I've never been a big fan of graphic novels.
I've always thought they were way too overdramatic with the BAM! and POW! effects, which in my opinion took away from the message of the pieces. Although boring at times, I preferred the word-only, chapter-by-chapter novels that allowed me conjure up images to match the text.
Maus, however, has completely changed my opinion on the effectiveness of graphic novels.
Not only is the story brought to life with the rather vibrant black-and-white drawings, but also through the use of text bubbles and rectangles to display text, and some text and images escaping the confines of the squares.
The novel, much to my surprise, conveyed much deeper meanings then expected. To begin, the The use of animals to represent Jews, Polish, and Nazis is indeed very symbolic, as the Jews are mice and the Nazis are cats and the power struggle of the two is rather infamous.
When looking at this section of Maus, the true essence of the impactfulness of this novel is understood.
In the picture at the top, the Germans, or cats in this case, are seen brutally abusing the Jews. There is a mix in which of the two groups is black or white to symbolize the disarray of this time period. Not every Jew was "good" (white) and not ever German was "bad" (black). Many Germans were forced to do this against their will, and, on the other hand, some Jews were like the "the rat that turned my (Vladek's) family over to the gestapo." As you continue down, you see the fence between Vladek and the chaotic beatings, which shows that while some were imprisoned by the German, some did walk free. However, even those Jews were still under constant scrutiny and fear because their Jewish heritage would never leave them, as shown by the Star of David Vladek beneath him. Finally, the bottom picture shows Valdek and a couple others staring down at the beatings going on from a safe place above. This aerial view gives Vladek the superiority, however, the black draws attention to the guilt he probably had for leaving the other Jews to die.
Maus has definitely given me some insight in the power of a graphic novel and has truly captivated me with this riveting story.
I've always thought they were way too overdramatic with the BAM! and POW! effects, which in my opinion took away from the message of the pieces. Although boring at times, I preferred the word-only, chapter-by-chapter novels that allowed me conjure up images to match the text.
Maus, however, has completely changed my opinion on the effectiveness of graphic novels.
Not only is the story brought to life with the rather vibrant black-and-white drawings, but also through the use of text bubbles and rectangles to display text, and some text and images escaping the confines of the squares.
The novel, much to my surprise, conveyed much deeper meanings then expected. To begin, the The use of animals to represent Jews, Polish, and Nazis is indeed very symbolic, as the Jews are mice and the Nazis are cats and the power struggle of the two is rather infamous.
When looking at this section of Maus, the true essence of the impactfulness of this novel is understood.
In the picture at the top, the Germans, or cats in this case, are seen brutally abusing the Jews. There is a mix in which of the two groups is black or white to symbolize the disarray of this time period. Not every Jew was "good" (white) and not ever German was "bad" (black). Many Germans were forced to do this against their will, and, on the other hand, some Jews were like the "the rat that turned my (Vladek's) family over to the gestapo." As you continue down, you see the fence between Vladek and the chaotic beatings, which shows that while some were imprisoned by the German, some did walk free. However, even those Jews were still under constant scrutiny and fear because their Jewish heritage would never leave them, as shown by the Star of David Vladek beneath him. Finally, the bottom picture shows Valdek and a couple others staring down at the beatings going on from a safe place above. This aerial view gives Vladek the superiority, however, the black draws attention to the guilt he probably had for leaving the other Jews to die.
Maus has definitely given me some insight in the power of a graphic novel and has truly captivated me with this riveting story.
Esha Good job! I really liked how you expressed the way you feel about books like these, and then proceeded to relate it to Maus. I also like the way you analyzed the page. For example, when you not only talked about the position of the characters and how they are significant, but also how the page related to the actual war really showed the level of deeper thinking that was put into this post. I enjoyed the post and hope to read more in the future.
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