Analysis Essay on Art Spiegelmans Maus: A Survivor's Tale

There are stories that require tact to properly tell them. Authors must therefore show great tact in telling stories which touch on sensitive subjects. Art Spiegelmans Maus: A Survivor's Tale is one such story where the author employed a lot of tact and artistic style in telling his story. The book takes unusual outlook on the story about the Jewish holocaust, which is about a very terrible experience that occurred in Germany. The author uses pictures together with the different animals to tell his story. Using pictures to tell a story has proven to be effective in many situations. In that regard, I believe the careful use of style enables an artist to tell his or her story in a more efficient way.

The main story told by Spiegelman is about the holocaust that happened during the Second World War. Telling such a story requires a lot of tact if the intended message is to be properly communicated. In that regard, Spiegelman uses animal characters to tell this story, such as mice, frogs, cats and pigs. By reading through the novel, one easily notices that the cats represent the Nazis, the mice represent the Jews, the French are represented by frogs while the Poles are represented by pigs. It is a well-known fact that man, unlike animals, has the ability to properly think and make logical decisions. Human beings boast of having a proper conscience and intelligence unlike animals. It is therefore very difficult to come to terms with the fact that the holocaust was orchestrated by human beings who had the ability to think and make logical decisions. Spiegelman uses animals to illustrate the barbaric nature of the holocaust.

Many people cannot properly comprehend the events that occurred during the holocaust. For most people, it is beyond human understanding. This could also be an explanation as to why Spiegelman used the animal characters. The most important characters in the book are cats and mice, who are two sworn enemies. Cats have no problem with the wanton killing of mice. Spiegelman equates what happened during the holocaust to the behavior exhibited by cats and mice. By presenting the two communities the way he did, Spiegelman forces to reader to look at the story from a different perspective: one without human nature. Had he used standard text, he would not have achieved the same effect. Style is therefore very important to an artist.

The use of animal characters enables Spiegelman to illustrate different themes. Themes such as social injustices and brutality are evident in the story. A good example is when Miss Stefanska is imprisoned for mistakes that are not hers. When Anja gets wind of her imminent arrest, she tells Miss Stefanska Miss Stefanska-Please! Hide this package for me-dont tell anyone about it! (Spiegelman 28).The innocent Miss Stefanska agrees to hide the package not knowing it would land her in trouble. When the police arrive, they arrest her and lock her up. When they fail to gather enough evidence against her, they decide to release her. Such incidences were commonplace during the Second World War period. Jews could be arrested for very flimsy reasons. In the story, the police officers are represented by pigs who have an intimidating gait compared to Anjaa little body size. They threateningly ask how did you get this package? before whisking Anja away. During the Second World War, Germans often intimidated Jews and treated them like second-rate citizens. This was the point that Spiegelman was trying to put across.

Apart using many pictures and images, Spiegelman also uses dialogue as a feature of style. Dialogue is present in most parts of the novel. Vladek and his father have several conversations. A good example is when Vladeks father ask Vladek about their plans to have babies. He says You know, Vladek, when you and Anja give me a grandchild, I want him to be well-off. The use of dialogue gives the story a live feel. It enables readers to immerse themselves in the happening of events which enables them to the intended messages. Spiegelman wanted his readers to feel the impact of how life was like during the Second World War. The use of dialogue and images clearly helped him to drive home the storys intended message.

Spiegelman also uses a conversational writing style. The many images used in the book help to set the scenes of where different actions took place. The images remain etched in a readers brain and therefore the message cannot be easily forgotten. Art and Vladeks speech patterns vary a lot. This is meant to illustrate different moods and lines of thought. Vladek also has imperfect English which could be attributed to him not having received enough education. The author also uses letters differently to illustrate different emotions. There are instances where he uses bolded letters to emphasize different facts and illustrate different emotions.

In conclusion, the stylistic nature of Spiegelmans work enabled him to effectively pass across his message. The fact that he was talking about a very sensitive topic such as the holocaust meant that he had to employ a lot of tact in order to make his readers understand the evil nature of the event.

Works Cited

Spiegelman, Art. Maus: A Survivor's Tale. 2011.