Author: diego martinez tau

-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.

-Role of Language and Narrative in Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River”-

The roles of language and narrative style are both important to interpreting and understanding  the ways that memory, and the memories of past traumas, are presented in “Big Two-Hearted River” by Hemingway.

The story of “Big Two-Hearted River” is the third person account of the character Nick, who is a veteran of the first world war. The story is meant to be a literary interpretation of what veterans returning from the front felt upon their arrival back home, and the prevalence of lingering mental traumas that came along with them.

Taking place after Nick’s return from Europe, near his go-to fishing river near Lake Superior, the story starts off with his arrival to the town of Seney, only to find the town and surrounding country burned to the ground, with only the old hotel foundation, what was left of the trees and the river remaining amongst the ash and soot. Just in the first page we can see how the use of descriptive language allows us to get a good idea of what Nick himself is seeing and the way that the story is narrated allows us, the reader, to get and idea of what he might be thinking, hence the way the first passage is written, we can expect that the burnt down town evokes his memories from the war, of the battlefields and bombed out towns, and as a depiction of his mental status. To Nick, before the war, this town, and his fishing hole, could be considered “home” for him as it is where he feels at peace or, well, at home. Now during the war his “home” had been the trenches, not out of enjoyment but out of requirement. Now while both of those have been physically burned down, it serves to portray how both in Europe and back at home he feels alienated from his surrounding,  how his experiences, and subsequent mental and emotional traumas, have left him as a burned out shell of his formed self, with only a few cracked foundations remain, similar to the town of Seney.

Although in Europe there might have been very little that made him feel happy and like himself again, back home in Seney, the river serves as a reminder of what his former self was and what made him happy. Throughout the story, with subtle hints, the river is what keep Nick on a steady path, and what keeps him connected with his former, pre-war self.

Throughout the duration of the story, both the language and narrative used, both help to portray Nick’s previous traumas as a result of the war. Throughout the story the depictions of the river and the trout held within it, provide Nick his sense of joy, while other things in his surroundings that are not the river or anything within its watery contents, such as the soot covered grasshoppers and the kingfisher, invoke memories and feelings from the war. While all feelings, besides happiness, are never directly mentioned they are however inferred and interpreted.

“MASTER NARRATIVE” of the War on Terror

The concept of “Master Narratives” are especially prevalent in American culture and media, especially in the post 9/11 era during the War on Terror and the later continuation of these conflicts.

The quote “history is written by the victor” is commonly used when talking about history or a historical event anywhere in the world, with the ‘victor’ being the greater military force that claimed victory in battle or the more dominant country that gets their story told more often due to their military, economic, political and culturally influential power. In the case of the United States, I would say that it is the latter due to the power of Hollywood and that the US hasn’t exactly won a war against terrorism. The “Master Narrative” about the Unites States would be, in a way, the glorification of war and the occupation of the Middle East due to their unmatched military prowess and their ability to kill terrorists, at least that is how it is portrayed to the American public and other countries globally due to influence and availability of American media. This narrative, given to us by both the US government and Hollywood, can be found in movies such as “The American Sniper”, TV shows such as “SEAL Team 6”, in documentaries such as “Korengal” and also in video games such as “Call of Duty”.

Because of the availability of American movies and video games here in Canada, and because I really like action movies and games, the main narrative, or “Master Narrative”, that I’ve been exposed to is from the view point of the United States, or more specifically a US soldier. Because of this I’ve never really heard from the Afghan or Iraqi point of view, granted there are some documentaries in which the Afghan army and police have their voices heard however they are supported by the US so their story is still that of a very pro US stance. It is easy to see how, not only in the US, but other countries globally, especially in the west, hear the narrative of the US more loudly than other “Counter Narratives” that would contradict or question the actions Unites States.

PERSEPOLIS

Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, is a graphic memoir and autobiography of the authors experience growing up in Tehran, Iran during the 80’s. The book recounts her stories of loss, family, rebellion and revolution. Marjane Satrapi primarily wrights through the lens of her younger self, through a character named Marji, as well as adding narrative to the panels with a hindsight approach by providing the words that weren’t spoken and also including her opinions looking back at the events. This graphic memoir creates a discourse on quite tragic, violent and traumatic topics such as martyrs, war, torture, execution and death and presents it in an easily digestible, almost censored, child like view of this material by giving it to us in a comic book format.

Some issues that are occur in the book of Persepolis, or Iran in the 80’s, still occur in our political climate today, just with different contexts and different intentions. The most prominent I’d say is religion. Views of religion in Persepolis are more towards the extremist side with the government wanting to impose a complete power over the people through the median of religion, in this case, Islam. Debates on the issue on religion, especially Islam, in the west, specifically some parts of Europe and the United States, are a heated topic with many wanting to ban practicing Muslims from immigrating into their country, while other want to accept all Muslims, especially refugees, into their countries. Personally I’m not to sure on my stance on this one. While I believe that everyone should have the freedom to have their own values, practice their own religion and express their own culture, but I question, from an objective point of view, to what extent is Islam compatible with our western values and in what ways is it not as Islam has its own set of values and culture attached to it?

Many of the issues and situation that Marjane was in while growing up, seems like a world away to me. I’ve been privilege to have grown up here in Vancouver as I’ve never had to live through an oppressive religious regime, I’ve never had to worry about being drafted or being bombed.

 

ARTS OF RESISTANCE

            Arts of Resistance: Politics and the Past in Latin America, Curated by Dr. Laura Osorio Sunnucks, who holds a PhD in Mesoamerican art and heritage, is an exhibit that was held at the Museum of Anthropology from May 17, 2018 to September 30, 2018. The exhibition aims to “illustrate how communities in Latin America use traditional or historical art forms to express contemporary political realities” (as taken from the MOA website). By displaying an assortment of different pieces from various marginalized, indigenous and other communities in Latin American countries, the exhibit provides us an insight, through the lens of contemporary art, of how different cultural customs, practices and forms of rebellion can be tied back to Spanish conquests and Neo-colonialism found today in the 21^st century and the effects that these ruling powers have and had over the people of these Latin American Countries.

From mask and tunics representing the devil, to various huipils, and audio recordings playing in different areas of the exhibit, there was a lot of information to absorb. However having been born in Mexico, I’ve always felt a sort of pride and nationalism when it comes to Latin American culture and its history of conquest and rebellions, as well just finding history cool in general, so much of the information presented wasn’t new to me, however it did expand my horizons of knowledge of other Latin American countries other than Mexico.

One of the objects that I have the most knowledge about and am most familiar with was the huipil. The huipil is a traditional garment worn by women that is similar to a tunic or a blouse. Materials for these huipils varied by geographical location and social status. Those who lived in high altitude regions wore huipi’s made of heavy materials such as wool due to its insulative properties and its ability to retain warmth when wet. Those who lived in lower, costal or arid regions wore ones made more of cotton. For those who were part Spanish, so those who were mestizos (half Indigenous and half Spanish), had to wear silk huipils that had heavy European influence in their design, compared to the traditional shape of those worn by completely indigenous peoples (It should be noted this is no longer the rule). However many little design elements were used do define themselves as indigenous, or a part of that community that was not obvious to the ruling powers at the time (the Spanish) and empower the people to discreetly resist the European influence that was being forced upon them in a silent rebellion of sorts. One of the littles design features the diamond shape, which is an important symbol to pre-Hispanic Latin American cultures. To a Spanish colonialist, it may just seem as a simple design to ad colour and flair to the garments or just as a simple shape. However to the knowing eye, It is meant to represent the center of the universe in a 3D shape, extending up and out wards connecting the ground to the sky, as well as north, east south and west. When trying to visualize this, think of the Mayan Pyramids, this is the exact design used on the huipils. Another design feature is colour. At first glance the colour of a huipil my be seen simply as a fashion statement or ones personal preference. While this is true, the various colours also represent the marital status of the person wearing it. Those with duller colours such as greys and browns were single and ready to mingle, while those who wore huipils with bright, vibrant colours such as reds, blues and yellows, were already taken.

Over all I must say I enjoyed the exhibit. It was jam packed with information and interesting pieces that each told their own story of struggle and resistance. While it was interesting, I found myself wanting more. I felt that this exhibit merely scratched the surface of these issues, which was probably the point.

 

All references are attributed to:

https://moa.ubc.ca/exhibition/arts-of-resistance/