Of course, from first glance, an opinion like this may seem a bit strange. After all, the vast majority of Maus focuses on Vladek's story, and the Holocaust, and it deliberately refrains from addressing consumerism and fame as a social issue like those in the pages above. But when I read these two pages, I really felt how poignant they were. I was moved by the author's intentions, but more importantly, all that wasn't intended by the story. And this passage really underlines that distinction:
1. The desk on the corpses (Spiegelman 41): This image underscores the author's true motivations and thoughts about the story. His writing builds off of the horrible tragedies, the unspeakable truths of history. His writing is inspired by the past.
2. The flies (Spiegelman 41): The flies haunt Art constantly while writing. They are a reminder of the souls lost during the holocaust, a sobering reminder to honor their stories and lives. It represents how inherently tainted and evil the bulk of the story is, and the worst parts of human nature that he must portray.
3. The masks (Spiegelman 42): The businessmen, with their masks, are the consumerist, opportunistic, profiteers who wish to use Art's work for their own sake. They hide their true intentions by wearing a mask, and putting on a superficial facade.
4. The aging (Spiegelman 41-42): Personally, the most touching motif in these two pages. The attention and fame that Art receives causes him to revert back to his childhood, and restores the vulnerability to evil that now pose a threat to him.
When the businessmen demand to hear Art's interpretation of his stories, they fail to see that Art had no real intentions or personal opinions. To him, Maus is a story that dares to reach the unspeakable, and attempts to reach truth under the stifled stories of millions. Adding a single interpretation would be grossly inappropriate, and it would discount the enormity of the tragedy, the Holocaust.
Absolutely life-changing.
~Chris
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