering decisions to make, a lot in which put others lives at stake. He could be called a traitor for some of the decisions he made, but instead hes called a survivor. Being a survivor of war, due to his choices, makes people consider him a hero.