CI 5441: Spiegelman Response

Spiegelman, Art. Maus. New York: Raw Books and Graphics, 1986.

Art Spiegelman’s story Maus chronicles the real life relationship between Spiegelman and his father Vladek as he recounts his life in Poland during the first years of WWII. Spiegelman uses clever illustrations to transport readers back and forth between the present and past lives of his father and mother as they created a family amidst uncertain times in Europe. In his father’s narrative, Spiegelman learns about his time spent in the Polish Army, his time as a POW, the presence of the Germans in Poland, and their family’s removal to the Jewish ghettos. As Spiegelman learns about his father’s past, his current relationship is also chronicled. It is apparent that his father has many lingering side effects from surviving the war, including his need to horde everything. The novel closes with Spiegelman’s outrage toward his father for destroying his late mother’s diaries. The book is clearly chronicles the shifting tides of human nature as it faces the worst of circumstances and witnesses the worst of mankind. Vladek’s story is one of survival and sacrifice; it illustrates the lengths to which people will go in order to ensure their own survival. In the end, the reader is torn between sympathies for both the father and the son as they try to work through their rocky relationship and to find redemption in coming to terms with the ghosts from their pasts.

I thought the book was brilliantly done. Anyone reading the story is able to take away something away from the text. Spiegelman takes a common, though horrific, topic and present it in a new way that engages readers without losing the importance of the story. The use of the graphic novel form provides Spiegelman with opportunities that would be lacking in other forms. He is able to provide detailed illustrations that present readers with the ability to read both the words and the reactions of the characters. The black and white drawings set the serious tone of the book and help readers to enjoy the artistry of the book without neglecting the grave content of the story. By presenting his interactions with his father in obtaining the story, Spiegelman is able to provide the reader with a glimpse of their current lives and relationships as well as to provide a sense of validity in the contents of the story. Seeing Vladek in his present state illustrates how his experiences have shaped his life in the present. Overall, the text way that tells a story but also forces readers to think; readers can analyze the artwork within the text and add their analysis to both their understanding of the content and Spiegelman’s purpose in presenting the material in this form.

What I think is teachable about this text is both its content and presentation. Teachers can use the text to present students with a survivor’s tale. Students can read first-hand how Jewish citizens living in Poland were exposed to the war and the horrendous actions of the Nazis. The story provides enough historical content that readers will be able to comprehend the plot as it moves along. Students can also use this as a study of the use of both narrative and the creation of a memoir. But I think the best part about this text is that is can be looked at through critical lenses. Students can analyze the presentation of the characters as different animals—why would Spiegelman chose cats, mice, and pigs? Students can also be asked to look at the actions of the characters themselves and how power, money, class, gender, etc. affect the actions and situations within the text. I think the book would be a great study of author’s purpose and would create opportunities for research into genocide—something that has plagued mankind in one form or another for centuries.