Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began: "Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began" by Art Spiegelman

by Art Spiegelman
In the second part of his Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel, Art Spiegelman explores his strained relationship with his father and recounts Vladek's experiences in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II.

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. collaborator
    someone who cooperates with an enemy occupying force
    I mean, how about the Dreyfus Affair? The Nazi collaborators!
  2. bungalow
    a small house with a single story
    We just saw him last week...on the way up here we stopped at their bungalow in the Catskills...
  3. presumptuous
    going beyond what is appropriate, permitted, or courteous
    Just thinking about my book...it's so presumptuous of me.
  4. reproach
    disgrace or shame
    They didn't talk about Richieu, but that photo was a kind of reproach.
  5. miser
    a stingy hoarder of money and possessions
    What a miser! I can't take any more.
  6. claustrophobic
    uncomfortably closed or hemmed in
    It's so claustrophobic being around Vladek.
  7. dictate
    say out loud for the purpose of recording
    In Bielsko the Poles dictated that letter while the Gestapo held a pistol up to my head.
  8. barrack
    a building or group of buildings to house military personnel
    In the barrack was a KAPO—a supervisor—he was screaming and kicking, whatever he could.
  9. conjugate
    add inflections showing person, number, gender, or tense
    You studied already to conjugate verbs?
  10. quarantine
    isolation to prevent the spread of infectious disease
    I've kept you here in the "quarantine block" as long as I can.
  11. ghetto
    the restricted quarter of European cities where Jews lived
    In the ghetto I worked in a wood shop...in Sosnowiec I was a tinsmith.
  12. flourish
    grow vigorously
    But a lot of the corporations that flourished in Nazi Germany are richer than ever.
  13. absolution
    the act of being formally forgiven
    I want...ABSOLUTION.
  14. cathartic
    emotionally purging
    Could you tell our audience if drawing MAUS was cathartic?
  15. remorse
    a feeling of deep regret, usually for some misdeed
    It sounds like you're feeling remorse—maybe you believe you exposed your father to ridicule.
  16. notary
    someone legally empowered to witness signatures and certify documents
    To make it legal she brought right to my bed a notary.
  17. exploit
    work excessively hard
    You owned big factories and exploited your workers, you dirty capitalist!
  18. capitalist
    an advocate of an economic system based on private ownership
    You owned big factories and exploited your workers, you dirty capitalist!
  19. civilian
    associated with persons who are not active in the military
    From him I got civilian clothings to smuggle out below my uniform.
  20. frail
    physically weak
    She's very frail...
  21. dignity
    the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect
    We were below their dignity.
  22. commission
    a special assignment that is given to a person or group
    Every few days it came an S.S. commission to the tin shop...
  23. ration
    the food allowance for one day
    I'll give you a day's ration of bread.
  24. munition
    weapons considered collectively
    They're expanding the Union Werke munitions factory...
  25. hermetic
    completely sealed or airtight
    And everybody crowded inside into the shower room, the door closed hermetic, and the lights turned dark.
  26. radiate
    send out real or metaphoric rays
    He just radiates so much tension.
  27. commotion
    a disorderly outburst or tumult
    At night was a commotion.
  28. herring
    a commercially important fish that is often eaten as food
    We lay one on top the other, like matches, like herrings.
  29. infirmary
    a health facility where patients receive treatment
    I wanted they take me to the infirmary.
  30. generalize
    draw from specific cases for broader cases
    But, how dare you generalize...
  31. liberation
    the act of freeing someone or something
    My liberation, it took longer...
  32. frontier
    an international boundary or the area immediately inside it
    We had from here to go by foot to the frontier...
  33. cache
    a secret store of valuables or money
    That's just my men signaling that they found a cache of German ammo...
  34. valise
    a small overnight bag for short trips
    "We have still 3 full valises!"
  35. hosiery
    socks, stockings, and tights collectively
    He ran, in Lodz, the family hosiery factory.
  36. peasant
    one of a class of agricultural laborers
    A family of peasant Jews kept them safe.
  37. maniacal
    wildly disordered
    He's been a bizarre combination of helplessness and maniacal energy ever since she left.
  38. refugee
    an exile who flees for safety
    It was maybe ten of us, refugees...
  39. quota
    a prescribed number
    We wanted here to come, to Uncle Herman, but here was quotas.
  40. visa
    an endorsement that allows the bearer to enter a country
    So Herman helped us to have a visa over to Stockholm to wait.
  41. inventory
    the merchandise that a shop has on hand
    And I sold out the whole inventory.
  42. listless
    marked by low spirits; showing no enthusiasm
    He's been kind of listless.
  43. displace
    cause to move, usually with force or pressure
    Headquarters is setting up a displaced persons' camp.
  44. gentile
    a Christian as contrasted with a Jew
    He's married to a gentile who kept him hidden.
  45. relapse
    a failure to maintain a higher state
    You've had a relapse of Typhus.
Created on Thu Aug 02 15:29:11 EDT 2018 (updated Tue Jul 16 15:20:43 EDT 2019)

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