Art Spiegelman begins his portrayal of actual camp life in part two of Maus with an opening that seems to mock the stark reality of what transpired behind the gates of Auschwitz. The title he gives his introduction is Mauschwitz, which successfully follows Spiegelman's metaphor, but undoubtedly gives the situation a more playful mood (and if playful seems ridiculous how about a less deadly mood). But I feel this is not his real attempt to convey the reality of the ungodliness of the camps, this he does in the next chapter entitled Auschwitz. The similarity in the two titles is not accidental nor should it be overlooked by readers because it points out the fact that there are two separate stories Spiegelman tells; his father's story of survival and his own story of accepting his father for what he is and what made him that way.
             The opening scene of Mauschwitz, as well as the opening scene of the second book, is of Art arguing with Francoise about how she should be portrayed in the book, something that couldn't have less to do with the story of his father's survival. But upon looking back at this scene, I believe it accurately represents the rest of the chapter. By letting his metaphor fade for a few frames he allows readers to see him as a human and hopefully relate to him. Spiegelman dwells on his own life for the majority of this chapter, and maybe that is why he named it Mauschwitz; because he knew he would be concentrating on his own life and relationships more than his father's story, and calling the chapter Auschwitz would not be appropriate, even though we are given a first glimpse inside the camp.
             The first scene of his father's camp life in the this chapter is Vladek's arrival at Auschwitz, and this scene is immediately deflated because the prisoners are told that "if they brought you here, they'll put you to work. They're not ready to
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