Art Spiegelman The Complete Maus

Spiegelman’s Maus is a graphic novel which explores events of the holocaust and the uniting of a father and son. Though often overlooked the dedications play an integral role in better understanding the text. The dedications do not influence the meaning of the book but do reinforce events in the book. Spiegelman dedicates the first book to his mother as an attempt to rid himself of the guilt associated with his mother’s suicide. In an attempt to not have the same short comings as his father, Art associates his most prized work with the most prized people in his life. Richieu is often disregarded in the book however he is vital in Spiegelman’s eyes. The book in its entirety is highly important as it is a dedication to a whole race.

In the book called Maus by Art Spiegelman, it tells the story about a mouse named Valdek Spiegelman, who is a Holocaust survivor, and his son Artie. Artie writes a book on his father and the terrifying experience he dealt with when surviving the Holocaust.

What if you were a holocaust survivor and asked to describe your catastrophic experience? What part of the event would you begin with, the struggle, the death of innocent Jews, or the cruel witnessed? When survivors are questioned about their experience they shiver from head to toe, recalling what they have been through. Therefore, they use substitutes such as books and diaries to expose these catastrophic events internationally. Books such as Maus, A survivor’s tale by Art Spiegelman, and Anne Frank by Ann Kramer. Spiegelman presents Maus in a comical format; he integrated the significance of Holocaust while maintaining the comic frame structure format, whereas comic books are theoretically supposed to be entertaining. Also, Maus uses a

The Maus books are award-winning comics written by Art Spiegelman. They are the non-fictional stories of Art and his father, Vladek. In the book, Art Spiegelman is a writer, planning to portray Vladek’s life as a Jewish man during WWII Europe in comic book form. While Art gathers information for his story through visits to his father’s house, much is learned about their relationship and individual personalities. Through this analysis, Maus becomes an example of how the Holocaust has effected the lives of survivors and their children for decades. Survivors suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which impairs their ability to live normal lives and raise their children. By

Art Spiegleman's comic book within the comic book Maus is titled "Prisoner on the Hell Planet: A Case History." This text within a text describes, in horrific detail through pictures, Artie's failed effort to get through the painful loss of his mother due to suicide. This text also in a way, represents a part of Artie's mind where he expresses his feelings of loneliness, doubt, fear, anger, and blame through the form of a dark, gloomy, depressing cartoon.

Our first impression of Vladek Spiegelman is that he is a man of stories and a man of wisdom. His remark about friendship suggests his own past of hardships and foreshadows his experiences during the holocaust.

After the Holocaust on May 8th, 1945, a book called Maus was released which is revolved around survival. The author, Art Spiegelman intended the story was to reflect upon his past and express his feelings world how he had to deal life was at the time.The book is a story of Art’s father named Vladek, he tells his point-of-view to the world to show multiple struggles he had to withstand. The theme of Art Spiegelman’s book Maus is survival; Art Spiegelman shows the theme of survival by using tone, mood, and point-of-view throughout the graphic novel. Vladek is the main character of Maus and shares his point of view. Vladek tells a true story about how he survived the Holocaust and the things he had to accomplish to make it through alive. This book is based on a true story of what had happened during the Holocaust.

Certain relationships cannot be fixed because of irreconcilable differences. Art Spiegelman's graphic novels Maus I and Maus II retell the stories of the Holocaust through the eyes of Art’s father, Vladek. However, the novel includes a subplot of Art’s poor relationship with his father, and how they never seem to come to coincide. Vladek and Art misunderstand each other because they have had very different experiences. In addition, their relationship is distant and contentious because they cannot cope with one another. Vladek and Art’s relationship is inadequate because they cannot be of one mind.

Throughout modern history, various historical texts, personal accounts, and books have been published regarding the devastating events of World War 2 and the Holocaust. Two of the most prominent novels written about the Holocaust are Maus and The Hiding Place. Maus is a graphic novel illustrated by Arthur Spiegelman in 1980 and details the catastrophic effects of the Holocaust on the Jewish survivors of it. Another notable book similar to Maus is The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. The Hiding Place is a biography written and published in 1937 and details the story of a young Christian family during World War 1. Throughout these accounts, contrasting themes are explored such as love, anger, forgiveness, and guilt. Although there are various similarities, there are also extreme differences in the characters responses to the Holocaust as well as the themes present within both novels.

Maus has an interesting way in approaching a historical account such as the relationship with his father and the Holocaust. One of the most interesting aspects of Maus is the way in which Spiegelman uses animals to distinguish the various races within the comic

Comics exist to expose the ethnic representations that seek to control the development of collective perceptions, memories and emotions and especially fear by investigating the techniques through which this control is maintained. Maus I is a true account of a Holocaust survivor, Vladek Spiegelman, and his experiences as a young Jew during the horrors leading up to the confinement in Auschwitz. Maus II is about Vladek recounting his own history to his son Art

The books Maus I and Maus II are biographical comic books written and illustrated by Art Spiegelman. In these books Spiegelman tells his father’s story of survival through the horrors of the Holocaust. Spiegelman simultaneously presents an inner story of the conflict between him and his father, Vladek Spiegelman as both he and his father try to come to terms with the past, and work to have a normal life. This feelings of tension and conflict suffered by Vladek and Art in Maus I and II is caused by a transitional and rebounding feeling of survivor’s guilt caused by Vladek’s passing down of his own guilt, Art’s guilt of neglect, and Art’s attempts to come to terms with his own guilt of survival.

The books Maus I and Maus II, written by Art Spiegelman over a thirteen-year period from 1978-1991, are books that on the surface are written about the Holocaust. The books specifically relate to the author’s father’s experiences pre and post-war as well as his experiences in Auschwitz. The book also explores the author’s very complex relationship between himself and his father, and how the Holocaust further complicates this relationship. On a deeper level the book also dances around the idea of victims, perpetrators, and bystanders. The two books are presented in a very interesting way; they are shown in comic form, which provides the ability for Spiegelman to incorporate numerous ideas and complexities to his work.

“A remarkable work, awesome in its conception and execution… at one and the same time a novel, a documentary, a memoir, and a comic book. Brilliant, just brilliant.”

As you know by now, he is a resident of Austin, Texas, USA, he was born in Circleville, Ohio on June 16, 1983. He has released three illustrated books, these include Newspaper Blackout, Show Your Work! And Steal Like An Artist. His works have been translated into twenty different languages, and has been featured in The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and PBS Newshour. This website designer also speaks about creativity in the digital age for organizations like TEDX, Pixar and Google.