There is one device that the author uses that is not actually a literary device but is quite distinctive and unique, given the fact that the book is a graphic novel; the characters are all different kinds of animals, and the kind of animal is determined by certain identity traits. The Jews are mice, the Germans are cats, and Poles are pigs. For part of the novel, the artist's father is hiding his identity and attempting to appear Polish and, when he does that, he is drawn with a mask of a pig on. If he is ever found out or reveals himself, the mask comes off. Later in the book, after the artist's father dies and he has published the first part of his book, he depicted wearing the mouse mask. I think there are many interpretations for why this is the case, but to me it seems that he feels like an imposter. He has published this book about his father's life in the Holocaust, and now that his father is dead he feels lost and confused. He is seeing a psychologist, but it is har...
It was difficult to find "substantial quotes" in the story of Maus because it is a graphic novel and there are not long quotes, but I found one that struck me in the context of the story. On page 56, several of the mice have been taken to a prison and are in despair of the conditions. They are treated terribly, even compared to the other prisoners, and they want nothing more than to get out. There is a sign that appears asking for workers for labor assignments, and the artist's father, the main character of the story, argues with his cellmates about volunteering. His quote is "I'm not going to die and I won't die here! I want to be treated like a human being!" The quote is startling for several reasons. First, in the context of the situation, in the middle of the Holocaust where so many human beings were not treated humanely, there is this expression of outrage at being mistreated. I think that, after a time, such a desire is taken away - especially for...