"You have to struggle for life"

A particular moving part of the “Maus,” story is in chapter 5 on page 122. At this point Vladek and Anja have just heard of Richieu's death and Anja cannot handle the immense emotions it evokes. She is so overwhelmed by the situation that she tells Vladek that she wants to die. Vladek holds Anja and tells her “to die, its easy… but you have to struggle for life.” Even though this story is told as ac artoon, the visual that accompanies this scene is powerful. Anja breaks down and falls to the ground once she hears the news about Richieu. The next image shows her screaming that she doesn’t want to live and Vladek is embracing her attempting to comfort her.

This scene is gut wrenching and makes you appreciate the bonds of family. Vladek and Anja had been through so much devastation and seen vast amounts of torture but still the one thing that made Anja want to die was the death of her child. Seeing the Nazis take over their country and ruin lives was nothing compared to their child being exterminated? I cannot image the strength it took Vladek to remain a pillar of support for Anja at this time and embrace her. The death of Richieu broke Anja down to the point when she didn’t feel human. How could Vladek find the strength to keep his composure and be there for Anja? Its amazing that Vladek was able to console her and literally pick her up off the groun and save her life. They both knew that the future was bleak but still were able to move on through the strength of being together. Without Vladek, Anja would have given up and not moved from the ground. This illustrates the importance of love and family in everyday life.

I thought it was very fitting that Vladek said dying is easy but you have to struggle for life. This scene stands out to me because I think every reader of this story can take something away from this specific part. No matter how much I my schedule is busy, or my homework assignments are meaningless, or issues I have with girls, it is what makes life worth living. We wouldn’t be living if we weren’t struggling. I think what Vladek said can be applied to everyone’s lives. If everything in life is handed to you and you never have to struggle then are you really living? Strength, knowledge, and creativity stems from struggles and obstacles. How can someone who never faces obstacles truly grow as a person and fully mature? If you asked me throughout the day if I would like everything handed to me, I like everyone else, would probably say “yes please, just give me the answer!” But after analyzing this scene in the story I think what Vladek said is relevant to my daily life. My situations are not on the same scale as this story but they definitely apply and prove that I must encounter and overcome struggle sin my life by leaning on support of my personal and professional networks.