In Maus, Vladek’s survival during the Holocaust resulted from his innate survival skills, gift-giving, and economic activity. Anja played a major role in Vladek’s will to survive since they shared a deep love for each other which made Vladek keep persevering through the pain in hopes to one day he will reunite with Anja. Luck is an important aspect in Maus considering Vladek and his wife Anja were both able to survive the Holocaust while the majority of their friends and family members we not as lucky. While Vladek survived physically through the terrible events that took place during the Holocaust, mentally Vladeck suffered long-term consequences as shown by his hoarding and obsessive behavior along with his inability to trust others.
In order to survive Vladek is compelled to make difficult decisions which portrays him as being resourceful and intelligent. In autumn, the Jewish prisoners were working at a camp where they live in unheated tents so the only thing keeping these prisoners warm was their uniform and a light blanket but this was not enough for the bitterly cold winter that was approaching. The prisoners were fed two meals a day consisting of some bread crust and a small portion of soup. Every day Vladek cleans himself in the river while all the other Jewish…show more content… He is seen as more useful compared to those prisoners who do not know multiple languages or have had a variety of jobs. Vladek knew five different languages including Yiddish, Polish, English, German, and Hebrew which helped him convince a train conductor to smuggle him across the border, even though Anja was afraid of the consequences that would come from being found out. Vladek is able to hide the fact that he is a Jew because of his ability to interact with others in a way that makes them attracted to him by his kind
