Symbolism in Maus

As a graphic novel, Maus uses imagery, metaphors, and symbolism to convey its overall message. The Jews are depicted as mice, the Germans as cats, the Poles as pigs, the French as frogs, Americans as dogs, and British as fish. Using animals gives the reader a deeper understanding of how people related to each other at the time. The Jews depicted as mice symbolizes how they felt innocent, weak, and quiet. They were viewed as dirty and were forced to run and hide. The Germans as cats symbolizes their cunning and lack of emotion. The word catty in the dictionary is defined as nasty or malicious for a reason (for all the cat lovers out there). The cats hunted the mice. They did so in a calculated, malicious, and cold-blooded way. As cats, they were afraid of dogs (Americans). The imagery in the book gives the reader a basic understanding of relations between people of different nationalities at the time.