One of the important themes showed
by Art Spiegelman in the book Maus is
racism and how it impact the characters. The story shows the difficult
experience of characters during Holocaust and how it shapes their personality
and outlook in life. The focus of this research paper is to answer the
question: how is racism portrayed in Maus and if racism only applies to Nazis?
A good way to see how racism is applied in the book is to look into actions of
the characters and also identify if racism can only happen to Nazis.
A good way to understand how racism
happens in the story is looking at particular scenes in the book and also the
whole impact it creates to characters. This would help readers understand how
racism shapes the experience of Vladek during the Holocaust and also after the
event where his son would experience the same problem. Using this as basis can
help discover important ways to show the impact and problem caused by racism to
Jews during the Holocaust.
Examining the text, racism is
portrayed to be violent. This means that the practice of racism by the Germans
helped shape the Holocaust. It is violent because the Jews like Vladek, Anja
and Mala were subjected to harsh treatment. They were imprisoned in camps where
many people die. Also, they saw how other Jews are killed because the Germans
believe they are a better race. Due to the actions of the Nazis during the
Holocaust, surviving became a challenge for the characters in the story. This
can be seen with Vladek as he tries to recall the suffering he experienced (Spiegelman,
Book I, Chapter 4 ).
Racism can also be portrayed as destructive
both individually and as a group. This means that the practice of discrimination
against race serve as a tool that can be used to promote difficult situations.
Applying this to the piece, the individual difficulties can clearly be seen not
only to the survivors of the Holocaust but to the second generation as well.
For example, there are different impacts that the situation created to
characters like Vladek, Anja and Mala. They are characters who have reacted to
the situation differently. Vladek showed behavior that is disconnected and
continues to be harsh about what happened in the past (Spiegelman, Book I,
Chapter 5). On the other hand, Anja and Mala remain to be different. Mala
accepted the fate of what happened but Anja, due to the suffering and inability
to adapt caused her to commit suicide.
The destructive nature of racism can
also be seen throughout the group. The impact of the Holocaust clearly prove to
be difficult for Art as he tries to recall the different ways his father showed
painful memories because of the suffering he has faced. That is why the
relationship as a father-and-son was difficult and problematic. In a way, the
problems created by this situation are the result of the Holocaust and the
unfair treatment the characters were subjected to. This has then passed on to
the next generation where the children of survivors such as Art tried to find
ways to cope with the experience his father faced after what has happened. The
feelings of resentment, anger and bitterness remained to be important in
shaping the identity of Art growing up.
The development of trauma is also a
way that racism is shown in the book. This means that the Holocaust survivors
brought their negative experience with them after the event and had an effect
in their identity as a person. The trauma and how it is represented can be seen
on various scenes in the book wherein Vladek and Art try to share what happened
during this painful and difficult time. A good way to describe this
relationship comes from Puneet where she mentions, “Maus is part of
second-generation literature that strives to both learn about the influence of
the first-generation’s past on their present, and to work through and
comprehend their relationship and identity in the context of this traumatic and
absent past” (4). This quote means that Art wanted to show the story of his
father and how he and other survivors were able to overcome all the challenges
and obstacles during the Holocaust.
Lastly, racism is portrayed to be
continuous and never stops. This means that racism still continues even after
the problem of Holocaust is already over In the story, it shows that even if
Vladek survived the Nazis, his identity remains to be influenced by bitterness
and anger. The process of racism happens because his perspective of German
perspective was passed down to the next generation. The continuity of racism
happens when Art experiences tries to look in the past of his father. In
particular, Leventhall argues that “Maus
rewrites the cultural norm and invents a new discursive space to address the
question of Jewish trauma, guilt, shame and, perhaps more importantly, the
transmission of these conflicts from one generation to the next, especially in
the case that they are not sufficiently worked-through” (1). This means that
the practice of racism will not stop but rather create ways to transmit its
effects to the next generation.
Does
Racism Apply to Nazis Alone?
Based on the story provided by Spiegelman, the important part that
shows racism comes from the Germans. The Nazis were portrayed in the story as
brutal, aggressive and promotes discrimination against the Jews. The things
they did in the concentration camp influenced the people to believe that they
are mad and the actions of the Nazi regime clearly wanted all the Jews dead.
Those people who survived found the Germans to be at fault during the whole
incident. They saw their actions as bad and sought for justice to the killings
that were committed. Arguably, Spiegelman’s story remains to show the practice
of racism not only by the Nazis but of his fellow Jews as well. Though readers may
only recognize the perspective of his father Vladek and his experience growing
up after what has happened in the German Holocaust.
Examining the application of racism
from the Jews, Vladek’s character also remains to be a good way to show this
process. This can particularly be seen with the views Art’s father has over
other race and culture. A good example would be how Vladek sees the African
Americans who had stolen his valuables. In the book, he creates a stereotype of
the group and classifies them to be inferior. This specific example shows that
even if Vladek can be considered a survivor of the Holocaust, it does not mean
he does not have a specific view that influences his perspective of other
people or group. Here, Spieb mentions that “this shows that Vladek gets a great
deal of credit for surviving the Holocaust and negative traits are consciously
ignored” (Section 5).
Based from the analysis above, it
shows that the characters in the story remain to discriminate. For the Nazis,
this was very obvious because of the murders and violence they had committed
against the Jews. Their belief about superiority influenced their actions and
helped create a false perception about the Jews. Equally, the Jews also
demonstrate racism especially to other groups. The example showed by Art from
his father Vladek is a good example to show that the Jews should also be
included in the analysis.
Conclusion
To conclude, there are different ways that racism is portrayed in Maus. The reasons mentioned provide
negative impact to the characters of the story as they have to struggle to
live. The same can also be seen with the second generation where they had to
find out about the challenge and forgotten memories of the Holocaust. Based
from this viewpoint, it is important to point out that racism is not specific
to the Nazis alone. Rather, there are situations where Holocaust survivors like
Vladek show racist actions to other groups. This gives readers a good
understanding of what is happening and the impact the Nazis created to the Jews
who survived.
Work Cited
Kohli, Puneet. ‘The Memory and Legacy of Trauma in Art Spieglman’s Maus’ Prandium – The
Journal of Historical Studies, vol. 1 no. 1 2012 Journal, 1-22.
Leventhal, Robert. Art Spiegelman’s Maus: Working Through the Trauma of the Holocaust.
1995 Web Available from <http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/holocaust/spiegelman.html>
Spieb, Patrick. Characterization and Symbolism of Maus. 2011 GRIN Verlag; Germany,
Seminar Paper.
Spiegelman, Art. Maus. 2005 Penguin Books; United States, Print.
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