Reading a Graphic Novel

I have mentioned before that I previously had never read a graphic novel, but that has now changed. I have now finished Maus 1 and 2 written by Art Spiegelman. This was a new experience for me and I am still debating how I feel. I liked the idea of being able to follow along the story with pictures, but I feel at the same time I wish  I had more details and descriptions. My heart ached for more information and more story. With that said overall I did really enjoy reading my first graphic novel.

When reading my graphic novels I came across multiple parts that I considered my favorite. After comparing all my favorite parts I realized that they all shared a common theme. I was interested in the parts where even though the Jews were suppose to be the "bad" guys people that were suppose to be fighting against them sometimes would still help. In Maus 2 on page 32 and 33 this scene is about being in a concentration camp and still being able to trade to help one another out. This trading scenario happened throughout both books and that is one of the  reasons that he was able to survive the way he did.

This book relates the idea of conflict because it is about World War 2 and being of a different race. This book addresses the Holocaust in a different format as most by making the characters into animals. By formatting the book so the characters are animals children are learning about the Holocaust and the war in a different way. In the beginning of Maus 1 on page 19 there is a scene where Vladek is meeting his girlfriend's parents and he is snooping around and finds that she has pills hidden in her closet. He then goes to the extremes of having a friend look up what the pills are for. I believe this is still a situation that teenagers will run into. I do not think that the best advice is to snoop around, but this is still a common issue that is true and prevalent today. A bigger issue of these stories is the idea of growing up with a family member who was involved in a traumatic situation and that traumatic situation still having an impact on life. When I was reading this story it made me think of people who struggled with PTSD and people who had memories that were still very real. In Maus 2 there is a scene where Art and Vladek are speaking and Vladek will not through something away because he does not like to waste anything. He states it is because of Hitler and how he used to have nothing and he will not waste things. At the end of the Maus 2 on pages 44-46 Art is seeing a therapist and they are talking about how maybe Art and Vladek had the relationship they did because of the war and how it affected Vladek long term. Again, I feel that this can relate to a teenager because sometimes we only see one side, our side. This story can help a growing teenager with struggles because it shows a lot about communication and talking with a parent.

Before this course I have never heard of the story Maus and I would probably not have come across it for a long time. But I am glad I did have the chance to read this graphic novel and see how this book can identify with struggles teenagers go through. Now days teenagers most likely can not relate directly to the Holocaust, but they can connect to communicating with parents, loosing loved ones, working with family members that may struggle with the past, and/or relationships.