After thought / another thing
I'm not sure there's much depth to what I'm about to say, but I just need to put this out there:
How smart is it of Art to draw himself as a child when he's talking to his therapist? (Answer: pretty damn smart). After the whole media boom of the first book of Maus, he draws himself in a mouse mask, as if he's posing as this ultra-important Jewish figure who clearly is empowered. I mean, obviously, he wrote a graphic novel about the Holocaust, how could he not be this picture perfect image of a proud, empowered, level-headed Jewish man reclaiming imagery that's been used to oppress his people?
And then, when he is trying to process all of what's happened, Art draws himself as a child. He's reduced to smallness. He is ill-equipped. He needs taking care of, fostering. When he's talking to his therapist, he can't help but feel small. Small in comparison to his fame, small in comparison to the Holocaust, small in comparison to the potential his dead brother never got the chance to reach, small in comparison to his father's story of survival.
I don't think there's a better word to describe that aesthetic choice other than "apt."
1 Reply
I also thought it was super interesting that Art draws himself in a mouse mask after his book blows up. This was one thing that stuck out to me til the end of the novel, and I still started to reflect on it once I was finished reading it. I like your analysis of the different sizes that he draws of himself. A lot can be said for how he's feeling in that moment when he draws himself so small.
Lauren Weiler
Apr 22, 2013 at 1:38 AM