Maus

C

            Before I began my books required for this week, I had a conversation with one of my best friends regarding the genre of graphic novels. I spoke very candidly about my dislike for this field of literature, as I often find the plot and characters to be underdeveloped and substandard to novels containing strictly textual content. She spoke in favor of these novels, as she is a visual learner and likes that these books shake up the monotony of traditional reading. Previously I have tried to read a number of graphic novels and was of the opinion that the pictures did not sufficiently supplement the words, therefore leaving the story incomplete. However, after completing my mandatory reading for the week, my opinion shifted drastically.

            Instead of finding Maus deficient as a story and therefore disliking it, I thought it was a creative approach used to illustrate a very sensitive historical conflict. Having cats and mice act as representations of Nazis and Jews is an excellent yet simple comparison. I think this book is appropriate for both adults and younger readers, and I think this symbolism of animals depicting human sects assists the younger adolescent readers in their understanding of the content. Spiegelman, in my opinion, created a graphic novel that could be engaging and accessible to all readers, despite their level of reading ability.

            After completing Maus, I immediately went online to buy the second installment. I was shocked by how much I enjoyed the novel and by how different my interpretation of this genre was from my previous assumptions. Instead of comparing it to traditional literature, I viewed it as its own separate form of literature, because to me, that’s what it is. Simply because it does not contain nearly as much text does not make it underdeveloped and incomplete, as I had previously thought. This time, I found that the pictures engaged my interest instead if deterring it and once I began to see this story as a different form of literature altogether, I began to embrace the aspects that make this genre so unique and enjoyable.

            Critically, I think Spiegelman’s choice of narrative order was well thought out. The use of flashbacks between War and contemporary time helped the reader see who father and mother were before, during, and after the war. Although I did not particularly like the abrasive father character, Spiegelman’s portrayal of him as a post-holocaust citizen was very well done. In the Holocaust literature that I have read, generally the plot of the story often revolves around the War as it was taking place. However, in Maus, readers are exposed to the story through father’s recollection, and it becomes evident that his behavior has been significantly shaped by the War. 

Often, in the stories I have read, the long lasting chronic effects of such genocide are ignored. In this story, they were magnified. Father’s perception of money shift pre and post war. A mouse that once cared about material objects and wealth, father emerges from the war a frugal and miserly character. Although mother is dead, through father’s memories readers see her behavior shift from young and educated pre-War to depressed and eventually, suicidal following the War. I thought the use of flashback provided the reader with a unique opportunity to see how War alters behavior, and I found this a fascinating approach to Holocaust literature.

            Another element of fiction that Spiegelman succeeded at was creating imagery that strongly supplemented the written content. I found his drawings essential to evoking emotion from the reader and a number of times I found his images to be more salient than the words. During the “Prisoner on the Hell Planet” sequence, I was moved by the intensity of the images. They depicted such suffering among the characters that I found these images to be more powerful than the accompanying words.

            In conclusion, I am surprised by my own reaction to Maus. I now understand that books that include pictures are not subsidiary to traditional literature, but simply different. I thought Spiegelman did a wonderful job engaging readers through his use of flashback and intense imagery, and I look forward to reading the second installment of this series.