Maus II

A detailed Summary of Maus II

In Maus II, Art Spielgelman depicts the experience of the Jewish race during the holocaust between 1940 and 1945. Speilgelman uses a wide variety of techniques to convey the terror and cruelty his father suffered in the most horrific of the concentration camps, Auschwitz. Spielgelman's key techniques used are the use of mask's and animal characters, black/white colouring and shadings, dialogues, comic script effect, and diagrams and photos. All of these techniques make Spielgelman's book successful in its own rights, but they also detract from the reading experience in parts, often lending the book to become a monotonous reading experience.

Spielgelman's most prominent and obvious technique used in the writing of Maus is the use of animal characters instead of the usual human cast. They are used to identify all the character's nationality throughout the novel. Using animal characters makes it extremely easy to identify which country a character comes from so the reader doesn't have to think very hard, this makes it easier to read without distractions and also means that younger generations can read and understand the novel in its full context. Spielgelman drew the Jews as mice and the Germans as cats. The Jews were seen as a

At random places in Maus II Spielgelman incudes various images. These are essential to feed the readers imagination with proof. On page 115, Spielgelman shows drawings of photos of his descendants. These prove to the reader that the war was not just an occasion that affected only one person. WWII affected the whole world in some form or another and this is just to show Spielgelman's readers that. On page 70, there is a diagram that shows the insides of the gas chambers. Diagrams help the reader produce those 'real' images mentioned earlier. It helps the reader get a layout of look of something that words can not compete with. At the bottom of page 134 Spielgelman places a portrait of Vladek that is a masterstroke. This photo shows the reader that beyond the animals, beyond the small comic frames, there is a Vladek Spielgelman. He did live through the holocaust, and more importantly, he survived.

plague by the Germans, much the same as mice are seen as a pest in today's society. The Germans were drawn as cats because cats are seen as the solution to the problem of mouse over population, much the same was as the Germans saw themselves the solution to Jewish over population. Also, mice are seen as careful and clever, a trait shared by the stereotype of the Jews.

The cartoon format creates a whole new dimension of opportunities and risks associated with 'showing the reader too much'. Spielgelman has

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Approximate Word count = 949
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English