Maus, written by Art Spiegelman, delves into the lives of not only one generation, but two, that were affected by the Holocaust. This graphic memoir is not a restatement of facts most likely found in textbooks worldwide. Instead, Spiegelman gives the inside scoop of what his father was like back before the war, during the war, and even after the war. Not only does Spiegelman give the readers a verbal account of his father’s struggles, but a visual as well. By using cartoon animals, Spiegelman is able to depict the racially charged caste system between the Jews, Poles, and Germans. His cartoons also help the flow of the narrative by depicting Vladek’s struggles before, during, and after the war which better help readers understand the Jewish people’s intrinsic need to survive throughout the war.
Art Spiegelman chose not to depict his characters as regular human beings. His characters, instead, were assigned a certain breed of animals. The Polish people in his novel are pigs. The Jewish people are mice, so of course which animal chase mice? The Germans are depicted as cats. The readers see the Germans as cats first in part I of Maus when Anja and Vladek are on their way to a mental health sanctuary. On the way to the facility they pass by a town with which a Nazi flag is flying high. A passenger then recounts how his family member once lived in a town in Germany.
The Germans eventually ran all Jews out of that town by buying up their businesses (Spiegelman Part I, 33). The Germans ran the Jewish people out of town, just as cats run mice out of unwanted territories. Cats, in the animal kingdom, are far more superior in intelligence. Mice, unfortunately, are on the bottom of the food chain. Pigs, however, are just there not offering much help on either side. Vladek and Anja actually hire Janina, a nanny who was Polish. In the graphic memoir she is drawn as a pig who helps the family with their son Richieu (Spiegelman Part I, 37).
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However, later in the novel, Janina turned on the family, not assisting them in hiding when the Spiegelman’s had nowhere else to go (Spiegelman Part I, 136). The Polish people were neither helping nor hurting the situation, they were simply just there to do what the Germans wanted them to do. Spiegelman’s choice to depict his characters as animals instead of people, especially animals that interact with one another in real life, give the readers a better sense of where the Jews were located on a social level. Because they were Jews, they were automatically vermin, meant to be chased away by their supposed superior, the cat.
Spiegelman’s choice to use cartoons help the narrative flow better in the reader’s minds. Although there is nothing like living through the actual events, a visual helps the reader get a better grasp at how Vladek was before the war and how the war eventually changed him and effected later generations. Before the war, Vladek was very well off. Anja’s father in one encounter gives Vladek money to start up a textile factory. On page 29 in Part I, Vladek recalls, “I started a factory in Bielsko, and visited to Anja every weekend” (Spiegelman). Vladek is easily able to open up a business, and it turns out he is a very good business man which will help him during the war. Later, Vladek is drafted into the Polish army. He is thrown into the war and even kills a German soldier (Spiegelman Part I, 50).
Vladek is eventually captured as a prisoner of war which is where he gets a first-hand experience in just how harsh the Germans really were. Cartoons depicted on page 53 in Part II show the living conditions of this first prisoner of war camp. Tents are set up for the Jews while just over a barbed wire fence heated cabins are placed for the Polish prisoners (Spiegelman). Although this was also stated, the visual is what catches the eye. Seeing the barbed wire fence and the heated cabins compared to the shivering Jewish people out in the tents allows the reader to see how unfair the Germans were to them. Yet, Vladek still survived.
Though Vladek survived being a prisoner of war, it did not mean that the war was over. Vladek and Anja are forced into hiding after Vladek is released. They are constantly trying to survive by finding different places to hide and escape to. Unfortunately for Vladek and Anja, they are eventually captured and taken to Auschwitz. While at Auschwitz, the readers are shown how Vladek survives. He uses his savviness and intelligence to try and stay ahead of everyone else that is barely scraping by.
On page 32 in Part II, Vladek is seen eating a huge meal all because he knew English and was able to teach it to his block supervisor (Spiegelman). Also, throughout the war Vladek constantly saves his belongings for later use. This survival technique was able to get him out of trouble on numerous occasions. Vladek is finally given a job to fix shoes; however, he is given a shoe that is too hard for him to fix. This leads him to take a piece a bread previously saved and trade it for knowledge. Vladek was able to get the shoe fixed and was given a whole piece of sausage for it (Spiegelman Part II, 61). So, by saving that stale piece of bread he was able to trade it in ultimately for something better. This indicates that the Jewish people, especially Vladek, no matter the circumstances are able to do what they can to survive.
The war may have ended, but the effects of the Holocaust were everlasting. This is supported by the fact that Vladek is shown in his old age consistently trying to save everything, even the most mundane items. On page 20 in Part II, the readers find Artie and Vladek butting heads due to Vladek’s constant need to save items. Artie is trying to light a cigarette with a match when Vladek stops him. Vladek wants to save the matches in which Artie responds with, “What a miser!” (Spiegelman). This not only indicates to the readers that the Holocaust and Vladek’s survival skills carried over into his life after the war, but it also shows the generational effects it had. Artie, who never had to fight for survival, misunderstands his father and runs of patience for him often.
However, Vladek is not always so stingy. He does not mind spending money if it is worth it to him. This is proven on page 69 in Part I, when the cartoon depicts an oversized coat on Artie. Vladek had previously thrown out an old tattered coat and gotten Artie a new one (Spiegelman). This displays that Vladek is not completely hardened by the war, he is showing love and care through buying Artie a new coat. To Artie this may seem frustrating, but to the reader they see that Vladek’s struggles throughout the Holocaust had no effect on the love he had for his second son. He may show it in a different way that Artie is not used to; however, it is love nonetheless.
Art Spiegelman did more than just recount a story. He was able to draw out that same story, giving the readers a sense of realism. Spiegelman was able to set up a whole caste system just based off of farm animals. Spiegelman also showed Vladek’s survival before, during, and after the war thus allowing the readers to see how he developed based off of his struggles. The cartoons allowed the readers to emerge themselves in the experience of the Holocaust. As stated earlier, there is nothing like experiencing the actual events; however, the cartoons are a well-deserved forced image that make the readers stare in utter amazement and disgust at just how horrid the Holocaust was.
