Saturday, April 10, 2010
Comics
In the past, books that I have read about the Holocaust have all been the same. They're still interesting because some tell a different story but they're all in the same format. Most of them, though, tell the same story from the same point of view and at some point people probably would like to read something a little different from the books we were always given in middle school and high school. In this way, I feel that Art Spiegelman did a great job in kind of creating a different way to tell the story. I felt it was a lot easier to read and yet it was still a good way of telling the story of one man’s experience to a much broader audience because most kids would, probably, rather read something like “Maus” than something like a textbook but yet the book still appeals to an older audience because it's a true story. The author finds a way to make the book seem real by giving the characters and pictures a lot of detail but by using animals such as mice and pigs it makes it seem less harsh like we discussed in class. What is your opinion about putting this story of the Holocaust into comic form?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with you that most stories about the Holocaust that I have read have been in the same format. I really enjoyed reading Maus Vol. 1 because of the comic style. At first, I was real skeptical of the book but I soon lost that skepticism when I started to read his book. The comic style of Maus made it really easy to read and I like how he made all of the characters in the story some sort of animal.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right when you say that "using animals such as mice and pigs it makes it seem less harsh," but I feel like there was much more meaning behind it. Jews were represented as mice because they are very non-threatening and usually the victims of traps or experiments. The Nazis as cats is perfect because they have complete control over the Jews and seemed to take joy in torturing them.
ReplyDeleteI think graphic memoir is an awesome way to exploit this story to others. Some people may have avoided learning about the topic because it is so sensitive and this is a great way for them to understand what survivors of the Holocaust go through every day and what all of those brave prisoners had to endure. I wasn't even aware of the medium of graphic memoir and had never heard of this being done. As we learn about it, I see how effective it can be and look forward to reading Persepolis and maybe even some others after this class concludes.
ReplyDelete