Maus Art Spiegelman - Symbolism, Content, and Graphics - Book Report/Review Example

Introduction Portraying specific concepts of history and identity require specific techniques to become effective and to display specific meanings. In Maus Art Spiegelman, there are portrayals and symbolism that are combined with technique to convey the Holocaust. The turning point in history is one which Speigelman displays with defined identities and metaphors, all which create a stronger impact about the main theme in the novel. The graphic novel can be compared to other comic strips which display similar components and techniques, all which are used to define philosophies and opinions based on history, politics and society at large. Using the technique of comic strips to show specific points becomes effective because of the several techniques and motifs which are displayed with the graphics. Speigelman uses this strategy to convey an alternative viewpoint of reality, specifically in reference to the tragedy of World War II. Using the Comic Category The first way in which the main theme of Spiegelman can be defined is through the use of comic strips as the graphic novel to portray the events of World War II and the Holocaust. While this is defined as the most tragic event in history, Spiegelman is able to use the genre of the graphic novel to create a twist to the category. The techniques implied are based on 2D characters of the mice and cat as well as the expectation of humor to be displayed throughout the novel. The underlying expectation of using the comic strip as a form becomes symbolic for a motif of Spiegelman, which is based on a dark sarcasm about the Holocaust and how it intertwined with history. More important, it causes the reader to question the realities of the war with the theme of whether there is a belief that the war occurred and how seriously the tragedy should have been taken. Other comic strips use the comic category to display the same concept of tragedy, twisted reality and dark cynicism about life. A comic strip which sometimes portrays this in the same category is Peanuts. The characters of Peanuts and the portrayal which is conceived carries a dark humor as an undertone to display the realities of life and the way in which people interact in given situations. The themes which arise include the addiction of blankies, psychological implications from Lucy as the psychiatrist and Charlie Brown always speaking of his loneliness. This is furthered by remarks made by Snoopy, which is smarter than the other characters, that relates directly to being a war hero. The consistency of these themes in Peanuts shows an underlying humor based on psychological problems and the complexities of war, as well as how they move between reality and illusion. The use of comics and the jokes which are at the end of each comic strip further imply how many look at the seriousness of these problems lightly. Symbolism Another convention which Maus refers to is the use of symbolism throughout the graphic novel. The first type of symbolism is from the main characters, which include the mice as Jews and the cat as the political regime of Hitler during World War II. The natural attributes of the cat is to trap mice and to cause them to fall into a trap. The characters then become a symbol of the Holocaust and what happened between different sides. The symbol of the mice continues with the way in which the Jews fell into the mouse trap, specifically because of the war. There are several depictions of the war, as well as ways in which Jews who were not a part of the war were looking for survival. The mouse that goes after the cheese and finds a trap is the main theme and motif that is displayed through the symbol. This is directly noted through the mice finding posters such as “workers needed… war prisoners may volunteer for assignments” (56). The dark cynicism of this is that the mice are looking at this as an opportunity, even though it is to exterminate the Jews. The symbolism that is a part of the undertone is based on how the mice fall into the trap because of the need to find opportunity. The same sense of symbolism is seen in Peanuts by showing different types of characters which respond to specific situations. The symbol of Snoopy is one of the main characters that show this concept. The dog is one that is constantly showing loyalty to others that are in the comic strip, despite their characteristics or conflicts. The representation is not only loyalty to the different characters, but is combined with the loyalty of the country, specifically through his patriotic representation in several of the film strips, writing to his loved one from war and the way in which he interacts with the birds and others that are a part of the comic strip. The symbolism which is associated with this then becomes a presentation of those in America and the ideology of patriotism which was a strong part of the culture at the time. Content and Graphics The third concept which is applied to Maus comes from the content and graphics that are used as a presentation of what occurs. Spiegelman shows content that creates dark cynicism and humor which shows a different side to the war and the reality which is presented. He states this at the beginning with a mouse talking to his father about the content. The debate is that the story should be told realistically, which shows the mouse taking 35 pills a day and being uncertain about work. The response from the father is that the story should be displayed “respectably” (12). However, as one reads the novel, there is a connection to the story that the content at the beginning led the mice into being opportunists and into naively believing that things were needed as a trick within society. Throughout the comic strip, content is combined with graphics to show how the conflicts of culture and within the war led into the mouse trap and convinced those in the society that the Jews should be exterminated. The comic strip furthers this with dark humor displayed through the dialogue and descriptions to show how the mice supported the extermination by believing it was the correct thing in society, which eventually led to the downfall. Spiegelman combines the content with the graphics to display specific techniques that add into the dark cynicism that was associated with the war. While reading the novel, one moves in and out of the scenes of war. There are several dark drawings that represent the killings of war and the beginning of World War II that the soldiers were fighting. The next scene shows the mice in their home, all which are casually talking about other concepts. For instance, after speaking about the war casualties, the next scene shows the mice speaking in their home saying concepts such as how soft another’s hands are and how it feels to be in a warm bed (56-57). This moves back to the other areas of content and graphics that show the realities of war and how the mice were not accepting this as a reality with graphics that show them with shovels and picks to go to work (57). The cynicism displays the ignorance of the mice and how they fell for the tricks of the cat. This becomes the main theme of Spiegelman and his belief of the realities of World War II and what happened to lead to the millions of exterminations of the Jews. While the comic of Peanuts doesn’t show the dark cynicism or humor as in Maus, the graphics and the content work together to show the conflicts in society. Whenever Charlie Brown is seen, he is always speaking about how “alone” he is while Lucy is always referring to how Charlie Brown should fix his problem for 5 cents. The content that is displayed throughout the comic strips, while humorous in nature, show how society at large accepts the dialogue of loneliness and the psychiatric recommendations that are illogical and are only available for a price. The humor of the content then creates an initiative for one to think about their relationship to American society and what they believe is true for their relationship to others. The graphics in Peanuts are used to support this, specifically by showing the realities of life through the eyes of the characters. The most symbolic graphic represented in this is when the Peanuts characters are seen talking to adults. The faces are never seen and the knees are always drawn in place. More important, the voices are never heard when a dialogue appears. These graphics represent the darker humor that shows the insignificance of the problems of those in the comic strip and displays the inadequacies of what most interpret as complications within their lives and society. Conclusion The concepts that Spiegelman displays through his graphic novel, Maus, is one that shows a dark humor and cynicism about World War II. Spiegelman becomes interested not in the tragedy and respectful way of displaying the Holocaust. Instead, his motif is centered on the mouse trap that the Jews fell into as well as how there was not insight or logic into what happened during this time and into how the Jews were caught with the belief that everything during the war didn’t affect them. The artistic intention is to show how there is another side to the culture of the war and what occurred, while creating a dark humor used through the graphics, symbolism and the overall use of the comic strip to show another side to World War II. The techniques displayed by Spiegelman are also displayed in other comic strips, such as Peanuts, to display the same cultural conflicts and their inadequacies in determining or defining realities of what is occurring. Works Cited Spiegelman, Art. Maus: A Survivor’s Tale. Pantheon Books: New York, 1986. Schulz, Charles. Peanuts. 2010. Retrieved from: http://comics.com/peanuts/?Page=8. Read More