AOB 4

Representation In Graphic Novels

Representation is the way in which a story may portray the real world to its audience. It can be represented by a picture, video or a newspaper article etc etc. Stereotypes are a type of representation in which we see something or someone or a group in a certain way that may or may not reflect the actual character of the person or group. It can also be judging a person to be a certain way and therefore portraying the whole group of people that way. A good definition of this is,‘Stereotypes are widely circulated ideas or assumptions about particular groups.’ An example of this could be that all women are rubbish drivers or that they belong in the kitchen cooking and cleaning.

There is a scene in the novel where Vladek is talking about a relationship he had with a woman called Lucia. He clearly states that he wishes for it not to be included in the novel because it has nothing to do with the holocaust, but obviously it is in the novel. Art Spiegalman may have done this to paint a picture of the whole man and to give a more in depth view into his life to create a greater understanding of the person. This leads me on to mediation. Mediation is how something is put across to the audience, this can be different according to the mediator, in this case it is Spiegalman telling us through the story about his father and his past, it is like he is relaying the information to us as his father tells it to him.

Spiegalman chose animals to represent the characters in the novel. The two main sets of people are the Jews which are displayed as mice and the nazi's which are represented by cats. This idea came straight from nazi propaganda where they had a stereotypical view that the Jews were vermin that needed to be exterminated, it could also depict that how resourceful the jews were during the holocaust and the inability of the nazi's to get rid of them. The metaphor that is the cats and mice can also be seen, in a way that as cats toy with mice, the nazi's toyed with the jews before killing them. Another example would be that the french were displayed as frogs which would represent the stereotypical view that the french eat frogs legs etc etc.

In the second book Spiegalman seems to be having doubts about the use of animals to represent different people, however this is what the backbone of the story is based around. So instead of carrying on using the animals, he uses masks instead, tied round their heads with a piece of string. Maybe he wants to come to the conclusion that race is only a deception and also a stereotype depending on their actions and their past and that underneath all of this we are all the same, suggesting that in the novel, under the masks everyone is equal and similar.

The use of animals to represent human beings may be seen as out of place. But instead of creating social stereotypes, he ridicules them in a way that it can be seen that it is not correct to classify or judge human beings by race or nationality. The book is supposed to show unity between humans and to outline the fact that it is crazy to separate people through religious, ethnic or nationalistic divides. Animals could also have been used o detach the reader from real life and to help the novel appeal to a much younger generation while at the same time keeping interest from the older generation by showing a story of survival and death during the holocaust.

Throughout the novel Spiegalmans father Vladek is represented in different ways to show his complex and confrontational relationship with his father. In the book Vladek often exhibits racial prejudice against black people, despite his own experiences of anti-semitism. He can also be seen as a stingy and uptight person who often makes it difficult for people to be with and live round him, this can be seen during his relationships with his first two wives Anja and Mala, whom both of which have survived through concentration camps. This attitude of Vladek is one of great contrast to the one that is shown during his time spent in a concentration camp, where he seems clever, resourceful and fairly compassionate and friendly towards others around him.

In Palestine, Joe Sacco represents himself as a fairly dumb, clumsy journalist. This helps to keep the novel flowing and moving as due to this anything could go wrong and he could get himself into trouble. The Palestinians themselves are represented as very violent, powerful and controlling while the isralies are seen as weak and non-important, the women are free thinkers, the men are tortured and beat while the kids are pictured having to sleep in houses without roofs. This creates a big contrast between the two races.