What I Have Learned

During my time at Defiance College I was not happy to find that writing was required. I dislike writing and I find it very boring. However AH120 was a lot different then what I thought it was going to be. It was not the normal writing class. I thought that we would only learn writing techniques or how to cite sources. While we did learn better ways to do both of those we also learned about history. We learned a lot about the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, and lynching in our country. We watched such movies, as Ararat, Strange Fruit, and a documentary on Emmett Till. We also read Maus. It was different from other novels I had read because it was a graphic novel. It was fascinating learning about the Holocaust from that point of view. Before this class I thought I knew a lot about the Holocaust. Throughout the course of the class, however, I learned some things that I never knew. I also learned about the Armenian Genocide. Honestly before this class I did not even know there was an Armenian Genocide. Therefore, this part of the class was very enlightening for me. I found out that there was genocide of the Armenian people by the country of Turkey and that Turkey is trying very hard to sweep it under the rug like it never happened. Also I learned about lynching this semester. Like the Holocaust I already knew some things about lynching. I, however, thought that lynching was only hanging which it is not. I also did not realize how many people were killed. This in total was a very eye opening class for me.

Which Image is Most Haunting

The picture i found most haunting was the picture of Ami "Whit" Ketchum and Luther H. Mitchell. This picture took place in Nebraska in 1878. This is a very disturbing picture because not only were the people in the picture burned alive but they were partially skinned. All the pictures were very disturbing. I found this one picture particularly disturbing because the people in the picture are just laid out. There are just lying on boards for all to see. Even in death they could have no peace. I do not understand how people could act and be so cruel to other people just because the color of the skin. There were pictures where people were burning or hanging for all to see. People would bring their children to watch these. How people could act like this is beyond words. The fact that the police usually knew what was going on is another thing that blows my mind, in this picture the men were taken away from the sheriff before being burned to death. These are real people who have thoughts and feelings. To be treated like that just because of the color of their skin is indescribable. The two people in this picture and a lot of the people in other pictures were just trying to live their lives when a mob decided that they did something wrong. They were dragged from their homes and beaten, humiliated, and killed for all to see.

Child-Parent Relationships and Mourning

The bond between a mother and a son is like no other relationship. It is a special bond that bridges any gaps they might find. It is very different from a father-daughter bond. The son is supposed to be strong and independent while the mother is supposed to care for the son. If anything happens to the mother the son is supposed to be strong and not let his feelings show. This can be agonizing for the son because of that special bond that he and his mother share. There are many examples of this in the film Ararat. In the film there are many mother and son relationships that show these aspects. The first is between Raffi and his mother. Raffi goes to Turkey to try and discover his mother's past. Although their bond is not very strong in the beginning by the end they truly care about each other. The next mother-son bond is one that you do not get to see the whole story. It involves Egoyan who is directing the film within the film. He is directing the film to show his mother's story. He is trying to be strong and not let his emotions show. The third mother-son relationship is between Gorky and his mother. Gorky's mother is killed and Gorky is left alone. Gorky's feelings are displayed in the painting he creates of him and his mother. Although the painting is finished Gorky does not believe the painting is complete. Gorky goes back to his painting and erases the hands of his mother. This shows that Gorky is not happy with his severed ties with his mother and the fact that she is no longer there to help Gorky through his trials and sufferings. Another thing that shows how strong the mother-son relationship is, is the Third Symphony of the Polish Composer Henryk Gorecki. This song describes the agony that a mother is feeling towards the loss of her son. One part of the songs says how she is saddened that he can no longer sleep in his warm bed.
The mother-son bond is very powerful and can not be taken lightly. It is repeatedly said during the film and especially during the film within the film. It is a bond that can not be reproduced or easily broken. It is a bond like no other.

Who is more trustworthy, Vladek or Art?

The novel Maus tells the story of Vladek's time during the halocaust. It also shows his relationship with his son Art as Vladek tells Art his story. I believe that Vladek is more trustworthy then Art. Vladek lied during the holacaust to protect his family and friends. He lied to protect the ones he loves. This makes Vladek trustworthy because it proves that he will not give up his loved ones for his own personal gain. While Art will lie for his own personal gain. He lied to Vladek about whether or not he was going to put certain things in his writing or not. Therefore I think Vladek is more trustworthy. I do not believe the novel is completly true. When someone writes about past events they never get the full details. Also Vladek could of fabricated some of the events. However most of the events that occured, i believe are true.