Essay on The Swastika in MAUS - 815 Words

The Swastika in MAUS The image of the swastika pervades Arthur Spiegelmans graphic novel MAUS. In a work where so much of the Holocaust has been changed in some way - after all, there are no humans in this version, only cats, mice, dogs, and pigs - we must wonder why Spiegelman chooses to retain this well-known emblem. To remove it entirely or replace it with another, invented symbol would completely disorient the reader; but some might claim that this is the effect at which Spiegelman is aiming. I believe it is not. Rather, Spiegelman uses the swastika to subtly remind the reader that while the guise in which events are presented may be somewhat unfamiliar, the novel is still a narrative of the Holocaust. The swastika, it has†¦show more content†¦But these changes help to make it more stern, more authoritarian, more evil - a testament to Spiegelmans ability to adapt this already emotionally loaded symbol. It is with the coming of the swastika that the graphic novel becomes dark. I mean this in two ways. First, the first chapter of the novel is rather light in its message, focusing on the beginning of the relationship between Vladek and Anja. The swastika first appears on the frontispiece to the second chapter, ironically titled The Honeymoon. After this point, the totalitarianism begins. The presence of the swastika is strongest at the first time Vladek sees it. He states, on first seeing it, It was the beginning of 1938 - before the war - hanging high in the center of town, it was a Nazi flag. Here was the first time I saw, with my own eyes, the swastika. On the next page, the swastika becomes detached from the flag and floats like an ominous moon on the horizon behind the scene of a pogrom. Spiegelman here is milking the emotive power of the swastika for all that it is worth. But perhaps the most interesting use of the swastika in MAUS is to be found towards the end of the book. Anja and Vladek are attempting to hide when they come to a crossroads, and the roads meet in the form of a swastika. Vladek tells Art: Anja and I didnt have where to go. We walked in the direction of Sosnowiec - but where to go?! It was nowhere we hadShow MoreRelatedMaus1632 Words   |  7 PagesCastro Maus Topics for Discussion: Comics Technique In Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud argues that a face drawn with great detail can represent only one specific person, but that a face drawn with few details—a smiley face, for instance— could be almost anyone. ï ¿ ¼ Source: Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics (DC Comics, 1999): 31. Describe the faces in Maus. Are they iconic (could be anyone) or particular (could only be Vladek)? The faces in described in Maus are intensely descriptiveRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Maus 1453 Words   |  6 PagesHolocaust in which millions of Jews were killed. Maus tells the story of father who was a Polish Jew at the time of the Holocaust. 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