Article

Leviathan: Interdisciplinary Journal in English No. 2, 54-59 The Holocaust © The Journal Editors 2018 Reprints and permissions: http://ojs.statsbiblioteket.dk/index.php/lev in Pictures: DOI: 10.7146/lev.v0i2.104696 Recommendation: Arman Teymouri Niknam ([email protected]) Maus and the Literature in English 1: Form and Genre Narrative of the

Graphic Novel

Tea-Maria Munk

ABSTRACT

This article examines the effect of comic conventions and the depiction of characters as anthropomorphic animals in Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel Maus, a pivotal piece depicting the Holocaust and its impact on the survivors and their children. The article will claim that instead of the graphic medium being a hindrance, Spiegelman uses the comic conventions to his advantage, allowing the reader to identify with the characters and narrative in a unique way. In this way the graphic narrative underlines the verbal, demonstrating that the medium of the comic and graphic novel is not purely preserved for fiction or child narratives.

Keywords: Art Spiegelman; graphic novels; Holocaust; anthropomorphic animals; comic conventions; iconic characters; identification; Literature in English 1: Form and Genre

Corresponding author: Tea-Maria Munk ([email protected]) Department of English, Aarhus University

timony into timony o the maelstrom maelstrom the o

he feels: , his second wife Mala and 1

luding Auschwitz, as well as as well Auschwitz, as luding

conversation between Artie and

2 is a piece of literature that, from the the from that, of literature piece a is

person narrative through and dialogue

ictures ictures Jews and Germans are depicted as iconic

equal part in the novel, thereby being joint being narrators. thereby in novel, equal the part “The struggle to “The struggle transform tes history and Introduction pect of the isnovel that the accounts the of war, post Vladek’s person narrator Vladekperson more the omniscient or Artie. one narrator On

The Holocaust in P in The Holocaust in the novel. To distinguish between the author and the character in the novel, this

Maus, novel graphic the In . ) persona Langer The unconventional as ” ( rocessing the tales while staying true to the facts and his father’s memories. Spiegelman memories. his father’s and facts true the to staying while the tales , is processing Maus. was published, tested the limits the published, tested the was of novelsmedium of depictions and graphic the of is Spiegelman’s

” Maus Artie - first a in written almost is exclusively the novel way is Artie reflects upon and refers to the authorship of the novel he himself is a part of. the himself of he novel authorship refers to the and reflects upon Artie “

Sometimes the line between one and the one the between and the Sometimes line the as author and Spiegelman. Art character Artie, as to the refer paper will other be sowill fine that Spiegelman be usedwill instead of Artie. himself addresses this problem unconventionally in a meta in a this unconventionally problem himself addresses as Vladek’s stories toVladek’s put in book. The the with trouble a concerning biographical this, piece especially th his of imagination drawingfilter pictures to theby word, spoken as aswell partswhat choosing of evolves around, the only evolves knows Artiereader what arguing knows, that the is Artie. main narrator In the through by processed Spiegelman are stories Vladek’s that note to important it is Additionally, 2 On the other hand, even though it is Vladek’s story of the Holocaust that all events in the novel novel the that in Holocaust the of all events story Vladek’s it is though even hand, other the On between the characters, the exceptions being when Artie speaks directly to the reader itself (201). Francoise as he expresses the difficulty of writing and drawing the novel as 1 hand, it could be argued that they both play an an both play that they argued it be hand, could - the it is first whether is; novel One of uniqueOne the aspects the of is novel narrator(s), the as it is unclear who main narrator the in the

of the conflict the of of different decades showing cause and effect. sucked int is constantly text, the reader of the of and part drama the is central thusart a making making novelsHolocaust as narratives? well as of in field the graphic Spiegelman himself two Holocaust son met when of the the he as Spiegelman including obstacles survivors how thisBut be?can is reason the thisWhat novelfor so successful becoming changing and the game his troubles with coming Moreover, the his with of coming to with experiences troubles book is story of terms the the the war. mix it rare a all interwoven, making he book, are publishes the Artie’s present, and before life, war childish, Maus and tacky up being instead this of ending and However, mice cats. anthropomorphic field the for novels ofgood. Holocaust graphic the changing of successful and narrative powerful is a Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel Maus novel graphic winning Prize Pulitzer Spiegelman’s Art

55 the Second World War as he survived several concentration camps, inc camps, concentration several survived he as War World Second the Holocaust. It is theHolocaust. story It own Spiegelman’s Vladekof father Spiegelman’s as struggles Jewa during time it time withrelationship Artie hisThis the includes war. after and his before life

ISSUE 2 | LEVIATHAN | SPRING 2018

, ” 56

” (161) ” expresses the : Graphic Art

being placed on placed being

Maus egelman 14, 30, 35, egelman s fiction textfiction would be as - e making ofe book the and in situations. certain This

his long without his long This might also be due to the to the due be also might This animals given human features . ually) insufferable human being as a non disabling any further inquiries. further , disabling any k keeps “tons worthless of shit example includes Maus

(Chute 457) (Chute (224) s article “Art Spiegelman’ the reader quickly understands stereotypical the quickly reader the in hi

” list bestseller fiction s fidelity to the unvarnished truth is apparent in his unsparing truth isapparent to unvarnished the s fidelity propaganda which thpropaganda sometimes depicted e Jews as “vermin” rats

stays true to the facts and Artie tells the “unvarnished truth”, the very the truth”, and tells “unvarnished the Artie to facts the true stays seller list for fiction literature, which Spiegelman protested against against protested Spiegelman which literature, fiction for list seller - nobody can understand can ” uschwitz, nobody Spiegelman’

as as says: “it is toohe complex Moreover, comics” (176). he for . gine his perils parents through.the havegine Consequently, Artie and gone Vladek’s Inadequate trying that was to reconstruct my reality darkest than a […] worse Inadequate dreams. Just it honey. honest, keep See what mean…I in real life you’d never have let me talk t interrupting.” (Spiegelman 176) interrupting.” There’s so much I’ll never be able to understand or visualize. I mean, reality is mean, sotoo much able reality to be visualize. never understand or There’s I’ll I out or left to be has ” distorted. so much comics… complex for “ “ “ (Doherty 74) Furthermore, the different animal identities are used as masks in parts of the book concealing book concealing the of in masks parts as used are different the identities animal Furthermore, However, although Maus although However, Furthermore, in quote Artie Holocaust the narrating the addresses of in above, Furthermore, perplexity the

as dogs, as well as brief encounters with Swedish deer and a French frog (Spi French a and with Swedish deer brief encounters as well as dogs, as The mice are also a nudge to Nazi fact that the charac ters not butare human anthropomorphic – animals portraying abilities; theand Jews as mice, the Germans as cats, the Poles as pigs and the Americans is – eminent effect metaphoric The 253, 272, 285). idea of the mice being chased the by predatory cats, as well as the rivalry between the cats and dogs. the character’s human character’s the identity. For example, is when talking Artie thabout or mice or never be able to ima distance some at feeling understand Artie that him hiscannot or behavior In this quote, Artie addresses his own difficulties as the son of two Holocaust survivors as he will he as survivors Holocaust two addresses son of this the Artie as quote, his difficulties own In him keeps Vladek and to his father, to relate able is notstrained Artie fully as becomes relationship inis the evident of case not understanding Artie Vlade why The New York Times’ best moved it was to non- the whereupon himself with: “about A “about with: himself his mother diaries,whilst as Anja’s burning well event an in camps the as Vladek explains where (81). Maus identify to it problematic make can narrative the of medium the tale in Thomas puts As honesty. it tale the Doherty alterations have been made throughout. In this way the reader will have to rely on Spiegelman to on Spiegelman tell to rely will the have reader this way throughout. In been made have alterations the form of of form – the comics stayingof difficulty true narrative,to the mentioned as above, and humorouslytells the reader that “ Holocaust”: the and Artie of as portrait (sometimes) sona petulant and ahisas father (us One novel. prose traditional a as written it was if case the

ISSUE 2 | LEVIATHAN | SPRING 2018

. .

) the es in (67)

” (Langer

has become

ng in theng Vladek Maus allowing the reader 202), concealing their concealing 202),

ying the Jews as mice, the sons why the medium of the the mediumsons the of why nnected moments. But closure

portra

’ t a continuous,t a reality unified comic strip comic elves in a character’s place – Consequently, the novelConsequently, the the of graphicnarrative . rsons. rsons. “conclude that a ‘ life people they represent. This is further amplified by the iconic the by amplified represent. This is further they people life - Spiegelman uses the anthropomorphic animals to his advantage, for advantage, to animals his anthropomorphic the uses Spiegelman

, i.e. by drawing the characters’ faces iconic, Spiegelman enables the (Spiegelman 111) (Spiegelman their faces are drawn minimalistically, with very few differences from from differences few very with minimalistically, drawn are faces their 31)

(McCloud y to immerse oneself into the book is further allowed and enhanced by the panels and panels the enhanced by and allowed into book is the further oneself to immerse y ” e her fear taken eminent being by leading of to Gestapo, her away the herself killing and still might critiques some 462),

The abilit The However, in line with the stereotypical idea of comics being reserved the of audience reserved for idea comics being in line with stereotypical younger the However, Spiegelman takes further comics’ of mediumSpiegelman expressingadvantage emotion when conventions Another effect of the anthropomorphic animals is that they create a distance between the Semitic glasses through which Jewswere viewed during the war. - allows us to connect these moments and mentally moments us allows to and connect these construc fracture both time and space offering a jagged staccato rhythm of unco frames of the graphic novel. McCloud talks of thereader’s ability to create closure: “Comics panels to become a Jew in Auschwitz. This could additionally be one of the reasons why reasons the of one why be additionally could Jew This a in Auschwitz. to become survivors. many Holocaust on the its the the depicting and effect works work central a among such reader to identify with the characters put thems and with characters the to identify reader (Chute iconography to allow the readers to identify themselves Scott with character. McCloud writ the to identify readers to the allow iconography said to describ three children in her care children three one rea the showcasing of narrative enhances verbal and the underlines to depict Holocaust. powerful is the novel a way graphic as case this the However, is not the conventionsexample through narrative, of asgraphic above, mentioned as using as thewell his book Understanding Comics that the “more cartoony a face is, […] the more people it could be reindeer would divert the reader from a meaningful pursuit of Artie's troubled questions” troubled from meaningful a Artie's pursuit of reader the would divert reindeer Germans as cats, the Poles as pigs, the French as frogs, the Americans as dogs and the Swedes as expressing her herher eyes, frowning eyebrows theand cartoon convention sweat of pearls often stress,representing Anja’s son Richieu. In the three frames, Tosha’s emotions are presented through dark circles under Tosha’s the emotions through son presented Richieu. three frames, Anja’s In are staying in with, among others, Vladek’s and in with, others, among staying is she that the ghetto out clearing are Germans the that through the the through oreyebrows dark circles under the eyes the of characters. For example, when Tosha learns a verminous people, not people, verminous individuala as pe ultimately stripping away their last piece of identity and fully depicting the Nazi idea of the Jews as as Jews the of idea the Nazi depicting fully and identity of piece last their away stripping ultimately characters in the novel and the real and in novel the characters – animals the of drawings the to character, character often only theirdifference being clothing. When followi camps, this difference is even eliminated as all the Jews are wearing identical camp uniforms, anti strong commentary and simple is strong commentary a from of the a Spiegelman way addressing It feature. defining their personality, only showing the “first impression” one will immediately understand of their heritage as heritage their understand of one impression” will only “first showing immediately the personality, (Spiegelman masks wearing all are who by reporters interviewed being is 57

ISSUE 2 | LEVIATHAN | SPRING 2018 In 58

rbal. rbal. ngs result result ngs has become

deep involvement

person narrator Artie, is Artie, person narrator a 127) trapping them in them Nazi 127) trapping

thus arguing that comics are , 82) that “seems to pin Vladeker und (McCloud 66). In this way “the basic “the this way In 66). (McCloud

fiction tale of his father’s experiences of

(Chute 460) (Chute

” - first the by told ings, while treating the subject with honesty. with the subject treating while ings, could be one of the reasons why Maus reasons the could of one why be definition medium enhancing the definition medium enhancing

- “original and authentic form to draw us closer to [the [the to us closer draw to form “original authentic and Conclusion 77). Much iconic like the anthropomorphic these animals

and in doing so paves the way for a new era of novels. of graphic a era for new way the so paves in doing and , e sequence ofrelated narrative shape of the Swastika cross (Spiegelman

(Lawrence)

degree of cognitive engagement

” (DohertySemitism -

(Doherty 77). ” er Spiegelman further uses the panels and what is inside them to create an an emotional in is inside to what them response create uses and further panels the Spiegelman

avoids becoming childish and flat, due to Spiegelman’s ability to captivate the reader by using to reader captivate the ability Spiegelman’s childish to due flat, and becoming avoids he Holocaust and thereby creating an of the read “The pictures lack detail pictures lack low but the not“The depth, non- real very the using it to narrate by narratives fiction for such a central work survivors. work Holocaust on the central many its the the depicting a among and effect such works of Spiegelman comics idea the preserved the challenges graphic being novels this medium and way, t Holocaust’s] bleak heart”

seen walking on a road road with on a walking seen the with stories together conventions gruesome the the reader and readerthe and convey exclusivea to thatmessage the of onecartoon. panel, Anja Vladek and In are panels are exclusive to the medium of the comics and graphic narratives, and the mixture of the comic from cartoon drawings to ve narrative the the cartoon emotions, thus tofrom underline using create graphic immediate metaphorical effect of predator and prey. Spiegelman makes use of conventions known known conventions makes Spiegelman of use prey. and predator of effect metaphorical immediate he is seenhe in panel one formed like the of Star David (Spiegelman asdisplayed anthropomorphic animals displaying Jews as mice and Germans as cats creating an draw iconic the through with characters the identify neither necessarily a medium preserved for a younger demography nor simple for do the drawi demography a medium a necessarily preserved neither younger story. simple a in and street the in is walking Vladek when is example Another escape. to way clear no with territory of spotlight a anti novel Maus, graphic Spiegelman’s Art conclusion, In work the about powerful the and lasting survivors. itHolocaust on the impact has characters The are Maus to reader the subject allowing matter, in approaching heavy the to his conventions the advantage narrative requires a high turns two separate images into on into images separate two turns Closure is linked to the space between the panels named the gutter; a blank space where the reader

ISSUE 2 | LEVIATHAN | SPRING 2018

,

ited The NewYork Times Book Review, The New

.” , vol. 68, 68, , vol. Literature American Holocaust.” the and Art : Graphic Works C Works Penguin Books, 2003. Books, Penguin s Maus

November 3, 1991, Sunday, 3, 1991, November Edition. Late A Fable of the Holocaust –84. JSTOR. .

Times Company. York 1994. 465. JSTOR pp. 69 no. 1, 1996, The Complete Maus. Art. The Complete Spiegelman,

McCloud, Publishers HarperCollins Art. Scott. Invisible – The Comics Understanding “Art Spiegelman’ “Art Thomas. Doherty, Langer,Lawrence “ L. , vol. 123, no. 2, 2008, pp. 452 – pp. no. 2, 2008, 123, vol. PMLA, Narrative.” Graphic Reading Literature? as “Comics Hillary. Chute,

59

ISSUE 2 | LEVIATHAN | SPRING 2018