Week 7: Legitimation
Maus by Art Spiegelman, published nearly 40 years after the end of the second World War, tells the story of Spiegelman's father as a Jew in Poland during the Nazi regime. Both the narrative/written aspect and the visuals and layout of volumes one and two contribute to the overall effect that Spiegelman achieves in his work.
Most notable about Maus is the lens in which the story is told through. The narrative is achieved Spiegelman interviewing his father about his life as a Polish Jew. The interview itself is included in the comic, sprinkled between his father's accounts. In this way, the comic breaks the fourth wall, acknowledging that it is a graphic novel in production.
Additionally, because the story is told from the perspective of Spiegelman interviewing his father, the father actually acts as narrator for a majority of the volumes. This is made especially clear with the diction that is used when his father is speaking, this being broken English or English meant to be read with an accent. This detail adds to the personal experience of reading the graphic novel.
Because the book is, in a way, an intimate conversation between father and son, it acts as a unique lens through which the reader can view history. Not through a clinical, textbook lens, but rather a very individual, almost private look at the father's life as historical events were happening. It focuses on his personal relationships and small moments along with everything else happening at the time, and how one effected the other. This perspective makes for a more interesting look back in history, as well as creates better understanding due to its relatability.
Aside from the writing and storytelling of Maus, the visuals and layout must also be addressed. Most obviously, the book visually plays on the "cat and mouse" idea, though in the narration and dialogue this is almost never acknowledged. This makes for an interesting added element, as without the visuals the reader would not know from the beginning. Otherwise it is a fairly standard retelling of events. The visual of the cat and mouse dynamics adds another aspect to the story.
Additionally, in terms of the visual structure of Maus, the panels flow pretty intuitively from left to right the majority of the time, which makes it easy to follow and focus more on the narration. Some panels occasionally break the frame panels or include the narration in a way abnormal to the rest of the pages. This adds visual interest throughout the book to keep it interesting, but without being distracting.
Overall, Maus is very successful in relaying the events of the Holocaust through a very personal lens. It proves that the medium of the comic book can be tasked with more than just child's play, and can tackle serious subject matter in a poignant way.
Most notable about Maus is the lens in which the story is told through. The narrative is achieved Spiegelman interviewing his father about his life as a Polish Jew. The interview itself is included in the comic, sprinkled between his father's accounts. In this way, the comic breaks the fourth wall, acknowledging that it is a graphic novel in production.
Additionally, because the story is told from the perspective of Spiegelman interviewing his father, the father actually acts as narrator for a majority of the volumes. This is made especially clear with the diction that is used when his father is speaking, this being broken English or English meant to be read with an accent. This detail adds to the personal experience of reading the graphic novel.
Because the book is, in a way, an intimate conversation between father and son, it acts as a unique lens through which the reader can view history. Not through a clinical, textbook lens, but rather a very individual, almost private look at the father's life as historical events were happening. It focuses on his personal relationships and small moments along with everything else happening at the time, and how one effected the other. This perspective makes for a more interesting look back in history, as well as creates better understanding due to its relatability.
Aside from the writing and storytelling of Maus, the visuals and layout must also be addressed. Most obviously, the book visually plays on the "cat and mouse" idea, though in the narration and dialogue this is almost never acknowledged. This makes for an interesting added element, as without the visuals the reader would not know from the beginning. Otherwise it is a fairly standard retelling of events. The visual of the cat and mouse dynamics adds another aspect to the story.
Additionally, in terms of the visual structure of Maus, the panels flow pretty intuitively from left to right the majority of the time, which makes it easy to follow and focus more on the narration. Some panels occasionally break the frame panels or include the narration in a way abnormal to the rest of the pages. This adds visual interest throughout the book to keep it interesting, but without being distracting.
Overall, Maus is very successful in relaying the events of the Holocaust through a very personal lens. It proves that the medium of the comic book can be tasked with more than just child's play, and can tackle serious subject matter in a poignant way.
I definitely agree that Spiegelman did a great job of showing readers a new perspective and way to see what someone actually went through during the Holocaust and the effects that it had not only on that individual but on the generations of their loved ones as well. Like you said, all we know is what we read from textbooks and they're so robotic and emotionless with the subject. Even though we will never be able to fully understand and feel what they went through by changing the perspective to that of someone who actually had to go through it we can understand more than what we did from textbooks and empathize the fact that, even though they were animals in the graphic novel, they were real human beings who didn't deserve the way they were being treated.
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