Maus

            Art Spiegelman’s Maus is amazing. His choice to create a graphic novel to tell his father’s survival story is perfect for reaching younger audiences. Almost every seventh grader in all of my classes has read this story, and they all enjoyed it as well! I think Spiegelman made a very clever choice using mice and cats to portray the Jews and Nazis. By distinguishing the difference between the two groups of people in such an obvious way, younger readers can more easily comprehend the complexity of the issues that lead to World War II. In our culture, cats and mice fighting, is a well-known feud. We don’t think anything of it, we are just reminded of Tom and Jerry, and their crazy hijinks. That makes it easier for students to translate the ingrained hate between those animals, to the hate that Hitler inspired in his Nazis. The cartoons also make it easier to accept the violence that occurred. The content of Spiegelman’s comic is hard to face, but it is something that can’t be ignored either. Spiegelman’s delivery of his father’s harrowing escape from death is perfect to introduce facts of World War II.

            I would teach this novel in English, social studies, or history class. There are endless possibilities for teaching this graphic novel. In English, it would be great to analyze his style and have students create their own mini-graphic novel. It would also be beneficial to discuss with students why Spiegelman chose to portray his father’s story in this style, especially during a narrative unit. Style, point of view, and framing are just a few of the techniques that Spiegelman uses in Maus. Social studies classes could analyze the impact of World War II on the economy in Germany, and areas where there were large Jewish communities. I think the fact that this graphic novel is about a Jewish man surviving the Holocaust, is reason enough to use it for a history unit. Plus, it is a graphic novel, and a nice supplemental text for any class to use.