Author: Daniel

The main point that all of my peers made is that there should be less panels of essays and more creative pictures. What they agreed upon is that they liked the idea of having my panels be metaphors. They also found the tone to be dark and satirical which I found hilarious because I had never considered my tone to be that but it is very accurate.

Tracing Maus was very interesting in that it took several elements to completely analyze two pages from Maus. By having it broken down into stages, I felt that I got a better understanding of what was going on within those pages because I was able to look at them from different perspectives.

By first having to trace the pages, I had to see what visual elements from the original comic were relevant to the story telling and thus had to make a preliminary visual analysis of what I was seeing. Then, by having to analyze the tracings according to Scott McCloud’s definitions, I was able to further pinpoint certain segments of the page that make the storytelling work. Finally, by having to compare and contrast the two pages to form arguments, I was able to see how certain elements evolved over the course of the two books.

In book 1, we mostly get a vague picture of how Vladek was feeling during the time of the war, but we rarely get any information on how Artie is feeling, beyond just general frustration with his father. However, both of these two things shift as we progress later on into the story. Both Artie and Vladek experience moments in the book where they open up either to each other or to the reader specifically. The “Parshas Trauma” moment in Book 1 is the first real instance where we get a glimpse into Vladek’s feelings, although this revelation isn’t too profound. 

However, in book 2 we learn that Art has started visiting a therapist to help him deal not only with the pressure of his father’s death but with the mounting fame and pressure coming from the release of book 1. We get a glimpse into the mind of Art and how the concentration camps affected him even though he never lived through them. Almost 43 years later, the camps were still taking a toll on many people, Art included. Art is struggling to cope with the information left to him by his father. He blames himself for not having gone through the camps and not understanding his father, and the therapist explains that his father may have taken out his on guilt on Art to help cope with what happened. Vladek felt guilty for surviving the Holocaust, and takes it out on Art, who then takes it out on his therapist. This progression of guilt taxes Art heavily and takes a toll on his wellbeing. 

In book 1, we mostly get a vague picture of how Vladek was feeling during the time of the war, but we rarely get any information on how Artie is feeling, beyond just general frustration with his father. However, both of these two things shift as we progress later on into the story. Both Artie and Vladek experience moments in the book where they open up either to each other or to the reader specifically. The “Parshas Trauma” moment in Book 1 is the first real instance where we get a glimpse into Vladek’s feelings, although this revelation isn’t too profound. 

However, in book 2 we learn that Art has started visiting a therapist to help him deal not only with the pressure of his father’s death but with the mounting fame and pressure coming from the release of book 1. We get a glimpse into the mind of Art and how the concentration camps affected him even though he never lived through them. Almost 43 years later, the camps were still taking a toll on many people, Art included. Art is struggling to cope with the information left to him by his father. He blames himself for not having gone through the camps and not understanding his father, and the therapist explains that his father may have taken out his on guilt on Art to help cope with what happened. Vladek felt guilty for surviving the Holocaust, and takes it out on Art, who then takes it out on his therapist. This progression of guilt taxes Art heavily and takes a toll on his wellbeing. 

The transition from book 1 of Maus to book 2 is marked by a significant shift in tone. In book 1 we are just introduced to the characters. Sure the circumstances in Vladek’s life are not the greatest, but they are nowhere near as bad as they get in book 2. In book 2, every fiber of Vladek’s strength is tested to its break point. To emphasize this shift in the narrative, Spiegelman changes the overall tone of the story from one of nostalgia for the past, slowly into a dread and sorrow over past events.

In the Parshas Trauma page, there is certainly room for hope, as Vladek receives a message from “beyond” telling him that everything will be okay, something which doesn’t happen ever again. This message helps keep the tone light as we now know that Vladek will not go through too much suffering right now. A divine being is taking care of Vladek so we as the audience know that nothing bad will happen right now. 

However, when we arrive at the second book, everything is different. From the onset we know that Vladek has divorced Mala. This clearly took a toll on Art’s mental health, which, eventually after the death of his father and the release of his book, led to him nearly having a breakdown. Even the regular storyline that was always so positive, showing how Art and his father were doing, now becomes a psychoanalysis of Art to try and figure out what is wrong with him. The scene with the therapist really shows Art’s emotional state (more on that in my next post), and it also shows how Art’s current view of the world can impact others as he directly causes the therapist to feel sad about the concentration camps as well.