Maus x Elie Wiesel Paired Passage Questions

1. Theme Comparison Both Maus and Elie Wiesel’s Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech emphasize the importance of remembering the Holocaust. What is one shared message in both texts?

• The Holocaust should only be remembered by survivors.
• Forgetting the past can lead to future tragedies.
• The Holocaust had little impact on future generations.
• Only personal experiences matter when discussing history.

2. Author’s Purpose Which of the following best describes a purpose shared by both Maus and Wiesel’s speech?

• To entertain audiences with personal stories.
• To persuade people that history should remain in the past.
• To remind the world of past atrocities and encourage action against injustice.
• To prove that survival after trauma is impossible.

3. Tone and Mood How does the tone of Wiesel’s speech compare to the tone of Maus?

• Wiesel’s speech is hopeful, while Maus is purely depressing.
• Both texts mix sorrow with hope to encourage remembrance and action.
• Maus is lighthearted, while Wiesel’s speech is very serious.
• Wiesel’s speech is aggressive, while Maus is neutral.

4. Perspective and Narrative Style How do the different perspectives in Maus and Wiesel’s speech affect their messages?

• Maus is told from the son of a survivor, showing intergenerational trauma, while Wiesel speaks as a survivor urging people to remember and act.
• Both texts are written from the exact same perspective.
• Wiesel’s speech focuses on statistics, while Maus is only about personal experience.
• Maus does not discuss memory, while Wiesel’s speech is all about remembering the past.

5. Symbolism and Imagery Why does Art Spiegelman depict different groups as animals in Maus?

• To confuse the reader and make the story more complex.
• To highlight the ways people were dehumanized during the Holocaust.
• To create a humorous tone in a serious story.
• To make it easier to tell who the "good" and "bad" characters are.