Maus Review

I appreciated reading the comic Maus, by Art Spiegelman. While I never had an opposition toward comics, I didn’t read them often enough to appreciate them. It took me by surprise when I learned that the next book we were going to read was a comic, and it shocked me even further when I saw that The Holocaust was represented through cats and mice. I understood the metaphor but it seemed a little insensitive to illustrate such a hard topic through cartoony animals. Upon reading it, however, it opened my perspective on the Holocaust and how it affected its victims. I initially only related the Holocaust to the direct events that happened regarding the concentration camps and gas chambers. While that was depicted well in the comic, I was also given the aftermath of these events. I knew it was common for many survivors to have PTSD and other trauma-related diagnoses, however, I didn’t realize just how much it played a role in their lives. Rather than the limiting factor I thought the cat vs. mice idea to be, it worked well in enhancing the story. At times, I did think that the metaphors and motifs that Spiegelman illustrated were a little insane, especially since stripes were drawn in every other panel. I don’t think I actually realized how well put together and thought out it was until I read the last page when Vladek called Artie, Richieu. Everything that was written and drawn out led to that one point, where we saw how similar the past and present are for many Holocaust survivors. Touching on not only one main form of trauma, Spiegelman was able to implement the vast impact it had on his family but also a whole generation past. By switching from past to present he emphasized how similar the two could be for both him and his father. These ideas really helped the audience have a better understanding of both the Holocaust and the lives of the survivors afterward.