The Shoah and the Second Generation:
A Step Further:
Conclusion & Bibliography
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The Shoah and the Second Generation:A Step Further: |
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| Click here for a viewing-enhanced version of this hypermedia project. |
Maus is a complex work that weaves together pain and respect, father and son, facts and memories, and the unrepresentable and graphic representation. These combined elements produce many layers subject to interpretations, most of which are direct results of themes common to Holocaust literature and psychological profiles on the children of survivors.
Spiegelman's work is cathartic in nature, an attempt to come to terms with a stark reality which he did not experience first-hand, but that has carved a dent in his psyche and life. The additional level--brought into the project by his troubled relationship with his father--showcases an additional source of sorrow.
The avenue through which he decides to express his feelings--a graphical novel--not only contrasts with his father's technique of forced repression, but also demonstrates how the second generation comes to terms with the Shoah through artistic means.
In the process, Spiegelman lends credibility to an often-stigmatized genre, the comic book. Using black and white drawings to marvelously contrast his father's life with his own--including reflexive episodes as well--Spiegelman succeeds in creating a moving representation fit to honor not only the six million Jews who perished at the hands of Hitler's mass extermination policies, but equally as importantly, his father's memory.
Furthermore, Spiegelman has remained true to his heritage and original plans by refusing to give in to the overcommercialization of his oeuvre. Maus has been critically acclaimed, but a movie version has not been made, licensed apparel has not been allowed, and the "bastardization" of his catharsis has not been materialized.
The only Maus-related product since the book's publication has been the CD-ROM, a combination of the original work and hypermedia features that aid in the comprehension and the humanization of the original work. The multimedia edition allows the reader to complement his experience by listening to Vladek's story first-hand, accessing research materials on topics such as Nazi propaganda and the death camps, and listen to Spiegelman himself answer questions regarding the book and his life. These features combine to make the Maus CD-ROM an enhanced edition of his masterwork, perhaps the one he would have made had the technology been readily available during the process of the composition of Maus.
Despite the graphic novel's success and critical praise, and the CD-ROM's more thorough integration of research, audio, text, and visual elements, the topic of the Holocaust remains a challenge for would-be representers. The episode's savage inhumanity constructs an obstacle difficult to overcome, but necessary to address--not only for second generation survivors like Art Spiegelman, but for humankind itself.
| Introduction |
Graphical Representation: The Unusual Structure of Maus |
| Father and Son: Maus's "Story Within the Story" | Second Generation Trauma: The Post-Holocaust Experience |