Maus

Art Spiegelman has spoken to the world in a new light.This is truly a riveting piece of work, it is terrifying and enlightening. Bringing WWII and the atrocities of the Holocaust out into the open, it is deeply disturbing and yet lightened in some way.This piece of enlightening literature makes a particularly difficult time to understand a little easier, with the simplification of characters.The emotional weight the subject matter of this piece bears, would not be as readable, had the characters not been simplified stylizations of animals. After all thats all we really are especially in a time of war, when we separate ourselves from our humanity.The dialect between Art and his father is convincing, his father is very bitter from his past horrors, understandable and yet deeply saddening at the same time.The experiences that must have been faced by these people are unmatched by the average persons wildest nightmares.The story of Jewish desensitization and dehumanization is something that I find difficult to put into words.These events were not just an insult to the Jewish people but rather an insult to humanity and should be seen as such. People have become complacent to the possibility of such recurrences and that is a scary prospect for humanity. People from every walk of life have been indirectly affected by these events in some way and that is truly awful. Maus almost serves as a warning to humanity in that it show the potential beastly nature of humans. The experiences though separate were indirectly shared. The emotional turmoil of the prisoners is to be expected and most commonly the side that is seen. But the same applies for the other side unfortunately. The German officers entered this job as servicemen doing the right patriotic thing for their country and yet instead they became the inflictors of this cruelty by the order of a higher rank. The emotional turmoil they must have faced in their freedom must have been devastating. This is the reason that WWII was considered the first total war- it was a psychological war against the people too.The separation of people and race in these times was horrendous. People lost their compassion altogether in order to save themselves.There are however exceptions to the rule and kindness is revealed, Vladek had an old lady give Anja his letters, which is a slight glimmer of hope in the darkest of times.There was also a time when a lady and her family allowed Vladek and Anja into their home in the absence of her husband.Eventually they had to leave as the soldiers were coming to inspect the houses, however this compassion is unmistakeable. This book is particularly difficult for me to read in that these events hit close to home and they move me deeply. These innocent victims of greed and power experienced the most heinous acts committed by man on man yet, the necessity for this book is essential, I personally do not know if I could handle Vol. 2. Having said that, fantastic book for what it is communicating, the justifications for its high commendation are obvious. The moral of he story is vitally important for all people of the world to know.