Introduction
Art Spiegelman’s Maus: A Survivor’s Tale provides a graphic depiction of the Holocaust. Spiegelman’s work on Maus describes an interview with his father, Vladek Spiegelman, who survived the onslaught. At one point, Vladek states, “To die is easy […] But you have to struggle for life!” (Spiegelman 21). There are several other touching statements that he makes throughout as he narrates, recounts, and depicts his experiences before and after the Holocaust.
The book was published several decades after the Holocaust, and Art Spiegelman is a second-generation victim. Spiegelman was motivated by the desire to record Vladek’s experiences. His father’s narration of the events in Auschwitz helps Spiegelman to better explore the intergenerational trauma of the Holocaust by using anthropomorphized characters, a distinctive graphic art style, and illusion.
Numerous stories and memoirs have been written in detail and documented as a reflection of the tragic events of the Holocaust, particularly of the Jews. Art Spiegelman, a Jewish cartoonist and Nobel laureate, wrote Maus: A Survivor’s Tale as an addition to his graphic depiction of the happenings to moderate the trauma he inherited. He chooses to deal with the event by employing his artistic talent to draw a graphic narrative and retell the story based on Vladek’s memory of his experiences in Auschwitz.
Intergenerational Trauma and Narrative Techniques
Spiegelman uses a unique approach in his work by painting himself as a child of a Holocaust survivor. He narrates how his father just desired to survive in the concentration camps despite the distasteful conditions they lived in. His father indicated, “Auschwitz became for us a safe place” (Spiegelman, 23). The Jews had to eat bad food and were not treated as human beings, which describes trauma cultivated during the Holocaust and then transmitted through generations.
Ole Frahm et al. (2021) indicate that “Spiegelman provides his perception of the inherited trauma through literature” (52). He employs a medium he is comfortable with, comics, to craft different inclinations of remembering the Holocaust and the emotions involved. He contributed to showing that intergenerational trauma exists using narrative and visual cues to highlight the key motifs and thesis and expand the graphic novel’s form. Maus shows that trauma is passed on. Stories, drawings, and photographs perpetuate the memory.
Maus helps to demonstrate the unending endurance of the Holocaust, even across ages. The boom is a manifestation that memory and images stick in the mind. That is why his message is so powerful; the use of that helps to give power to the memory woven in pictures and dialogue.
Deniz (2021) states, “Vladek’s memory proves that the Holocaust was extremely graphic and caused immense emotional distress” (77). Spiegelman’s target is to characterize a glance at the most horrible event in human history. He achieves a goal by employing a tool that is easy to understand. It may be impossible to make sense of the Holocaust, but the artist helps reconcile the trauma left in its imprint.
Use of Anthropomorphism
The book departs from the normal pattern of using human creatures in storytelling and instead uses anthropomorphized characters. Most people hold serious views regarding the Holocaust, such that the use of graphical images that look like authentic images can scare away many people who may want to interact with the book. That is why Maus is distinctive, given the use of anthropomorphism.
Anthropomorphism involves assigning human characteristics to objects or other creatures. Hart (2018) indicates, “In Maus, human characteristics have been assigned to animals to reduce the effect of trauma on the reader” (57). Spiegelman displays characters in the story as different types of animals, including mice, cats, and pigs. Spiegelman indicated that “Jews as mice—or rather rats—swarming in a sewer, with a title card that said ‘Jews are the rats’ or the ‘vermin of mankind’” (Spiegelman, 65).
Mice represent Jews, while cats and pigs represent the Nazis and the Polish. The approach helped Spiegelman reduce the harm in the story’s content. He acknowledged that if a reader connects with an animal, the story would not seem as bad and severe as drawing a natural person.
Anthropomorphism has been applied to indicate how cats hunt down mice, but the portrayal of Jews as mice and Nazis as cats is quite overstretched. People ordinarily consider mice weak and unclean animals that often run around and remain in their hideout most of the time. The story paints a picture of Nazis hunting down the Jews, which may project the storyteller as a racist.
Deniz (2021) indicates, “The truth is that there is much more behind the symbolism than just being offensive” (82). Even though some people may consider the approach a sign of disrespect, Spiegelman’s key concern was the events of the Holocaust, which he took seriously. He used anthropomorphism to enhance the narrative and make the story easier to figure out, as the reader can readily identify with the characters.
Etter (2020) states, “By characterizing the Nazis as cats, Art showed how the Holocaust mimicked cats hunting for mice” (91). The anthropomorphism is further enhanced by referring to Zyklon B, which refers to the gas used to massacre the Jews in Auschwitz. The pictures of the hunt of cats and mice show the different races between the stronger Nazis and the weaker Jews.
For instance, Spiegelman indicated, “This made it clear to me that this dehumanization was at the heart of the killing project” (Spiegelman 55). The quote explains why the author chose to draw the Jews as mice since people considered them inferior and at the bottom of the level of humanity. The depiction borrows from the common understanding that mice are weak and are found at the lowest level of the food chain. In the same way, Spiegelman showed Jews as vulnerable people who were lost to society.
Additionally, anthropomorphism helped Spiegelman tone down the harshness of the subject so that the reader would find it easy to engage with the story. Had Spiegelman drawn authentic images of people, he would have scared away many readers, especially young people and women, who would find it hard to take the power of the pictures. Gazing at dead mice is not as harmful as looking at dead human bodies.
For instance, Spiegelman writes, “That winter, four Jewish men are hanged by German soldiers as punishment for dealing goods on the black market” (87). He opted to show the images in the form of mice. If the photos involved hung human bodies, most readers would have turned away, as they would find it disturbing. Therefore, using animals toned down the harsh reality so the reader would find it easier to look at mice while allowing the author to remain accurate and show the tragic events.
Anthropomorphism made Maus an interesting and enjoyable read, allowing the reader to easily tell apart the different parties involved in the Holocaust and their character. It is so easy for the reader to tell who is superior between a cat and a mouse, and it paints a clearer picture of how the Nazis treated the Jews by hunting them down. The story further elaborates on how the Jews tried to escape being caught by pretending to be Polish.
During the interview, Spiegelman indicates that his father wore a pig mask to show how they would blend in with the Polish people. Spiegelman showed how they would be sold out to the police by saying, “‘There’s a Jew in the courtyard! Police!’ An old woman who recognized Anja from her window” (Spiegelman 137). The statement provided context to shout, indicating how Polish people felt about Jews. If the image drawn were of a person, it would have been hard to recognize that she was German.
Visual Rhetoric and Allusions
In addition, Spiegelman employs his talent in graphics to tell the story of the Holocaust. The approach provides a critical legacy as he uses graphical images to illustrate his father’s memory of his experiences in Auschwitz. The pictures are juxtaposed as drawings to show the burden of capturing the remembrance and mountains of trauma. The images in the book are drawn as simple cartoons emphasizing symbolism and expression.
Ole Frahm et al. (2021) state, “The approach enriches the story so that readers can connect and feel for the characters” (71). Of course, it will be impossible for the current generations to thoroughly comprehend the horrors done to the Jewish community. However, through Maus and similar creative works, people can empathize with cartoon characters through visual rhetoric. It is through the use of simple cultural context and amplification that people can appreciate the sentiments of the characters and react respectfully to their feelings.
Furthermore, Spiegelman uses allusions to connect with the audience, thus allowing the reader to communicate in specific ways with the story. This is because they are highly effective if used correctly and have the potential to incorporate imagery into scenes and create a more personalized rapport with the audience. They help enhance the story’s quality by providing a better meaning and bringing uniqueness.
Uniqueness emanates from how allusions make a special connection to the audience and introduce subtle references. Ole Frahm et al. (2021) indicate, “In Maus, the allusions help the reader gain some insight into the personality and character that is Art” (61). It accurately depicts contradictory reactions to his father, and he does not refrain from describing people for who they are.
Conclusion
In summary, Maus presents an authentic story of the Jewish people’s pains during the Holocaust. Spiegelman’s book adds to the intergenerational depiction of the worst moment in history for Jews that has not been forgotten due to the feelings involved. He acknowledges the weight of the subject matter, and anthropomorphism tones down its seriousness so that the reader can easily connect with the events. Spiegelman also used art and allusions to make the story more relatable and enjoyable.
Works Cited
Deniz, Ahmet. Why Animals Are Used in Literature and Comics. The Thought behind Art Spiegelman’s Cat-And-Mouse-Game. GRIN Verlag, 2021.
Etter, Lukas. Distinctive Styles and Authorship in Alternative Comics. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2020.
Hart, Tom. The Art of the Graphic Memoir: Tell Your Story, Change Your Life. St. Martin’s Griffin, November 2018.
Ole Frahm, et al. Beyond Maus: The Legacy of Holocaust Comics. Böhlau Verlag, 2021.
Spiegelman, Art. Maus: A Survivor’s Tale. Volume 1, My Father Bleeds History. Penguin, 1987.