Monday, February 3, 2014
Traumas from Father to Son...
Certainly the Holocaust was so traumatic that anyone who experienced it would carry it around with them. Especially a relationship like father and son. The son learns most of what it knows from the Father. Any type of baggage as severe as the Holocaust would easily transition from Father to son, abet unintentionally. I think if the father carries a chip on his shoulder it is very probable that the son will get that chip as well. The graphic novel format is extremely affective. I think the cat and mouse characters help portray a second-hand account of the event. It creates this atmosphere of unrealness which makes the story slightly more bearable to take. The graphic novel also shows us a better representation of how the characters are dressed, their physical expressions and how they interact with each other. Instead of leaving all the imagery up to the mind the graphic novel provides us with a structure of how the conversations and situations are physically playing out and this creates a more accurate picture of what is actually occurring.
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I like your analysis of the father/son relationship. Even though Vladek and Art are estranged, the burdens that Vladek has lived with since the Holocaust definitely permeated Art's childhood. Art's talking to Vladek probably also pushed more of his feelings onto Art. The cat and mouse characters definitely diminish the overall reality of Maus, but it does help tell the tale. It makes the Holocaust less harsh but also allows us to witness first hand Vladek's experience. Though the use of cat and mice does make the events seem less historical, Art's telling of everything he and his father do (including their faults and short-comings) push the novel back into the realm of realism. The characters, though animals, have the same feelings and do the same actions as the readers. It brings back the point that Maus is about the Holocaust experienced by real people.
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