In his book “A Survivor’s Tale,” Art Spiegelman narrates the story of his father surviving all through the Holocaust. He also talks about his relationship with the father in the book. Art as the narrator uses comic means to represent the experience of his parents. His parents were Vladek and Anja Spiegelman; they were Jews and had endured the Holocaust. Maus: A Survivor’s Tale narrates two stories; his father’s testimony as a Jew in World War II and his relations with the father throughout the interview process. Art’s narrative is graphical; it is narrated from a visual standpoint, and this has a substantial impact on the understanding of the audience of the content (Curran 70). Comics are intended to send information and produce a stunning comeback in the viewer. Art Spiegelman magnificently links the past and the present graphically to narrate his father’s surviving the Holocaust and his relations with the father.
His decision to use comics was from an understanding that there is more than just putting something on paper. Every literature style tries to make the unseen be seen; the use of comics achieves this excellently. The closure is used on every page of Maus, with significant changes taking place from scene to scene. For example, there is closure in changing subjects on page twelve of Maus (VanArsdale 84). In an instance of Vladek bringing Artie into his ancient room for him to cycle, Artie asks the father about his experience in Poland and the war, and Vladek starts narrating his story. Initially, it was just still images that joined to form a continuous reality.
Spiegelman is intentional in making use of panel shapes to impact our understanding of the progression of time. He decides on demonstrating his narration as simultaneous with the story desiring to be punctual, incorporated at that moment, following the story, and using small letters to symbolize smallness as a theme. Maus was aimed at those who did not experience the Holocaust but are interested in knowing what happened and how the survivors, together with their loved ones, were affected (Novalis 17). Through Maus, one can understand how much the Holocaust left deep scars in people’s hearts and how it caused the children of survivors to battle with trauma. This expands our knowledge of the event that occurred and an emotional understanding of how the war affected people psychologically. Spiegelman’s narration increases our awareness by making use of comics as a medium.
Maus explains a terrible historic killing by the use of cats and mice. The horror that confronted the Jews during world war II is not a light issue; it takes courage to ponder it. Maus is not the entire story about a survivor’s story in anguish and his son. Maus by Art is intensely studied due to its comics as they contain a solid ability to tell stories and present information in the form of visuals and text (Hill and Jennifer 80). When focusing on the past experiences of Art’s father and their current relationship, Spiegelman brings out the father’s behaviors as obsession and depression that crumbles the lives of the survivors. When an open self-portrayal is included, Siegelman also proposes that its effects haunt the children of survivors, they are left separated from their parents, and they are facing guilt. When some hope is included, Art’s relationship with his father after the Holocaust shows that sharing stories brings healing and strengthens ties between survivors and their families; this lessens their suffering.
Spiegelman in Maus reveals that survivors of the genocide, such as his father Vladek, remain damaged psychologically as a consequence of the experience. When Art visited his father Vladek, it was disclosed how the destructive effects of wartime tormented his life even after the war. Vladek clarifies being compelled to depend on his wits and logic to survive in the war (De Leon 59). He had to do things such as putting aside cigarettes for food and merchandising on the black market for upkeep.
Vladek’s carefulness on money was excessive to the point that he nearly became neurotic. This is demonstrated by him storing all kinds of items he had when Art stayed with him with the intent of being economical. Art stresses the fear Vladek felt when he could see Art striking a match and could reprove him. Vladek’s crazy personality is also expressed in his typical fanatical behavior (Ireland and Penelope 48). Vladek’s intensity can also be seen in his aggressive riding which causes him fatigue. Comparing the tenacious, self-assured, and brave personality of Vladek before the world war with mental frailty now discloses the lasting effects of the trauma caused by the war.
Moreover, Art communicates that those who survived experience continuous depression in their lives resulting from the torment. Vladek narrates how Anja was anxious even after the event, and this led Anja to commit suicide ultimately. The Holocaust played a leading part in her depression, as highlighted by Art. He also lets the readers know that his mother was lonely due to the deaths of her family in the war (Logie 74). Vladek expresses the effect of the loss of Anja’s last family member, her brother; it made her almost die.
Additionally, Art stresses the depression his father suffers due to the fears he and Anja went through during the war. In one of the cartoons, Spiegelman shows his father’s sorrow due to Anja’s death. This depiction shows the inner death that Vladek feels when he was left with no one who could completely understand his experiences (Gavrilă 68). The death of Anja made Vladek angry with Mala, his second wife since she could not fill the gap that Anja left.
Spiegelman also highlights that the effect of the war is intergenerational since it has extended to the children of survivors. He reveals the trauma he suffered during his early stages of life and his experience of continually being connected to the memory of his parents. This is echoed in the book’s first pages when Vladek refuses to sympathize with his son after he fell over. He instead chose to consider the ruthless lessons he learned earlier on in life.
As Spiegelman tries to expose the causes of the destruction by the Holocaust on survivors and their loved ones, he proposes that healing can only be revealed when people share their experiences. Maus tells the trauma suffered by the Jews continually as a result of the Holocaust. The novel highlights the emotional and psychological deprivation caused by the stress disorder displayed by Vladek after the trauma. This shows the long-lasting suffering of survivors and is reinforced in Art’s heartless actual display of the depression suffered by his parents. Additionally, since Art made himself a character in the book, it reveals the trauma that the children of survivors faced; they were separated from their parents, and they felt the guilt of survivors. Art proposes that the sharing of these stories results in a stronger relationship.
Works Cited
Curran, Beverley. “Maus: A Translational Comics Text.” Translation Review 95.1 (2016): 67-77.
De Leon, Danielle. “‘My Father Bleeds History’: Survivor’s Guilt and Filial Inadequacy in Art Spiegelman’s Maus: A Survivor’s Tale and EL Doctorow’s The Book of Daniel.” (2020): 59-64.
Gavrilă, Ana-Maria. “Holocaust Representation and Graphical Strangeness in Art Spiegelman’s Maus: A Survivor’s Tale: “Funny Animals,” Constellations, and Traumatic Memory.” Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Communicatio 4 (2017): 61-75. Web.
Hill, Crag, and Jennifer Dorsey. “Expanding the Map of the Literary Canon Through Multimodal Texts.” Handbook of the Changing World Language Map (2020): 77-89.
Ireland, Brian, and Penelope James. “A Journey Through Hell: Dante’s influence on Art Spiegelman’s Maus.” Dante e l’Arte 5 (2018): 37-60.
Logie, John. “MAUS (W) hoLeS.” Perspectives on Digital Comics: Theoretical, Critical and Pedagogical Essays (2019).
Novalis, Joshua. “The Polyphonic Survivor: Dialogism and Heteroglossia in Art Spiegelman’s” Maus: A Survivor’s Tale.” (2017). 17-18
VanArsdale, Hannah. “The Dissection of a Maus: Trauma and its Depiction and Manifestation in Art Spiegelman’s Maus: A Survivor’s Tale.” AKΦ (2020): 84.