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Spiegelman’s self-awareness adds layers of introspection and complexity to the narrative.

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by not including certain aspects of the story due to his fathers wishes or his own internal battles, it could potentially leave out important details of the story that help the reader better understand the circumstances that his father was in and the impact it had on him.

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Art’s struggles with what to include in the novel are key moments, as they suggest not everything in the novel is what it seems. Not only could it imply that Art left out some details that painted his father in a more negative light, but also that Vladek himself could have fabricated parts of the story to make himself look better. This makes the reader question what of the book is true and what has been exaggerated, changed, or excluded.

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The author’s awareness adds to the story because it shows how complicated and devastating the Holocaust is to him, especially when he is trying to put his big feelings into words through a comic strip. -Bella (idk why it says thoughtful Puma lol)

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This page uses metatextuality as a form of self-reflection. He is discussing with (I assume) his wife about how he feels like he can’t capture the horrors of the Holocaust because he didn’t live through it.

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Art has the dilemma of deciding how people in the story are going to be presented to the audience and interpreted by the audience. Since he's worried about showing his dad in his true authentic self, he faces the trouble of not telling his dad's story authentically or painting his dad in a way that seems stereotypical and problematic. I personally believe that Art showing his dad as a flawed human being made the story more impactful for me.

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I think that writing both stories was Spiegelman’s way of coping with the sudden loss of his mother. Prisoner on the Hell Planet was more of his own story and I think he wrote Maus to focus more on Vladek and how he played into/dealt with the whole ordeal.

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His wish to be with his parents in Auschwitz invites the reader to feel the pain with him.

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Art faces the ethical challenge of depicting real characters in literature because he does not exactly know how all of the people were feeling. He can only know how one person was feeling at that time and can only depict that one characters real thoughts and feelings.

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because there are conversations of art’s father saying that he does not want certain information published, it shows the audience that he cannot entirely be trusted. even though we get a glimpse of the conversation between art and his father, it doesn’t necessarily mean that art included all of the information given from his father — as the reader, this lets me know that although there is information regarding the topics art’s father didn’t want to share, there could have been more that was never mentioned.

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This shows that his dad actually believes in him. Even though it is a silly comment, it validates all the work he put in.

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The author uses this section to add to the story, as he discusses his feelings about the research and the creation of the story in the story.

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Hi Haiku! I definitely agree that both of these texts can be a sort of coping mechanism for Art through losing his mother. I think the different art styles of the two also signify the stage of grief that he is in - the first comic being very dark and more of a gruesome art style to a "lighter" style with animals being representative for people! The art style also can be telling of what he comes to believe his father's role was in the ordeal as well, like you had mentioned in your post too!

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This panel reveals that Art is feeling torn in his decision to create the book because he does not want the real people in his life to reinforce negative stereotypes that have harmed Jewish people. The ethical challenge is the difference between staying true to what is real and not perpetuating negative stereotypes.

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This moment reveals that all of these roles that he plays are affecting the story and the narrative. He can only be so objective, and some of the things he included or excluded could have changed the narrative. All these roles intermix, but his open reflection complicates the idea even further since he is aware of his lack of objectivity and admits to it as well.

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I feel like this shows why Art might have low self confidence. When your parent doesn’t have much faith in you, you internalize that and think you’re mediocre and will never get anywhere, which we see between art and his dad. As an author, we see how that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Art showed the readers his skill throughout the story.

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The art style in this panel feels a lot more cleaner than the rest of the book. There's a much more heavy use of exclamation points. Lastly, there's a lot more narration going on here. This helps the metatextuality to show how Artie is feeling about this.

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This shows the type of relationship between father and son. They can banter with and poke fun at one another in a nice/friendly manner and, in doing so, Art's father shows that he believes in his son and his goals as an artist.

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Art includes Prisoner on the hell planet to help himself understand his mother’s suicide and his complicated relationship with his father. The comic lets him express his guilt and pain in a way that's easier than talking directly about it. By creating Maus, Art is trying to make sense of his past and the trauma that both he and his father carry.

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This counts as being "metatextual" due to Art's comment about needing to write this moment down, and we as the audience know that him "writing it down" is what we are seeing. Within the text, this scene also shows Art's relationship with his dad (as his son) because he is surprised that Vladek is giving him praise, signifying he doesn't get it often. This praise then boosts his confidence, both as his son and as an author. In terms of the text (and metatextuality), this moment shows how his father influences all of his roles and in turn impacts what is put in the story.

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Out of the two options, which one do you think is most likely? With how dedicated Art seems to be with making sure everything’s accurate, I can’t see him wanting to make his father look bad. I can definitely see his father exaggerating or forgetting some things, though, either due to trauma or just being old.

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I agree! I feel like if Art omits certain details, the story loses some value and rawness.

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I completely agree and I can say i was not thinking about it from this perspective. Art does have a hard time deciding if he should stay true to what is real or twist it so it does not put anyone in a negative light. He wants to be able to depict his characters as their true selves but it is also difficult to do so.

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Do you think, that maybe, he included this scene so the reader can understand the story despite the missing information? If not, why include it at all?

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Emily, I felt that the opposite was true in terms of his father's belief in him. I saw it more like playful banter that a parent would have with their child. Like, I would get 100% on a test and instead of saying good job, my dad would say "couldn't do any better?" as a joke. But, I do see how it can be interpreted differently if your family dynamic is different

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Yes. He wants to tell the true story but protect his parents at the same time.

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i love how you went in depth on this — it’s not just about how it looks, but what it means. although the art of piece has an effect, it moreso helps Art understand his trauma and past— and as as result, helps him make sense of it.

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The relationship he has with his father and the emotions his father has to his career definitely play a huge role in Art’s character as an adult. We might see a different kind of work being published from Art if his father was more supportive or involved in his life/career.

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I agree with your thoughts; it becomes very apparent that the story could have been changed a lot along the way. Details could have been forgotten or misremembered by both Vladek and/or Art. The reader has to be aware of the fact that the truth might not be what is written or drawn.

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Art struggles to include his idea because his Dad thinks it is not necessary. In addition, he is not sure if he can include the reliability that his son was talking about because his idea is reliable.

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I agree that the art style and narration definitely reflect more of Art’s own emotions whereas instead Maus reads as sort of a conglomeration of emotions/narrators.

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I totally agree with you! This section prompts readers to think about what else Art has chosen to include or exclude from the novel, as well as how true it is. It makes you wonder what has been embellished or changed to make either Art or Vladek look better?

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Sarah! Idk if I’m replying to this the right way! 

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Sarah! Idk if I’m replying to this the right way! 

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I agree with what you said, however, I actually really like the unreliableness of art. I think it gives him depth as a character and helps the reader understand everything going on in his life as he writes the book.

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I agree, and I also think this adds to the book because it makes us feel a bit more empathy towards the parts he doesn't know. If we see how much this means to him, it makes us think twice about judging him during these moments.

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I agree with you, but why do you think his self awareness adds those things? I believe it does because Art showing himself have complicated feelings towards the subject matter makes him a little less reliable as the author of this text, which complicates the text because we as the audience are not sure if he's fully honest in the story.

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I agree with you. His words seem to come from a desperate want to understand what his family experienced, but because of the complexities, he cannot. While he did not experience the Holocaust, it still affects his life everyday. These emotions bring depth that impacts how readers view the story.

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What does this panel reveal about the ethical challenges Art faces when trying to represent real people in literature?"

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What effect does Prisoner on the Hell Planet have on your understanding of Art’s motivation for creating Maus?

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What does this moment reveal about Art's roles as a son, artist, and author?

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How do Art’s struggles with his father about what to include (or exclude) in the story impact the book's reliability as a historical text and Art's reliability as an author?

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How does Spiegelman’s self-awareness as an author add to or complicate the story?