Focusing Questions for Maus
Legend:
English 102 -- 9 a.m.
English 102 – 10 a.m.
Instructor Questions
Setting and time
Think about the way that Spiegelman moves back and forth in time. Focus on a few
instances in which he does this in an interesting or dramatic fashion. (It’s useful to find
some panels or examples before asking questions.)
Ask focusing questions about these moves or jumps. You might think both about the
narrative effects (e.g. How does the past intrude on or bleed through into the present?)
and the effects on the reader (e.g. How are we affected by _______? What does that
teach us?)
Class Questions:
 What sense of reality does the underground comic book (“Prisoner on the
Hell Planet”) bring to Maus? What role does it play in the text as a whole?
 Why does Art feel that his success is on top of countless dead bodies?
 What is Mala’s role in the book?
 How does Vladek feel about Richieu? [Changed a bit to make it more openended.] How does Art feel about him?
 Why does Art include images of the past into the present in his drawing? (Or,
why does Art layer images of the past and the present?)
 Why doesn’t Art draw his mother’s story as well?
o A related question: How does the fact that the story is told from Vladek’s
point of view change or impact the narrative? Why is Anja’s missing voice
so significant?
 How does the way that Maus is drawn change our challenge our
understanding (as readers) of the relationship between the past and the
present?
Narrative
(NOTE: You can think about narrative as the order in which the story is told.)
Ask questions about why Spiegelman structured or ordered the narrative in the way that
he did. For example, you might consider the beginning or end of the text (e.g. Why does
he end Maus II with ________? What do we learn from that choice?) or the way that
chapters are organized or titled (e.g. Why call Ch. 2 _____? What is the significance of
that choice?)
Class Questions:
 Why does Maus start and end with Vladek’s health issues?
 What is the benefit of having already set up expectations for characters and
relationships in Maus I for Maus II? (OR, “How does the focus and structure
of Maus II differ from Maus I? Why is that difference significant?)
 What comes to mind when remembering that the Holocaust was less than
100 years ago? (Think about this in terms of the text. How does Spiegelman
remind us of the continuing effects of the Holocaust in the present?)
 Why does Spiegelman move back and forth in time?
 Why does S. use different animals to represent different races and
nationalities?
 Why did S. choose the combination of illustrations/titles that he did for some
of the chapters? (In this case, it’s useful to focus on one chapter title or
illustration as a starting point.)
 Why does Spiegelman move between past and present?
 Why does he use animals as characters?
 Why does Spiegelman use masks through the book?
 Why does S. include such a heavy subplot with Mala?
 Why does S. show Vladek’s tattoo so sparsely?
Relationships
Consider some of the relationships in Maus I and II. Which ones would you like to
explore in more detail? (I recommend thinking of relationship pairings first – e.g. Art and
Vladek – and then asking questions about that relationship.)
 Was Mala trying to take Vladek’s wealth? Why does S. focus on this aspect of
the relationship so much?
 How does the war affect the relationship between Vladek and Anja?
 How does Vladek and Art’s relationship grow as Vladek tells his stories?
 How does the relationship between Vladek and the supervisor help him to
survive? (Or, more broadly, how does Vladek use his ability to form
relationships in order to survive?)
 NOTE: I accidentally erased the questions from our English 102 10 a.m. class.
It would be wonderful if someone could send me a picture or some
Symbols
Focus in on specific symbols or motifs that we see throughout the text.
 Remember that a symbol is an object that both stands for itself (literal
meaning) and has larger symbolic meanings (e.g. the Exercycle, flies)
 You can think of a motif as a pattern – an image or idea that surfaces
throughout the text

After you’ve chosen a few specific symbols or motifs (4-5), ask focusing questions about
them – e.g. What is the significance of Vladek’s Exercycle? What does it teach us about
him?
 Why does Spiegelman use different animals to represent different groups of
people? How would the story change if S. used human figures instead?
 Why does S. choose to use an actual photograph of his father vs. portraying
him as a mouse like he did with his other relatives?
 Why is Art shrinking? What does that symbolize throughout the book?
 How does jewelry play a role in Vladek’s life during or after the Holocaust.
(also, shoes?)
 Unfortunately, I erased these, too! I will replace them if someone can send
me a picture or text. Sorry!
Character Development
For this focus, think about the way that characters have changed over time OR over the
course of the narrative. (Note: “Changing over time” emphasizes their growth over their
lifespan, while focusing on the “course of the narrative” emphasizes how they change as
the novel over the course of the novel.) Focus on a few specific characters and ask
focused questions about aspects of their personality – e.g. How does Spiegelman
mature as an artist over time? Why is that important?
 How does Vladek’s view of people change after the Holocaust?
 How does Vladek influence the way that other people see him (during the
Holocaust)? How does he use that influence to “pass” or survive?
 How does Anja change during and after the Holocaust?
 How does Art’s view of his father change throughout Maus I and II?
“MetaMaus”
One of the most important aspects of Maus is its discussion of the act of writing memoir
and artistic representation (especially representing something, artistically, that is often
too horrific to represent directly). Focus on places in Maus where Spiegelman (or Art) is
thinking about these ideas. What kinds of questions does he ask himself? What kinds of
questions does he force us to ask ourselves? (Here, you might focus on the ethics of
memoir – i.e. what should or should not be written – as well as the struggles of
representation.)
 Why does S. open Maus II with a discussion about which animal his wife
should be? Why is his final decision (that she should be a mouse) important?
 Examine the picture at the end of the book (Author’s photo). How does
Spiegelman picture or imagine himself? Why is that significant?
 What are the ethical concerns about writing a memoir (esp. about the
Holocaust)?
 Why does S. use animals to depict the characters in the story?