Analysis Of Maus: A Survivor's Story And Persepolis

Superior Essays
In troubling times, many people look to their faith as a source of guidance and inspiration. This certainly rings true in two graphic novels: Maus: A Survivor’s Story, written by Art Spiegelman, and Persepolis, written by Marjane Satrapi. Maus tells the story of Vladek Spiegelman’s experience as a Polish Jew in the Holocaust. Persepolis, an autobiographical novel, follows Marjane, a religious young girl who has a passion for activism growing up during the Islamic Revolution. These two authors confront difficult themes using a medium that is often seen as childish; however, they effectively use it to tell their stories in a sophisticated way. In their graphic novels, Maus: A Survivor’s Story and Persepolis, Art Spiegelman and Marjane Satrapi explore the impact religion has on people who …show more content…
Since the book recounts the story of a Polish Jew, it is surprising that religion is not mentioned as much as one would expect it to be. However, from the little Spiegelman does include about religion, one can gather that he believes it positively influenced Vladek’s chances of survival during the war. Divine intervention is a term for a miracle caused by a deity’s active involvement in the human world. There is evidence within the novel to support the idea that Vladek survives the Holocaust because of divine intervention. On three separate occasions within the novel, Vladek mentions either a prediction or good omen he receives via his dreams or the people around him. The first instance occurs when Vladek is in the prisoner of war camp. One night he has a dream in which he is told that he will be freed from the camp on Parshas Truma, a Jewish event that occurs only once a year (Spiegelman 59). Of course, Vladek’s predictive dream comes to pass. It also turns out that Parshas Truma is a very significant date for him because he married Anja, Art was born, and Art’s Bar Mitzvah was held during the week of Parshas Truma. The second

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