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I thought that this book was a little odd and different from anything we have read before. Although it took more of an artistic role it took away from the emotion that the Holocaust usually takes on. It did however take an interesting narrative by talking about everything that happened before, during and after the war. It also shows the war from being on the field, a solider and then being trapped in the camps and coming out of it. I was not a real fan of this book because by making it a cartoon it kind of makes the topic a joke even though they don't talk about a joking situation. Also making them mice doesn't really help when talking about Jewish people and the Holocaust.
The book was okay but not one of my favorites. I found myself just skimming some of the sections just because there was so much on one page to grasp that it was more confusing to understand with all of the sayings and then with the narrative that tells the story above it.

Sarah Tatko
Dr. Hobbs
Eng-340
21 April 2009
Maus Reflection
This was my favorite book we have read this semester. I enjoyed how Spiegelman used a different literary medium in order to convey his father’s story. It was something different, and I believe it was a risk for him to take because many people could have seen it as offensive towards such a sensitive subject matter. However, by using graphics, it allowed him to incorporate more symbolism and meaning into his work. The reason for this is because he not only has the words to help tell the story and provide commentary but he also has the pictures; he uses two very different visual tools which is much more effective.
I truly enjoyed his use of animals to depict the different ethnicities because it added more emphasis to the story. It is a little ironic that he does this because the animals allow the reader to easily tell who is a Jew and who is a Nazi when in reality it was not that easy to tell because we are all people. I also enjoyed how real he was about the process of making the book. He bore all about his emotions and the relationship with his rather which only made the reader relate more to the characters. The reason for this is because it shows the struggle that Spiegelman went through on a personal basis to create this for us.
Yet, while I say this was my favorite book it feels a little cruel to say because a book about the Holocaust and the amount of suffering should not bring pleasure. This book did not bring pleasure but it brought me fulfillment because it showed how the Holocaust effected more than just life, it affected families and the way of life.

Work Cited
Spiegelman, Art. The Complete Maus. New York: Pantheon Books, 1991.

Jessica P.
ENG 340
Dr. Hobbs
4/20/09

Reflection Paper on Maus A Survivor’s Tale

Art Spiegelman authored Volume I and II of Maus A survivor’s Tale, in which he related his father’s holocaust experience using cartoons. This creative form is interesting because it not only verbally explains his experience of persuading his father to tell him about the war but also gives a visual representation of the story. Because the viewer both sees and reads it, this book is especially impactful and leaves a lasting impression.

The most interesting aspect of this book was learning how even though the war ended; it still created negative effects on the survivors. Specifically, readers can see that the war left the father a paranoid, angry man while the mother committed suicide. Last of all, the son, Spiegelman, was left guilty because he was able to live life better than his parents had, and further did not have to experience Auschwitz. The fighting had stopped, but emotions were left raw and unhealed. Additionally, the father was paranoid about wasting food and materials and made sure everything was saved and reused.

Spiegelman’s relationship with his father was interesting to observe. A love/hate relationship, I was surprised to see that Spiegelman included personal conversations and details in the book. He allowed his private life to be on display; however, this gave a personal touch to the story. As a whole, this book was very emotional. It explained the Holocaust in a very personal and detailed way. I believe that because it included visual representations, that the emotional aspect of the story was that much greater. Overall, the book gives readers an understanding of a family’s story in surviving the war and the impact it made on their continuing life.

Works Cited
Spiegelman, Art. MAUS A Survivor’s Tale. Complete Edition. New York: Pantheon Books. 1986.

Jennifer Merrigan
April 21, 2009
ENG 340
Maus I & II

Maus takes a very different approach to anything anyone has ever seen before on the Holocaust. It’s basically a literary cartoon form of a very serious historical tragedy. With that said, Speiglman creates this piece with a very real and emotional undertone. He shows the emotional trauma his parents went through while in the concentration camps, but also the very serious emotional aftermath of their experiences. It also shows you how not only this tragedy affected the people who experienced it, but their children as well. Not only do his parents suffer, but he suffers. The reader gets a very emotional and artistic experience as you read Art and Vladeck’s reaction to the Holocaust, and you get to immerse yourself in their feelings. I’ve read these books before, but I always get the same intense effect when I read it, and I am always surprised at how this specific take on documenting someone’s experience in the Holocaust can be the most effective one, in my opinion.
Work Cited
Spiegelman, Art. The Complete Maus. New York: Pantheon Books, 1991.

Emily Belvo
Dr. B. Lee Hobbs
ENG 340
April 21, 2009
Review on Art Spiegelman’s “Maus 1 and 2”
In reading all of the books for our holocaust class, I would have to say that Art Spiegelman’s “Maus 1 and 2” is by far my favorite book. This interpretation of the Holocaust in a graphic novel sense truly has all the aspects of a survivor of the traumatic time period. Set in present day, the artist, Artie, continuously goes to his father, Vladek, to record his past experience before, during and after the Holocaust and WWII. Having all aspects of first living a normal life in Poland with every day problems, to retreating into a Ghetto and trying to save Vladek’s family, to being caught and put into Auschwitz, to finally fleeing to America, this graphic novel gives the entirety of a Holocaust survivor. It is important to note that continuously, the characters state that with all the books about the Holocaust, this version will help graphic novel audiences understand the true affect this terrifying period had on the Jews. It helped me immensely to have the graphics to not only understand this book, but to also help me get a better picture in mind for all the other books we have connected with this semester. The ironic symbol of the different races as different animals was truly effective in this book. It gave character to such races, especially the Jewish race being mice and the Nazi’s being cats. The Poles as pigs was an interesting symbol due to their continuous change of heart for the Jewish race. The relationship with Artie and his father, Vladek, was interesting as well. They had a definite love/hate relationship. For Vladek, the various characteristics of his time in Auschwitz as clearly apparent throughout every meeting period Artie had with him. It is interesting how Vladek could not give way to such a lifestyle even years after the year and the Holocaust. Maybe this was for him a punishment and guilt persona as he was a survivor. Part one and Part Two of Maus was truly an amazing graphic novel. I enjoyed it very much.

Out of all the books we have read so far, I like this one the most. Yes, it told the same story that we read before in the class but this book was different. I like that fact that it was a cartoon; it made it easier to read even though the font was small. There were times that it was to read because he made the pictures graphic to get his point across, which again he did a good job at getting his point across to reader and letting them know that even though this is a comic book it is still a serious topic. I also like how he used the different animals to portray each group of people. He made each animal connect with one another by making them animals that are known to not like each other.

Sarah Tatko
Dr. Hobbs
Eng-340
28 April 2009
Maus Peer Reviews
Renee:
I think Renee’s review is strong because she is honest about her feelings towards the book and is able to provide examples as to why she did not like it. She mentions that it takes away from the emotion of the topic and perhaps this is because, as a reader, we have to gather the emotion from the pictures and interpret them ourselves; unlike in other books where the author tells the reader out rightly. She also points out that this book explores many very aspects of the war from the personal, to the soldier perspective, to the camp, and after. I thought this was good to point out because it was a strength of the book even though she did not enjoy the book overall she was still able to recognize the different qualities it possesses.
Emily:
Emily and I shared similar feelings and thoughts about Maus. Her discussion about the different animal representations is very similar to mine and it is a good point to make because it is one of the stronger points of the novel. I also like how she talks about the relationship between Art and Vladek because that aspect of the book is something we didn’t really get to experience with some of the other readings we did.
Monefa:
I thought Monefa made some very interesting points that I did not pick up on in my own reading. For example, she talks about the aesthetics of the book a little bit such as the small print of the words. This could have been difficult for some people but I think it’s an advantage to have the pictures there at the same time to help supplement what the words are saying.

Jessica P.
Dr. Hobbs
ENG 340
4/27/09

Feedback on Reflections of MAUS I and II

Sarah Tatko:
This last book, Maus I and II, was Sarah’s favorite. In her reflection, she commented on how the book was full of symbolism as it included both words and pictures. Commenting on how the pictures were an excellent aspect, she also gave her opinion that all emotions had a part in this story. Thus, I agree that Spiegleman did not just include characteristics and events that make him and his families look good, he showed both positive and negative characteristics of everyone. She concluded with stating that this book was her favorite because it showed how the war affected more than just life, it affected families and their way of life. This is important to note because it differentiates this particular story from the other holocaust accounts our class has previously read.

Jennifer Merrigan:
Jennifer begins her reflection with commenting on how the style that Spielberg uses to tell his story is different than all the other accounts we have previously read and watched. She states that this story includes both the emotional trauma his parents went through during the Holocaust and the emotional aftermath of their remaining life. One interesting aspect that Jen includes is the fact that even though Spielberg did not personally suffer the physical and emotional trauma of the concentration camps, it still affected him. Instead, he had to deal with the unstable, emotional state the War left his parents in. Additionally, it seemed like he felt guilty for having a better life than his parents had, and not being in the camp with them.

Emily Belvo
Along with Sarah, Emily also stated that Maus I and II was her favorite book this semester. Her comment on how this book has all aspects of a survivor was interesting. I did not previously piece it together but now realize the truth as he lived a normal life in Poland before war, retreated to Ghetto, was transported to Auschwitz, and finally fled to America. Thus, before we read just concentrated sections of stories whose location was in one place, where this book featured a man who experienced it all. Emily also commented on the characters who were portrayed as animals. This gave the book an interesting twist as it provided opportunity for additional symbolism. I agree with Emily’s concluding remarks about the relationship between Spiegleman and his father. I thought it was interesting that he showed how their relationship really was and did not just include their positive characteristics to put them in a good light. This decision added humanity, emotion, and believability to the story.

I liked Maus the most out of all the works I saw or read. I loved it the most because it was a graphic novel and had animals for humans. And I enjoyed when it broke from that standard to show it was really about real people. That it wasn’t a fictional story. Plus the complexity of the story was moving. How it tackled both the father’s story, the son’s story, and how Maus was written. For me, this was the most moving story I read this semester. This might have to do with that I can connect with the graphic novel form better than just reading.

During the course of this semester and the seven books we had to read, I would have to say Maus: Part I & II was my favorite book out of all of them we have read. Art Spiegelman created a book that captured every aspect that we had covered throughout all of the other six books and various films that we went through in class. He captures the story of his own father, Vladek Spiegelman, from the beginning of the war, during the war and the various ghettos and camps he went to, and primarily after the war and what his father was like. The graphic novel effect that Art Spiegelman used helped me actually connect better with not only the characters, but with the whole premise of this historical event. It helped me connect also with the other books that we have read and gave me a better sense of the actions that took place during this time and the lay out of the camps and ghettos. I am also very interested in symbolism, so Spiegelman’s use of animals portraying the various races was very interesting. I truly enjoyed this graphic novel and hope it will be the syllabus for other classes of this genre.

The literature piece that I enjoyed the most was Maus. Even though it was the same information as from all the books that were read and movies that were watched; it told the story in a different way. I liked that it was in the form of a comic book. Books like these are easy to grab someone’s attention. The book depicted the horrific details of what went on in a light that made it not so gruesome and hard to stomach because of the foul treatment. I like this book also because it showed the author as he is while the book is being written and how he has to deal with his father who has been through the Holocaust. While most of the books we read dealt with only what happened to author during the Holocaust.

Response to Jennifer: Jennifer makes a good point on the way that Spiegelman portrays the Holocaust. She called it a literary cartoon, which is a good discription of the book. She points out how he is able to show the effects of the Holocaust and what happened to his parents through his drawings. I agree that the reader gets an emotional and artistic experience reading this book. I also agree with her opinion that this way of telling the story of the Holocaust can be a effective one.

Response to Erin: Erin enjoyed to book because it was a graphic novel, I must agree that because it was a graphic novel that it was more appealing to read, than the other books. She also talks about how the book broke up into sections to tell the father’s story, the son’s story and show how he went about writing the books.

Response to Emily: Emily states that this book covers all the aspect of a survivor from the Holocaust as a graphic novel. She also makes a good point when she said that throughout the book the characters makes it known that out of all the books that have been written about the Holocaust that this version will help the graphic audience get the full effect. I did not pick up on that point myself. I like that point.

My favorite work of literature is by far Maus. I have read that book too many times to remember, and I love the author’s works in general. It is amazing how Spieglman can take something so tramatic and not only make this wonderfully creative piece, but also be able to reach out to people on an emotional level unlike any other Holocaust work I have read.

Sara Tatko,
I think it's cool how everybody likes this book the most. So do I! I love though the fact that Sara is able to point out that there is an immense amout of symbolism in this book. It adds to the overall emotional affect that not only the reader gets, but you see that the author was affected by writing this book as well.

Emily Belvo,
I loke how Emily points out that in this book, you get a more emotional experience bacause of the visuals you get. She also points that it has helped her with the previous pieces she has read due to these visuals. I like that she has referred to this because I never thought about how it has, in many words, linked all the pieces together and kind of made this class whole because you now get the full experience of what all the works were referring to.
Renee,
I like how you were honest in saying that you didn't enjoy the piece. I am sad though that you don't share the same opinion with everybody and that you weren't able to get into it, especially the second one. The second one, in my opinion is better, and I think that is the book that one the Pulitzer as well, if not the two books as a whole. Maybe you can give it another shot down the road.

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~ Dr. Hobbs