When People Were Animals

On page 42 of Volume 2 of Art Spiegelman's graphic novel, Maus, the author is pictured at his desk in the midst of an interview for his popular book. This panel is different from the rest of the novel in that Spiegelman and his interviewers are drawn wearing animal masks—the interviewers are American and German, while Spiegelman is Jewish as a result of widespread suffering that has made this religion and ethnicity the equivalent of a nationality. Masks are worn in this panel because in Art's father's time, religion and nationality meant much more: during the Nazi regime treatment was rigidly based on surface appearance, like where you came from and what you believed in. However, at the time of Art's interview, origin carries less importance in society; character and worth are judged based on the way one acts, and therefore instead of possessing animal heads, the characters wear easily removable masks: at present, one would find it much easier to change his identity than he would during the war.

While they lightly discuss the popularity of Spiegelman's novel, Art and his interviewers are pictured at the top of a mound of dead Jews. The German interviewer is partially buried beneath the bodies, which shows that he is more heavily burdened by their deaths than the Americans, who stand atop them. All three of the interviewers ignore the bodies beneath their feet and instead focus on Spiegelman's newfound fame. This interaction represents the superficiality of people today who cannot relate to the Holocaust; they choose to disregard millions of deaths and worship the opportunity to talk to a famous author instead. Furthermore, Art's desk is literally supported by the dead; he has gained fame from their tragedy, and the flies around his head create a constant buzz in the back of his brain that prevents him from moving past that guilty truth, no matter how much he tries to ignore it. The stripes on his mask represent psychological imprisonment induced by the destruction his family faced, as well as the enormous task he undertook in confining the immense tragedy of uncountable deaths to a small book. Spiegelman's unclear answers and slumped form clearly show that he has no interest in the careless questions of those who value fame over humanity; he is tired of the way modern society approaches the Holocaust and confused about the people's unwillingness to discuss the horrible truth.

Panel 1 p. 42 Maus Vol. 2