Week 7: Maus and the Legitimization of the Graphic Novel

Maus is not only a graphic novel but a work of history. In this graphic novel, Art Spiegelman shares his father's life story in Poland before World War II, at Auschwitz during the war, and in New York after the war. He tells this story through a series of interviews with his father, Vladek, over the course of two years, and during this time, Vladek’s health is shown to become increasingly more poor the farther they get into the stories. One thing I find really interesting about the way this book is written is that just from the interactions between the father and son, you can sense that there is a broken relationship between the two. Spiegelman really approached this form of storytelling in a unique way, which is what I think really draws people in to read it. This graphic novel is sometimes referred to as “Auschwitz for Beginners”, and as mature as the story line is, even fit into the category of being a children’s book. He also uses animals to represent the different races and nationalities in the story, allowing him to approach otherwise unsayable things, which really stood out to me. This graphic novel contains a lot of complex thought and beautifully illustrates a story filled with pain and harsh memories.