Life Writing

This blog will feature aspects of the author of Maus, the memoir itself and our overall interpretation and study of the memoir.

- Eden Anderson, Kelsey Nairn, Tanya Markovic & Jacqueline Rizek

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Personal Reflection+Review

Personally I truly respect and appreciate Maus: A surviver's Tale due to the fact that the author, Spiegelman, ingeniously implemented such a complex and horrid time, while allowing for the viewer to ease in and begin to understand the mood, atmosphere, emotion of the storyline. You begin to see through the mouses eyes, walking a foot in their shoes, allowing for the reader to achieve complete compassion towards Holocaust survivors and the events they so misfortunately endured. 

Below is a link for a video describing what the Holocaust was like through the eyes of a 'Maus', it is a true portrayal of the intended message behind the storyline and the making of the memoir. I know my fellow group member posted this video, though I found this to be a very relatable and eminent perspective to how I analyzed and understood Spiegelmen's intentions for Maus: A Survivor's Tale. 


Rating | 5/5 
A moving and invigorating tale, a true eye opener to the truth about the past.


Reference List

UWTV. (2014 May 2). The Holocaust through the eyes of a maus (Art Spiegelman) [Video file]. Retrieved Apr 5, 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLVG3GNvHkU

Technical Aspects | Images, Action & Colour

Images


The imagery through out the memoir is very well done. Taking the different approach with the use of animals required extra detail and really helped the reader to understand the story. Some of the images help to provoke emotion with the sensitive subject matter that would otherwise have been difficult to describe. The artistic expression with the use of lines and shading also helped to create movement and expression in the story.

Action 


Throughout the story there were many times that action and movement was key to understanding what was going on and important so you would know how to feel. The action and movement through each scene or block flowed nicely and never felt choppy. By not making each scene laid out in the same block size or form it was easy to transition as you were reading and gave some dynamic interest.

Colour


The lack of colour in the memoir doesn’t mean the graphic element is lacking. The choice to keep the pictures black and white I felt was to show how life in the 40’s was tough and lacking “colour”. It was a dark time and I felt the author made a good choice making the book black and white. Having no colour also allowed you to concentrate on the content of the image and not the image its self.



Figure 1


Figure 2



Figure 1: Guilt-the anger directed at ourselves. (2013). You MURDERED me Mommy and you left me here to take the rap!!! [virtual image]. Retrieved Apr 1, 2015 from https://trcs.wikispaces.com/+Guilt-the+anger+directed+at+ourselves

Figure 2: Maus Discussion. (2014). Good Sacrifice. [virtual image]. Retrieved Apr 5, 2015 from 
http://mausdiscussion.weebly.com/1/category/all/1.html




Technical Aspects | Outstanding Scenes+Characterization

Outstanding Scenes 

There were many invigorating scenes throughout the storey line though few seemed to stand out among the rest. In Chapter 4 | The Noose Tightens, the German Nazis begin to enforce new and restricting orders, moving Jews to other camps and stripping them of their possessions, later to be exterminated. In one scene, a couple of business men who were dealing goods without food coupons were executed, hung in the city square for a week for everyone to see as seen in figure 1 (Spiegelman, 1986, pp.83). Another stomach turning scene was where Vladek and his family are moved to a camp in Srodula, slowly the Nazis were transferring the Jews to Auschwitz (the gas chambers camp), they would take mostly kids at first whom were only 2-3 years of age. The kids whom would scream and not stop, the German Nazis would swing them by the legs against the wall evidently seen in figure 2 in order to quiet them (Spiegelam, 1986, pp.108). 

One of the more interesting scenes was when Spiegelman was looking through an old comic book he made a few years back, it was sitting in his fathers desk. The illustration contained human forms, the protagonist resembling/being Spiegelman and focused on a period of his life where he was dealing with the aftermath of his mother’s suicide. In this scene, there was a very powerful emotion that ran through the content, the scenes were dark, his attire being a prisoners outfit, similar to the one’s Holocaust prisoner’s wore during World War II. There was an emphases on darkness and a depressive state, the prison he was unable to break free from, one of the true unveilings of Spiegelman’s past being recalled, a more purified part of his memoir as seen in figure 3 (Spiegelman, 1986, pp. 100-103). 
Figure 1


Figure 2


Figure 3



Characterization 

Maus: A Survivor’s Tale evidently portrays the them of Anthropomorphism to define various character traits. Through implementing animal figures such as the Mouse, Pig, Cat, and later on the Dog, stereotyped elements and identities to these certain animals through metaphor, act as an effective identification system (Modlinger, 2009, pp249). 

On one hand, Spiegelman describes the story of his father rather than his own story, therefore he is unable to reach an authentic, realistic illustration due to the fact that he did not experience them first handedly. On the other hand it would be impossible to reconstruct every specific detail of the characters and scenes conveyed throughout the storyline. Therefore the idea of abstract characters, or indirect characterization is utilized in hopes of successfully portraying the storyline in an authentic manner (McCloud, 1994, PP7). 


“When pictures are more abstracted from 'reality', they require greater levels of perception” -(McCloud, 1994, pp.49)



Reference List

Figure 1 | University of Missouri. (2011). Graphic novels/ memoirs: maus. [virtual image]. Retrieved Apr 5, 2015 from https://library.missouri.edu/exhibits/alleyoop/after.htm

Figure 2 | 

Art Tatter. (2009). Art Spiegelman, mouse. The story of a survivor , Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag Frankfurt am Main., 2009. [virtual image]. Retrieved Apr 5, 2015 from http://arttattler.com/archivedurerspiegelmann.html

Figure 3| Maturana, M. (2012). Prisoner on the Hell Planet. [virtual image]. Retrieved Apr 5, 2015 from 

Reviews of Maus

Reviews of Maus, I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History:

     4-5/5 stars was the average rating of the powerful graphic novel Maus. Readers were able to connect with the Father in many instances and found his story of survival quite inspiring. In general, there were some mixed emotions from readers and critics with regards to the use of animals to portray the Jews, Nazis, Poles, and Americans. Some people found this to be a brilliant tactic while other’s thought it was unfair to call the Jews mice, the Nazis cats and the Poles pigs. Overall, I tend to agree with the former. I discovered through reading the book that the use of these animals allowed me to connect deeper with the characters and it made every horrific scene and every great escape that much more interesting. It also made the pictures throughout the graphic novel a little bit more bearable, because all in all at the heart of this story are some very horrific ordeals.

  






Beale, Alicia. (2010, May 20). Review of Maus I. Retrieved from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15196.Maus_IBeale’s review provides useful insights into the overall reception of Maus I. In particular it presents an opinion with regards to the use of animals to portray the Jews, Nazis and so on using direct quotes from Spiegleman’s work.


BY: JACQUELINE RIZEK

Media Appearances

Media Appearances of Maus, I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History:

      Almost immediately following the release of Maus, an unlikely celebrity emerged into the world in the form of Art Spiegelman. The graphic novel turned just a simply good writer into a great one. Having written one of, if not the most influential memoirs about the Holocaust, it catapulted him to a Pulitzer prize, as well as international fame and recognition. Being offered to do interviews with many well-known newspapers and television networks, many of which I have provided links to in this posting or one of my previous blogs. After the completion of Maus, he had this statement to offer to The Observer; “I was unsure how to proceed. Could I follow it up with Maus II? The fact that so much terror and sadness and death was such a success sort of gave me the bends.”
  




Gopinath, Manu. (2012, November 5). About Art Spiegleman-Maus. Retrieved from http://artsmaus.blogspot.ca/2012/11/media-appearances.htmlAn article that delves into some of the early media appearances for Maus I. It goes through many of the key aspects that changed Art Spiegleman from simply a good writer to a great one. Also, it speaks to Spiegleman’s very interesting thoughts and feelings on religion.

BY: JACQUELINE RIZEK

Reception of Maus

Reception of Maus, I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History:

      An overall census taken from a great number of reviews have deemed the general reception of the book to be very powerful, incredible and inspiring. A story of a father who had to survive and endure Nazi Germany during WWII, talking his way out of situations and being able to come through no matter what obstacle was put in his way, has generated a truly phenomenal read. The book was received in a positive light by almost if not all communities, showing the diversity of readers who chose this book. It not only depicted the story of a father and son in Nazi Germany, but it is also gave a very accurate display of the history of the events that occurred, leading to the rise of Hitler as well as during his reign.


Reference List 

Arts Book Mix. (2012, Oct 8). 

Arts book review: maus I: a survivor's tale: my father bleeds history by Art Spiegelman [Video file]. Retrieved Apr 5, 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19SNOv6lRus

UWTV. (2014 May 2). The Holocaust through the eyes of maus (Art Spiegelman) [Video file]. Retrieved Apr 5, 2015 from 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLVG3GNvHkU



BY: JACQUELINE RIZEK

Structure | Maus: A Survivor’s Tale


Perhaps the structural layout of was to convene both Past and Present as a means of the viewer, reporter (Speigleman) and interviewer (Vladek) all concluding with a more in-depth understanding of events, no matter the time-frame. 

“In the graphic novel, Maus, Spiegelman introduces himself along with his father, Vladek, in the actual creation of the book while he puts into picture the re-telling of his father's story as a young Jew in the early part of the Nazi regime. 


While Vladek unfolds his story, you get not only a sense of the pain and losses he dealt with in his past, but also the current trouble he has with his son. Throughout this narrative of the father and son relationship, one is able to sense the importance of hearing the stories of one's own past and heritage, a valuable attribute that adds to the understanding of one's own life and history.” (Stein, A., Gorlewski, K. 2015). 

Due to the fact that this is not only a graphic memoir, but also a recording of another person’s memoir, proves to have a unique structure overall. Archie Spiegelman was a graphic artist, illustrating typically for comic books, and wanted to write a book about his father’s time during World War II. Spiegelman interpreted the tales of his father through a comic strip layout, his approach was to utilize personification for the representation of various ‘breeds’ or types of people in society.

Mouse = Jewish People
Pig = Polish People
Cat = German Nazis

Also, throughout the memoir, the recollection of Vladek's (his father) memories are represented through flashback-like scenes, allowing for the reader to see through both Vladek’s perspective, but also through Spiegelman’s perspective of how he portrayed the information being stated. 
Figure 1


Figure 2



Therefore the overall structure of Maus: A survivor’s Tale is a comic-like approach with reoccurring jumps between the Past and Present.

Past | 1935 a few years before the beginning of the war until around 1944 in Poland 
Present | 1980’s in the United Sates  


Perhaps the structural layout of was to convene both Past and Present as a means of the viewer (Audience), reporter (Speigleman) and interviewer (Vladek) all concluding with a more in-depth understanding of events, no matter the time-frame. 


Reference List

Figure 1 | Cronin, B. (2009). Comic Book Legends Revealed #202. [virtual image]. Retrieved Apr 5, 2015 from http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/04/09/comic-book-legends-revealed-202/

Figure 2 | Stein, A., Gorlewski, K. (2015). Maus - A Survivor's Tale - My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman. [virtual image]. Retrieved Apr 5, 2015 from https://yareviews.wikispaces.com/Maus+-+A+Survivor%27s+Tale+-+My+Father+Bleeds+History+by+Art+Spiegelman  


Young Adult Literature. (2015). Maus - A Survivor's Tale - My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman. Retrieved Apr 5, 2015 from https://yareviews.wikispaces.com/Maus+-+A+Survivor%27s+Tale+-+My+Father+Bleeds+History+by+Art+Spiegelman

Purpose | Maus: A Survivor’s Tale


The analytical approach to this memoir was that Spiegelman ‘interviewed’ his father (Vladek) in purpose of writing a book about his past. I feel as though originally the novel/story’s first intentions began to transform into how he portrayed and understood what his father went through, in both an emotional and physical way and resulting as a memoir on his empathetic conception. Throughout the graphic memoir Spiegelman mentions how his relationship with his father was never strong, compassion, or intimate, there was always a blockade between one another, forever questioning the others morals, thoughts, and habituals and therefore preventing them from understanding one another. It is almost as though there were so many questions answered, and eye opening information to help Spiegelman and his father break-down this barricade, to allow for him to look into his father’s past in order to see what made him who is was today. 

In other critics perspective’s, some believe the purpose of Maus: A survivor’s Tale was to shine light upon the events that took place during World War II through the most brutal, raw, and tormented perspective of them all, the Jewish.  The new generation is able to fully understand the consequences of these events, as stated before, when you are aware of history it is bound not to repeat itself (Crow, 2011). 

Perhaps this visually-subdue memoir allows for people to not only understand through a first-Holocaust victim’s perspective of what it was like during World War II, but also how discovering one’s past have impacted person they are today. Understanding can help one, like Speigelman, become more compassionate and understanding towards another, Vladek, as well as accept them due to this breakthrough acceptation who that person is. 

Two generations uniting together to understand, perceive, and accept 


Reference List


Yahoo, Crow. (2011). Best answer: what was the author’s purpose for writing the book Maus?. Received Apr 5, 2015 from https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110710133338AAPcMae 

Friday, April 3, 2015

Social & Cultural Context

Social Context:

During the time in the story before the war actually began Vladek was living pretty well. He had money; he had a career and a company that was taking off. His wife’s family was also very wealthy and helped him to grow his business. His family was growing, moving in with his in-laws, having a child and creating a good reputation for himself among the community. Being a Jew in that time it was important to have many friends and connections that were on your side. Not a lot of people would risk hiding a Jew due to the punishments they could face themselves. This helped him a lot when the war began, having the amount of connections he did allowed he and his wife to hide and eventually escape Poland.



Cultural Context:

Poland had many religions during the time before the war and Jewish was one of them. The attack against that particular religion was the decision and doing of one major man, Adolf Hitler. Being of the Jewish faith meant your rights, your believes and in the end your life was taken away from you. Jews were put on parades in the street wearing yellow stars so anyone who passed would know and were made a spectacle. Many people didn’t want to follow the ways of the Nazi but the punishments that were given to anyone at the time made helping or standing up for what is right very hard to do. It seemed like those people discriminating against the Jews had no morals as to what they were actually doing and the end result of basically genocide of the Jewish people. Every one had a side to be on and even not taking a side still meant you had taken a third side against helping to bring the world back to peace.

This video gives a brief coverage of World War II and how it began, starting with the invasion of Poland.


Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B63DPFxZ4Ns





Reference List

British Pathe. (2014 Apr 13). Germany invades Poland (1939) [Video file]. Retrieved Apr 5, 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B63DPFxZ4Ns