Similarities Between Maus And Fun Home

Comic Book or Masterpiece? Throughout the years, debates have begun to rise whether a graphic novel should be considered a work of literature. Some people see this form of writing as a comic book while others see it as a true masterpiece. Because people are unsure whether to classify it as literature or a comic, should it be taught in the classroom? Two well-known graphic novels are Maus by Art Spiegelman and Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. Maus takes place during World War II and is about Spiegelman interviewing his father who is a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. Fun Home is the story of Bechdel’s life and her relationship with her parents, specifically her father. Maus and Fun Home are worthy to be taught in school curriculum and to be considered …show more content…
One of the benefits of adding a graphic novel to the curriculum would be it will intrigue most students with its illustrations, and it will actually make the students think more critically about the story because there are so many complex layers. Also, the stereotype of graphic novels only being about superheroes and gore needs to be broken. It is so much more and can be enjoyed by so many different people, not just “immature adolescent boys” (Mollegaard 1). People tend to associate graphic novels with comic books; however, there is a world a difference between the two. The writer of the article “Graphic novels in the secondary classroom and school libraries: graphic novels can provide teaching and learning opportunities for readers, educators, and researchers” advocates for graphic novels and says the difference between a graphic novel and a comic book is “there is a true message or something to learn from” (Griffith, …show more content…
One of the components a masterpiece needs is a memorable story that will not be forgotten for years to come. A timeless piece. This is a story about the Holocaust, but it is unique because it is told through a survivor's perspective: “Spiegelman worked hard to attain accuracy in recording even small details. He not only taped his father's recollections but traveled to his parents' house in Sosnowiec, to the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau, studied old family and archival photographs, read the accounts of other survivors, and looked at documentary film footage, drawings and paintings made by camp inmates” (Morgan, 1). When reading this graphic novel, you are learning about history as well. It is refreshing way to learn, too, because it is nice to take a step away from the standard textbooks and learn through someone else's