-Why the use of cats and mice in Maus–
Why cats and mice? This is a common question asked when trying to analyze and interpret Maus by Art Speigelman. I think there are a couple of reasons as to why the author decided to present the story using cats and mice, and sometimes other animals like pigs and dogs, rather than humans.
The main reason for using cats and mice, I believe, is that by presenting the story using animals, especially those that are typically portrayed as cute and fluffy, makes the story more easily digestible to the reader especially when covering dark and serious topics that can invoke feelings or memories of past trauma, like concentration camps and the treatment of Jews during World War II, and to help remove some of the discomfort for those just learning about these events and/or for those who were lucky enough to not have lived through it . An excellent example of an author using animals instead of people, besides Maus, is the story Animal Farm by George Orwell, which is the story of the lead up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 then to the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union, which is presented and portrayed through barn yard animals revolting against their human master, only to fall into tyranny by their own kind.
The second reason that I believe Speigelman would use cats and mice, is as an acknowledgement to the history of World War II, where Jews were commonly portrayed as mice, or rats, in Nazi propaganda in a way to demean and dehumanize them. Furthermore, the Nazis are portrayed as cats in a way to play on the cat and mouse genre, with the cat being the hunter or the silent killer, which could be a representation of the Nazis hunting down the Jews. Another reason for cats could be a play on the idea that cats are sometimes portrayed as graceful and noble, which could tie into the idea of a supposed Aryan supremacy.
I believe that there are two main reasons for Art Speigelman to use cats and mice in Maus. The first being to make the story more palatable to the reader when covering such a dark topic, and secondly to play on the symbolism of cats and mice and how they relate to the historical depiction of Nazis and Jews in the propaganda of the 40’s.