On page 125 of Art Spiegelman's first volume of Maus, Vladek is discussing what he and Anja did after they left the abandoned ghetto. He says they "didn't have [any]where to go." The path they are walking on is swastika so it is clear why they had nowhere to go. This path represents that it didn't matter which why the Jews went; the Nazis would catch them anyway. Everything in this panel is shaded except for the path to bring focus the fact that the Jews during this time had nowhere to hide. This is illustrated in the panel because there are only a few leafless trees and two houses that could be used as a hiding place. There is mostly barren land because the Jews hiding places were next to none at this point during the war. Vladek says that they "walked in the direction of Sosnowiec" but they didn't know what to do once they got there because the Nazis wouldn't be too far behind them. One wrong turn and they could end up in the smoke stacks, which is represented in the right hand corner of this panel. The smoke stacks always had a looming presence over the Jews which is why it is shaded really dark and located in the corner. It is far from Anja and Vladek, but it is close enough for them to worry about ending up in it.
Whitney, I like how you focused on each part of the picture and described its effect. I feel that Anja and Vladek aren't really hiding but they are actually walking towards the smokestacks. It was really surprising when I realized that the sidewalk was indeed a swastika. Awesome job!
ReplyDeleteSlay. I loved how in depth you went, and you helped me understand this panel in more depth. Great job! :D
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