A Broken Body

This past week in class we analyzed some pages from a graphic novel we're reading called Maus by Art Spiegelman. In this novel Spiegelman tells the story of his father, a Holocaust survivor, and himself creating a truly beautiful story. But one thing I did not know was all the symbols and rhetorical devices Spiegelman used in his novel. I mean GEEZ! Who knew that creating a "comic book" was that much work. It's more than just pictures with words around them, the pictures tell the story and the words are the pictures. Does that make sense?

In the picture above we see Spiegelman and his father (yes they are mice). The mouse on the bike is Spigelman's father, Vladak. Vladak is covered in stripes and there are numbers on one of his arms. It can then be inferred that the stripes and numbers represent Vladak's time spent in concentration camps. Also, we see that Vladak is broken up among different panels on the page. This reveals that the Holocaust has broken Vladak and that he can never escape it. He travels back in time on that bike. He is fine until he enters the door covered in stripes in the first frame. This door is the door that will lead to Vladak's past. His past is dark and depressing and has left him broken.

Bet you didn't think that much could be told from a few pictures and words, huh? Neither did I. I find it quite fascinating how all this is told in just one page. I have a newfound respect for "comic books," I mean, graphic novels. They are the ultimate storyteller.