Week 7 Maus

For week 7, I read Art Spiegelman's Complete Maus (Vol. 1 and 2) which is a graphic novel about the experience of a Jew from Poland who survived the Holocaust. In this comic, the Jews are mice and the Germans are cats. The art of this comic is simple and somewhat rough; the linework is not smooth it has a sketchy look. Despite the art being simple, the story is complex and covers a topic that is horrifying/sickening but sadly was a reality.

While the novel was filled with powerful graphics, one of the pages that stood out to me the most was a page towards the beginning when Vladek Spiegelman was going to the sanitarium with Anja. They were on a train and then went past a town with a Nazi flag. The flag was then used as the background for multiple panels. The contrast of the flag made the panels so dark which alluded to the darkness that would come over time as the Nazis gained more power.

I find Spiegelman’s use of cats and mice to be interesting; at first, when I thought about mice I thought of cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse and Tom and Jerry. The use of animal allegory does make sense because people tend to be disgusted by mice (Nazis were disgusted by Jews) and cats see mice as prey, they hunt mice just like the Nazis hunted the Jews.

While this graphic novel should not be for younger kids, I do understand why it's so popular in schools as a method of teaching about the Holocaust. The novel was powerful, educational, and gut-wretching and I would definitely recommend everyone to read it.