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In Spiegelman’s Maus, Even the Dedications Are an Essential Part of the Text.’

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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. …show more content…

Spiegelman has presented his father’s memoirs in a creative way by portraying racial groups as animals and by making the story into a graphic novel. By presenting it in comic form, Art Spiegelman is able to better capture the emotions of those in the graphic novel. Not a dedication in the conventional sense, the book eternalizes the memoirs of Vladek and those around him.
The dedications are an essential part of the text as their meaning extends beyond the book. Spiegelman uses them as a way to remember those that were close to him. This is noticed in the dedications to his mother, to Richieu the brother he never knew and to his children. The book is a legacy to those that experienced the terror of the holocaust and is “A Survivors

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