Exploring the themes in MAUS - unedited

Exploring the themes in MAUS

What are the main themes in MAUS?

•   Racism

•   Betrayal

•   Survival

•   Love

•   War

What is Art Speigelman saying about each theme?

•   Racism: racism is bad and can control a persons life and change people's views dramatically. Such as for when Vladek in present times was in the car with his son and his sons partner when a black hitchhiker asks for a ride. Vladek is fearing for his groceries as he has views on these black people that they will steal your property and so on.

•   Betrayal: within the book, betrayal is shown a lot such as how every one would seem to fend for themselves and only care about their lives during the time. Shown in the quotation, "Friends? Your friends? If you lock them together in a room with no food for a week... Then you could see what it is, friends!" pg 6 or on pg 243 when Vladek and his friends are made to do a death march. His friends were planning to pay the Nazi guard off so they could run away, "'It's all set, Vladek. Help pay off the guards and join us.' 'Ach. How can you trust the Germans?!' - at night was a commotion. 8 or 9 ran off... And of course you couldn't trust."

•   Survival: conjoined a lot with betrayal, Vladek goes through many things to help him survive as betrayal can be joined with survival by the fact that you have to live by not trusting people as easily during the time of the holocaust.

•   Love: the love keeps Vladek and Anja strong throughout the Holocaust as they try to survive for each other. There is also love that Vladek has between certain friends of his where he helps his friends whom he trusts with his good skills in survival throughout the Holocaust.

•   War: the war is bad and affects everyone physically, psychologically and spiritually during and after the Holocaust. Vladek has many problems with his heart and diabetes and a lifelong case of Typhus.

How does he explore these themes? (techniques)

•   Racism: by the use of language between one another, interactions between characters and characterization art Speigelman used to explore the important themes of the book, MAUS.

•   Betrayal: sequencing of events, characterization and interactions with the characters, Speigelman is able to show the theme of Betrayal as the characters need to find extreme evidence to know that they can trust one another.

•   Survival: art Speigelman has used a instensive use of characterisation and relationships or interactions between each character to show the length of Vladek's survival throughout the Holocaust.

•   Love: shown by language choices, and relationships between characters, Speigelman is also able to show love which is an important theme of the novel as it is what helped Vladek survive in some ways when it was joined with luck.

•   War: Speigelmans artwork, language and perspective has caused the most important theme of war and the holocaust as you are taken back to the past of Vladek and to show how Vladek made it and how he is still alive now.