Maus Vs. Night

While reading a book you often think "What if?", "Why?"or think about the message the story is telling. In the book Night by Elie Wiesel and the books Maus I and Maus II by Art Spiegleman these questions and many others come to mind while reading. Both books are about World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust and the Nazi death camps. The books are not only similar in they are set in the time of World War II but show the meanings of survival, love and hope. In both books, the main characters are faced with death or the possibility of death everyday. Life is the un-known and death is normal. In Maus II, in order to go to the bathroom, Vladek (the main character) has to not only step on the dead bodies but must also urinate on them. This shows how common death was and how rare survival really was. It is seen similar in Night, "There was no longer any questions of wealth, of social distinction, and importance, only people all condemned to the same fate-- still un-known" (19). This quote shows that if they continue to worry about wealth and social class they will die, they need only to worry about the bare minimums, food, water and warmth. Which are very hard to come by. Another similarity is hope. It is seen in both books that hope and love will help carry you to survive. In Night, a big reason Elie survives is the hope and love he gets from his dad. With having his dad with him, he feels as if he has a reason to keep going and not to give up. This is similar to Maus I and II. In these books Vladek and his wife, Anja find ways to keep their love and hope strong. By living not only for themselves but for the other as well. If one dies, so does the other. They both make sacrifices to help keep the other alive. Whether it be sharing food or writing a letter, love and hope keep the two families alive.