As Vladek continues to tell his stories he realizes that he does not want parts of his life and stories, which he is telling his son in the book. Artie lies to his father and incorporates all of it anyways. This really shows how much Vladek means to Artie, compared to how much telling the full story of the Holocaust means to him. Therefore, without the tension and poor relationship between father and son, there might now be such an over-powering Maus. Conflicts arise in many parts of Maus and in many relationships; however, Vladek, especially, has a lot of tension because of the trauma he faced during the Holocaust. Vladek’s relationship with Mala is filled with conflicts due to Vladek’s money craze. Vladek is always complaining to Art about Mala saying, “Mala makes me crazy. Only she talks about my money, always about my will” (1:67). Vladek is a well off man, and yet he spends his money so sparingly. He only gives Mala fifty dollars a month to spend on everything, which drives her insane. Vladek even brought back groceries that had been half eaten and managed to get six dollars worth of new groceries. When Vladek comes back into the car, Artie is surprised he …show more content…
Mala and Vladek have their differences as well because of Vladek’s trauma of losing Anja. Mala is also unhappy with the way Vladek treats her she says, “I feel like I’m in prison, I feel like I’m going to burst” (1:130). Vladek controls all of Mala’s actions and keeps her from spending money the way she wants to. Vladek, also, is not caring for Mala. He always compares her to Anja. Mala even says, “I think he only married me because I am the same size as Anja” (1:131). Mala knows Vladek loves Anja and that she will never fill Anja’s shoes, but she still stays with him. Mala stays with Vladek because she too does not want to be alone, and even though they argue and hate each other they are the only two who understand each other. In the end, they stay together because being alone after facing such pain is something no survivor