http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/bassr/218/projects/oliver/MausbyAO.htm
Forgive my blog for being late, please.
I found this article, which is apparently an electronic essay, discussing MAUS by Art Spiegelman.
The essay speaks about three different subjects pertaining to the graphic novel: Techniques of Remembering the Holocaust by Second Generation Jews, The Unusual Structure of MAUS, and The Holocaust as a Demonstration of Man's Brutal Nature.
In the first topic, the author, Antonio S. Oliver discusses the widely known theory that the Holocaust may not ever be properly represented, due to its grave tragic history that killed so many, and because of this, many try to still remember it with respect.
He praises Art Spiegelman’s work in narratives through the graphic novels of MAUS and MAUS II, by saying that Spiegelman complements his father's narrative by presenting a portrayal of the life and struggles of second generation Jewish people whose existences are extremely influenced by the Holocaust despite not being born during its occurrence, due to the tragic loss of family members to the Nazi reign. Oliver says that this trait separates MAUS from other Holocaust narratives, because their limits can only offer one side of the story, one view of the event, one version of the pain.
The second topic of Oliver’s electronic essay discusses the interesting and unusual structure of MAUS itself. For being a graphic novel, which is not seen often, it makes it interesting enough, and even more so for dealing with such a subject as the Holocaust and Jewish entrapment in Nazi concentration camps. Also, because of Spiegelman’s use of animals such as cat and mouse to portray German and Jews, Oliver finds deeper meaning and praises it, since the Nazis often referred to the Jews as the ‘vermin of society.’
The third topic of Oliver’s essay talks about The Holocaust as a Demonstration of Man's Brutal Nature. In this, he relates the millions of deaths linked with the Holocaust to the deaths of the Nagasaki Bombing. He relates them not only by the deaths, but by the recollection of memories from the survivors of either experience, which typically include disgust toward the brutalities that had occurred.
