In his graphic novel, Spiegelman uses a literary device known as anthropomorphism to show the difference between races, including Americans, the Germans, and the Jews. This device makes the severe issue seem simpler to understand, and the readers pay more attention to the ideas expressed by the author. In Maus , Spiegelman portrays the horrors of the holocaust and reminds the readers that the holocaust’s victims and survivors also had their own lives and dreams.
The first section to be discussed is Chapter 1 – “The Sheik.” In this section, the main character Artie asks his father Vladek to tell him about his life during the war. Instead of describing the horrors Vladek faced during the holocaust, he prefers to tell his son about his happy and careless life in 1935 (Spiegelman, 1980, pp. 13-23). This desire to recall the good old days proves that the victims of the war prefer to remember the pleasant times.
The second section is Chapter 3- “Prisoner of War.” In this part of the novel, Vladek talks about the first events he witnessed as a soldier. Interestingly, Vladek remembers the name of a soldier he killed, and this detail shows that even during the terrible events, one’s brain catches the small and unmeaningful things (Spiegelman, 1980, p. 50). Finally, Vladek says that he was reunited with his family, and this event matters more than what he experienced as a prisoner of war.
The third part to analyze is Chapter 5 – “Mouse Holes.” This section shows that, for many mice, war is a series of difficult decisions that must be made in order for them to try to survive (Spiegelman, 1980). Even when parents learn about the death of their children, they need to keep a cold mind so as not to get caught by the cats.
To draw a conclusion, one may say that this graphic novel is a unique literary work about World War II. In these comic drawings, Spiegelman managed to portray the horrors of the holocaust and those little but meaningful things that supported the victims and helped some of them to remain hopeful. Despite the fact that the war was full of violence and murders, the author shows the irony of the situation – the Germans are just animals who imagine they are better than others.