The author chose to represent cultural groups as animal figures. What animals were chosen? Does the use of stereotypical images that display WWII era prejudice enhance or detract from his father's story?
The author chose two main animals to describe the two "groups" of people that, in my opinion at least, were the most affected or the most relevant groups in the WWII era. These groups were the Germans (represented by Cats) and the Jews (represented by Mice). I feel that the way that all the people of one nationality or culture are represented as the same, and all look alike, and the ridiculousness of this "grouping" is shown by the author in a way that enhances the story, because it truly emphasizes the way that the events panned out. In other words, the stereotypical images in my opinion, show in an exaggerated way that people were put into these groups because of one similar feature they shared, by people in this era.
The animals the author chose to represent cultural groups are cats (Germans), mice (Jews), and pigs (Poles). I feel as though the use of these stereotypical images effectively shows the prejudice seen during World War II because it emphasizes the way in which people were grouped by one common characteristic, therefore representing those people as being essentially the same. The use of this technique, in my opinion, enhances his father's story because it allows the events to be seen from a wider view, showing the suffering of the affected people as a whole and the struggle of one cultural group against the oppression of another.
The author illustrates the Jews as the the mice, and the cats as Germans. Like, Barndt, I agree that the use of the stereotypes associated with the animals were used in a way to show us readers the "reality" and the real meaning behind it. For instance, cats chase mice all the time. The cats are higher up in the "food chain" or are more superior than the mice. How does this correspond to the book? Well the Germans, who were represented as cats, believed that they were far more superior than the Jews (cats). The Germans thought they were the "big boys" in the world. When Hitler came to power, they began to "terminate" the Jews. I used the word terminate because if you think about it, it is mostly associated with pests, or termites. Well, that's how it was for the Jews. The Germans wanted to terminate them for good as they believed they were the problems for their economic meltdown and the reason why they lost in World War 1.
Art Spiegelman portrayed Germans as cats, Jews as mice, and Poles as pigs. I believe the stereotypical images enhance the his father's story. Cats chasing and trying to kill mice is a familiar topic in cartoons. The mice exemplify the defenselessness of the Jews against the Germans. Although the pigs tried to fight back, the cats could overtake them. The separation based on cultural groups is a generalization that simply emphasizes the personal individuality that all humans display and cultural equality that all deserve. Jen Schlegel
The author chose to represent the civilians as pigs, the Nazis as cats, and the jews as mice. I think this enhances the stereotypical prejudice.The Nazis were hunting down the Jews, as if they were cats chasing mice. They were also just as cruel. I also think that making the civilians pigs fit well too. Many people sat and watched the Holocaust. Some because they were scared, and others because they agreed. I think that the people who agreed with the harsh prejudice of the jews were pigs.I do give credit to the civilians that did help the jews though. ~Jordan Kost
In the story, the Nazi's were potrayed as Cats while the Jews were potrayed as mice. This actually enhances the story to give a good analogy to how different groups of people were treated during the war. Obviously, Cats are the superior out of the pigs and mice, so the author does a good job and like I said, enhances rather than distracts the plot of the story.
I the story, the author portrays the Polish as pigs, the cats as Nazis, and the Jews as mice. During WWII, the Nazis referred to the Jews as vermin because they considered them as not human. The Nazis considered the Poles pigs because they thought they were sloppy in many ways. This helps enhance the story to help view from the father's point of view.
Jew- Rats Germans-Cats Americans -Dogs Poles-Pigs These arre not all because they are better then one another, but to show the way that there can be bad rats, good rats, and even rats posing as pigs, or dogs.
Cats are the Germans, Mice are the Jews, and Dogs are Americans. I think that this adds because it all helps your mind register what's going on. It just clicks.
In the story Nazis were cats, Jews were mice, Polish were pigs and Americans were dogs. At that time this is how people were depicted to one another. Not as human beings but as a different species. Nazis thought of Jews as a disgusting problem to the human race. Even if you did not read the book you can already get an idea of what is happening because of what animals do. The authors ethics of characterizing each race as a animal enhances the understanding of the story.
Jews were depicted as mice, the Germans (not of Jewish ethnicity) were depicted as cats, the Polish were displayed as pigs, and the Americans as dogs. In the story, these representations re-create the distance between each ethnicity. In this time they were so distant that they might as well have been different animals. This enhances the story because you really feel the distance between the groups of people in the story.
The author depicted each cultural group as a different animal species. The Jewish people were dressed as rats or mice. When they were pretending to be Polish, they wore masks of a pig. The Polish people were the pigs in the story Maus. The Germans and Nazis were the cats which worked well because cats normally hunt rats and mice. I thinks the different species of animals enhance the story because it establishes eaach culture as an object that link together in ways in real life. For example, in Tom and Jerry the cat tries to kill the mouse but the mouse fights back and never gives up. I think this is why the different species helps enhance the story about his father's life during the Holocaust.
The author used mice to represent Jews, cats to represent Nazis, pigs to represent Poles, and dogs to represent Americans. The use of stereotypical images strongly enhances the story. When the author represents characters by using animals, you can grasp a better understanding of the story. This showed how the Nazis would chase and kill the Jews, and the Americans would chase and kill the Nazis. The author was very clever to use animals to represent characters in the story, and it strongly enhanced the story's meaning.
The author chose mice to be Jewish people, cats as Nazi's, dogs as Americans, and pigs as Polish people. This can be explained by how cats hunt mice, and dogs chase cats. The pigs can represented in a neutral way because they are not hunting or running from dogs, cats, or mice. This can also be explained as how cats chase mice out of a house, and how dogs run the house.
The author used mice to represent Jews, cats to represent Nazis, dogs to represent Americans, and pigs to represent the Polish. I think that the animals chosen enhance the story because cats are superior to mice and chase them. while dogs are superior to cats which foreshadows how Americans help win the war. The way its portrayed in the book allows me to understand the parties better.
In the story Art Spieglman uses mice, cats, dogs, and pigs to represent different ethnicities. The Mice are the Jews, The cats are the Nazis, dogs are the Americans, and pigs represent the Polish. The representations help me understand the book more because almost all people know that cats chase mice and dogs chace cats while pigs are sort of neutral and not involved in to much conflict.
I think that Alec's reference to World War II was good. The only thing that confuses me is the parties. Does this mean like a political party or a facial party. I think it could be used in both situations. It could be used to represent political parties as how there are dogs, cats, and mice to represent Republican, Democratic, and Independent. It could also be used to show how different animals like different races and religions may have things done differently and may do things that others dont just like in how cats hate water, but how some dogs cant stay out of water.
Barr, what Alec is talking about is the way the characters are portrayed and specified as is what helps him understand the story better. I also think that the superiority of the animals(mainly the cats in this story) also help him realize what the next move for the groups will be and help him be a step ahead in the story.
What I think the characters are is: The cats are the Nazis or Germans The pigs are the poles The dogs are the Americans The mice are the Jews. This is a stereotypical scenario, because they have the characters play the roles of animals based off of their power and how they take action. Thats why the Jews are the mice. The cats are the Nazis. We all know that cats chase and kill mice a lot. We also know that the pigs are the poles. Which also coincides with pigs in real life. In real life pigs are neutral and are not in any conflicts or are nor proactive in fights and all of that. I wouldn't call the poles pacifists in this book, but i would say they are not involved as much as they should.
The author uses different animals to represent cultural groups. He used rats to represent the Jews. He also uses cats to represent the Germans, pigs to represent the Poles, and dogs to represent the Americans. I think the use of stereotypical images enhances his fathers story. Cats chase mice, and dogs chase cats while pigs stay almost neutral. It is almost the same thing in Maus I and II. Germans "chase" Jews, and Americans "chase" Germans. This helps me to understand who is who in the graphic novel.
Mice-Jewish Pigs-Poles Cats-German Dogs-American Using animals as characters gives the story an immediate effect. It helps you understand who is being captured and who is being chased without knowing anything about the Holocaust. Cats chase mice and then kill them just like the Germans did with the Jews. Although Americans don't appear in a war scene I would understand why Mr. Spiegelman would make them dogs. This occurred because dogs scare cats and drive them away as the Americans did in WWII with the Germans. Pigs are neutral but won't let you take over them just like a Pole.
The author chose Poles to be Pigs, Dogs to be Americans, Mice to be Jews, and Cats to be Nazis. I believe that the author chose to use animals as representation because if you notice some of the animals chase after the other (for example cats chase mice). I liked how he did this because it was very effective in the reading, I believe.
Art decided to draw the Jews as mice, the Poles as pigs, the Americans as dogs, and the Germans as cats. This helped me to understand the Holocaust a little better than I had before because the cats would go after the mice, as the Germans did to the Jews. Also cats will run from dogs and the Americans dominated the Germans in WWII as a dog would do to a cat.
@Rodrigo Garcia I agree with you because in the book there was a pecking order between the animals, and during WWII it was the same way but with human beings.
The animals the author chose to represent the cultural groups were rats for the Jews, cats for the Germans, pigs for the Polish, deer for the Swedish people, dogs for the Americans and crickets for the Gypsies. Any animal that a cat could take control of and destroy represented the culture groups that the Germans seized such as the Gypsies and Jews. The Polish being pigs represented a filthy animal although it isn't something a Cat could destroy. This relates to how the Germans didn't attempt to destroy the Polish people but still thought bad about them. A dog is a stereotypical animal that detests cats and wants to eat them. The American represent this because they did conquer the German NAzis with the help of the Russians. This use of animal representation enhances from his father's story because it sets a very significant symbolism and appeal, which is very important to a story.
The author used the two animals to represent how one was treated. The Jews were mice and the Germans were cats. This represents the racism of how nazis thought of Jews. Nazis thought of Jews to be a menace and diseased creature. This was the racism of this era. This also help me understand the dialogue much better because it helped me see what was going on.
The animals in this book portrayed ever race extremely well. The Jews were mice while the Germans were cats. Cats hate mice and try to kill them just like the Germans did to the Jews. Also, the Americans were dogs while the Germans were cats which helps you picture what happened in WWII because dogs chase cats away.
Art choses to represent the Jews as Mice, Germans and Nazis as cats, frech as frogs, poles as pigs, and americans as dogs. There is a foood chain represented here being dogs eat cats who eat mice and frogs.
@ Elliot There is more than just a food chain because if it was a food chain that where would the pigs and frogs be. They are neutral. There could also be a relation made in the way that they acted. If a cat hunts a mouse, the mouse hides, and if a dog hunts a cat, the cat runs.
Art spiegleman chose cat to play Nazis and mice to play the Jews. It is very stereotypical because Cats are known to kill mice and mice are portrayed as disgusting.
The animals chosen to represent the people were the Nazis as cats, the Jews as mice, the Polish as pigs, and the Americans as dogs. Cats hate mice and hunt them so this shows how the mice (Jews) were hunted and a lot were killed by the cats (Nazis). This attracts to the father's story and enhances rather than detract from what the father is saying.
Mice were the Jews. Cats were the Germans. Pigs were Poles. Dogs were the Americans. Arts method of using animals as the characters in the story does indeed help explain his father's story. The stereotype for each animal does follow up in this story because dogs chase cats just like the Americans chased out the Germans. Also, the cats chase the mice just like the Germans persecuted hr Jerwiah people in Maus I-II
Mice represented Jews, Cats represented Germans and Nazis, Frogs represented the French, Pigs represented the Polish, and Dogs represented Americans. The representation of these animals is based on how the stereotypes of each race played in with the idea of a racial superiority or in the animals case a 'food chain'.
The author used mice to represent Jews, cats to represent Nazis, dogs to represent Americans, and pigs to represent the Polish. Arts usage of animals fits the era. All the animals have similarities to the race they are imitating. The animals and races are connected by the domanice of each of them.
Yes it enhances the story because typically mice are the little animals that are picked on by everyone, they aren't a predator they are everyones prey.This is great imagery for this book because the Jews had done nothing yet they were blamed for everything and killed by the nazis. Cats were germans which I think is appropriate because they killed and killed and killed just so they can be content.
Jews were mice, Poles were pigs, cats were Germans, and Americans were dogs. His method of using animals instead of humans is genius in my opinion. It shows the true prejudices that were in Europe at the time. Using mice in my opinion showed the struggle Jews had during the Holocaust because they were considered less than citizens like the cats (Germans) or pigs (Poles). I agree with my classmates that hatred among the different animals was strong. The usage animals also represents the power that each group had with the dogs (Americans) being the most powerful.
In an earlier post of mine, "Cats are the Germans, Mice are the Jews, and Dogs are Americans. I think that this adds because it all helps your mind register what's going on. It just clicks." I forgot to mention that, like Greg Barajas just said, it truly does show just how much they hated each other.
@unknown i agree that the races are depicted in the way they are because all the animals are hated by each other and therefore will never be in harmony.
I forgot to mention that I do feel as though the representation of the different groups is a good way of helping one to understand and interpret the roles each "group" played in the war.
The only thing that I feel is different though is that some "animal groups" DO seem to live in harmony, in the fact that the Dogs became the protectors of the mice, just as the Americans helped alot in the war on the side of the Jews.
The animals the author chose to use as cultural representations of specific groups were are the jews as mice, the germans as cats, and the Polish as pigs. i believe that the images that Art chose to represent the different cultural groups enhances the story because it gave us as readers a better view as to how the food chain was back then the germans(cats) were always out to seek and kill the jews(mice). whereas the polish(pigs), acted as a force that was nuetral to both sides of the war.
In the book, there was lots of characterizing Jew- Rats Germans-Cats Americans -Dogs Poles-Pigs This just showed how different groups were targeted. I liked how Art chose Mice and Cats. It was easy for me to relate to that, thanks to all the "Tom & Jerry" i watched as a kid.
@ Jack H. (myself) Another reason i believe that Art chose to represent the different groups ion this way was for us to understand better how each of the groups were viewed throughout society. Many of the people effected by the war were stereotyped at one point in time by a certain group of society and i believe this helps us recognize the magnitude of this that was going on during this time period.
Art chose to portray the Germans as cats, Jews as mice, the Polish as pigs, and the Americans as dogs. I think that it enhances the story because of the different aspects it adds to the events. The Germans and Jews also give the impression of a cat and mouse chase through out the story. The effects of the animals as the historical figures give a different point of view to the story.
He also used it as a circle of life game. A cat chases a mouse. Wich in this story means a Nazi kills a Jew. Since a nazi was superior than a jew, nazis had more strength. This is why i think he uses these animals in the story.
The author depicted the Nazi as cats, Jews as mice, Poles as pigs, French as frogs, and Americans as dogs. I believe it enhances the father's story. Sadly for the Jews they were looked upon as mice. When we look at a mice our first instinct is kill the mice. The mouse hasn't done anything and already by just looking at it we want to get rid of it. Nazi were the cats because they felt surpieror to Jews. Poles as pigs because Nazi looked at poles as messy. French as frogs because french eat frog legs. and American were dogs. Dogs chase cats.
The author chose two main animals to describe the two "groups" of people that, in my opinion at least, were the most affected or the most relevant groups in the WWII era. These groups were the Germans (represented by Cats) and the Jews (represented by Mice). I feel that the way that all the people of one nationality or culture are represented as the same, and all look alike, and the ridiculousness of this "grouping" is shown by the author in a way that enhances the story, because it truly emphasizes the way that the events panned out. In other words, the stereotypical images in my opinion, show in an exaggerated way that people were put into these groups because of one similar feature they shared, by people in this era.
ReplyDeleteThe animals the author chose to represent cultural groups are cats (Germans), mice (Jews), and pigs (Poles). I feel as though the use of these stereotypical images effectively shows the prejudice seen during World War II because it emphasizes the way in which people were grouped by one common characteristic, therefore representing those people as being essentially the same. The use of this technique, in my opinion, enhances his father's story because it allows the events to be seen from a wider view, showing the suffering of the affected people as a whole and the struggle of one cultural group against the oppression of another.
ReplyDeleteThe author illustrates the Jews as the the mice, and the cats as Germans. Like, Barndt, I agree that the use of the stereotypes associated with the animals were used in a way to show us readers the "reality" and the real meaning behind it. For instance, cats chase mice all the time. The cats are higher up in the "food chain" or are more superior than the mice. How does this correspond to the book? Well the Germans, who were represented as cats, believed that they were far more superior than the Jews (cats). The Germans thought they were the "big boys" in the world. When Hitler came to power, they began to "terminate" the Jews. I used the word terminate because if you think about it, it is mostly associated with pests, or termites. Well, that's how it was for the Jews. The Germans wanted to terminate them for good as they believed they were the problems for their economic meltdown and the reason why they lost in World War 1.
ReplyDeleteArt Spiegelman portrayed Germans as cats, Jews as mice, and Poles as pigs. I believe the stereotypical images enhance the his father's story. Cats chasing and trying to kill mice is a familiar topic in cartoons. The mice exemplify the defenselessness of the Jews against the Germans. Although the pigs tried to fight back, the cats could overtake them. The separation based on cultural groups is a generalization that simply emphasizes the personal individuality that all humans display and cultural equality that all deserve.
ReplyDeleteJen Schlegel
The author chose to represent the civilians as pigs, the Nazis as cats, and the jews as mice. I think this enhances the stereotypical prejudice.The Nazis were hunting down the Jews, as if they were cats chasing mice. They were also just as cruel. I also think that making the civilians pigs fit well too. Many people sat and watched the Holocaust. Some because they were scared, and others because they agreed. I think that the people who agreed with the harsh prejudice of the jews were pigs.I do give credit to the civilians that did help the jews though.
ReplyDelete~Jordan Kost
In the story, the Nazi's were potrayed as Cats while the Jews were potrayed as mice. This actually enhances the story to give a good analogy to how different groups of people were treated during the war. Obviously, Cats are the superior out of the pigs and mice, so the author does a good job and like I said, enhances rather than distracts the plot of the story.
ReplyDeleteI the story, the author portrays the Polish as pigs, the cats as Nazis, and the Jews as mice. During WWII, the Nazis referred to the Jews as vermin because they considered them as not human. The Nazis considered the Poles pigs because they thought they were sloppy in many ways. This helps enhance the story to help view from the father's point of view.
ReplyDeleteJew- Rats
ReplyDeleteGermans-Cats
Americans -Dogs
Poles-Pigs
These arre not all because they are better then one another, but to show the way that there can be bad rats, good rats, and even rats posing as pigs, or dogs.
Cats are the Germans, Mice are the Jews, and Dogs are Americans. I think that this adds because it all helps your mind register what's going on. It just clicks.
ReplyDeleteIn the story Nazis were cats, Jews were mice, Polish were pigs and Americans were dogs. At that time this is how people were depicted to one another. Not as human beings but as a different species. Nazis thought of Jews as a disgusting problem to the human race. Even if you did not read the book you can already get an idea of what is happening because of what animals do. The authors ethics of characterizing each race as a animal enhances the understanding of the story.
ReplyDeleteJews were depicted as mice, the Germans (not of Jewish ethnicity) were depicted as cats, the Polish were displayed as pigs, and the Americans as dogs. In the story, these representations re-create the distance between each ethnicity. In this time they were so distant that they might as well have been different animals. This enhances the story because you really feel the distance between the groups of people in the story.
ReplyDeleteThe author depicted each cultural group as a different animal species. The Jewish people were dressed as rats or mice. When they were pretending to be Polish, they wore masks of a pig. The Polish people were the pigs in the story Maus. The Germans and Nazis were the cats which worked well because cats normally hunt rats and mice. I thinks the different species of animals enhance the story because it establishes eaach culture as an object that link together in ways in real life. For example, in Tom and Jerry the cat tries to kill the mouse but the mouse fights back and never gives up. I think this is why the different species helps enhance the story about his father's life during the Holocaust.
ReplyDeleteThe author used mice to represent Jews, cats to represent Nazis, pigs to represent Poles, and dogs to represent Americans. The use of stereotypical images strongly enhances the story. When the author represents characters by using animals, you can grasp a better understanding of the story. This showed how the Nazis would chase and kill the Jews, and the Americans would chase and kill the Nazis. The author was very clever to use animals to represent characters in the story, and it strongly enhanced the story's meaning.
ReplyDeleteThe author chose mice to be Jewish people, cats as Nazi's, dogs as Americans, and pigs as Polish people. This can be explained by how cats hunt mice, and dogs chase cats. The pigs can represented in a neutral way because they are not hunting or running from dogs, cats, or mice. This can also be explained as how cats chase mice out of a house, and how dogs run the house.
ReplyDeleteThe author used mice to represent Jews, cats to represent Nazis, dogs to represent Americans, and pigs to represent the Polish. I think that the animals chosen enhance the story because cats are superior to mice and chase them. while dogs are superior to cats which foreshadows how Americans help win the war. The way its portrayed in the book allows me to understand the parties better.
ReplyDeleteIn the story Art Spieglman uses mice, cats, dogs, and pigs to represent different ethnicities. The Mice are the Jews, The cats are the Nazis, dogs are the Americans, and pigs represent the Polish. The representations help me understand the book more because almost all people know that cats chase mice and dogs chace cats while pigs are sort of neutral and not involved in to much conflict.
ReplyDeleteI think that Alec's reference to World War II was good. The only thing that confuses me is the parties. Does this mean like a political party or a facial party. I think it could be used in both situations. It could be used to represent political parties as how there are dogs, cats, and mice to represent Republican, Democratic, and Independent. It could also be used to show how different animals like different races and religions may have things done differently and may do things that others dont just like in how cats hate water, but how some dogs cant stay out of water.
ReplyDeleteBarr, what Alec is talking about is the way the characters are portrayed and specified as is what helps him understand the story better. I also think that the superiority of the animals(mainly the cats in this story) also help him realize what the next move for the groups will be and help him be a step ahead in the story.
ReplyDeleteWhat I think the characters are is:
ReplyDeleteThe cats are the Nazis or Germans
The pigs are the poles
The dogs are the Americans
The mice are the Jews.
This is a stereotypical scenario, because they have the characters play the roles of animals based off of their power and how they take action. Thats why the Jews are the mice. The cats are the Nazis. We all know that cats chase and kill mice a lot. We also know that the pigs are the poles. Which also coincides with pigs in real life. In real life pigs are neutral and are not in any conflicts or are nor proactive in fights and all of that. I wouldn't call the poles pacifists in this book, but i would say they are not involved as much as they should.
The author uses different animals to represent cultural groups. He used rats to represent the Jews. He also uses cats to represent the Germans, pigs to represent the Poles, and dogs to represent the Americans. I think the use of stereotypical images enhances his fathers story. Cats chase mice, and dogs chase cats while pigs stay almost neutral. It is almost the same thing in Maus I and II. Germans "chase" Jews, and Americans "chase" Germans. This helps me to understand who is who in the graphic novel.
ReplyDeleteMice-Jewish
ReplyDeletePigs-Poles
Cats-German
Dogs-American
Using animals as characters gives the story an immediate effect. It helps you understand who is being captured and who is being chased without knowing anything about the Holocaust. Cats chase mice and then kill them just like the Germans did with the Jews. Although Americans don't appear in a war scene I would understand why Mr. Spiegelman would make them dogs. This occurred because dogs scare cats and drive them away as the Americans did in WWII with the Germans. Pigs are neutral but won't let you take over them just like a Pole.
The author chose Poles to be Pigs, Dogs to be Americans, Mice to be Jews, and Cats to be Nazis. I believe that the author chose to use animals as representation because if you notice some of the animals chase after the other (for example cats chase mice). I liked how he did this because it was very effective in the reading, I believe.
ReplyDeleteArt decided to draw the Jews as mice, the Poles as pigs, the Americans as dogs, and the Germans as cats. This helped me to understand the Holocaust a little better than I had before because the cats would go after the mice, as the Germans did to the Jews. Also cats will run from dogs and the Americans dominated the Germans in WWII as a dog would do to a cat.
ReplyDelete@Rodrigo Garcia
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because in the book there was a pecking order between the animals, and during WWII it was the same way but with human beings.
I enjoyed the pictures instead of just words on a page.
ReplyDeleteThe animals the author chose to represent the cultural groups were rats for the Jews, cats for the Germans, pigs for the Polish, deer for the Swedish people, dogs for the Americans and crickets for the Gypsies. Any animal that a cat could take control of and destroy represented the culture groups that the Germans seized such as the Gypsies and Jews. The Polish being pigs represented a filthy animal although it isn't something a Cat could destroy. This relates to how the Germans didn't attempt to destroy the Polish people but still thought bad about them. A dog is a stereotypical animal that detests cats and wants to eat them. The American represent this because they did conquer the German NAzis with the help of the Russians. This use of animal representation enhances from his father's story because it sets a very significant symbolism and appeal, which is very important to a story.
ReplyDeleteThe author used the two animals to represent how one was treated. The Jews were mice and the Germans were cats. This represents the racism of how nazis thought of Jews. Nazis thought of Jews to be a menace and diseased creature. This was the racism of this era. This also help me understand the dialogue much better because it helped me see what was going on.
ReplyDeleteThe animals in this book portrayed ever race extremely well. The Jews were mice while the Germans were cats. Cats hate mice and try to kill them just like the Germans did to the Jews. Also, the Americans were dogs while the Germans were cats which helps you picture what happened in WWII because dogs chase cats away.
ReplyDeleteArt choses to represent the Jews as Mice, Germans and Nazis as cats, frech as frogs, poles as pigs, and americans as dogs. There is a foood chain represented here being dogs eat cats who eat mice and frogs.
ReplyDelete@ Elliot
ReplyDeleteThere is more than just a food chain because if it was a food chain that where would the pigs and frogs be. They are neutral. There could also be a relation made in the way that they acted. If a cat hunts a mouse, the mouse hides, and if a dog hunts a cat, the cat runs.
Art spiegleman chose cat to play Nazis and mice to play the Jews. It is very stereotypical because Cats are known to kill mice and mice are portrayed as disgusting.
ReplyDeleteThe animals chosen to represent the people were the Nazis as cats, the Jews as mice, the Polish as pigs, and the Americans as dogs. Cats hate mice and hunt them so this shows how the mice (Jews) were hunted and a lot were killed by the cats (Nazis). This attracts to the father's story and enhances rather than detract from what the father is saying.
ReplyDeleteMice were the Jews. Cats were the Germans. Pigs were Poles. Dogs were the Americans. Arts method of using animals as the characters in the story does indeed help explain his father's story. The stereotype for each animal does follow up in this story because dogs chase cats just like the Americans chased out the Germans. Also, the cats chase the mice just like the Germans persecuted hr Jerwiah people in Maus I-II
ReplyDeleteMice represented Jews, Cats represented Germans and Nazis, Frogs represented the French, Pigs represented the Polish, and Dogs represented Americans. The representation of these animals is based on how the stereotypes of each race played in with the idea of a racial superiority or in the animals case a 'food chain'.
ReplyDeleteThe author used mice to represent Jews, cats to represent Nazis, dogs to represent Americans, and pigs to represent the Polish. Arts usage of animals fits the era. All the animals have similarities to the race they are imitating. The animals and races are connected by the domanice of each of them.
ReplyDeleteYes it enhances the story because typically mice are the little animals that are picked on by everyone, they aren't a predator they are everyones prey.This is great imagery for this book because the Jews had done nothing yet they were blamed for everything and killed by the nazis. Cats were germans which I think is appropriate because they killed and killed and killed just so they can be content.
ReplyDeleteJews were mice, Poles were pigs, cats were Germans, and Americans were dogs. His method of using animals instead of humans is genius in my opinion. It shows the true prejudices that were in Europe at the time. Using mice in my opinion showed the struggle Jews had during the Holocaust because they were considered less than citizens like the cats (Germans) or pigs (Poles). I agree with my classmates that hatred among the different animals was strong. The usage animals also represents the power that each group had with the dogs (Americans) being the most powerful.
ReplyDeleteIn an earlier post of mine, "Cats are the Germans, Mice are the Jews, and Dogs are Americans. I think that this adds because it all helps your mind register what's going on. It just clicks." I forgot to mention that, like Greg Barajas just said, it truly does show just how much they hated each other.
ReplyDelete@unknown
ReplyDeletei agree that the races are depicted in the way they are because all the animals are hated by each other and therefore will never be in harmony.
@ Ian (myself)
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention that I do feel as though the representation of the different groups is a good way of helping one to understand and interpret the roles each "group" played in the war.
@joe
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that I feel is different though is that some "animal groups" DO seem to live in harmony, in the fact that the Dogs became the protectors of the mice, just as the Americans helped alot in the war on the side of the Jews.
The animals the author chose to use as cultural representations of specific groups were are the jews as mice, the germans as cats, and the Polish as pigs. i believe that the images that Art chose to represent the different cultural groups enhances the story because it gave us as readers a better view as to how the food chain was back then the germans(cats) were always out to seek and kill the jews(mice). whereas the polish(pigs), acted as a force that was nuetral to both sides of the war.
ReplyDeleteIn the book, there was lots of characterizing Jew- Rats
ReplyDeleteGermans-Cats
Americans -Dogs
Poles-Pigs
This just showed how different groups were targeted. I liked how Art chose Mice and Cats. It was easy for me to relate to that, thanks to all the "Tom & Jerry" i watched as a kid.
#Tom and Jerry
ReplyDelete@ Jack H. (myself)
ReplyDeleteAnother reason i believe that Art chose to represent the different groups ion this way was for us to understand better how each of the groups were viewed throughout society. Many of the people effected by the war were stereotyped at one point in time by a certain group of society and i believe this helps us recognize the magnitude of this that was going on during this time period.
@ Ethan
ReplyDeleteI believe that the jews were not categorized as rats but as mice. Also, i forgot to add the americans were categorized as Dogs.
@HofSD
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, especially the word you said, "Magnitude", that is an excellent way to describe the intensity of what was really going on.
Art chose to portray the Germans as cats, Jews as mice, the Polish as pigs, and the Americans as dogs. I think that it enhances the story because of the different aspects it adds to the events. The Germans and Jews also give the impression of a cat and mouse chase through out the story. The effects of the animals as the historical figures give a different point of view to the story.
ReplyDeleteHe also used it as a circle of life game. A cat chases a mouse. Wich in this story means a Nazi kills a Jew. Since a nazi was superior than a jew, nazis had more strength. This is why i think he uses these animals in the story.
ReplyDeleteThe author depicted the Nazi as cats, Jews as mice, Poles as pigs, French as frogs, and Americans as dogs. I believe it enhances the father's story. Sadly for the Jews they were looked upon as mice. When we look at a mice our first instinct is kill the mice. The mouse hasn't done anything and already by just looking at it we want to get rid of it. Nazi were the cats because they felt surpieror to Jews. Poles as pigs because Nazi looked at poles as messy. French as frogs because french eat frog legs. and American were dogs. Dogs chase cats.
ReplyDelete