ipl-logo

Complete Maus Sparknotes

680 Words3 Pages

Art Spiegelman’s (1996) book The Complete Maus is a graphic novel in the genre of Life Writing. Art Spiegelman wrote this memoir in memory of his late father, Vladek Spiegelman. This Graphic Novel is divided into two parts (1986 & 1991) and delves into Vladek’s experiences during the Holocaust. The intended audience for this novel includes individuals intrigued by Vladek’s story, as well as fans of comics, with the majority being young adults. Spiegelman adamantly asserts that his novel is not intended as an “Auschwitz 101" or a replacement for historical texts. Instead, it is written from the perspective of a son trying to understand the life of his father. Stating that he was “retracing my memories and memories that were transferred to me.” …show more content…

Spiegelman employs this genre convention to represent the domino effects that led his father into such a traumatic period in his life. Early in the memoir, a scene is shown that depicts a conversation between Spiegelman and his father. The page begins with Art requesting his father’s permission to illustrate a novel about him. Stating “I still want to draw that book about you” (Spiegelman, 1996, p.12). This introduces the audience to Vladek, establishing him as a Jewish prisoner of War. In the second panel, Vladek explains how pedalling is good for him health-wise. Spiegelman uses this as an opportunity to symbolize how his father continues to remain stuck in the past. Vladek makes no effort to heal from his trauma as an Auschwitz survivor. In the next panel, it is clear to the audience that Vladek is reluctant to do so, saying “It would take many books, my life, and no one wants anyway to hear such stories” (Spiegelman, 1996, p.12). It is important to recognise the emphasis on the word many in this panel. The bold capitalization of the word makes it the focal point of that panel. Spiegelman's use of heavy graphic weight visually represents the burden carried by Vladek. As the gutter cuts to a new panel, Spiegelman momentarily ignores the convention of sequence as he reveals a holocaust

Show More
Related
819 Words | 4 Pages

The Holocaust was a terrible event that left few Jewish survivors. In the graphic novel “The Complete Maus”, (Maus I and Maus II), Art Spiegelman writes about his father’s personal experiences of surviving the Holocaust, while also showing Vladek and his problems in the 1970s-80s. The Holocaust stories consist of hiding in many bunkers and hiding spots, working in labor camps while starving, and using connections and bribes to survive just one more day. Vladek was fortunate to survive the Holocaust with his wife, who committed suicide later, and a few of his relatives. Close to 98% of Polish Jews were killed (Wikipedia), but Vladek managed to survive Auschwitz and other life-threatening situations.

Read More
2115 Words | 9 Pages

When Vronsky looked at his watch on the Karenins' balcony, he was so greatly agitated and lost in his thoughts that he saw the figures on the watch's face, but could not take in what time it was. He came out on to the high road and walked, picking his way carefully through the mud, to his carriage. He was so completely absorbed in his feeling for Anna, that he did not even think what o'clock it was, and whether he had time to go to Bryansky's. He had left him, as often happens, only the external faculty of memory, that points out each step one has to take, one after the other. He went up to his coachman, who was dozing on the box in the shadow, already lengthening, of a thick limetree; he admired the shifting clouds of midges circling over the hot horses, and, waking the coachman, he jumped into the carriage, and told him to drive to Bryansky's.

Read More
706 Words | 3 Pages

A time that demonstrates that Vladek is not an upstander is when he is selfish towards his own wife, Mala. Art walks into the kitchen to find Mala crying about Vladek. Art empathetically asks mala, “‘Mala, were you crying”’ (Spiegelman, 130, 2).

Read More
932 Words | 4 Pages

Maus is a sad depressing story. It describes the holocaust and how bad it was. We Wear The Mask is saddening and depressing. Both Maus and We Wear The Mask portray the theme of being strong for others even if you aren’t even feeling so strong yourself, but Maus uses death to portray this theme while We Wear The Mask

Read More
614 Words | 3 Pages

Spiegelman with his brilliant usage of vivid imagery that portrayed the actual actions and phenomena of his and his peers including his father in a graphic way was absolutely fantastic. With the use of non-human imagery, the audience were still made to see capture a mental understanding of the descriptive words that were supported by the imagery that accompanied them page by page. He said quote ‘It was during summer I think I was ten or eleven”, and this quotation was vividly supported by the imagery presented on page 4 where the inhuman creatures were smaller than they are in other pictures, this is to depict to us that was very young during those skating time. The audience were able to clearly see and mentally understand fully as a result

Read More
912 Words | 4 Pages

To begin with, on page 26, the author states, “It must have been about midnight. We had arrived-at Birkenau, reception center for Auschwitz.” This shows the inner thinking that is represented

Read More
1135 Words | 5 Pages

“At last, he said, wearily: ‘I have more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He alone has kept his promises, all his promises, to the Jewish people.’” (Wiesel 22). MAUS written by Art Spiegelman and Night written by Elie Wiesel have different approaches and use of storytelling have led to the same outcome, telling one’s story as a memoir as it shall not be forgotten. Spiegelman approaches his book as a graphic memoir, telling the story using visual and metaphors.

Read More
1124 Words | 5 Pages

As a young man during WW2, Vladek proves that he is a quick thinker with ethical ideas. During the Holocaust, it was a tough time for everyone, especially the Jews. Vladek had to move from place to place just to keep himself and his family safe. This was very difficult because the Polish and Gestapos were everywhere. Vladek had ideas that were enough to save his life and keep him safe.

Read More
894 Words | 4 Pages

Maus by Art Spiegelman is a World War II survivor written from a Jewish perspective. The book is however not representing a typical survivor tale, as Spiegelman has decided to tell it in a new, unconventional but revolutionary way; a comic strip. Even though comic strips are said to represent fiction, they can actually successfully transmit real stories and add a new dimension to it. This new dimension is generated by combining text and image. Spiegelman has decided to fully make use of this unique genre by portraying different ethnicities or nationalities in form of anthropomorphic creatures.

Read More
1125 Words | 5 Pages

Most of Vladek Spiegelman has many (strange) personality traits. He can be headstrong, stingy, short-tempered and even borderline racist at times. As the reader reads through Maus I and II, it is learned that most of these things about him stem from his experience being a Holocaust survivor and living through World War II. Before the war, he didn 't exhibit these traits. With his first wife Anja, he is undoubtedly kind, compassionate, and wealthy.

Read More
399 Words | 2 Pages

It is the most he has ever spoken about himself. The authors’ decision to depict one self by wearing the mouse mask has obvious roots in the history of using mice for Jewish representation. Also it stands out as a signal, it is Spiegelman creating his own self as an overtly literal icon. This is literal in

Read More
1196 Words | 5 Pages

In Maus, Art Spiegelman records his personal accounts of trying to delve into his father’s traumatic past. His father, Vladek, is a Jew from Poland who survived persecution during World War II. Art wants to create a graphic novel about what his father went through during the Holocaust, so he reconnects with Vladek in order to do so. Due to the horrifying things that the Jews went through he has trouble opening up completely about all the things that happened to him. But after Art gets together with his father many times, he is finally able to understand the past legacy of the Spiegelman family.

Read More
902 Words | 4 Pages

We do not stop to think about how we use our cognitive abilities to help us throughout our childhood, schooling, and adulthood. Two of our cognitive skills are critical thinking and metacognition. Metacognition is thinking about your own thinking processes that include memory skills, memory capabilities, and study skills. Psychologists now realize that metacognitive capability begins way earlier than previously thought (Dimmitt & McCormick, 2011). Critical thinking is examining information and coming up with conclusions and reasonable judgments based on evidence.

Read More
709 Words | 3 Pages

Hitler also had many statues of himself, or figures that represented him and his rule. Also, in line 6 Plath mentions her father as “daddy” emphasizing on the childlike sounds. Plath does this to remind the reader that she is writing about her relationship wither father from a very young age. Next, imagery is shown again in lines 32-33 “chuffing me off like a Jew./A Jew to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen.”

Read More
1311 Words | 6 Pages

Its main focus is the dehumanization of the Jewish people in the concentration camp near the city of Jaslo. This has personal significance to Szymborska as that was close to where she was living at the time. The poem begins with “write it down. Write it” . The repetition of the words “Write it” gives urgency to the matter.

Read More

More about Complete Maus Sparknotes

Open Document