Guilty for Existing

I think Maus I and Maus II both show how the effects of the Holocaust can carry down from one generation to the next. The one scene in Maus II when Art is at the therapist is a good example of this. Art in some ways feels guilty for even living because he knows that nothing he's ever gone through (even his mother's suicide), or will ever go through could be anything like what Vladek went through. Art will also most likely always feel inadequate compared to Richeu--the "picture perfect" child that he can't compete with. Just from the fact that Vladek and Anja's first son died in the Holocaust will always place an unfair pressure on Art to live up to a brother that never even set standards and expectations. Even the last page of the book, Vladek refers to Art as Richeu.

On another note, Vladek still mimics the behavior of the Holocaust; always saving everything (matches), always bargaining (cereal), always preparing for if "Hitler comes back", etc. And if Vladek won't ever let the Holocaust go, or at the very least is always preparing for another one, how can Art ever live a normal life? He can't. He almost lives vicariously through his dad, and for that reason will always feel shame and guilt for his book and for his very existence.

The graphic novel like Art Spieglman's comic is an amazing way to tell a Holocaust story because it's so visual; even though it's tiny frames, it's tiny, very powerful frames. Seeing the feet of some of the mice hanging in one frame, and the pile of dead bodies in the next. The comic paints a grotesque event, and brutal images in a non-grotesque way that makes it great for readers of all ages in my opinion. And it adds needed comedic relief to the whole situation. I thought it was really excellent and very brilliant especially with every race being a different animal. It also helps to separate the characters' voices very easily just by looking at their animal.