In Spiegelman’s graphic novel, Maus, most of the characters are shaded, and a select few are white. The characters that are shaded represent the Jews that didn’t think twice about having to go to the stadium to get their documents expected. The white characters represent the Nazi commanders and the Jews that know what’s going on; know going to the stadium is a trap. Spiegelman shades the Jews that are oblivious to what’s going on because it’s kind of like their “in the dark”.
The fact that the novel is told in a comic strip format makes it easier for the reader to follow the story. It shows everything scene by scene. And if there were no pictures, it would definitely be hard to follow what was happening. The pictures allow us to see exactly who is talking and show us the flashback on a much stronger level than just reading about it. The pictures also let us know that not all of the Jews were completely ignorant to what was taking place.
Spiegelman sets the tone of the novel by using a specific contrast of color. By using black, white and gray as the colors of the visual, the readers get a sense of the novel being very serious and kind of gloomy.
The text and the visuals interact together by how the text is used in its bubbles. The bubbles that go with the pictures of the Nazi commanders are rigid, showing that they are yelling through a megaphone and have authority. The bubbles that are rounded are from the Jews that have direct dialogue. The bubbles that are square make a statement that sums up the overall feeling of the mass crowd of Jews. It’s as if it’s spoken by a narrator, perhaps the father. And the text not included in a bubble or box is the transition to the flashback.
