Art Spiegelman's Holocaust

Paper Summary:

This paper focuses on two books written by Art Spiegelman depicting the impact both during and after the Holocaust. Spiegelman's books represent an unerringly earnest attempt at the history of the 1930s and 1940s in Poland as experienced by Vladek Spiegelman, a survivor of Auschwitz and the author's father. The writer of this paper examines the author's unique style of writing which has been described as a comic strip about the Holocaust with Jews as mice, Germans as cats and Poles as pigs. This paper also discusses the critics and survivors who took offense at the author's sometimes humorous representation of the Holocaust.

From the Paper:

"The use of the comic strip as a medium is a way for Spiegelman to deal with his emotions, both on the subject matter and with his father, in a way with which he is comfortable. This is a common psychological approach, especially with someone who is artistically inclined. The use of animals allows Spiegelman to a certain degree disassociate from the gravity and brevity of the situation. It is easier to deal with the subject matter if they are represented by animals than actually telling the story in terms of experiences of human beings."

More papers on Art Spiegelman's Holocaust:

• Analytical Essay # 27601 : "Art Spiegelman's "Maus"
• Analytical Essay # 23204 : "Holocaust Literature"
• Analytical Essay # 29808 : "The Holocaust in "Maus"

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