For my outside source I found the article “Textual Analysis of Art Spiegelman’s Maus I amp Maus II” it is a research paper from an anonymous author. The author discusses how telling the story about the Holocaust was a good decision because it made it easy for readers to understand. He says “by using the comic strip Art Spiegelman is able to make the transition from past to present very smooth and easy to understand.” Throughout the entire comic Spiegelman’s father, Vladek goes from talking directly to his son and then to talking about his experiences in Auschwitz. The author believes that it is not necessary for Spiegelman to use dates because the reader is able to whether or not he is talking about the past or present through the drawings. The author of this essay believes that Speigelman’s purpose was not to just retell history, but to attach us emotionally to the Holocaust. He says “through actual pictures, maps, and drawings from Vladek we gain a sense of how genuine and personal the story is. Small details like the rats and worms Vladek must put up with when he goes into hiding bring his narrative to life. The detailed drawing of actual building in the camps like the floor plan of one of the execution building are a blunt way to describe how horrible conditions were.” The author believes that the comic does not downplay the events of the Holocaust at all; he actually thinks that it accurately examines the history of the events. The author also analyzes why Speigelman chose to use animals in place of people in the comic. He believes that Art did this because the animals distracted the readers from the person pain of everyone in the story. I think that I will be able to use this source as a lens for my essay.
