How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Page Number). Page numbers refer to The Complete Maus.
Quote #10
“And now I thought: ‘How amazing it is that a human being reacts the same like this neighbor’s dog.'” (II.3.72)
An ironic statement, given the representation of characters as animals in the text.
Quote #11
“Like wild animals they would fight until there was blood. You can’t know what it is, to be hungry.” (II.3.81)
Like Quote #9, another ironic statement, given the representation of characters as animals in the text. The conditions in the camp are so brutal that people are reduced to fighting with each other like animals to survive.
Quote #12
“I got dizzy, so like now, I grabbed to a bush, and I fell…I crawled to the side so people can see me but won’t step on me. Finally someone helped.” (II.5.113)
Now in Florida, Vladek nearly has a heart attack and has to crawl by the sidewalk hoping for help. The stress on “finally” suggests that many people passed him by, a horrifying reminder that human beings may not have changed so much after the Holocaust after all.