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Aftermath of War
“How do you like it?” I was reading Maus, a graphic novel written by Art Spiegelman while waiting for my next flight to Cedar Rapids when a stranger came up to me and asked that. Before I realized, we were exchanging thoughts about Maus and I was called to board the plane. One word to sum up Maus is influential -- to the stranger as a budding graphic novelist and to me as an oblivious historian. I would still know nuts about the Holocaust if it were not for Maus. Spiegelman also made it comprehensible to relate to the suffering of the war victims, which reminds me a lot of my late maternal grandfather. The aftermath of war significantly affects its survivors because it worsen their health and taught them to value life in such a timely manner.
Although Vladek and my grandfather were not involved in the same war, it is similar how war severely affected their health. “It’s good for my health, the pedaling.” Vladek narrated his story while pedaling in chapter one of Maus I. Besides looking after his heart; he had to take a lot of pills so not to worsen his health. Moreover, in chapter two of Maus I, he mentioned how he can no longer see that clear because of the hemorrhaging and the glaucoma he suffered from. As for my grandfather, he was constantly admitted at the hospital for heart condition. When he was not on the hospital bed, he had to take a lot of pills. In fact, he was shot at his left leg, which made him limp. Though the bullet was already removed, he had a hard time moving around in addition to his poor heart condition. They were both free from the war, but they were trapped inside the aftermath. Because of the poor health condition, they had to go through another survival phase so to ‘enjoy’ the freedom.
War taught its survivors a different level of appreciation towards life. Most of us, rush over the hour to build the perfect concrete jungle but to them, every moment is to be spent with their loved ones. Regardless of how painful the suffering is, to love and be loved make the pain invisible in the end. As an example, despite the hardship that Vladek had to go through he had Anja. In remembrance of Anja, it enlightened him up. It gave him the strength to survive through the Holocaust. Then there was Art, to keep him alive after the war. They might both quarrel a lot, but Vladek did everything he could to keep Art closer to him. In book two of Maus, Vladek planned to have the summer with Art and his wife just to spend more time with him. As for my grandfather, he and my late grandmother babysat me whenever my parents had to work outstation. I was too small to understand the unconditional love my grandfather had showered me, but the repeating stories signify it. He would not leave me out of his sight. I was literally treated like a princess. He knew better than to waste another life, which is yet to unravel the world.
Spiegelman did make it easier to comprehend the Holocaust, but to me it is a whole new exposure to a different scene of war. It was hard enough to relate to the suffering people had to go through back home, let alone imagine the hardship the Jews had to endure. Moreover, the sharing of life experience has made war a medium of getting people closer. The narration given by war survivors has helped me the very least to be grateful of just being alive. We need not go through such hardship, but it is challenging to ensure that their fight for freedom was worth a lifetime. Be appreciative of ourselves especially and the surrounding. The aftermath of war does kill its survivors’ health but it makes them appreciate the opportunity to be alive in great measures. “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” - Robert H. Schuller
