Comparative Text Essay
Maus is a holocaust fiction graphic novel based on the story of Vladek Spiegalman whose son is writing a graphic novel of his father’s experience in the Holocaust. The novel explores not only Vladek’s experiences but the relationship between Vladek and Art along with the effects that the Holocaust has had on him. Life Is Beautiful is a film following Guido Orefiche, an Italian, and his family’s experience at a concentration camp during the Holocaust. The film is a great representation of the Holocaust and the effects it had on all involved. Both texts bring light to the events of the past giving the reader or viewer a very emotional but educational experience exploring themes of family, love, death and survival.
One theme that both texts explore is family. This theme is visited frequently throughout both texts with Spiegalman conveying the tension between Vladek and his family through descriptive language along with great
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In Maus we constantly see Vladek taking measures to ensure his family’s safety, he discusses with Anja sending Richeu off with other kids to ensure his safety and he constantly sacrifices his own life for the benefit of his family. All Vladek wants to do is ensure his families survival whether that be making sure to play by the rules of the Germans no matter what or riding on a train full of them disguised. In Life Is beautiful we see this same desire in Guido to survive and keep his son alive. He does this through preserving his son’s innocence telling him that the whole camp is a game and that he has to follow the rules to win points for the first-place prize of a tank. This story is ultimately what keeps his son alive and although Guido himself doesn’t survive, his legacy lives on through his son and wife. Both texts explore this theme to a great extent very
During the movie he exemplifies these characteristics. For example during the date scene when he took his soon to be wife out, he observed many things. Because of this he was able to cause “mysterious” events to happen at his command. This cleverness was the only thing that allowed for him to protect his son and preserve his innocence. His cleverness was also the only thing which allowed him to escape temporarily his death. Earlier he attracted the attention of a doctor who fancied riddles. Because of their earlier connection the doctor allowed for guido to work as a server instead of face death. However unlike Guido imagined it was not because of a bond. The doctor simply respected Guido’s intelligence and wanted him to solve a riddle which plagued his sleep and sanity. In the movie Guido is executed and it goes to show how even the most incredible people were defeated by the camps in the
Blood runs thicker than water. Art Spiegelman portrays a story through a non-traditional form of literature. Humans are not drawn; however, animals are used to represent a different group of individuals. The mice are the Jews, the Cats are the Germans, and the pigs are the Poles. Albeit the clear-cut framework, Maus is a novel that paints the horrors of the Holocaust and the aftermath. Spiegelman interviews his father, Vladek, for his personal recollection and experience from the tragedy. The novel itself is divided into two volumes, developing the characters over the span of both. The concept of family is emphasized through Vladek’s relationship with Art. The past serves as a barrier between Vladek and Art; creating communicational issues,
Jane Yolen once said: “Fiction cannot recite the numbing numbers, but it can be that witness, that memory.” Preserving the memories of the horrifying incidents of the Holocaust is the best way to ensure nothing like it ever occurs again. Authors use their novels to try and pass these memories down through generations. Examples of this are the novels Night by Elie Wiesel, and MAUS by Art Spiegelman. The main discussion in these novels revolves around the Holocaust and the violence against Jews. Both have captivating stories and are worthy of recognition, but MAUS is a better novel for educating students. This is because unlike Night it discusses the familial guilt faced by the families of Holocaust survivors. In addition, MAUS gives a visual
From Hitler throughout the Holocaust, Maus the graphic novel has brought a story of a survivor, Vladek Spiegelman, a Polish Jew. Vladek has been there when the Swastika was a symbol of well-being and the goods. From the start of World War II and sustained until the war ended. Vladek survived the war because of luckiness, after that, being resourceful was the reason he lived. Lost his first born son in the process, moved to the United States. Lost his wife and lived with a fear it might happen all over again, he is a survivor of the Holocaust.
In Maus, Art Spiegelman does not make any apologies about what he includes or leaves out from his story. Maus is not meant to be a story that encompasses World War II or the Holocaust, but rather, a story about the life of his father, Vladek Spiegelman:
The Maus series of books tell a very powerful story about one man’s experience in the Holocaust. They do not tell the story in the conventional novel fashion. Instead, the books take on an approach that uses comic windows as a method of conveying the story. One of the most controversial aspects of this method was the use of animals to portray different races of people. The use of animals as human races shows the reader the ideas of the Holocaust a lot more forcefully than simply using humans as the characters.
In Art Spiegelman’s Maus, the audience is led through a very emotional story of a Holocaust survivor’s life and the present day consequences that the event has placed on his relationship with the author, who is his son, and his wife. Throughout this novel, the audience constantly is reminded of how horrific the Holocaust was to the Jewish people. Nevertheless, the novel finds very effective ways to insert forms of humor in the inner story and outer story of Maus. Although the Holocaust has a heart wrenching effect on the novel as a whole, the effective use of humor allows for the story to become slightly less severe and a more tolerable read.
By means of comic illustration and parody, Art Spiegelman wrote a graphic novel about the lives of his parents, Vladek and Anja, before and during the Holocaust. Spiegelman’s Maus Volumes I and II delves into the emotional struggle he faced as a result of his father’s failure to recover from the trauma he suffered during the Holocaust. In the novel, Vladek’s inability to cope with the horrors he faced while imprisoned, along with his wife’s tragic death, causes him to become emotionally detached from his son, Art. Consequently, Vladek hinders Art’s emotional growth. However, Art overcomes the emotional trauma his father instilled in him through his writing.
...ce, although both writings are interesting in their own ways, the most interesting aspect of both writings together is that they both have a similar plot and theme. It is rare that two
at the beginning of the Movie LIfe Is Beautiful, Guido seems naive but as he is forced to come to terms with the reality of his family's seemingly uncontrollable situation, his views shift and his character changes.Guido cares immensely about the well being of his family and their happiness. Seeing the pain that others are going through, being separated from his wife and not knowing whats to come makes this is an extra difficult experience for him. The Camps that they are forced to stay in are visibly inhumane; however, Giosue is able to keep his innocence because of the fathers caring and playful nature. Guido faces sees some unthinkably horrific images in the camp, such as when he stumbles across the mountains of dead jewish bodies he is
When reading a traditional book, it is up to the reader to imagine the faces and landscapes that are described within. A well written story will describe the images clearly so that you can easily picture the details. In Art Spiegelman’s The Complete Maus, the use of the animals in place of the humans offers a rather comical view in its simplistic relation to the subject and at the same time develops a cryptic mood within the story. His drawings of living conditions in Auschwitz; expressions on the faces of people enduring torture, starvation, and despair; his experience with the mental institution and his mother’s suicide; and occasional snapshots of certain individuals, create a new dynamic between book and reader. By using the form of the graphic novel, Art Spiegelman created a narrative accompanied by pictures instead of needing to use immense worded detail.
Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel Maus unfolds the story about his father Vladek Spiegleman, and his life during the WWII. Since Vladek and Art are both the narrators of the story, the story not only focuses on Vladek's survival, but also the writing process and the organization of the book itself. Through these two narrators, the book explores various themes such as identity, perspective, survival and guilt. More specifically, Maus suggests that surviving an atrocity results in survivor’s guilt, which wrecks one’s everyday life and their relationships with those around them. It accomplishes this through symbolism and through characterization of Vladek and Anja.
The books Maus I and Maus II, written by Art Spiegelman over a thirteen-year period from 1978-1991, are books that on the surface are written about the Holocaust. The books specifically relate to the author’s father’s experiences pre and post-war as well as his experiences in Auschwitz. The book also explores the author’s very complex relationship between himself and his father, and how the Holocaust further complicates this relationship. On a deeper level the book also dances around the idea of victims, perpetrators, and bystanders. The two books are presented in a very interesting way; they are shown in comic form, which provides the ability for Spiegelman to incorporate numerous ideas and complexities to his work.
What if you were a holocaust survivor and asked to describe your catastrophic experience? What part of the event would you begin with, the struggle, the death of innocent Jews, or the cruel witnessed? When survivors are questioned about their experience they shiver from head to toe, recalling what they have been through. Therefore, they use substitutes such as books and diaries to expose these catastrophic events internationally. Books such as Maus, A survivor’s tale by Art Spiegelman, and Anne Frank by Ann Kramer. Spiegelman presents Maus in a comical format; he integrated the significance of Holocaust while maintaining the comic frame structure format, whereas comic books are theoretically supposed to be entertaining. Also, Maus uses a brilliant technique of integrating real life people as animal figures in the book. Individually, both stories involve conflicts among relationships with parents. Furthermore, Maus jumps back and forth in time. Although, Anne Frank by Ann Kramer, uses a completely different technique. Comparatively, both the books have a lot in common, but each book has their own distinctive alterations.