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

novel and sharing his experiences. Art Spiegelman, resisting survivor’s guilt sought peace through artistry. He composed Prisoner on the Hell Planet and then the graphic novel Maus as a means to discern the divide between his parents and him as well as connect his family history. Furthermore, Spiegelman utilizes personal photographs, a former comic, and quotations to add the imagery of emotions because an image is the first piece of information that grabs the readers' attention. Moreover, the visual aesthetics directly correlate to the experiences of his parent’s in the Holocaust including the effect their experiences bore on him. Likewise, the inclusions of family photos, his initial comic, and in textual quotes, all of which are personal components, add depth and gravity by disclosing readers a family whose history remains fragmented by the Holocaust. This attribution to the Holocaust led the author to compile visual artifacts, as well as oral stories, combine them creating, Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic memoir, Maus as a coping mechanism.
On the other hand, failing to cope with her experiences, Anja Spiegelman withdrew from her family and took her life. Subsequently, her suicide left her family in the wake of confusion and despair. As a means to deal with his mother’s sudden death, Art Spiegelman etched Prisoner on the Hell Planet. The first panel on page 102 includes an image of Spiegelman in a concentration camp uniform in front of a mugshot height chart. Additionally, he pens “In 1968 my mother killed herself…she left no note.” In like manner, as the title of the comic suggests, his mother’s suicide left him in a state and stupor, attributing it to Hell. Consequently, the author continues to express his emotions throughout the graphic novel. For instance, the next panel depicts Vladeck finding Anja in the bathtub: his figure is tall, slim, and completely darkened (102). Therefore, Spiegelman uses these features to symbolize the initial shock and fear upon finding Anja in the bathtub.
Moreover, the third panel displays Spiegelman walking out of a subway station with a pessimistic expression etched upon his face. The words imprinted at the top of the panel inform the reader that Spiegelman was living with his parents after his release from a mental hospital, regardless of the events that transpired that led to his admittance into a mental health facility. Additionally, Spiegelman uses artistry as a method of personal liberation to piece together his crumbling family. Namely, the fourth and the fifth panel in Prisoner on the Hell Planet depicts Spiegelman spending the weekend with a girlfriend to his parents' dismay. Subsequently, he was late arriving home and feels guilty when he arrives at the scene of his mother’s death. Therefore, the author emphasizes both of the “I’s” in his statement as bolded, which demonstrates that the author feels some sense of responsibility for Anja’s suicide (102). His guilty burdens him due to the belief that if his arrival home occurred on time, he could have been there to attempt to save her.
Furthermore, the Prisoner on the Hell Planet continues on page 103.

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

Anja.
Additionally, as the Prisoner on the Hell Planet continues, Spiegelman exposes friends of the family blaming Spiegelman for his mother’s suicide. On page 104, one person exclaimed, “Now you cry! Better you cried when your mother was still alive!” Spiegelman responded in the comic with, “I felt nauseous…. The guilt was overwhelming!” By acknowledging the blame, Spiegelman liberates himself from the inner demons that plague him regarding his mother’s suicide. Finally, the last page of the comic, panel two depicts a combined image of Anja’s death, a pile of Jew’s bodies, a child in a concentration camp uniform, Spiegelman with his head in his hand, and a knife cutting Anja’s wrist. The words “Menopausal Depression,” “Hitler did it,” “Mommy,” and “Bitch” light the image with jarring expressions, whereas on the top of the panel Spiegelman states, “…But for the most part, I was left alone with my thoughts” (105). Spiegelman employs the imagery and words to prove that he was left to bear the thoughts regarding the Holocaust and Anja’s death, alone. For that reason, the Prisoner on the Hell Planet comic served as a coping mechanism.
On the other hand, upon starting his graphic novel Maus, Spiegelman attempts to piece together his family’s history to understand the fragmented remains of those who survived. On page 112, panel seven depicts Vladeck’s drawing of a side view of a bunker to stay alive. Not only does art assist Spiegelman, but art also aids his father with memories of the Holocaust. Nonetheless, Spiegelman is missing his mother’s side of the story. Therefore, to piece together his mother’s side of his family’s history, Spiegelman hunts for the journals his mother wrote. Notably, the first panel on page 161 depicts the image of Spiegelman and his father discussing the journals. Vladeck confides, “After Anja died, I had to make an order with everything… these papers had too many memories. So I burned them.” Spiegelman responded, “God damn you! You – you murderer! How the hell could you do such a thing!!” Panel nine shows Spiegelman leaving Vladeck’s house muttering the word “… Murderer.” Spiegelman believes his father murdered the memory of his mother by burning her journals because he is unable to hear her experiences.
Although the graphic novel suffices as a means to keep the memories of his family alive as well as a coping mechanism, Spiegelman includes a quote to humanize the comics to remind readers that Maus is a story regarding real people. Additionally, Spiegelman includes an excerpt from a newspaper article from the mid-1930’s from Pomerania, Germany highlighting the initial dehumanization of Jews. The quote on page 164 states:
“Mickey Mouse is the most miserable ideal ever revealed… healthy emotions tell every independent young man and every honorable youth that the dirty and filth-covered vermin, the greatest bacteria in the animal kingdom, cannot be the ideal type of animal…away from Jewish brutalization of the people! Down with Mickey Mouse! Wear the Swastika Cross!” Consequently, page 165 includes a photo of his little brother, Richieu, to highlight that Jews are still humans. Spiegelman’s use of the quote and photo brings the reader to realize that indeed Jewish children were also seen as vermin rather than people. As a result, Spiegelman aims to highlight that discrimination and hate can eradicate entire families or significant portions of them. Notably, the author's brother died during the Holocaust following his parents' belief that sending him to an aunt would ensure his safety; however, that aunt poisoned her entire immediate family to avoid the concentration camps.
In conclusion, tragic event such as those experienced during the Holocaust, influence survivors and their families in many ways. Mainly, the trauma galvanizes victims to seek various methods of coping such as drawing; however, permanent solutions were suicide. Notably, Art Spiegelman and his father's, means of coping were piecing together their family’s past through drawing comics. Wherefore, the Prisoner on the Hell Planet, the Mickey Mouse reference, and the photo of Richieu are visual representations of his family’s history with the Holocaust and adds profound insight to Maus that led it to become one of the first graphic novels receive significant academic attention in the English-speaking world. Although Spiegelman is missing a significant chunk of his mother’s story, he is still able to piece together his father’s side of the experience and come to terms with his survivor’s guilt.