Vanshika Unveiled

While reading Maus by Art Spiegalman, I have noticed a recurring theme of dehumanization both literally, and figuratively. But this happens all around the world too. In Maus, the Nazis treated the Jews like they were worth nothing. From starving them, to punishing them for the smallest things, and even killing them as if they were insignificant, the Nazis systematically stripped away the humanity of the Jewish population. Even the verbal abuse hurled at the Jews by the Nazis with insensitive remarks reflects how the Jews were seen as “animals” without thoughts or feelings. This is a little similar to the Israel and Gaza situation where 16,200+ Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, and the way Israel placed Gaza under hermetic closure, blocking access to any resources, is similar to the way the Jews were cut off and their belongings taken away. The Jews portrayed as Mice throughout the graphic novel represents the Nazis’ dehumanizing perspective towards the Jews. With the Nazis depict...

In the graphic novel   Maus , Art Spiegelman uses imagery on page 33 to foreshadow the violence that’s about to come, but also attempts, in his own way, to challenge the power of the Nazis.     Throughout the novel so far, I have noticed that there isn’t an image of the  full  nazi symbol. There are either animals blocking it, like on the cover; or part of the symbol cut off, like on page 32. This wasn’t obvious to me until I looked over on page 33 where the symbol is shown on 5 of the 6 panels, and on all of them the Nazi symbol wasn’t fully shown and was partially blocked.    The censorship of the Nazi symbol could be because of a multitude of reasons, including the intention to show readers that the Nazis had not reached their full power yet. With only showing part of the symbol, it creates a meaning to the readers that even with only half of the symbol, or half the power, the Nazis  still  carry so much power and can create so much destru...