THEMES Storytelling & Art

Memory & Truth

LEARNING INTENTIONS &
SUCCESS CRITERIA
Learning Intentions
o To understand the themes of memory,
truth, storytelling and art
o To collect evidence thematically
o To analyse how Spiegelman creates
meaning of characters and plot through
storytelling, memory, his truth and art
Success Criteria
 I can read both visual and literary
evidence through skimming and
scanning
 I can collect key evidence for focus
themes
 I can explain memory's effect on the
truth and the impacts of storytelling
through art
 These particular themes all interlink and

TODAY’S FOCUS THEMES

relate to one another, it is difficult to
discuss one without considering the others

Memory Truth Art Storytelling

•Maus is about •By having Vladek •Similarly to Storytelling, •Maus is a story about
remembering and not verbalise his it is about expressing stories. Vladek’s story,
forgetting particular and understanding there’s the story about
memories in Vladek telling his story,
trauma and survival retrospect which are another person’s story and the story about Art
from the war. Vladek’s then transferred into •However, Artie uses creating the novel.
memories are the main an artistic form of imagery and this •Storytelling has many
focus accompanying storytelling, the truth particular medium to
the process with purposes: therapeutic
may be altered or express and make sense (cathartic), learning about
which Art extracts parts dismissed to of his relationship with someone’s truth, assists in
these memories from make sense of trauma his father as well as the empathising and
the father’s story. understanding another
and experiences. trauma of the war
Retrospect: looking back & human’s world.
contemplating the past
 A LITTLE MORE ON MEMORY,
TRAUMA & STORYTELLING Time to put our
psychologist hats
on
It is common (even if the individual agrees to it like Vladek does) for war
survivors/traumatised individuals to recollect/remember their experience as
triggering and stressful. In order to cope with this stress, many detach from the
present moment (in psychological terms this is called ‘disassociation’), or may
avoid talking about these experiences altogether. Regarding Vladek, we notice a
similar pattern of avoidance (e.g, he engages in hands-on tasks, cycles on his
bike, etc). It is also common for traumatised individuals who are remembering
and verbalising their trauma to have an unclear, disjoined, recollection of
their experience. This is why you may find reading Maus frustrating at times as
you go in and out of the Holocaust memory to the present where Vladek has
become distracted by an external factor (Art’s smoking/cigarette ash on the
floor, cycling on the bike too hard, cleaning dishes, sorting his pills, etc). As a
result, Art is attempting to capture pieces of the story (that at times is
disjointed, dismissed or skimmed over by Vladek) shaping in his own mind, a
different story about what it was like to be in the war.
 MEMORY &
TRUTH VISUAL A

COMPLETE ANALYSIS QUESTIONS

– use visuals to support answer
1. VISUAL A: As Vladek recalls his most
traumatic memories, images portray him
cycling very fast on his bike – what might
this suggest about memory’s impact on
Vladek’s behaviour?
2. VISUAL A: Frequently, Vladek’s memories
VISUAL B
are jumbled and he diverts to different
memories – why did Speigelman include
these moments?
3. VISUAL B: Why might Vladek keep
snapshots “below [his] closet” rather than
displayed in his house?
4. VISUAL B: Why does Vladek hoard scrap
materials, trash and keepsakes from the war
and what does this suggest about his
memory?
 STORYTELLING Story telling is a sense making activity. However, it is also a way of making a

& TRUTH version of how you may have liked things to be.

COMPLETE ANALYSIS QUESTIONS – use

visual to support answer

1. Vladek’s last words on the war are “we….lived

happy, happy ever after.” Do you think this was
true? Why/why not?
2. How does Vladek’s version of the end of war
impact the story?
 ART & TRUTH It is common for second generation survivors (children of war survivors) to construct their identity
through imaginative writing and art – usually to fill in the gaps of memories and experiences they
cannot understand

COMPLETE ANALYSIS QUESTIONS – use

visuals to support answer

1. Why might Art have created a graphic novel for

such a “complex” story?
2. How may creating a graphic novel distort the truth
or make it less subjective (personal)? Is it good or
bad for the story to be less subjective?
SKIMMING AND SCANNING

SKIM: Quickly read through pages to recall context of plot

SCAN: Read through same page again, stopping at particular panels to
closely read – see how that panel relates to the focus theme
SCAN: Write quote/describe visual in quote bank and try to explain how it
links to the theme while the idea is still fresh in your mind
 HELPFUL READING TIP

Hint when studying texts in English: use the skimming & scanning method
and create a colour coded system of themes. For example: Pink post it notes
= guilt, Purple post it notes = Survival, Green post it notes = Memory
 EVIDENCE QUOTE BANK
1. Refer to handout – evidence quote bank
2. Collect 1 quote or describe a visual which relates to the focus themes using the page numbers provided and skimming and
scanning strategy
3. Briefly discuss how it links to the theme

For example: THEME: MEMORY & TRUTH

Evidence Analysis Reference
“No. I remember only marching. Not Vladek can only recall the shouts and Page. 214, frame 3
any orchestras.” - Vladek orders of guards during a memory of
him marching through Auschwitz
despite the well documented orchestras
that would play. This suggests Vladek’s
trauma impacted his ability to
remember specific sounds and details.

***this will be an ongoing handout to build up your quote banks for ALL themes