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Maus II Review Summary

       A truly powerful piece Maus II, evokes many themes; as shown by the novel and the review I found. The review itself is on the two volumes as a whole, however I believe that the main themes and points made are still relevant and useful for our essays. One of the main issues discussed in the review is of the feeling that Maus puts trying to present the holocaust in the background and that maybe even Spiegelman's discovery of this past is as significant. It also discusses that Maus heavily even primarily describes that "Its primary concern is the imprint of that parental experience...on the children of survivors." It develops the theory that Art's suffering throughout the novel as he discovers the painful and cruel pass and the weight he puts on his shoulders. The review also provides an example which is clarifying of the final scene when Vladek calls Art, Richieu and that "This last slip of the tongue - naming Artie his dead little brother who perished in the Holocaust - attests to the ongoing trauma that never ceases." My favorite quote from the review is that Maus "...bears witness to the process of bearing witness..." and after reading the graphic novel, one realizes it is as much about the effect of the holocaust on Art as it is about its effects on Vladek. It goes even farther to say that Maus more focused on the entire Spiegelman family and that there really is no escape from the holocaust because it not only affected those directly affected but also the subsequent generations. It really focuses and hones in on these subjects and also explores some of Art's own intentions on writing Maus.