Maus II

The second volume of Maus, although a continuation of the first volume, is quite different because of the story line. Although the story is continuing, I liked the fact that Spiegelman used different themes but was still able to carry out the rest of the story in a similar light.

I really liked Spiegelman’s use of reality in this volume. Although he used it in the first volume, he really exaggerated this in the second volume. The first scene shows Spiegleman and his wife Francoise trying to figure out which animal she will portray in the comic book itself. This fact alone is quite interesting to interpret.
I also like the scenes in which Spiegelman is in a slump and is unable to continue writing. I feel like because of his father’s death, he became depressed but didn’t really know it. Overall he just seemed confused, but the scene with his shrink explains the guilt he may have felt from his father having to face the Holocaust. The graphics during his slump were also the most intriquing to me.

Although Spiegelman is portrayed as a stingy old Jewish man in his later years, during the Holocaust he was quite resourceful and intelligent, which is what probably saved his life. Not only was he able to survive, but he helped others when he could. Because he was able to save things and be so resourceful during the Holocaust, this is probably why he continued being that way later on in life.

I thoroughly enjoyed both volumes of Maus, but there is one thing that I would still like to learn more about. The death of Anja is not really discussed much in the Maus, but it is something I would of liked to read about more in depth. Maybe this is because Spiegelman touched on this topic in “Prisoner on the Hell Planet.”