I really enjoyed Maus but my favorite aspect of the graphic novel is usually found at the beginning and end of each chapter where Spiegelman is telling us the story of how he got the stories from his father for this project. It's a fabulous method of bringing the audience in close in preparation for his father's retelling of his life during the Holocaust. Personally, it allows me to connect not only with Vladek but Art as well to be privy to the complications and "real life" aspect of their relationship.
It's important (and impressive) because it makes the events in Vladek's retelling more real/more compelling. I think without skipping between "now" and "then" it would be too easy to disconnect myself from Vladek's story for several reasons: I didn't live through that era; I have never been to Eastern Europe; I'm not Jewish; I don't know anyone personally who went through that ordeal. It's exceptionally foreign to me so seeing Vladek in a setting more familiar to me (contemporary USA) makes it easier to connect with him. It's a really fantastic storytelling tool.
While there are numerous tools that Art skillfully wields the one I was surprised at, because I was consciously thinking about it, was the use of mice. The fact that this is a well established tradition (to emphasize vulnerability) in Eastern European storytelling is quite interesting [BOS 86]. I wonder if Art consciously did that or if it was something passed through culture that he used unaware of the history of the method.
I enjoyed the fact that Art spent time talking to his father. It shows that sometimes the older generation has a different world view and the younger generations can learn from that. I also liked how easy the book is to get into as well.
ReplyDeleteGo to this website=> http://www.bagnowka.com/index.php?m=ask
to learn about a little Polish village of Bagnowka, Poland. There are three cemeteries, Roman Catholic, Russian/Polish Orthodox Christian and Jewish. The significance is that these three different religious groups are all lying together in the afterlife in peace. This website also boasts rare pictures of life before, during, and after the war in Europe.