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The Effects Of Anthropomorphizing Animals In Maus

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Uncovering the Effects of Anthropomorphizing Animals in Maus There are many works in Children Literature, Aesop’s Fables, and George Orwell’s Animal Farm anthropomorphizing animals, so it is not surprising to see humans being treated zoomorphically in Maus. In this essay, it argues the effects of having animals represents humans in Maus, namely creating and yet challenging the stereotypes, reflecting the reality, conveying the meaning more in depth, and engaging the young readers more. First, the use of animals has unintentionally created stereotypes. Since a young age, we have been ingrained and influenced during the process of acculturation, regarding the power relation between cats and mice and their associated characteristics. Cats are …show more content…

Just glancing from the cover page and if you do not know much about World War II, you will see this graphic novel as another version of Tom and Jerry. However, when one reads the book, one starts to gain knowledge and insight on World War II. Using the technique of anthropomorphizing animals also stands out from the literature that are related to stories of the survivors, such as Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl. Therefore, the use of mice and cats as characters can engage particularly young readers. Besides, in an article “Trauma and Visuality: Art Spiegelman’s Maus and In the Shadow of No Towers”, Orban states that “images do not represent their referent, but rather prompt viewers to mobilize imagination, using the book actively as a starting point: to prompt to remember, to think, and to see the best they can” (63). This is true because mice and cats do not simply represent those individual Jews and Nazis respectively, but they rather imply greater things, such as the aforementioned sad yet historical truth, and prompt us to picture the “images” in our brain. They can also imply unsayable things and readers hold the authority to interpret what they see, which is the nature of comics (Spieglman, 150). In short, anthropomorphizing animals in Maus brings namely four effects, creating and yet challenging stereotypes, reflecting reality, conveying the message of the graphic novel more in-depth, and engaging the young readers more. The narrative has indeed created profound implication not only to readers, but also to the cartoonist himself, prompting us to reflect on humanity while universalizing his memory. It is hoped that memory will not keep haunting the Jews and history will not repeat itself. Nevertheless, this historical moment cannot be wiped away from human

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