Analysis of The Complete Maus, by Art Spiegelman

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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.

Using lines and basic shapes to emphasize shading and detail and then teamed with such a complex theme, Art’s story and graphics join together in a complimentary marriage. With the nearly childlike drawings and the intense mature storyline, there is a message that this is being written by the child telling the story of the parent. The story emphasizes his father’s inability to grow and repair from his past but even without the words you can almost see that Art has never truly be able to move past his the trauma of growing up with his parents. Using his frustrations and the need to explore the history of his father’s idiosyncrasies, Art creates a poignant story not only about the tragedy of the holocaust, but of the realities of being a child growing up with survivor parents.

At the first glimpse of Art and Vladek, there is a sharp view of Art’s childhood. Crying over b...

... middle of paper ...

...ing as they die in the flames while the melted fat is scooped up and tossed back over them to make them burn faster. The heart wrenching terror is portrayed so intensely that while you want to look away, you can’t help up keep looking and part of you might be hoping this is just an exaggeration and you know it isn’t.

By the end of the book, Art has managed to write 2 detailed stories in only 300 pages. By using the graphics to enhance the details, you get so much more from Maus. A turbulent and emotional ride all the way to the end, Art’s emotional and scarred life, Vladek’s horrific and painful experiences and the last image of Vladek’s gravestone, buried next to his wife Anja, you know that Vladek is finally at peace with the woman he loved to near death and back and the son he did not get enough time to know.

Works Cited

The Complete Maus; Art Spiegelman

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