Abandoned Identities

Within the last week, our class has been able to closely read “Maus” and truly analyze each minuscule, yet intentional, choice Art Spiegelman made. The page I’ve chosen to analyze is page 80. One detail that stuck out to me most is the 3rd panel, where the outline is shaped like the Star of David, which is commonly seen as the “symbol of Jewish identity”. It also looks like Vladek is inside the star, being isolated by it. I believe this specific panel is supposed to represent how Vladek felt that his identity was like a spotlight during the war, and in the eyes of Nazis, he was just another Jew, and therefore, the enemy. Spiegelman uses this choice to show how the meaning of the Jewish identity was changed for Jews themselves, and became something they needed to hide in order to survive. This idea is supported in the last panel on page 80 as well. I noticed that Vladek, Ilzecki, and Ilzecki’s wife are all blacked out, but the road beneath them littered with dead bodies is lit up and visible. I believe this is more than merely a way to show the scene. It demonstrates how Nazis had to hide themselves and their identity away in order to survive. To be out in society was to be unsafe. This perspective was chosen to also show that Jews were forced to adopt the selfish, yet necessary, mindset of “each man for himself”. They could never protect one another, and choosing survival essentially separated them from the others. This separation is shown in the last panel: the 3 who were safe were physically divided from those who were killed.