Combining words and images, the graphic novel Maus fully utilizes iconic illustrations to reveal the historical reality of the Holocaust. In the field of comics, an icon refers to “any image used to represent a person, place, thing, or idea.” In Maus, Spiegelman developed a series of anthropomorphic images, or icons, to represent the racial groups involved in the Holocaust. Spiegelman's decision to adopt what appear to be universal representations as icons for the main characters, therefore, raises an important question: How is the Holocaust best represented by Spiegelman's anthropomorphic icons of racial groups such as mice, cats, and pigs? Say no to plagiarism. . Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayWith the use of animal icons, Speigelman not only establishes an identifiable image of the racial groups involved in the Holocaust, but also provides emotional protection for readers by describing terrible situations in a simplified manner. In the third frame of page 33 of Maus, Spiegelman presents two mice holding a sign that says “I am a dirty Jew. " Through this, the reader can immediately recognize how Jews are characterized as mouse animals. The other major racial group, the German Nazis, is illustrated in the same panel as a group of cats with sharp eyes and teeth. In subsequent panels, the readers can see cats in Nazi uniforms clubbing crying mice and suffocating mice with their claws. Spiegelman further emphasizes the overwhelming and omnipresent German authority over the Jews by placing the swastika symbol as the backdrop to the frames. Indeed, these intrusive depictions and frank reports of the extermination of the Jews might cause discomfort if the characters were drawn as real human beings. However, because Spiegelman's animal icons conveniently distance us from the painful and serious agony of the Holocaust, they reveal the significant details of the tragedy without inflicting emotional disturbance on the people. readers Spiegelman's use of simplified icons is not limited exclusively to depictions of the two main opposition groups involved in the Holocaust, but also extended to demonstrate the ambiguous position of the Polish people during the Holocaust in Vladek's perspective. Although Mr. Lukowski, the Polish caretaker of Vladek's father's old house, provides Vladek and Anja with temporary shelter, not all Poles willingly support the Jew's survival. For example, while Vladek is relieved to see that “kind people” still exist, a furious pig curses them from the window and shouts: “There's a Jew in the yard! Traffic Police!" Later in the story, readers will continue to witness how the Poles show much more concern for their own safety and only help Vladek and Anja for money. Since Art depicts the Poles based on his father's words, such depictions of the Poles' actions in Maus clearly reflect Vladek's bitterness towards the Poles Since a comic is an "empty shell" into which we readers can insert ourselves in the cartoon, the hostile pigs successfully serve to outline the impression that Vladek. had Poles during the Holocaust. With the iconic depictions of social groups in Vladek's tale, Spiegelman further reflects the rampant racism during the Holocaust, which reduced the entire race into a filthy horde predestined for elimination frame on page 33, readers must rely on the words spoken by each of the mice to identify the group of mice as individual speakers..