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Vladek Meets Anja
SUMMARY: Vladek leaves his clingy and encroaching ex after his cousin hooks him up with a girl in his cousin's class, named Anja. Vladek becomes engaged to Anja in a couple of weeks.
DEVELOPMENT: It shows what Vladek is like by leaving his ex, who was latching on to him too strongly, for a smart and submissive woman. This is a turning point as it sets the story and shows the conflicts and characters.
THEME STATEMENT: Anja is Vladek's family and so when she dies, the idea of trauma was at play. -
Richieu, Vladek's firstborn, was born
SUMMARY: Richieu, Vladek and Anja's firstborn son, was born in this month. He was a big baby as he weighed 3 kilos; compare that to his mother who was only 39 kilograms.
DEVELOPMENT: With Vladek's first son, he has now become a father and it forces him to grow up and assume the parental role. This is a turning point as he is becoming a father and having a family. This relates to the theme as it brings to attention the family aspect of holocaust survivors before the full theme can be introduced. -
Germans come into small town
SUMMARY: When the family was on a train to go to a sanitarium inside Czechoslovakia, they passed by a town where the Swastika was hanging high up in the center of town. There was a pogrom, an execution of Jews, happening.
DEVELOPMENT: It's when he realizes the problem facing him in the holocaust. It also shows how he must grow up and thick skin to face this. This is a turning point as it's the marking of the start of problems.
This relates to the theme as it's the start of his trauma. -
Vladek was drafted in the Army
SUMMARY: Vladek was drafted into the army; he was given a couple of days of army training and then he was sent on the battlefield. They were in the trench and on the other side were Germans with everything quite.
DEVELOPMENT: Vladek here is forced into the field of battle. Here he learns how to deal with hardships. This is a turning point as he learns how to deal with traumatic events.
THEME: War is a place of trauma and it's this that takes him away from his family and relationships. -
Relocation and Hanging
SUMMARY: The Germans ordered all Jews to be relocated to a ghetto. Here the Nazis hung Nahum Cohn and his son after they found out that they were selling goods with no coupons to make example of them.
DEVELOPMENT: This depresses Vladek and traumatizes him as they had made negotiations with them. This a turning point for Vladek as it shows how diabolical the nazis were.
THEME: This relates to the theme as Vladek turns away and hides as he becomes traumatized by the fact that his friends had died. -
Theme Statement
Trauma is a dangerous weapon that can affect relationships and family.
