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Maus Extended Response (6 Points)

     Maus Part 1 is not what I thought it would be going into the graphic novel. I had never read it before, and I had little knowledge of what it was about. That being said, I think that Maus is one of the most effective graphic novels I have read in this class. Although I was thrown off at first by the amount of content unrelated to the Holocaust, Maus presents this subject in a way that draws the reader in to the story through art style, anthropomorphic characterization, and by creating moments that are in the present to give the characters more life. 

    Maus very successfully communicates it's story through the art style. The art style, despite depicting a horrible real life event, was charming and allowed the reader to get through the text with ease. The simplification of forms and panels alongside carefully thought-out compositions and line weight helped me when reading Maus. Additionally, the style of the characters helps to simplify AND amplify their emotions and struggles in the text. By having them more simple, the creator was able to successfully portray emotions through both facial expression (despite them losing most of their facial characteristics) as well as through body language. The graphic novel also uses simplified animal characterizations as a way of successfully communicating his story.

    Because the characters were reduced to animals based on whether they were Jewish, German, or neither, Spiegelman was able to effectively and simply tell the story that he wanted to tell. By putting the story into simplified terms of the cats oppressing the mice, the message that Spiegelman was trying to send was straightforward, even to people of a younger age. I think that making these characters anthropomorphized put this terrible event in terms that anyone could understand. Additionally, this, along with the moments that take away from the main story, make the characters and story engaging and interesting.

    Going into this graphic novel, I thought the story would strictly be about a character's experience with the Holocaust. However, upon reading it, I found that I was wrong, and I was confused as to when the 'actual' story was going to start. However, diving deeper into the story, the non-Holocaust parts made the dad and this 'interview' feel more real. While I enjoyed the story telling overall, I feel that showing the interview part was important to show the life of the characters and make them more relatable. This way of writing the story helped with communicating the events that took place, but also gave the characters life.

    Overall, I think this story was very well-communicated. It depicts this horrible event in a way that is easy to digest, as well as it portrays the characters in a believable and relatable way. 

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