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Symbolism in Maus by Spiegelman

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Published: Mar 14, 2024

Words: 801 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

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by Art Spiegelman

Maus essay questions.

Though the author was born in Sweden after the end of the Holocaust, the events have nevertheless had a profound effect on his life. Discuss the nature of these effects and why the Holocaust remains such a formative event.

What is the significance of the author's decision to portray people of different races and nationalities as different animals? What effect does this have on the understanding and impact of the story?

Maus is written in the rather unconventional form of a graphic novel. Is this format an effective means of telling a Holocaust narrative? How might it differ from a more conventional Holocaust narrative?

To what degree was Vladek's survival based on luck, and to what degree was his survival based on his considerable resourcefulness?

To what extent are Vladek's aggravating personality traits a product of his experiences during the Holocaust?

Discuss Art's portrayal of his father. Is it a fair portrayal? What feelings does Art have about this portrayal?

Throughout Maus , Art is consumed with guilt. Discuss these different forms of guilt. How do they relate to one another? How do they differ?

The second chapter of Book II of Maus begins with a third level of narrative, which takes place in 1987, nine years after Art began working on Maus and five years after the death of his father. What is the purpose of this narrative, and what does it tell us about the author's relationship with his father and with the Holocaust?

Compare Vladek's marriage to Mala with his previous marriage to Anja. Why is Vladek's relationship with Mala so contentious, while his relationship with Anja was so filled with love?

Though Maus focuses largely on the Jewish people, the narrative generally avoids issues of religion. To what extent are the major characters religious? What role does religion play in their lives?

MAUS Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for MAUS is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Page 32, “Right away, we went.” Where are Vladek and Anja going and why?

Right away, we went. The sanitarium was inside Czechoslovakia, one of the most expensive and beautiful in the world.

Anja, Vladek's wife and Spiegelman's mother, went to a sanatorium in Czechoslovakia in 1938.

Vladek wants to go to Hungary in order to escape the danger and uncertainty of his life, as well as Anja's. Hungary represents hope and safety.

The visual device used to show the difference betweem Vladek and Anja is that Anja has a tail protruding from under her coat, a detail that emphasizes her Jewish identity.

Study Guide for MAUS

MAUS study guide contains a biography of Art Spiegelman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• MAUS Summary
• Character List

Essays for MAUS

MAUS essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of MAUS by Art Spiegelman.

• Stylistic Detail of MAUS and Its Effect on Reader Attachment
• Using Animals to Divide: Illustrated Allegory in Maus and Terrible Things
• Father-Son Conflict in MAUS
• Anthropomorphism and Race in Maus
• A Postmodernist Reading of Spiegelman's Maus

Lesson Plan for MAUS

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to MAUS
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• MAUS Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for MAUS

• Introduction

• Ask LitCharts AI
• Discussion Question Generator
• Essay Prompt Generator
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• Literature Guides
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• Shakespeare Translations
• Literary Terms

Art Spiegelman

Ask LitCharts AI: The answer to your questions

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Art Spiegelman's Maus . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Maus: Introduction

Maus: plot summary, maus: detailed summary & analysis, maus: themes, maus: quotes, maus: characters, maus: symbols, maus: theme wheel, brief biography of art spiegelman.

Historical Context of Maus

Other books related to maus.

• Full Title: Maus: A Survivor’s Tale
• When Written: 1978-1991
• When Published: The first volume of Maus (“My Father Bleeds History”) was serialized in Raw magazine, beginning in 1980 and ending in 1991, when the magazine ceased publication. The first volume was published in book form in 1986. The second volume (“And Here My Troubles Began”) was published in 1991.
• Literary Period: Postmodernism
• Genre: Graphic Novel, Memoir
• Setting: Poland and Germany (1930s and 40s); Rego Park, Queens (1970s and 80s); Catskill Mountains (1979); New York City (1987).
• Climax: After years of moving between ghettos and hiding places, Vladek and Anja are sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
• Antagonist: German soldiers and hostile Polish civilians are obvious antagonists for the Jews who are struggling to survive amidst persecution. However, the story also explores the many ways in which Jewish people — and others were who suffered alongside them in concentration camps and in war-torn Poland — harm and undermine one another in moments of desperation. Though Vladek and Anja are beneficiaries of amazing acts of kindness and humanity, and often do their best to help others in return, Maus shows clearly how danger and privation breed selfishness and callousness.
• Point of View: First Person (Vladek and Artie); Third Person (Limited to Artie)

Extra Credit for Maus

Shoah. Some scholars and religious leaders have taken issue with the term “holocaust.” Though the word has been used for decades to refer to the genocide of European Jews, and has been used to describe other mass killings in history, it originates from a Greek word that means “a completely burnt offering to God.” Some argue that to refer to the genocide as a “holocaust” is to compare those murders to religious sacrifices — and that this comparison dignifies the violence and disrespects the victims. Many who disagree with the use of the term “holocaust” substitute “shoah,” a Hebrew term that translates as “catastrophe.”

A Controversial Metaphor. Spiegelman faced criticism, after Maus ’s publication, for his use of animal heads in place of human faces. Because different animals correspond to different ethnicities, he was accused of perpetuating Nazi-like divisions between people of different races, and further dehumanizing the same people Nazis had tried to dehumanize through their violence. The book found a particularly harsh audience in Poland, where many were insulted by the depiction of Polish people as pigs.

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