Maus chapter 3

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Chapter 2 - Honeymoon (revision)

Revision

Why has Spiegelman included this part? How could it link to postmodernism and notions of truth (pp. 41/42)?

Spiegelman settles our attention on the fact that it matters with which eye (perspective) you look at something!

Visual motif: circles and spotlights

“Circular motifs do have a privileged role in the book, if nothing else, because it’s integral to the swastika logo-design. Near the beginning of the first volume, on page 35, it’s used rather clearly. Right after the page that has the Jews in the train talking about what’s happening in Germany, the swastika is used as kind of a moon hanging over these various visual events, in a chapter called “The Honeymoon”.

And just two pages after the swastika-moon, on page 37, Vladek and Anja are seen bonding - they’re an item, a real couple. They’re dancing in a spotlight, and their movements in a sense reference the swastikas that you just saw.

“And of course, circles are always useful for focusing meaning. Spotlight” (Spiegelman, Meta maus 183 - 187)

Chapter 3 - Prisoner of War

Who are the pigs? Why did Spiegelman choose pigs?

Spiegelman explains....

In earlier centuries, the Poles were the Jews’ salvation, so I wasn’t necessarily trying to find a pejorative - but trying to find an animal outside the cat-mouse food chain, and I found Porky Pig - and the whole peaceable kingdom of funny animal comics - a useful model, since Porky’s one of the toon gang, alongside Bugs Bunny and Daffy.”“Those dualities of piggy/swine and mousie/rodent only enrich the simple mindedness of my basic conceit in Maus.” (Meta Maus, 121)

Jewish garments

Yarmulke or Kippah

A brimless cap, usually made of cloth, traditionally worn by Jewish males to fulfil the customary requirement that the head be covered.

Tallit

a garment, prayer shawl, worn by those of Jewish faith as a symbol of communal solidarity and devotion to their god.

Jewish garments

Tefillin

A set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Typically worn during prayers.

Interview with Art Spiegelman

“When I began to work on the long Maus my first impulse had me drawing large cats and small mice. By the time I solved the problem to my satisfaction, I’d minimized the disparity, so that the cats and mice became, more or less, overt masks. I liked working with a metaphor that didn’t work all that well though I certainly didn’t want my metaphor to work as an endorsement of Nazi ideology, or as an implicit plea for sympathy, like, ‘Aw, lookit the cute defenseless little mouse.’ To equalize them in scale didn’t mean to give them equal power, but it didn’t put the mice necessarily at the total biological disadvantage  (Meta Maus)

Group Work

Prepare one or two PowerPoint slides on your assigned page. 

Your slides should include specific references to the page.

Try to present at least three persuasive points about your given page. For example:

“Spiegelman depicts …. to highlight….”

“In this panel, the visual motif of ….. appears to…..”

“The narration used in this page is significant as…..”

Aspects you can discuss

Narrative perspective 

whose perspective, unreliable narration, intertwining narratives, postmodernism

Characterization 

depiction of the characters (facial expressions/emanata), composition  

Structure 

size and shape of the panels, the way they're structured,  how you read the panels, how they are linked, flashback, etc.

Symbolism, motifs, themes

swastika, spotlight, stationary bike, train, grid (see a list of the themes on the next slide)

Setting

location / where the story takes place

Language

speech bubble, voice-over, thoughts, dialogue, tone, word choice, text in bold/bigger font

Drawing style, graphic weight

sketchy/detailed, contrast of black/ white/ shades of grey

Themes:

• Past and present intertwined
• Family
• Betrayal
• Racism
• Trauma (Holocaust survivor)
• Guilt & Blame

Themes:

• Survivor's instinct
• Race & Class
• Importance of Luck
• Human interdependence
• Morality

Example

The drawing style is significant as it shows that Vladek does not want to remember this. The drawing style is sketchy, with harsh lines and hardly any details. This vague depiction does not only show that this happened quickly, but also that Vladek does not want to remember this traumatic event clearly.

Group Work (30 minutes)

Group 1 - page 49

Group 2 - page 50

Group 3 - page 51

Group 4 - page 52

Group 5 - page 53

Group 6 - page 54

Group 7 - page 55

Group 8 - page 56

Group work - Presentations

Share your screen with the class.

Discuss your main points.

I will create one Presentation that contains all your slides.

Homework

• Read chapter 4. Indicate which of the pages you want to discuss in more detail. 
• Answer the questions about relevant panels in chapter 3, which will help you prepare for the textual analysis. Upload your answers to Classroom (individual task / in pairs / groups of max 4 students).