HeLa
How long did Henrietta wait between first telling her closest friends that “something didn’t feel right” and going to the doctor?
She waited more than a year.
Where did the name “HeLa” come from?
He nrietta La cks
What does the term “informed consent” mean?
It means patients must give consent knowing everything they are consenting to: patients must have the full facts necessary to an informed consent.
How does the author mainly show the important differences between characters?
He makes the different characters have animal faces.
Which country is thought to be safer than Poland for Jewish people?
Hungary
Define outskirt.
A part of something that is far removed from the center
Who is Francoise?
Art's Wife
What part of the concentration camp does Vladek go to and his friend explains to him what happened there in detail?
The Crematorium
What did Henrietta’s local doctor assume the lump was on Henrietta’s cervix?
He assumed it was a sore from syphilis.
What happened to the HeLa cells that Mary cultured?
The cells doubled every 24 hours, accumulating by the millions.
Why did scientists want to fuse human and animal cells?
To study what genes do and how they work.
Polish people were hostile towards who in the book? Which animal was used to depict those people?
Polish people were hostile towards Jewish people who were depicted as mice in the graphic novel.
Who destroyed the notebooks Anja had made?
Vladek
Define recognize.
To identify someone or something that one has seen before
What lie does Vladek tell at the beginning of MAUS II?
That he had a heart attack
How many months was Vladek in the concentration camp?
12 months
What were Jim Crow laws?
They were laws mandating the segregation of black and white facilities, like hospitals and schools.
Once HeLa started growing, was Henrietta informed that her cells were being used in Gey’s research?
No, she was not informed.
What do the Lackses believe Johns Hopkins did to black people?
They snatched black people off the street, so they could experiment on them.
What is the reason that Chapter 6 is titled “Mouse Trap”?
After successfully hiding and escaping from the Nazis multiple times, Vladek and Anja are finally caught.
What did Artie call his father after learning about the fate of the notebooks?
A murderer
How does Richieu die?
Poison
What did Mala do when she left?
Took money out of the account and drove off to Florida
Why did Artie and Francoise not want to go into the grocery store with Vladek?
They were embarrassed because Vladek was trying to return half-used food items
How was Day related to Henrietta?
Day was her first cousin.
According to Ethel’s cousins, why did Ethel dislike Henrietta?
Ethel was jealous of Henrietta because Ethel’s husband Galen liked Henrietta better than Ethel.
Why did researchers want DNA samples from Henrietta’s family?
Researchers needed genetic markers for HeLa cells to find out if other cell lines were contaminated with HeLa cells.
Why does Mala say that she thinks Vladek married her?
Because she was the same size as Anja. It was a marriage of convenience.
What is the translation of the sign over the gates of Auschwitz?
Work will set you free
How did Anja die?
Suicide
What does the Kapo give Vladek after his first English lesson?
Shoes made out of leather
What did Vladek almost die from in Dachau?
Typhus
How old was Henrietta when she had her first child with Day?
She had her first son Lawrence when she was just 14.
What did Gey hope to accomplish with HeLa cells?
He wanted to find a cure for cancer.
Why did Zakariyya decide to participate in research studies at Johns Hopkins?
He was paid more for volunteering for research studies at Johns Hopkins than the family ever received from the profits of HeLa cells.
Mala said that Vladek uses paper towels from restrooms so he won’t have to buy napkins or tissues. Why does Vladek really take paper towels from restrooms?
Vladek continues to act in survival mode after the war.
Define the word Governess.
A woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home
How did Vladek’s father & mother die?
Father died from a heart attack and mother died from cancer.
How much 'money' is a spoon worth in Auschwitz?
A half days ration of bread
What was in the cigar box that Vladek pulls out at the end of chapter 4?
The only remaining pictures he has of Anja’s and his families
What was different about Henrietta’s second child, Elsie?
She was disabled. She was described as having a mind like an infant
What did HeLa allow scientists to do for the first time?
It gave them the ability to perform experiments that would be impossible with a living human.
How did Deborah react after reading about her mother’s death?
She had an emotional breakdown.
Which cartoonist does Vladek compare Artie to?
Walt Disney
What is a pogrom?
An organized massacre of a particular ethnic group, in particular that of Jewish people in Russia or eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
How did Anja’s parents die?
Auschwitz
What did Valdek die of ?
Congestive Heart Failure
How are different types of cancer categorized?
Cancer cells are categorized based on the type of cell they start from since cancer starts from that single cell gone wrong.
Why didn’t Henrietta’s family know that her cells were still alive?
Her name was wrong or incomplete in the media.
How have laws regarding medical privacy changed since the early 1980s?
Today, it could be considered a violation of federal law to publish someone’s medical records without consent.
Who did Vladek meet at the black market to purchase food?
Mrs. Motonowa
What does it mean to smuggle something?
To move or take goods secretly or illegally
MAUS is told in the _______ tense, from a _________ point of view.
past tense, first person
How does Valdek make contact with Anja while in Auschwitz?
He passes notes to her through Mancie who helps Anja because Mancie is having an affair with an SS guard