How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Page Number). Page numbers refer to The Complete Maus.
Quote #4
“No, darling! To die, it’s easy…but you have to struggle for life! Until the last moment we must struggle together! I need you! And you’ll see that together we’ll survive.” (I.5.124)
Friendships and families are falling apart all around them, but Vladek and Anja are able to maintain their relationship and survive the war. Vladek is committed to saving Anja at great risk to himself; she helps him maintain a moral core.
Quote #5
“You had to pay Mrs. Motonowa to keep you, right?” “Of course I paid…and well I paid…What you think? Someone will risk their life for nothing?” (I.6.144)
Many Poles had to wrestle with the issue of whether to help the Jews escape the Nazis. Mrs. Motonowa is kind to the Spiegelmans, but she does have a price.
Quote #6
“Hmm...your number starts with 17. In Hebrew that’s ‘K’minyan Tov.’ Seventeen is a very good omen. It end with a 13, the age a Jewish boy becomes a man. And look! Added together it totals 18. That’s ‘Chai,’ the Hebrew number of life.” (I.1.18)
In the concentration camp, Vladek meets a Catholic priest who gives him an optimistic reading of his prison number. This encounter gives Vladek, a religious man, some sense that God is still present, even in a concentration camp.