Book Bento 2023 Maus

In the graphic novel Maus, Spiegelman uses the Jewish Star or Star of David symbol to show Jewish Identity and Judaism. Nazis were beating up Jews if they had papers or not. Vladek trys to remain unseen by the Nazis and is seen in the Star of David which this symbol means to be a Jew. On page 80, a panel of Vladek appears to be in danger of Nazis.

In the graphic novel Maus, Spiegelman uses the symbol a mouse trap in the chapter title. This chapter title shows how the Nazi Germany attempt to exterminate the Jewish race. In this chapter Jews were lured into a 'mouse trap'. The 'Mouse trap' symbolises the concentration camps, which Jews were violently murdered. Jews percieved as mice which also considered this a “mouse trap.”

In the graphic novel Maus, Spiegelman uses animals as metaphors for the Nazi hierachical view of the world. In Maus, Germans are portrayed as cats because cats are vicious, stealthy and hunt mice. They also are afriad of dogs and dogs are potrayed as Amercians in the story.

In the graphic novel Maus, Spiegelman uses animals as metaphors. In the book, Spiegelman uses mice as the Jews. He uses mice because mice are innocent, weak and hunted by cats.

In the graphic novel Maus, the theme family and identiy are shown. Identity is shown in the story though the charcters using masks to hide their Jewish identity. Throughout the novel, Jewish people would try to identify as a different identity, such as Polish, which the graphic novel would illustrate by showing a mouse placing a pig mask on. But eventually the mask would have to come off and the person would still be who they truly are. Family is shown in the story many times when Art is unsure of his place in his family.

In the graphic novel Mau, Spiegelman uses dogs as Americans in the story. Dogs are friendly animals and loyal to cats. This is why Dogs are Americans and Cats are Germans.

This song “I Dreamed A Dream by Les Miserables represents the graphic novel Maus. In the beginning of the song, the line, "There was a time when men were kind, when their voices were soft and their words inviting". Although this line is about men, this fits perfectly as representing people. Another line is, "There was a time... then it all went wrong". I think those lyrics really represent how the people were before the Holocaust, and then how everything went down during the Holocaust. In Maus, Vladek and his family were doing really well before the Holocaust. Vladek and Anja were in love and their family was happy but then the Holocaust ruined it. Then it says, "But the tigers come at night, with their voices soft as thunder. As they tear your hope apart, as they turn your dream to shame". This shows when the Nazis came and gradually killed their dreams, taking away everything that their family. I think the song “I Dreamed A Dream just fits the whole book, how their dreams got killed by the Holocaust.