5 Insights On MAUS

Rubie Beltrán

Prof. Cynthia Pittmann

Intermediate English 3104-134

31 may 2018

Five Insights Into MAUS by Art Spiegelman

These are the most interesting insights that I found on the assigned reading, MAUS by Art Spiegelman.

1. Cat and mouse metaphor - In the reading there is a clear and literal depiction of the Nazis and Jews, the Nazis being the cats and the Jews as mice. These personifications make you see the reality of how abusive the Nazis were to the jews, they hunted them as prey and killed them off without any sort of inhibition. They viewed the jews as mere rodents that could serve for their own ghoulish amusements. Only a few of these “mice” survived the deadly claws of death, like in the case of Vladek Spiegelman. 
2. Black and white images - the representation of colors is non-existent in the images of the graphic except for the outside cover. Otherwise, this graphic is purely black an white. My interpretation of this fact is that it emphasizes how the Spiegelman is trying to parallel the past of his father. To me, colors mean life and vivid images that draw your attention specifically to the colors and create this sort of ethereal feeling. In comparison, being presented with black and white images gives off a more somber feeling, like nothing good is about to happen, because, in reality, nothing good happened in the war with the Nazis. 
3. Grammar/dialogue - more than the grammar itself, it’s the way that Art Spiegelman depicts his father’s way of speaking. Sentences like, “I was very religious, and it wasn’t else to do.” (54) or “These I saved from red cross package. Always I saved… just incase!” (63) make you feel more connected to the character, to Vladek Spiegelman. It is contrasted that he is not American but a Polish Jew man that migrated to the United States to seek for safety that had not been granted in their country if they had stayed there. At first, I wasn’t aware this graphic was based on true events in Spiegelman’s personal life. I think we tend to forget that fact, this was based on his father’s experiences and of course, he would not want to write perfect grammar or deliver a perfect way of speech because that is real life, at its rawest and finest way. 
4. Vladek Spiegelman - Vladek Spiegelman is definitely an interesting character, most of all his personality was my favorite. The way his said simple sentences or the way he narrates his own story, is in some sort of way, entertaining. At first, I thought that the graphic would be very dark and not something you would smile about because many of these Holocaust survivors tend to have post-traumatic disorders (I am not saying he doesn’t) yet I found myself entertained mostly by Vladek’s personality and mannerisms. Pages like 52, 54, 67, 68 and 69 are the most memorable of Vladek’s personality in the graphic novel.
5. Diary/journal - One of the many things that drew me into reading the graphic novel was the style of it. It was like finding an old diary and reading it profusely but with images. Spiegelman’s style feels very accurate in the way it is presented, especially the scenes where he returns to “present” time like pages 130 through page 133. I believe this is one of the many attributes of this graphic novel that makes the readers sympathize and create a bond with the characters.