How Maus Uses Story and Art to Express the Impact of the Holocaust on Families
The Complete Maus. written in 1980 by Art Spiegelman. tells the story of Vladek a Holocaust survivor and his son Art as they discover all about the past and the events that led to his father being alive today. Through the deaths of many characters and the personality changes some characters experience, Spiegelman is able to illustrate how the Holocaust affected some characters and their relationships with different people. The strain in relationships due to the Holocaust is shown throughout the entire novel but focuses mainly on the tense relationships between Vladek and Art Vladek and Mala and Ania and Art. Through these relationships, Spiegelman is able to introduce to the readers how the Holocaust can severely impact on characters relationships with one another. Spiegelman uses the father/son relationship of Vladek and Art to demonstrate how many Holocaust survivors' relationship are strained because of their memories.
After Vladek's first son died during the Holocaust his relationship with Art his second son. became strained and tense. Vladek is unable to be the father that Art wants him to be because of the death of his firstborn which he describes as a "tragedy among tragedies" as well as the deaths of his first wife and all of his friends and family during the Holocaust. He IS far too burdened by guilt to be an exceptional father to Art. This is evident on page 6 which illustrates how Art's burdens and problems are smaller than those of Vladek‘s. When a long shot is drawn to show the size of both Vladek and Art in panel 5, the insignificance of Art‘s problems is demonstrated by his size. which is small compared to Vladek's size which is largely similar to the problems he faced during the Holocaust.
The death of Richieu plays a part in the strain of their relationship which is evident on page 296 when Vladek mistakenly calls Art "Richieu." Through this, Spiegelman depicts that no matter what his relationship is like With Art. Vladek had a strong love for his first<born and will always miss and remember him more than Art, Therefore. Spiegelman uses the Holocaust to illustrate how many relationships can be impacted due to the events they experience. Throughout the graphic novel. Spiegelman suggests that the characters' experiences make it more difficult for them to find and be in love. Vladek had a great love for Ania before and during the Holocaust. but after she committed suicide. he married his second wrle. Mala. and remained in a loveless marriage until his death.
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Their marriage is unhappy as a result of both of their experiences. and it is filled with constant bickering and a lack of understanding as a result of both of them experiencing different things during the Holocaust and not being able to fully acknowledge each other. This is evident on page 132 when Mala tells Art that she feels like she is in “prison." while married to Vladek which portrays Mala with a deflated and sorrowful body posture as she realises that she feels stifled in her relationship and that he is not a supportive and loving husband as he was to Anja. Their weak marriage is also portrayed when Vladek asks Art “why [he] ever remarried?" which proves that he will only love Ania and that no matter how hard both Vladek and Mala try they will never be able to love each other after what they experienced.
Their relationship is a form of companionship for each other. as well as a deSIre to be surrounded by people. In order to avoid feeling lonely. Hence. through the depiction of a loveless marriage. Spiegelman is able to illustrate how the Holocaust affects characters relationships. Through the suicide ofAnja, Spiegelman is able to unfold the aftermath of the tragedy and the major effects it had on her son, Anja committed suicide after being unable to come to terms with what had happened in her life due to the traumatic and damaging memories of the Holocaust. The death of Anja had a strong effect on Art as he was closer to his mother than he was his father. The effects of her death is evident through the comic, “Prisoner on the Hell Planet," Here, Art emphasises the guilt and anger he feels towards his mother through harsh, deep lines drawn on his face and in the background.
On page 105 panel 9, Art states that his mother "murdered," him, which reveals that when she killed herself, she also killed Art emotionally and is unable to feel a thing about her death. Spiegelman stresses the effect the suicide had on him through a dark. shadowmg look on his face when he states that he felt “nauseous“ and “guilty" after her death. As such. Spiegelman depicts how relationships can be altered by the experiences of the Holocaust and the suicide of Anja. As such, through the tense relationships between certain characters, Spiegelman is able to depict how the experiences and memories of the Holocaust affects individuals and their relationships with others.
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How Maus Uses Story and Art to Express the Impact of the Holocaust on Families. (2023, Apr 25). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/how-maus-uses-story-and-art-to-express-the-impact-of-the-holocaust-on-families/
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