History ComicBook / Maus

%%* ArtStyleDissonance: Deliberate.

** Early in the story it is mentioned that Vladek wanted to emigrate to the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates and was learning English. His knowledge of the language, which was rare for a Polish Jew in [[TheGreatDepression the 30s]], came in handy at a few points and probably saved his life.

* GreedyJew: [[invoked]] Art is [[StopBeingStereotypical constantly frustrated]] by how much Vladek conforms to the GreedyJew stereotype and {{discuss|edTrope}}es it at one point with Mala, explaining that he feels awkward and very uneasy about portraying that part of his father's behavior honestly, as he fears what will happen from perpetuating the stereotype. It's implied that Anja's wealthy background was a big influence on Vladek's decision to court her, and in modern times he's an obnoxious miser who argues with cashiers over pennies.

* InformedAttractiveness: Vladek mentions several times how handsome he was in his youth, noting that he was often compared to a young Rudolph Valentino. A real-life picture late in the second book confirms that he was indeed a good-looking man. Vladek also notes that Lucia was more attractive than his eventual wife Anja, but he preferred her for her personality (and her money also probably helped).

** Americans are dogs, who are friendly and helpful and can drive away cats. This of course references the Americans who helped the Jews at the end of the war. Different races of Americans are given different breeds of dogs. There are also ''actual'' dogs seen at several points, such as when Vladek's family is hiding in their coal cabinet bunker.

* GreedyJew: [[invoked]] Art is [[StopBeingStereotypical constantly frustrated]] by how much Vladek conforms to the GreedyJew stereotype and {{discuss|edTrope}}es it at one point with Mala, explaining that he feels awkward and very uneasy about portraying that part of his father's behavior honestly, as he fears perpetuating the trope and the inevitable UnfortunateImplications attached to it. It's implied that Anja's wealthy background was a big influence on Vladek's decision to court her, and in modern times he's an obnoxious miser who argues with cashiers over pennies.

** So is it Anja, Anna, or Anya? All three spellings are used at one point or another.
** Richieu's name in Polish was Rysio. Spiegelman says he had never seen the actual spelling until well after beginning work on ''Maus'' and was just guessing.

* TwoLinesNoWaiting: The narratives jumps between three timelines-Vladek's Holocaust survival, Art interviewing his father, and Art creating ''Maus''.

* {{Bookworm}}: Lolek Spiegelman. He is scolded for reading over dinner and when he couldn't search for enough food, he fills his sack with books (much to the displeasure of the starving family).

* EverybodysDeadDave: Lolek was the only member of the Spiegelman clan besides Anja and Vladek to come out of Auschwitz alive, and he was notably consulted by Art in the making of ''Maus''.

** Swedes are reindeer, referencing their alpine nation.

* OppressedMinorityVeteran: An AmbiguouslyJewish concentration camp prisoner claims to have fought in World War I and earned "medals from the Kaiser." According to Vladek, the guards beat him to death when they got tired of his complaints.

*** An Israeli Jew is portrayed as a somewhat stuffy and well-fed mouse. His question to Art is how he would have portrayed an Israeli. Art quips, "I have no idea... porcupines?" (likely a reference to the term "sabra" (a Jew born in the Land of Israel, taken from the Hebrew word for a cactus))

* HadToBeSharp: Thoroughly deconstructed. Vladek's stinginess and ingenuity in squeezing something out of every cent he has is what enabled him to survive many situations during the Holocaust that another person would have died to, but his portrayal in the modern day expressly outlines that ''those traits are not desirable in a normal person in an average situation,'' and that Vladek continuing to be "sharp" regardless of what is going on makes him into an abrasive and unpleasant old man. Also, Art's therapist points out how respecting one's "strength" in a horrifying spits on the memory of those who died.

* HadToBeSharp: Thoroughly deconstructed. Vladek's stinginess and ingenuity in squeezing something out of every cent he has is what enabled him to survive many situations during the Holocaust that another person would have died to, but his portrayal in the modern day expressly outlines that ''those traits are not desirable in a normal person in an average situation,'' and that Vladek continuing to be "sharp" regardless of what is going on makes him into an abrasive and unpleasant old man.

* ArmorPiercingQuestion: When Art is in therapy, he mentions that after hearing all of his father's stories, he gained some respect for him and considered him a "winner" for surviving the Holocaust. This leads the shrink to ask him if the therefore thought everyone who didn't make it was a ''loser'', which catches him offguard. In the end, he adjusts his stance to say that there weren't any "winners" or "losers" in that era, just people whose lives were left to pure luck.

* ArmorPiercingQuestion: When Art is giving an interview, he mentions that after hearing all of his father's stories, he gained some respect for him and considered him a "winner" for surviving the Holocaust. This leads the interviewer to ask him if the therefore thought everyone who didn't make it was a ''loser'', which catches him offguard. In the end, he adjusts his stance to say that there weren't any "winners" or "losers" in that era, just people whose lives were left to pure luck.

* ReleasedToElsewhere

* AbuseOfReturnPolicy: During the present, Vladek attempts to return a half-eaten, nearly empty, box of cereal to the grocery store. He succeeds after using his backstory as a Holocaust survivor to elicit pity from the store manager (and actually manages to get ''more'' than the value of the cereal back), but his son realizes they can never return to that store ever again in shame.

* EvilOldFolks: Anja was nearly exposed as a Jew by a mean old lady. Thankfully for her, everyone disregarded as a senile old bat.

*** An Israeli Jew is portrayed as a somewhat stuffy and well-fed mouse. His question to Art is how he would have portrayed an Israeli. Art quips, "I have no idea... porcupines?" (likely a reference to the term "sabra" (a Jew born in Israel resp. Eretz Yisrael, taken from the Hebrew word for a cactus))

* TheUnfavourite: It's implied that Vladek's first family, Anja and Richieu, will always be closer to his heart than his later son and second wife. Art says that he had a sibling rivalry with his late brother, who died at a young age years ago. He worries that all of his faults are being compared to his parents' idealized memory of Richieu. [[spoiler:The penultimate panel of the book has the tired and sick Vladek call Art "Richieu."]]

* {{Yandere}}: Lucia Greenberg, Vladek's ex from before he met Anja, is a minor example - the worst she does is attempt to sabotage his new relationship with Anja by telling her disgusting rumors, but fails. When Vladek leaves her, she falls to his feet and begs him not to go. This may be a case of AlternativeCharacterInterpretation, and this is how Vladek perceived her many years later. Art himself even lampshades this how his father tries to make himself look better in the stories.

* PayEvilUntoEvil: Soon after the German surrender, Vladek and Shivek encounter a German family in Würzburg who have lost everything due to American bombing. They come away from the encounter happy that the Germans were getting back a little of what they had inflicted on the Jews.

''Maus'' is in two parts, both released to heavy critical acclaim: "Part I (My Father Bleeds History)" in 1986 and "Part II (And Here My Troubles Began)" in 1991. It is probably one the best arguments in western discourse that comic books could be [[TrueArtIsAngsty a legitimate art form]], and was treated as such when it was first released. In 1992, it received a special Pulitzer prize as an acknowledgment of all this.

Anyone who thinks comics don't get respect simply must read this. This is the kind of thing you would read for your literature class, if it weren't a comic book -- and, indeed, some literature classes [[SchoolStudyMedia have started using it anyway]]. So has the German government's [=BPB=] or Federal Agency for Civic Education.

->''"If you lock them together in a room with no food for a week...''then'' you could see what it is, friends!"

* AmbiguousDisorder: Anja suffered a host of psychological issues; postpartum depression and a generally fragile mental state that eventually drove her to suicide.

** Discussed and zigzagged. Anja is long dead before Art starts trying to tell her and Vladek's story, and he seems to hold her in a good light because she served as a buffer between him and Vladek. The ''Prisoner on Hell Planet'' comic, however, reveals that he resented how Anja killed herself and that they didn't really understand each other while she was alive. When Vladek dies mid-story, Art is left to deal with his grief and suffers serious WritersBlock along with doubt about if he's the best person to tell the story. He admits at the end that Vladek was doing his best as a parent but was very flawed.

** Vladek gives Art a key to his safety deposit box while talking about Haskel. Later, he finds photographs from the war that Art can use for reference.

* UnreliableNarrator: In the end, the tired, sick and depressed Vladek says that he and Anja lived happily ever after. However, we know that Anja suffered from mental problems and killed herself about twenty years later.

* MiseryBuildsCharacter: Vladek states several times that, although his time in the concentration camps was horrific beyond measure, he learned several skills that would serve him well later in his life.

** Vladek is occasionally shown to be this way. He accuses Mala of being a GoldDigger, but it's implied that he originally pursued Anja because she was from a wealthy family. Art also points out that Vladek's racism toward black people is {{not so different}} from how anti-semites regard Jews.

* MockingTheMourner: In a comic that Art wrote, a relative is shown telling Art he should have cried while his mother was still alive

** Art's therapist, Pavel points out that Art's great respect for his father's ability to survive the Holocaust makes him dangerously susceptible to the eugenecist mindset that caused it in the first place.