When reading Maus by Art Spiegelman, the reader is placed into a world of mice and other animals going through everyday motions. What is unique about this experience is that this is all taking place in a graphic novel. The reader has images and pictures to go along with the words of the story. It is through this that the reader is led through the narrator’s father’s experience of the Nazi takeover or Poland. While this story can be read as another Holocaust story or even redemption for the author/narrator, it actually sets the stage for an understanding of what goes around comes around. There are cyclical events and structures throughout this story, and they all focus on going through extremely hard times to moments of unexpected help. What …show more content…
keeps this cycle going is a person’s ability to strive to make the most of what they have, and Spiegelman portrays this in the structure and plot of his graphic novel. Starting out in Maus, the reader follows the narrator, Artie. Artie is visiting his father and stepmother, Mala. His relationship to his father strained just like is father’s relationship to Mala, but Artie has a purpose for his visit. Throughout the time in the story, Artie is gathering and telling his father’s retelling of the Holocaust. Part of this is to find out more about his mother who committed suicide not long after surviving the Holocaust. The story ends on a sour note when Artie finds out that his father burned the journals she wrote about the events that she went through. Before the reader enters into this story, there is a small opening at the beginning of the novel that has the reader question who one can really trust. On page six, the father comforts his son Artie (who later becomes our main narrator of the story). This all stems around an incident Artie had with his friends, and his father comments, “If you lock them together in a room with no food for a week… … Then you could see what it is, friends!...” (6). This simple act of caring, with words of wisdom, provides the grounds for the cyclic events that are to come, and the reader is given this short story as food for thought. It is these moments that one is truly able to see who is there for them. This is an idea that cycles throughout the novel, and its placement at the start calls attention to this for the reader. To help lead the reader through the ups and downs in this repeating cycle of both good and bad events, Spiegelman utilizes the weight of ink that he puts in the cells with respect to the plot line.
When the plot begins to shift from the father’s story back to the interaction with Artie, there is noticeably less ink. It tends to coincide with the harsh climatic part of the story being told. These little climaxes are moments of unexpected help with an element of sadness, and an example of this can be seen on pages 115-116. Studying the emenata in tier two can really set the tone of this segment. Looking at the lines under the father-in-law’s face give image to the distress he is in. The blackness of their suits and the window frame fill the cells as well. The image here is darker. In the second cell of the last tier, the artistic fill of the pen marks prevents a true white from being present, and fills the reader with a darker sense. This is all happening as Artie’s father is able to bribe his way out, but his father-in-law is unable to. Although the bleed of the father in that cell provides a stark lightness of what is to …show more content…
come. Page 116 leads the reader out of this moment, and the reader is back with Artie and his father walking to the bank. The scenes of these cells are comparatively lighter than those of the previous page, and it marks a change in the cycle. It is at this moment the reader learns about how shady yet helpful Haskel was, and here, the father says, “Haskel was happy to take from father-in-law the jewels-but the risk to save them, this he was not so happy to take” (116). Here Haskel seems like one of the most unreliable people, and even Artie questions why his father still sends him a gift every so often. But, the emphasis is drawn to the cycle of good luck that the father is able to have that continues throughout the story. Haskel is one of the most unlikely characters to help, yet he still helped save the father. While these sorts of cycles continue throughout each chapter, there is another layer of cycles that occurs with the governess, Janina. This is seen in chapter two when Janina tells Mrs. Spiegelman, the father’s wife Anja, “How can you say such a thing. I think of you as part of my own family!” (37). This was in reference to the Mrs. Spiegelman’s comment about how it doesn’t take much to stir up Polish people when it pertains to Jewish people. It is this peculiar act that doesn’t seem to have much purpose at the start of the story, yet it is this kindness that comes back around to help the father. It should be noted that Janina did not return the favor to the Spiegelman’s like one might think, but where she denied them, someone else of her nationality provided a home. Kawaka took the Spiegelman’s in. Although this doesn’t last long, the family is able to move in with Mrs. Motonowa, a black market vender. Mrs. Motonowa treats them like family for the most part. When she runs the risk of being caught on page 143 she sends them all away. And the reader should notice that the cells after this darken to increase the sense of distress. But, when she runs into the father, she invites the Spiegelman’s back and says, “Praise Mary. You’re safe! I couldn’t sleep, I felt so guilty about chasing you and your wife out” (146). This saving moment that happens when it is most needed and least expected is accompanied by lighter cells than the previous pages. This moment also is part of the cycle started back with Janina when a caring tone was established. While the previous scenarios have focused on the structure of the novel and weight of ink that cycles throughout the plot, there are moments of karma coming back around to benefit the father as well. The ultimate cycling around of this is the fact that the father lived while so many of his family and friends died. One example of help the father provides is offering better hiding conditions for his cousin and family. It is on pages 153-154 that the Spiegelman’s are looking to be smuggled to safety instead of staying with Mrs. Motonowa, and after seeing the living conditions of his cousin, the father secures a spot for them with her. The father later recounts, “And, you know, Milock and his wife and boy, they all survived themselves the whole war… Sitting there … with Motonowa” (154). The father helped save them, and did so for his own unselfish reasons. He wasn’t like those of his own Jewish people who chose to help the Nazis, as they ultimately met their end. He chose to help where he could and not actively report on people. It is once again this good will that can be attributed to cycling back around to help the father survive these events. This last event occurs as the story is settling down, yet it is these ending few pages that provide the climax of the story as well as the low point of the cycle of Artie with his father.
The first cell of tier three on page 159 best shows the ending feelings of the story, and this is again seen by Artie’s and his father’s depictions. This cell has a little squiggle above Artie as he is looking down. Clearly he is stewing about what has happened. The event that led to this point is the newfound information that his father burned his mother’s journals. His father in this cell has a tilted head and his eyebrows are tilted out to create a sense of sorrow. It is also in this cell that Artie is clearly in the foreground while his father is more mid to background. This starts to set up the distance that is occurring, and this is part of a larger cycle that isn’t just contained within the book. Throughout the work, Artie is steadily growing closer to his father, but at the climax of the revealing of the book burnings, this cycle almost appears broken. The ending words of this work are “… murderer” (159) as Artie clearly storms away from his father, and the reader is almost left hanging without completion of this
cycle. Throughout the story, the reader is taken on a roundabout sort of journey. The work started with Artie being distant from his father, and in the end, it appears that he will remain distant from him. Still, even though it appears that the cycle is broken because of the ending, there is still a hope that all can be mended. Just like throughout the story, when it hit the lowest point, there was always something there in one of the most unexpected ways. Whether it was the random help that his father received from those whom readers wouldn’t expect, or even the acts of kindness that the father gave to those around him. In the end, the story begins to show what goes around comes around. This is what makes the work more than just another Holocaust story. It is not just a way for the author to redeem himself. It is more of a statement about life and what one makes of it. At any point, the father could have given up hope. He could have fallen victim to the terrors around him, yet he made the most with what he had. This carries over into the narrator Artie. Even though his relationship was strained with his father, it did not prevent him from pursuing getting the story. Even the author Spiegelman chooses to persevere. Even though this book ends abruptly, it does have a sequel. It is not over yet. The memories are still there. The story is not completely unfinished. There are memories that are still too come. They cycle through just like a person’s thoughts can flow. In that way, the reader feels that something must be resolved, and with this consideration the book demonstrates that things eventually will come around for those who held out for the good to happen.
The first two lines of the poem set the mood of fear and gloom which is constant throughout the remainder of the poem. The word choice of "black" to describe the speaker's face can convey several messages (502). The most obvious meaning ...
Art Spiegelman's Maus II is a book that tells more than the story of one family's struggle to live thought the Holocaust. It gives us a look into the psyche of a survivor's child and how the Holocaust affected him and many other generations of people who were never there at all. Maus II gives the reader a peek into the psyche of Art Spiegelman and the affects of having two parents that survived the Holocaust had on him. Spiegelman demonstrates the affects of being a survivor's child in many ways throughout the book. Examining some of these will give us a better understanding of what it was like to be a part of the Holocaust.
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.
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.
The Holocaust is one of the most horrific and gruesome events in world history. It took a great toll on millions of lives in one way or another. One person in particular is Vladek Spiegelman, a Holocaust survivor. Maus, by Art Spiegelman, consists of two main narratives. One narrative occurs during World War II in Poland, and the other begins in the late 1970s in New York. In relation to each other these two narratives portray the past and present.Throughout the novel, we often see Art Spiegelman questioning why his father acts the way he does. Although the war is over, the events of the Holocaust continue to influence the life of Vladek. Why do we allow the past to effect the present? Vladek's personality is largely influenced by his Holocaust experience. In Maus I and II, Vladek was stubborn, selfish, and cheap because of his experiences in the Holocaust.
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.
...s own wounded self, unaware of the unconscious connection to the depression of his mother and the unconscious recognition with the danger of his father. This text within a text is another chapter in Art Spiegleman's life that ends in tragedy from the death of a loved one and a piece of him. Artie's emphasis in this section of Maus is illustrated through the creation of a gloomy illusion when he outlined the four pages of the comic in black and illustrated the characters in a darker, more realistic manner from the mice and cats throughout the rest of the book. The purpose of this text within a text was to inform the reader that there was more to Art's story than what his father had to say. The death of Art's mother had a horrific impact on his father and himself, and this small cartoon was a way for Art to tell the story while coping with his memory of the incident.
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 format of "Maus" is an effective way of telling a Holocaust narrative because it gives Art Spiegelman the chance to expresses his father's story without disrespecting him at the same time. It shows this through its comic book style drawings on a topic that is difficult to explain. With the illustrations throughout the story, it shows the true meaning of a picture is worth a thousand words. Compared to any other type of Holocaust book, it would be hard for a person who did not go through the Holocaust to understand what was taking place during that time.
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.
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,
In the years after the Holocaust the survivors from the concentration camps tried to cope with the horrors of the camps and what they went through and their children tried to understand not only what happened to their parents. In the story of Maus, these horrors are written down by the son of a Holocaust survivor, Vladek. Maus is not only a story of the horrors of the concentration camps, but of a son, Artie, working through his issues with his father, Vladek. These issues are shown from beginning to end and in many instances show the complexity of the father-son relationship that was affected from the Holocaust. Maus not only shows these matters of contentions, but that the Holocaust survivors constantly put their children’s experiences to unreasonable standards of the parent’s Holocaust experiences.
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 Maus is a novel about the Vladek and his experience as a Polish Jew during the Holocaust. It narrates the reality of the Holocaust wherein millions and millions of Jews were systematically killed by the Nazi regime. One of the themes in the story is racism which is evident in the employment of animal characters and its relationship with one another.
The experience of being in the Holocaust is hard to imagine. The physical pain and fear that a survivor of the Holocaust felt could never fully be understood by anyone other than a fellow survivor. The children of survivors may not feel the physical pain and agony as their parents did, but they do feel the psychological effects. For this reason Artie and his father could never connect. The Holocaust built a wall between them that was hard to climb. Artie makes an attempt to overcome the wall between him and his father by writing the comic Maus about his fathers life in hopes to grow closer to him and understand him better, yet he struggles in looking past his fathers picky habits and hypocritical attitude.