Comics History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Comics History - Essay Example The book is mainly autobiographical, as it draws on the experiences of Spiegelman's father during the World War II, and his own story as a graphic artist. The main theme of the book is the Holocaust It narrates Spiegelman's father Vladek's traumatic experiences during and after the Holocaust., at the same time, showing the trauma which the son Artie is going through in the present time. Vladek, a Polish Jew, has survived the Holocaust in Auschwitz, but his experiences have not removed his own racist tendencies. His wife Anja, Artie's mother, commits suicide soon after they come to America., which leaves a deep scar on Artie's mind. Vladek marries Mala, whom he treats with the same insensitivity. Spiegelman uses allegory, portraying humans of different nationalities as different animals. In Maus, the Jews are depicted as mice, the Germans as cats, the Poles as pigs, the Americans as dogs. There are other animals like the reindeer, the bears depicting the Russians, frogs, the French and the English, fish. Maus takes its name from the German word for mouse. Mice, which are used to represent the Jews, are small, timid , harmless creatures the qualities which the Jews are supposed to possess. At the same time, they are dirty, disease carrying vermin according to the Nazis. Mice are also very resourceful, a characteristic of the Jews.