Every story that has ever been written
has some basis in fact, which is inevitable. All authors understand that all
the best stories come from their own experiences or another’s to make the best
novel and to make the novel seem more realistic. It is important for us to
realize that although a story may have many fictional aspects it is important
to discern the fiction from the truth because the truth is where the message
lies. In Maus we have seen the countless times in which Art Spiegelman uses his
metaphor of animals in order to show that the Holocaust demonstrates the
relationship of between predator and prey. In Volume 2, Chapter 2 Art
Speigelman makes the creative decision of using masks to depict each character’s
animal rather than just drawing them as the animal itself. It makes one wonder
why he chose to do that. Countless times in class we have gone over the fact
that, every single that is contained in the author’s book is on purpose none of
it can be considered accidental. So it is safe for us to assume that
Speigelman’s choice to uses animal masks rather than actual animals was done for
a reason. So understanding that, I came up with my own conclusion for his
choices. Like I said before, every story has a basis in fact; Speigleman’s fact
comes from the history of the Holocaust. We have passed the point of the story
in which he has established the basis of the story and here on out he is just
telling the story. Here he decides to use the mask to remind us that the root
of this story doesn’t come from fiction, the basis of this story happened to
real people and it should be remembered as a genocide of an innocent group of people.
Whether or not you like a story it is important to remember and honor the truth
of it.
Well Nadiya, that's interesting, I actually thought of something kinda along those same lines; I thought that the masks were more of a direct connection to when Art or anyone he talks to thinks of the history. In Maus Volume II when Art talks to his therapists and he's obviously growing smaller, when his therapist talks about the Holocaust his ties on the back of his mask are non-existent, but when it's just him and Artie speaking, the ties are then visible. That's what I thought!
ReplyDeleteI really liked the view that you took on the story Nadiya because instead of just analyzing the concept of fictionalizing a true story you also related to all works of storytelling and I definitely agree. I think it's very plausible that most, if not all, stories have a basis of truth. The truth doesn't even have to be in the form of storyline but it can also be shown through characters, settings, dialogues, etc. I know that when I write I tend to add truths to the behaviors or rationals of my characters because sometimes adding the whole truth is daunting and too raw. And in this specific story, Maus, I think understanding and respecting the fact that the truth is so plain and evident in every aspect is very important because it adds more value to the story and the messages transmitted throughout.
ReplyDeleteI think that the opening statement you started with was also very true. One of my favorite quotes by Neil Gaiman is "Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten". Even the most insane of stories has an ounce of truth, whether it be in the form of a feeling or an overall moral to be gained. There's a lot of different lessons I've learned from reading books or hearing stories that people tell me, not all of which I can implement directly in my life. But they all tell a story, and they all speak at least a little bit of truth.
ReplyDeleteLooking at that part of the book I was thinking the exact same thing. I was very confused for a long time as to why Art would do that. But then I started to think if maybe he did that to remind us that they are still humans but; we are still being labeled by our beliefs and ethnicities.
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