The Gravity of Simplicity

In Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics, the basic theory around the comic/graphic novel is addressed. We are able to see, read, and understand the comic in a larger context while also examining the process that goes into its creation. One idea presented in Understanding Comics that was especially prevalent in Art Spiegelman’s Maus was the disparity between realism and cartoon style illustration. The choice of cartoon animation in Maus served as an effective tool to evoke emotion from the reader on many levels. The choice to use animals as a character symbol brings countless other thoughts and opinions that the reader now has to consider. We also are able to get these character’s through the context of their dress. For example,  old Vladek looks much the same as young Vladek, save a pair of glasses and a flannel shirt. These details, while seemingly small, convey the message that years have passed and that old Vladek is no longer a Rudolph Valentino type.

Another very effective outcome of the choice to use cartoon style animals in the place of realistic humans is the surprising connection created between the reader and the subject matter. Choosing to create a story around this period of time was a bold one. Often times, an audience can become so inundated with the facts and figures surrounding Hitler’s rise to power, the cultural and religious genocide, and the spark of World War II that all humanity is torn from the subject. When we are taught about this time period, or when visiting monuments and archives dedicated to those lost and those who survived, one is to be reverent. The problem is that reverence doesn’t necessarily evoke the type of thoughtfulness needed to truly relate to a piece.  Spiegelman states that “When we abstract an image through cartooning, we’re not so much eliminating details as we are focusing on specific details. By stripping down an image to its essential ‘meaning’, an artist can amplify that meaning in a way that realistic art can’t” (30). This concept is easily applied to Maus by the animal representation of each group within the story. We see both the authority figures and non-Jewish Polish citizens represented by a pig. This is compared to the Jewish mouse, and the Anti-Semitic cat. While these details seemingly take away from the humanity of the piece, they actually allow the reader to shed pre-conceived notions in regards to this time. Through this shedding, the story becomes new, emotionally relatable, and artistic. The simplicity of the illustration allows the reader to take in the concept in its entirety from a humanistic approach, rather than a historical study.