Maus Art Spiegelm A Literary Analysis

Maus is a novel that transcends classic literary styles, and defies being categorized specifically as one genre. To upset the dust of the history section with its novelty almost does the novel a disservice, because of its modernity and auto-biographical/biographical nature. The pervading theme of struggle applies to every genre; the external struggle of the Holocaust and Art’s taxing relationship with his father, the mental and emotional turmoil of Art’s personal feelings of inadequacy compared to the trials that his race endured. It is physically impossible to condense all of the conflicts in Maus by Art Spiegelman into one genre. I view this as a personal question, so I’d like to make a personal answer. In my heart, the current of uncertainty

The structure of Maus is clever in that the Spiegelman jumps between the past and the present. This enables him to engage the reader in the problems of both the past and the present. We are not only immersed in the terror of, essentially, running from the Holocaust, but also in the trials of modern life for Vladek. Spiegelman uses this format because, as he himself wrote through Artie when he discusses with Maya his concerns, “In some ways [Vladek]’s just like the racist caricature of the miserly old jew” (Spiegelman 131). By sharing his history from contemporary times, it does many things for this image of Vladek, and the reader. By creating a story within a story the author distances the reader from the unconceivable tragedy of the events that transpired. From my point of view, Vladek’s character is given depth because his stinginess comes from grief that he cannot suppress, experiences that do not allow him to trust again. Vladek’s history is changed because of this style because it allows him to interject and fill in his reactions now to the trials he faced, to embellish situations that were once so black and white with emotion and