Maus - Blog 2

    This week we finished reading the second volume of Maus, while I liked the first volume more and would rather talk about that, I guess I have to talk about the second volume. While reading the second volume, I noticed that two specific motifs were being carried throughout the book, from volume 1 as well, these were masks and trains. 

    I feel like the masks represent two things, the stereotypes placed on people and the sense of identity. For example, mice were chosen to represent the Jews since there was a stereotype of Jews being known as "crafty" and "miserly" people who liked to hoard everything. But the main message that was conveyed by the masks was the loss of identity for the Jews and the lack of a sense of individualism. When Anja and Vladek were forced to leave their shelter into the town. They could not be themselves due to the fear of being killed or captured. To ensure their own safety, they had to pretend that they were polish. During this scene, they were depicted with pig masks (while normally they had a mouse face). This represents the loss of their identity, which was not only experienced by Anja and Vladek, but also by the countless millions of Jews that tried their best to survive. On the other hand, the loss of individualism can be seen by the way each Jew is shown. No Jew in the book had any individuality about them, all of their faces were practically shown as the same, even male and females. All of them were shown as one, even though there were millions. There is no sense of individuality within each Jew, all of them were treated as one and as objects. 

    

    The trains also represent an argument that Spiegelman is trying to convey throughout volumes 1 and 2: the passage of time and its effect. In the book, we can see two contrasting scenarios in which trains are used. One being when the train is filled with Jews and does not move for weeks, causing the death of many. Another instance is when the train "meant for people" takes the captives to safety. While reading this I noticed something about these situations that somewhat reflects Vladek's traumatized mind. When the train is still - not in motion - the people within keep dying and problems arise, but when the same train starts moving, the number of casualties reduce a bit, and more people are able to make it alive. Through this I feel Spiegelman is trying to highlight that while trauma is a serious issue and can cause serious psychological damage, always thinking about the past and not moving on forward with life will only cause problems (just like how the train did not move and that caused people to be in more misery). We can see this with Vladek, who is always reminiscing about the past and Anja, and this made his trauma and health worse.