Animopomorphized isn’t technically a word, but when broken down the etymology, one is lead to the words ‘animal,’ ‘form/shape,’ and a modifier that makes this word a verb. So, in brief, for something to take the form of an animal. This phenomena is what happens to the characters in Art Spiegelman’s Maus. The lines that were drawn between Jews, Germans, and Nazi’s (as well as the French) diverge further into biological lines, and the ‘types’ of humans become species.
I was curious about reading deeper into effect of exchanging the humans for animals. In class, we already established that the medium of ‘comic’ has broken barriers in the eyes of many between fiction and non fiction. Lines have been blurred. On one hand, it is based on a historical account. On the other hand, the medium, and use of common North American animals, all of which have been domesticated, (yes, even pet pigs are becoming ‘a thing’) create a childish air to it that’s fraught with ‘adult’ meaning.
Firstly, we’ve learned that the symbol of Jewish people as mice, as vermin, has been well propagated by Nazi’s. The Cat and Mouse trope is well established in North American culture at the very least. But there are many more layers of symbols within the story itself and outside of it, regarding the story itself as well as the story of the story.
The animals allow Spiegelman to visually depict scenes that he himself has not witnessed, which, in a way, detracts a bit from possible backlash against misrepresentation. The cartoon format removes the risk of some inaccuracies, making the ‘real’ into more of a symbol, the same way that the people who existed and were involved in the Holocaust were reduced to their ideologies and beliefs, symbols of another kind. The people were homogenized into a universal, as are the animals.
The animals themselves also have symbolism in the Judaic tradition. This helpful website denotes some of these symbols: for example, the cat as a symbol for power and wholeness, the mouse as frugal and scrutinized, the pig as a symbol for rebirth, and the frog as a healing animal. These themes can be seen embodied in the animal characters of Maus.
Finally, on a more academic note, the visual depiction of the animals allows Spiegelman to physically show the way the Panopticon operated in the Holocaust. This term is a part of Foucault’s book Discipline and Punish. Essentially, a small group of people in power, or even one person in a position of power is able to control the masses through the use of the ‘divide and conquer’ mentality. By physically and mentally separating them in a structure like the one below, the hegemony is able to keep continuous watch over the persecuted/trapped without them knowing when they are being watched, keeping them in a state of fear and in threat punishment. The cat’s keep the mice in check, mentally and physically through this idea.
Citations:
Foucault, Michel. “Discipline and Punish, Panopticism.” Foucault, Info. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
Kipperman, Doug. “SDJA – Art – Animal Symbolism.” SDJA – Art – Animal Symbolism. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
Vokes-Dudgeon, Sophie. “Miley Cyrus Gets a Pet Piglet, Snuggles up with New Pet on her Private Jet.” Latest News. N.p., 11 Aug. 2014. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.