Imagery And Symbolism In Art Spiegelman's Maus

Art Spiegelman, the son of Holocaust survivors, is best known for authoring of the graphic novel Maus. In Spiegelman's Maus, he correlates the main characters to his father, mother, and deceased brother. This paper will analyze Spiegelman's motifs, symbolisms and overall motivation for such a work as Maus. Notably, experiences shape people mentally, emotionally, and physically, which then leads them to find coping mechanisms, whether consciously or subconsciously. Anja Spiegelman, the author's mother, sought release from her tormented memories of the Holocaust through suicide, which left Vladeck, the author's father, to bare the memories himself. Vladeck, who himself is a writer, battles through this tragedy by drawing for his son’s graphic

Spiegelman states, “I could avoid the truth no longer – the doctor’s words clattered inside me… I felt confused; I felt angry; I felt numb! … I didn’t exactly feel like crying, but figured I should!” The middle panels depict a succession of him crying as well as an image of a demonic-looking man exclaiming, “She’s dead! A suicide!” The man’s face appears to be screaming those statements with glee as if her death succumbed to the evils of the Holocaust(103). Spiegelman's portrays his initial shock in these middle panels. Likewise, the last two panels depict images of Spiegelman and his dad. Spiegelman’s figure is huge, while his father is tiny and child-like. Spiegelman’s eyes are wide with shock; however, he exclaimed, “I was expected to comfort him!” This statement exhibits astonishment, as well as disdain toward his father, for Vladek expected sympathy without offering any himself. Additionally, the image includes a poster that displays, “Protect what you have” with Vladeck’s eyes transpiring shallow, black and small white pupils with his son looking down in shame (103). Moreover, Spiegelman employs the last two panels portraying the shame that he and his father bore upon themselves after losing