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“You murdered me, Mommy, and you left me here to take the rap!”
Why does Artie blame himself for his mother’s death in The Complete Maus?
The death of Anja Spiegelman because this prompt was ludicrously specific, this is okay for an opening statement. But if the prompt is just a standard thematic one, bringing up evidence or a plot point this soon should be avoided. Might also be better to reword this to 'In TCM by Art Spiegelman,...' so that you go from the text --> specific point and gradually 'zoom in' is a key emotional I'm admit this is just a pet peeve of mine, but try to avoid this word in favour of a more descriptive one. Every time I see this, a voice in my head just screams WHICH EMOTIONS?? point in the graphic novel The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman. A comic embedded in the graphic novel titled “Prisoner on the Hell Planet” depicts Artie’s recount of the event. Artie shows himself as a prisoner, blaming himself for Anja’s suicide. this is also quite specific - try and leave your intro for an overview of your general ideas.
A quote from Prisoner on the Hell Planet describes Artie’s various emotions he felt, “You murdered me, Mommy, and you left me here to take the rap!”. okay, I like that you're using the quote first and formost, but try and have a more general T.S. like 'Throughout TCM, Spiegelman showcases Art's tumultuous relationship with his mother.' or something like that. The first part “You murdered me” embodies Artie’s resentment to Anja, saying her actions killed him emotionally. This phrase also shows Artie projecting his guilt of her death onto her, reversing the roles. However, Arties still calls her “Mommy”, a childish term evoking a sense of dependency and connectedness; something Artie still craves from his mother. The final part “you left me here to take the rap!” shows how Artie feels blamed for Anja’s suicide- both blame given by himself and others. this is a good discussion of this quote, but it'd be better placed in a more substantial body paragraph where you link this to a broader idea/thematic concern.
Artie perceives that others blame him for Anja’s suicide. this is also a bit too specific - try to have your topic sentences be more idea-centric, rather than character/evidence-based. A family member is drawn with a thought bubble of “It’s his fault the punk”. this sentence feels a bit out of place; try to link this with what comes before/after it. Although nobody told Artie it was his fault, the blame accusations are not entirely resultant of projection from Artie. Upon finding the comic, Mala tells Artie “It was like how you said” reaffirming Artie’s suspicions of being blamed for Anja’s suicide. If others are blaming Artie, he is likely to feel at fault for her suicide.
Within the comic, Artie illustrates reason to be blamed for the suicide. He draws himself in bed, with his mother anxiously at the door. She queries “Do you still love me?” and Artie, facing away from her replies “Sure ma”, a cruelly cold curt response to a final plea for affection from his mother good point! 
. Like in Maus, Artie is brutally honest with his mistakes, even to depict himself as a reason towards Anja’s suicide. Artie blames himself for her death because he has reason to, as shown in the comic. at the ends of your paragraphs, try and zoom out and say something more generally about what Speigelman is saying
However, Anja’s mental health was not consistent even before the Holocaust. see above re: topic sentences The death of Richieu would have cause deep trauma to Anja’s emotional being. Artie knows this, and also feels like he can never compare to Richieu. Artie refers to him as a “ghost brother” and envies him. In Arties eyes, his parents saw the photograph as a perfect child. A picture who “never threw tantrums” and would probably “marry a rich Jewish girl”. The pressure of sibling rivalry with a perfect child gave Artiea deep-rooted guilt of never meeting his parents’ expectations. This guilt carries over to his mother’s suicide. Richieu would never have rejected his mother’s love. most of this paragraph is purely summative, and the sentences don't really link together. Instead, try to structure each of your paragraphs around a particular point (e.g. Art's feelings of guilt affected him throughout his life) and then make sure every sentence and every bit of evidence aid you in reaching that point.
Artie is also shown to have difficulty relating to his parents, mostly through his interactions with Vladek. “I can’t even understand my father, how am I supposed to understand Auchwitz” try to integrate this quote so it fits your sentence Arties complained to Francoise. <-- ?? Artie’s ability to understand his parents is tied to their story. okay, true, but again, your ideas aren't really connecting to one another here When starting Maus, instead of skipping to the war Artie requests “Tell me how you guys met”. Artie wants to know the story of his mother so he can finally understand her, just like how he tries to understand Vladek through his stories. His inability to connect with his mother gives him reason to blame himself for her suicide. Artie’s search for his mother’s memoirs is persistent, showing his drive and importance he holds to them. He continuously pesters his father with questions about them, even tears his bookcase apart much to Mala’s dismay. When Artie finds out Vladek threw the diaries away he only mutters one word, “Murderer”. Arties assigns the blame for Anja’s death to Vladek because he “killed” the stories she left behind. This shows that understanding Anja’s story was paramount for Artie’s guilt for her death. Artie can now never amend his failed connection with Anja. This discussion is a little clearer, but consider zooming out and looking at what Spiegelman is saying overall - your paragraphs become really strong if you can draw some sort of idea-based conclusion here
Artie blames himself for his mother’s death for many reasons. For his whole childhood he couldn’t connect with her or live up to her expectations. Around her suicide, Artie is blamed by others and he accepts this blame and believes he failed at being a caring son. Even when Artie tries absolve his guilt, the remnants of Anja’s story are lost due to Vladek. There's a good use of textual evidence here, but you also need to zoom out occasionally and have some sentences like 'Therefore, Spiegelman showcases the consequences of war and the ways it affected the lives of the characters even after it was over.' That'll strengthen these discussion significantly!
HLS's comments regarding your L.A. piece are also spot on - being more specific about
WHAT the language features are and
HOW the author wants readers to think/feel would make a big difference here
Hi
Will you be doing this next year, for the new study guide.
Thanks
Absolutely. Can't let you 2017ers get through next year without incurring my wrath
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