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Maus: A New Type of Nonfiction

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The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the nonfiction genre is the biography. A thick book full of pages about the life of a specific individual. Barely any visual aids, if any, and a monotonous voice throughout that makes these great to fall asleep to. In summation, I had a very rigid and bland view on the nonfiction genre before reading Maus by Art Spiegelman. This graphic novel is so entertaining that it was hard for me to believe that it is nonfiction. I did not think that nonfiction books could be anything but a glamorized version of a textbook. However, Spiegelman was able to prove everyone that nonfiction was not such an inflexible genre, and could tell a story instead of simply informing.  

 He incorporated many other creative elements to make his story different from all the other Holocaust tales in existence. Firstly, by making the characters animals, he adds a somewhat otherworldly aspect to this retelling of his own father's experiences. I think that this was a smart choice to help broaden the range of his audience. This way, younger readers can also read this story without being exposed to an excessive amount of violence and details. I still remember learning about the Holocaust year after year during school, and the photos of dead, emaciated bodies piled on top of one another never failed to horrify me. I am sure that it was supposed to teach me about just how cruel and inhumanely these people were treated during that point in history, but all it did was traumatize me with images that I can now never forget. Obviously, there are still scenes within Maus that are gruesome in nature, but making the characters animals allows more room for detachment. In addition, by using the timeless cat and mouse analogy, Spiegelman is able to emphasize the Nazi mentality of viewing Jews as a completely different species from them. In reality, they were all humans, one and the same. 

 There is a quote in Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud that I think perfectly sums up the techniques Spiegelman utilized throughout his graphic novel: "By de-emphasizing the appearance of the physical world in favor of the idea of form, the cartoon places itself in the world of concepts" (41). Maus describes events that occurred in the real world by using forms to conceptualize it. The material being used is still heavy, it is just not as real. It is a common occurrence nowadays for the public to become desensitized to traumatic events if they happen repetitively. For example, mass shootings or police brutality are both things that people get used to hearing after some time. It is the sad and honest truth, and I think that Spiegelman uses this fact to his advantage. He tells this story that has been told over and over again with a new lens, making it seem like new. This prevents readers from becoming numb to this significant part of history, and simplifying it in images that are easier to digest and comprehend.Overall, I believe that Spiegelman accurately achieved the notion that when the subject matter is as complex and serious as this, it is important to portray it in a manner that can reach the most people.
McCloud, Scott. The Invisible Art Understanding Comics. HarperCollins Publishers, 1994.


      Spiegelman, Art. Maus. Pantheon Books, 1992.

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