In Art Spiegelman's Maus, chapter five, Artie is awakened early by a phone call from his father who asks him to help him with a drainpipe. Frustrated, Artie asks to call his father back after he's had some coffee. It is at that point that Artie explains to his wife that he doesn't like going over to help his father because it always made him feel insignificant when he helped as a child. Artie never felt like he could live up to his father's talent to do everything amazingly well. Artie exaplains, "One reason I became an artist was that he thought it was impractical--just a waste of time. It was an area where I wouldn't have to compete with him"(99). It can be inferred that Artie wanted to create his own persona and not become like his father; nor did he want to become anything that his father could criticize or show any judgment.