Words: 2621
Experiences shape a person “Man learns through experience, and the spiritual path is full of different kinds of experiences. He will encounter many difficulties and obstacles, and they are the very experiences he needs to encourage and complete the cleansing process” (SAA Saba). Just as Babe, who was an Indian guru, spiritual figure, mystic, philanthropist and educator, said; a person is shaped by different experiences. Some of these experiences are learned from school, some are learned from others, and some are learned by people’s past. People learned others experiences, gender rule; knowledge; ND morality, during their growing.
Later on, people kept learning experiences and teaching other people their experiences until they die; their experiences are still learned by people. Experiences run throughout people entire life and influence whom they are today. Mass is a comic book. Does not like some other comic books, it talks about the real history of the Holocaust which during the World War II. It views the holocaust from one of its survivals Bladed Spiegel. It has showed the Blade’s tragic experiences, Blade’s sadness and the process that Artier change his allegations with his father Bladed. This comic book has influenced readers a lot.
It showed the power of comic as it author Spiegel Artier said. The Holocaust, without a doubt, was a disaster, and a nightmare for Bladed. On the other hand, although the fees, most of his friends and relatives were dead during the war, are too high, it was also a hard-won experience for him. He had to do whatever he could to save his life. Trying to use his skills maximize his benefit. All of these hard-won experiences, the Holocaust had shaped a part of Blade’s personality. At the time, Artier drew Mass to share Blade’s experiences to other people, Artier also learned the experiences from his father and changes himself inadvertently.
The experiences of Holocaust made Bladed become rude, mean, cold, sad and lonely; and it also made Artier become more understanding and more caring to his father. For child Artier, Bladed was a man who was impenetrable and parsimonious. Everything Bladed did drive Artier crazy. Young Bladed, before the war, had never thought he will become the person he was in the future. The experience of Holocaust had shaped Blade’s become cheap, cold, and rude during his life. Before the war, Blade’s life was nowhere near bad, he lived a excellent life; he was handsome, smart and successful.
He had a lovingly wife. He owned a factory by his father-in-laws support. None of these should make him become a person who did not like by Artier. If there was not war, he could really be a multimillionaire and went to America to spend his old life, as he wanted. The war broke everything. He had to become a man who was cold, mean, and rude. Sadness and loneliness became the main part of his life. However, the war changed his life. The experience of Holocaust made Bladed treasure food. People usually say that people who are never hungry, they will not know how unbearable hungry is.
Bladed was suffering from hunger during he was in the concentration camp. Since he could not get enough food, he learned to conserve his food. Of course, that was not enough, but saving food meant saving his life. This behavior became his custom and continued until he died. That the reason why Bladed pushed Artier to eat all his food on his plate; even though, the food was “saved and served again and again until [Artier] eat it or starve” (Spiegel, 43). Bladed was afraid to starve. As he learned in the concentration camp, people wasting food was killing themselves by a very suffering way.
Bladed did not want Artier learn this bad habit, wasting food, that Artier could know to save himself before tasting any suffering. I believe that this was a way Bladed to show his love. Most fathers, who love their children, will do whatever they can to help their children avoid pain. So as Bladed, he tries to push Artier to learn how to conserve food to avoid the pain from starving. Similar to saving food, Bladed would also try whatever he can to save his money, even sometime he would make the people around him crazy. Some people said that Bladed was so miserly that he did not want to spend one-penny.
I think that Bladed is not miserable. Bladed knew that money is important, because his and Anna’s lives were saved by money. If Bladed did not have gold, Kapok would not help them to leave (114). He knew how hard to make money; it will not drop from the sky. Sometimes earning money would cost a lot, even life. In his history, he had used industry, intelligence, skill, and his life to try to earn money in that dark age. He knew how important money is and how hard it is to earn money. In his mind, spending none and using money on the way did not have to use are all wasting money.
That was the reason Bladed always said to Artier: muff and Mall don’t know how to make money, only to make it disappear” (102). Bladed learned both of conserving food and saving money during the war. Both of these behaviors of him were shaped by his horrible Holocaust experiences. Without these horrible experiences, he might notice not to wasting food and money, but he would never be treasuring food and money like what he did. Couple of years’ concentration camp life had really changed Bladed a lot. It hurt Blade’s both physical and psychological health.
The holocaust left him a weak and sick body (129) and tortured mind, which made him cry at night (74). From these pains what he receive from the holocaust, we can know that what the suffering he was tortured in the holocaust. The suffering must be brutal and horrific; made him become cold and rude. The Bladed, who was gentle and sweet, has already died in the Holocaust; the man, who went through the Holocaust, was the man with “175113” (26), but called Bladed. “175113” was the number, which was tattooed on Blade’s arm when he went in the prison of German.
After Bladed came out from the incarceration camp, all his beliefs and his behaviors were not the same as he believed and did before he went to the camp. The one of first couples of things he learned was “there was no friend in camp”. He had to do whatever he can to save his life; even though, it was painful to see the person around him died. Although people around him were begging and going to die, he still had to use the resources he had to trade with other resources to keep him alive (86). He had to obey the German to clean up the dead bodies (72), maybe they were disgusting or somebody he knew.
He did not want to be cold, but the Holocaust pushed him. Life in there was cheaper than a piece of bread. At the beginning of the book, Bladed told Artier: “Friends? If you locked them together in a room with no food for a week… Then you could see what it is, friends! “(6). Bladed had seen a lot of rebels in concentration camps. Friends could not help him to go through the Holocaust. In that nightmarish place, nobody he dared to trust. He could only rely on himself and the luck. Moreover, he brought this belief from the holocaust. He through Artiste’s coat to the trash and gave him his old one (69).
He complained Mall’s food in front of Mall (43). He gave Anna’s clothes to Mall when she wanted some clothes (131). The belief made him rude; even he believed he was doing right. Too long time relying on himself made him neglect to listen to others. Blade’s change reminds me what my grandpa, who Joined in wars, told me: “People will become numb after they see a few deaths. This sound cruel, but that is the way that the wars push them to be”. I believe that Bladed did not want to change the person he was after holocaust, but the war pushed him.
His experiences shaped him from a gentle sweet handsome man became such a cheap, cold, and rude person. The experience was not only making Bladed change, but it also made him gloomy and lonely. Even if Artier did not ask Bladed to tell him his experiences, most of Blade’s life was full of sadness and loneliness. I think the reason that Bladed did not want to tell Artier his story was because he afraid to recall that torturous memories. Most people, whom he cared about, died in the war. Also Ninja could not stay with him until they become older. They only leaved him incessant missing.
The missing was too strong that sometime he would have an illusion to feel the person was around him. Like, Bladed called Artier Richer (136). Even sometimes, he would try to make himself to believe the people, whom he was missing, around him to make him feel better. I think Bladed giving Anna’s clothes to Mall was not only want to save money, but also want to make Mall like Ninja to placate his pain (131). Every time he recalled these memories, his moods became instate. As we know, people, who have heart attack, cannot have too much emotional fluctuation. Bladed must be very emotional at the time he telling Artier his story.
That was why he would have a heart attack when he telling his story. In the “Mass”, there was sometimes that Bladed had o stop talking (91). He could not continue to talk anymore, because at that time, his mind was full of sadness. He was out of control. The only thing he could do was abreaction his motions. But even though he abreact his motions, his life was still full of sadness after Anna’s dead. The holocaust had leaved him incessant sadness. Not only sadness, the Holocaust also made Bladed become lonely. Most people, whom he cared, were dead. Just like Bladed said: “All what is left, it’s the photo’.
He was lonely. Nobody could stay with him. For Bladed, Mall came for his money; Artier was not close o him. I believe that many old people in the world would like to stay with their family. But, Valued, although he wanted to stay with his family, there was nobody around him. This was very sad for an old man. Bladed was very lonely. He would be very excited for Artiste’s visiting (11). He would use an annoying Joke to make his son call him (13). He would also ask Artier to visit again to tell him his story, which he afraid to recall. All of his doings were trying to make Artier visit and stay with him.
Every time, when Artier was in front of him, Bladed acted like a child. He putted down al his defenses and showed all his feelings to Artier. Loneliness for elders is harmful. Loneliness will make elders sick even die. In Blade’s life after the Holocaust, there was too much loneliness. Too lonely made Blade’s health become worse. Bladed needed to take thirty pills for a day to keep him healthy (26). At the time he remind his bleeds history, which was the way Artier called his father’s holocaust history, he was no longer a rude and cold man. He showed all his weakness to Artier.
He was a lonely and sad poor man. Holocaust’s experiences had not only shaped Blade’s rationality, but also made him gloomy and lonely at his residual life. Human beings have ability to learn experiences from others people and shape their personalities by these experiences. Artier was process at this course. At the time, Bladed telling Artier his story, Artier was learning Blade’s experiences and changing himself. Unconsciously Artier became more and more understanding and caring his father. Because Bladed was rude, cold and cheap after he went through the war. Artier was not close to Bladed, whom he disliked.
And even he did not visit long time before he start to listen to Blade’s history. It was true that after Artier visit Bladed couple of times, Artier would still be driven crazy by Blade’s ideas and behaviors. But this could not obstruct Artier to understand Bladed. After Artier knew his father’s blood history, he started to understand Bladed. Artier understood that why Bladed would out of control at Anna’s obsequies. Bladed loved Ninja. He was so sad that he could not believe Ninja would leave him away. Artier understood that why Bladed pushed him to finish all the food in his plate. Bladed was afraid to be hungry.
Food, in his mind, was very valuable that it was the support of lives. Bladed could not let his family have bad habit to waste food. Artier understood that why Bladed was so care about his money. Bladed was successful when he was young. However, in his early, he had a hard history. After German robbed all his industry, he did do some small business by risking his life. He knew how difficult to earn money. So that he treasure his money very much. Also, the Jewelries in the bank were not only his property, but they also were the memory of Ninja. Artier understood that the war change him. The war changed him become the person he was.
Following Artier knew Blade’s experience; Artier became ore understanding and accepting to Blade’s personality and behaviors, which used to drive him crazy. Because Artier was more understanding Bladed. Artier became more care about Bladed. As Artier said: “l visited my father more often… ” (43). Artier changed himself. The times that Artier visited Bladed changed from “long time” to “few weeks”. Artier became more care about Bladed. When Male complained Bladed, Artier would help Bladed to explain: “l used to think the war made him that way… ” (131). When Bladed heart attack, he would become worried.
When Bladed climbed onto the roof and fixed the drainpipe, he would shock. When Mall leaved away, he would hurry to drive to see his father. All these were showing that Artier was becoming more and more caring about Bladed. He did not want Bladed had any Problems. Although Bladed drove Artier crazy, Artier would still stay with Bladed when Bladed need him. For example, when Bladed ran out of hospital and wanted to go to his N. Y. Hospital, Artier fight to Florida to see Bladed. Artier was changed by Blade’s holocaust experience. Unconsciously he became more and more understanding Bladed and caring about him.
As Heimlich Whine, who is one of the most famous German poets, said: Experience is a good school. But the fees are high”. Bladed had gone through the Holocaust. All his experiences had “killed” the gentle and sweet Bladed, and shaped a cold, mean and rude “175113”. In other hand, the war made him to be that way. Artier had also learned something from Blade’s experiences. He heard his father’s bleeds history, and understood the reasons that Bladed become cold, mean, and rude. Their relationship became closer. He became more care about Bladed. All of these were the things that Bladed and Artier learned from the school, which name “experience”.