Maus: A Survivor's Tale, vol. I: My Father Bleeds History
by Art Spiegelman
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Pantheon (New York): 1986. Trade paperback: 160 pages. ISBN-10: 0-394-74723-2 Suggested retail price: $14.00 (US) Tags: Biography; Graphic Novel; Holocaust; Poland; World War II Tactical strength: [7/10] |
In Maus, Art Spiegelman interviews his father, Vladek, about his experiences as the Nazis invade Poland and start to relocate the Jewish population. To emphasize the nationalities, Spiegelman draws each socio-political group with a specific animal face: Jews have mouse heads, Poles have pig heads, Americans have dog heads, Frenchmen have frog heads, and Nazis have cat heads. When a Jew tries to impersonate another group, Spiegelman shows the character wearing a mask. Many of the characters appear wearing masks. The masks make an interesting implication about race. Since one can easily see the character wearing a mask, this implies that one could just as easily spot a Jew trying to impersonate a Pole. Spiegelman seems to imply that such "racial" characteristics do in fact exist, and that anyone could easily identify these traits.
The story follows Vladek Spiegelman and his wife Anna's family as they move from their expensive mansion to smaller and smaller apartments, lose various members of their family, and finally get relocated to Auschwitz. Since the story sticks with these individuals, we get a more personal view of the events and how people tried to survive. Vladek and Anna tried to save their first son, Richeu, by shipping him off to live with relatives in a remote city far from areas in control of the Germans, but the Germans actually killed Jews in the remote city much earlier than in the Spiegelman's native city.
As the story progresses, we also start to see Art Spiegelman start to realize the events that shaped his father's personality. Vladek saves everything, such as pieces of wire and old nails. Vladek also has a hard time with personal relationships, including Art and his second wife. From the narrative, we see that Vladek survived and provided for his extended family through his conservative practices and shrewd trading. Spiegelman doesn't yet accept his fathers seeming stinginess, but you can start to see a personal softening toward his father's personality.
The narrative in volume one, "My Father Bleeds History," takes the story up to the point when Vladek enters Auschwitz. The plot moves along quickly and through the interesting metaphors of the animal heads you find yourself drawn into this personal tale of the Holocaust.
