Reponse to "Maus"

Maus is a graphic novel by Art Spiegelman that depicts him interviewing his father about his experiences as a Holocaust survivor. All humans are  represented through various animals, particularly mice for Jews and cats for Germans. I found it to be a very tragic, depressing, and impactful story. Spiegelman’s use of paneling and storytelling through art was spectacular. While some before reading the graphic novel could be mislead to believing that the format could not cover such a serious topic like the Holocaust, reading it would prove them wrong. The animal representations didn’t disconnect me from the story being about a true and terrible event, They actually enhanced it, especially with how Jews were depicted as small mice. Spiegelman’s decision to show the Nazi ideology of viewing Jewish people as vermin makes the obvious even more so. It enhances how the characters in the novel are to be viewed and doesn’t place the whole species of animal in a good or bad category. Spiegelman still conveyed the raw suffering and feelings of not only what his parents experienced, but his difficulties with his father as well. 

Maus is a very personal account and while Spiegelman had hesitations about it, the inspiration to write allowed him to do so and I think it was a great choice. He delivered a poignant and very close to the heart story to audiences. This also further proved how the choice of using a graphic novel and a “cartoon” art style in no way hinders the storytelling and that it is something that should be taken as a serious form of art and storytelling. The experiences depicted in Maus isn’t made for young audiences, it’s something that adults both young and old can better understand and feel. Not to say that this novel could have a profound effect on kids as well, but I wouldn’t know. I don’t know what I would have felt as a child seeing this because due to me always moving, I had ended up not learning much about The Holocaust because the schools I went to had covered it at different times. I had to look up the information on my own when I was in the 8th grade I think. 

The complicated family bonds, especially Spiegelman’s with his father, and how all members have been affected by their own traumas are things that I believe just about anyone could relate to. Family stories hold great importance in Maus, from his father telling Spiegelman his experiences to his mother’s lost and burnt accounts of what she had experienced. The prevalent themes of guilt and blame, and who is responsible, in Maus holds ideas that anyone could relate to. It’s very much about the ties between the generations, what’s similar and where the disconnect between them are when it comes to issues. Stories passed down from generation to generation, both the good and bad, should be understood and remembered by the people today. This applies to the events of the Holocaust and avoiding a similar situation from happening in our future, and ones that can maybe apply to our own families on a smaller scale.

On a personal note, my own father had a very rough life and sacrificed a lot to come here to the United States. He came from a poor family, dealt with his mother’s death, joined the US Navy and gave up college just so he could move to the States to give his children a better life, and currently is only able to see his relatives every few years. What’s interesting is that he has brought up that he tells me his stories in our long car rides because he wants me to write a book about it. I have no idea where he got this idea, or why he decided that I should be the one to write since I’m not a writer, but it’s an interesting parallel to Spiegelman and Maus.