Graphic novels are stories presented in a comical format. Art Spiegelman depicted the Holocaust in a comical formal through his work in Maus 1985-1991. He narrates the Holocaust through his interviews with his father. Maus uses mice, cats, and pigs to represent Jews, Germans and Poles respectively. There are certain themes that are subtle such as guilt. In book one he explains that he felt that every conversation with his father felt like a disagreement, that is why they were never close. Also, he was never helpful to Vladek, his father with chores in the house such as in chapter 5, his father wakes him to help with the damage on the roof, but he refuses, sometime later he comes to his father’s house and offers to help thus demonstrating his guilt. (Spiegelman, 1991)
Moreover, issues of discrimination are portrayed, such as in using the Jews as mice and Germans as cats, depicting the inferiority propaganda promoted by the Nazis, since cats are considered a nuisance to be exterminated. (Spiegelman, 1999) In the process of retelling certain stories, at times the core of the story is lost in translation, however for maus, the author succeeds in retelling in a simple yet very clear way.
…show more content…
The depth of the story not only also exploit the Holocaust, relationships between families but also succeeds in telling an event that would have been difficult to communicate. (Huff post, 2011). Moreover, his success in 1991 has made it difficult to transcend it; he is aware that he will always be known for maus, that he may not escape the autobiographical voice. Maus capability in representing such a tragic history exceeded past assumptions of comic capability. Artistically overcoming it is a challenge. (Kensky,