Of Animals and Maus

Perhaps one of the most books I've read during the past few weeks is the graphic novel The Complete Maus. The story is about the attempts of Art Spiegelman to chronicle his father's story of how he survived the events of the Nazi rise to power in Germany, the start of World War II, and ultimately the disturbing and sad events of the Holocaust. The unique thing about the story however may be the use of animal imagery.

As mentioned previously, Maus is a graphic novel. However, how the characters are portrayed as is an interesting twist to the story. In the graphic novel, those of a certain nation, religion or heritage may be portrayed as a certain animals. For instance, Jews are portrayed as mice, Germans are portrayed as cats, Americans are portrayed as dogs, and Poles are portrayed as pigs. Even some minor countries such as the French are portrayed in their own animals, in this case being frogs.

While it is not abnormal to have animals as characters in comics and graphic novels, the animals he selects for each nationality is perhaps what stands out more, as they can be considered a visual message. The use of mice as the Jews and cats as Germans may represent the iconic cat chasing mice image, one that is commonly seen in books, comics, and cartoons. And like such, it shows that the Jews are literally being chased after by the Germans, as if they were on the hunt. In addition, it goes a step further with the Americans as being represented by dogs going after the Germans, showing the age-old chase between cats and dogs.

In addition the types of animals also represent some of the characteristics of the ethnic groups. For instance, Jews may be represented as mice due to the fact that they are forced to hide in places such as hidden rooms in walls, or attics to escape the Germans, who like cats, can be quite cunning and fast when hunting their victims. Even the Poles fall under this as well, as their representation as pigs may show how easy-going the Poles may have been to the problem with Jewish persecution and also represents the agricultural lifestyle they live.

Personally, I find this graphic novel very interesting for this use, as it makes an easier understanding for the events that took place. Although the events of the Holocaust shall remain an important part of humanity, it's interesting to show the events in the manner Spiegelman has shown us. It may even make it easier for future generations to understand the shocking events that took place.