No history book can compare to the personal trauma in Maus II in the way that it relays the story of the Holocaust in an emotional and authentic way. Statistics and names don't reveal the hardships that Holocaust survivors and victims had to endure and succumb to. Art Spiegelman's journey through his father's past in Maus II, forces him to realize what an incredible impact it had on the people in that generation, and what a lasting impression it will continue to have on future generations of not just Jews, but everyone.
Halfway through the book Spiegelman illustrates himself dealing with the publicity Maus I has received: "At least fifteen foreign editions are coming out. I've gotten 4 serious offers to turn my book into a T.V. special or movie. (I don't wanna.)" (41) He portrays himself as a small, helpless looking man wearing a mouse mask to exploit his metaphor.
Auschwitz concentration camp, arrival of Hungarian...
English: Rows of bodies fill the yard of Lager Nor...
MausOne cell even shows him working atop an overwhelming pile of corpses representing all the feelings that have been stirred up inside him through writing these books, making it difficult to finish.
Spiegelman's personal reflection on his work in progress lends even more authenticity to his father's story. He's not simply relaying the accounts of his father's imprisonment and leaving us to draw our own conclusions. He stops and gives us feedback as to how he has been dealing with these stories, how he's been able to compile them into 2 short books. In doing so he informs the reader of his purpose in writing the book in the first place, it is his way to deal with the guilt of both his father's internment and his mother's death.
Having the voice of the author speak directly to the reader in the middle of the book draws...