Maus A Survivor's Tale Analysis

Trapped. Have you ever felt that way? No matter where you go, what you do, the thing you fear most, you cannot escape? This isn’t a nightmare, but a true reality, the reality of Vladek Spiegelman and all others who suffered during the Holocaust. Maus A Survivor’s Tale written and illustrated by Art Spiegelman, is about Vladek Spiegelman’s, Art’s father, and his experience during the Holocaust. The book also contains the interview process of Vladek and the relationship between him and Art. Maus is split into parts: I and II. The first half contains Vladek’s life as the war was just starting and his journey to Auschwitz, whereas part II focuses on Vladek’s time in Auschwitz and his freedom from Nazi captivity. One thing to say is that Maus isn’t a typical biography. Spiegelman chooses to not only tell the readers his father’s story but also show it. He does this by making his father’s story into a graphic memoir. Both parts contain illustrations that help the audience feel more impacted by Vladek’s story. However, even thought Maus contains many powerful illustrations, the heaviest one doesn’t make an appearance until …show more content…
He did this by changing the look of the chimney, from a typical brick structure to making them a black square. Instead of seeing a normal chimney, the readers saw a black silhouette of one. As if we were seeing its shadow and not the chimney itself. The contrast of the black chimneys against the white paper makes the pictures stick out. If Spiegelman chose to depict the chimneys looking normal, it wouldn’t be viewed as something to be scared of. By making the chimneys black, Spiegelman gave the readers the impression that not only did they mean death, but also in a way, they were evil. They were always there, constantly reminding them of where the prisoners were, and the fate they might