2/23: The Last Days & Maus Ch.

1-3

Write about a scene or moment from The Last Days that provoked an emotional response in
you. How did it make you feel? Why do you think you felt that way?

What is ONE word that describes Spiegelman’s relationship with his father? Use evidence from
the text to support your choice.

What are some of the ways Spiegelman sees his father still being affected by the Holocaust?
Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

Reflect on today’s discussion. How has it influenced your thinking about the text? What
questions do you have? What aspects of the text do you want to explore further?

3/2: Maus Ch. 4-6

Choose a panel from Ch. 4-6 that stood out to you. Describe the panel, provide the page
number, and explain why it interested you.

Vladek and his family are forced to make many impossible choices during their time in the
Jewish ghetto. Select one of the following impossible choices and explain why you agree or
disagree with the choice the characters make. Use evidence from the text to support your
answer.
● Whether or not to send Richieu into hiding with Mr. Ilzecki’s friend
● Whether to give Anja’s grandparents to the Jewish police or keep them in hiding
● Whether Vladek’s father should stay in the safe line with his son or sneak into the unsafe
line to be with his daughter and four grandkids
● Whether to die from poison or from the gas chambers at Auschwitz
● Whether to kill the man who found their bunker in the ceiling
● Whether to try to escape to Hungary

Vladek and Mala do not get along. Why do you think they remain married? Why did they get
married in the first place? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

Reflect on today’s discussion. How has it influenced your thinking about the text? What
questions do you have? What aspects of the text do you want to explore further?

3/9: Maus II Ch. 1-5

As he interviews his father, Spiegelman witnesses Vladek do and say some very questionable
things, including being racist toward a black hitchhiker. Write about a time an older relative or
friend did something problematic. How did it make you feel? How did you respond? How did
others who may have seen or heard respond?
How much of Vladek’s survival depends on fate/luck and how much of it depends on his
skills/intellect? How would Spiegelman answer this question? How would you? Use evidence
from the text to support your answer.

On page 64, Vladek says, “yes...about Auschwitz, nobody can understand.” What is the point of
telling the story if nobody can truly understand it? Use evidence from the text to support your
answer.

Reflect on your experience reading Maus. What is the effect of using the graphic novel medium
to tell a story about the Holocaust? Do you think Spiegelman was effective in telling his and his
father’s stories? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.