Although no singular occurrance can actually happen more than once, throughout history, one can find slight variations of the same event. Some of the variations are to a greater degree, some are to a lesser degree. In the end, however, these events produce strikingly similar results, physically, emotionally, or in memory. One example of this repitition of history is the experience of the Jews in the Holocaust and the Indians in America. Both groups of people were removed from their native land and placed in a designated area. The experience of the Jews was definitely more harsh than that of the Indians, but the Indians suffered similar treatment nonetheless. Emotional stories of the experience of the Jews could be applied to the plight of the Indians. Land and property that were theirs was taken away, and is only now being returned slowly (in both cases). Spiegelman tells of a Jew, in Maus, during the Holocaust who "had to sell his business and run from the country without even the money" (Spiegelman I,33). The story of the plight of the Native Americans is very similar to this. They were forced to fight and die or run from their land when the Europeans wanted it. More specifically, though, it is not simply these two groups in general whose lives reflect each other's, but it is also individual lives that reflect each other.

The experience of Tayo and his friends after World War II in Ceremony is very similar to that of Vladek and his friends after World War II. The remark is made of the Indians who left the reservation and were scarred by the sights, both cities and jungles, they had seen during the war that "they were never the same after that" (Silko 169). This comment could easily be made about those who survived the German concentration camps during the second world war. In the same way, comments are made about those who survived the Holocaust that could be aplied to the Indians' lives in Ceremony. In Maus, Art's wife comments that "Maybe Auschwitz [the war] made him like that... but lots of people up here are survivors- like the Karps- if they're whacked up it's in a different way from Vladek" (Spiegelman II,22). Tayo and his friends in Ceremony are extremely altered by the war in which they were involved, as well. However, just as Vladek and his peers differ in how they were changed, Tayo and his friends differed. Many of them turned to drinking and talking; Tayo found these things to be simply an annoyance. Unfortunately, tragedies like these reccur in history as often as joyous occasions. It has been said that people should learn from the past and stop history from repeating itself, but this is impossible. The exact same situations can be avoided, but most similar events that occur are not noticably alike until after the event is over, such as the Holocaust and the Indians' trials in North America. Even signs and propaganda that were used; the exploitation of Jews is amazingly similar to the posters of Indians used for railways:

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

In both of these photos, the minority group is being looked upon as objects, not a people. (For more information about the "Eternal Jew" exhibit, search for "Jews," then view photo 12 in the link site.)

A third experience that can be related to both of these is that of slavery. It is yet another story told of the same feelings and emotions. In reading Beloved, by Toni Morrision, our class has tied some of these events together already. The Africans were also moved from their native homelands to be subject to sub-human conditions due to the power of a "superior race." Once in slavery, everyone is changed, even if they are born into it. When finally set free, or when they escaped, the people in slavery had been altered forever. The society that existed prior to their enslavement will never be again, just as Vladek's life and Tayo's life are altered forever.