Where are we?

  There was definitely a lot going on in Maus in Part II.  One of my more favorite aspects was the panel changes.  I noticed at about page 25 the direction of panels changed and I found myself wondering which way should I read.  I noticed this came about the same time that the bulk of the focus was on Auschwitz.  Since we will never truly know how this experience was for the many who parished there we can only hope to experience some disorientation and confusion when we try to understand what happened and follow the story.  I've noticed also that confusion and disorientation is a common theme in Jewish memorialization of the Holocaust and is necessary to seperate the reader or common tourist from reality in that he/she may enter a different place and time altogether.  I also noticed that the sketch style changed a bit especially with the wooded scene on Pg 83 and surrounding pages.  There seems to be an attempt to use texture with the artwork to convey a meaning.  I'm not sure exactly what the analysis here would be other than seperation from time and place and transportation (as already stated above).
  The gentlemen who takes in the stray animals intrigued me as well.  I have to say right away I thought that this is obviously because had the Jews not had people to take them in and care for them even more would have parished.  Now the man is paying forward his good fortune (of having survived) by returning the kindness to hopeless animals who are without food, water, shelter, and most importantly anyone to care for them.  This action takes me back to Schindler's List when he begins to cry and states he could've saved "one more".  Pavel obviously has the same mentality, to save just one more and so Art states that his place is overrun with dogs and cats (Page 43).  While his shrink (Pavel) says he doesn't have any guilt about surviving the camps however I think this is a lot of the reason he takes in the animals.  He cannot get back the lives of those lost but he can save the animals, this is at least in his control.
  I could go on about Maus however I won't this in and of itself is a lot to think about.  I enjoyed the second portion of the book more than the first however overall it was a great read!