The Significance of Masks in Maus

 

 

   In the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman, the use of masks by the characters is very significant. Maus is the story of Art's father, Vladek Spiegelman, and his life as a Polish Jew who was persecuted and sent to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp. His father survived, and here we have the gripping story that won a Pulitzer Prize and many other awards. Much controversy has surrounded this work, with critics complaining about everything from such a serious topic being conveyed through the graphic novel medium to the characters being portrayed as animals. Maus is a different kind of Holocaust tale, because it portrays the Jews as mice, the Germans as cats, the Poles as pigs, the Americans as dogs, and the French as frogs. Even through the use of animal identities, the use of masks in this story is very important. I believe the use of masks by the characters in Maus is very significant to the telling of the story.

 

 



 

   As I mentioned above, each nationality is portrayed as a different animal. Throughout the story, the reader learns about the struggle the Jews went through just to survive. The ones that survived had to be smart and innovative. I believe this is how Vladek Spiegelman survived, because he had connections and he had ingenuity. The most significant times in Maus when masks are used is whenever the Jews need to emerge into society. They have to wear pig masks to disguise the fact that they are mice (Jews). In the above panel, Vladek is trying to get back to Poland via train, but he knows he will not be able to get a ride if he is discovered to be a Jew. Vladek dons a pig mask in order to be thought a Polish traveler, and he talks the train man into letting him ride. The image in the last panel of this page was very moving to me because it is of Vladek holding the pig mask and looking forlorn as if he is thinking, "Is this how we must live now?"

 

 



   In the second book of Maus, Art Spiegelman is depicted at his drawing board some time after the first book of Maus has been published. Art is depicted in this part of the book as a human wearing a mouse mask instead of a mouse. I think this is very significant in a storytelling aspect because the idea is that the war is over, people of all nationalities and religious beliefs are accepted, and there is no reason to have to put on the "mask" of being anything but a Jew. I believe Art depicted himself as wearing a mask in this part of the story because he is saying he is a human just like everyone else, but he is first and foremost a Polish Jew.

   I really enjoyed this graphic novel, more than any we have read so far in this class. Contrary to some critics, I believe the use of animals as the characters is very effective. It helps the reader distinguish from the different races of people without having to go into too much detail every time a character speaks. I also believe the use of masks in Maus is very important, depicting the idea of hiding one's identity in a time of crisis.