Never-ending Trauma
"you heard about the gas, but I'm telling not rumors, but only what I really saw"Everyone has heard the stupid song that begins with "a circle is round, it has no end..". it's like a rite of passage for having an elementary school "BFF". However, as Art Speigelman aims to subtly highlight in Maus, the "never-ending" circle is also a motif for the pain and trauma Vladek continues to experience despite having survived the Holocaust.
A notable example of this is the last four panels on page 69. These panels depict Art smoking a cigarette while Vladek, wearing circular glasses, talks about the gas chambers. In the first panel is the smoke from Art's cigarette, which was skillfully placed directly above a depiction of a gas chamber, so that the smoke from the cigarette looks as if it is coming out from the chimney. In the second panel, Vladek gazes warily at the smoke, and in the third, Vladek's eyes (and his glasses) are the main focus of the panel.
Vladek's circular glasses are a symbol of the haunting memories that will never leave his mind. His eyes have been damaged by the war, but the glasses that help him see again only make the flashbacks worse. When he sees the smoke from Art's cigarette, he sees the smoke from the gas chambers, and the circular shape of his glasses signify that this will never change. Vladek is stuck in a never-ending cycle of flashbacks, brought on by the smallest things (e.g. cigarette smoke). This also is quite ironic, because even though the glasses help his vision, they indirectly hurt his mental health by heightening his perception of the images around him, any of which could potentially trigger a flashback (even though it is never mentioned, Vladek likely has PTSD, a mental disorder brought on by traumatic experiences. Those with PTSD experience flashbacks at random, and sometimes self-medicate or even commit suicide. It is likely that Anja had it too.)
More examples of the circle motif are the wheel of the exercycle and the circle enclosing the swastika.
I think that this is such a prevalent theme brought up in the book, and the circle motif was a huge aspect of that theme. I love that you mentioned Vladek's glasses because that is something that characterizes Vladek from the beginning of the book. I completely agree with your argument that Art was trying to show how Vladek has been so damaged by war that he lives through the haunting memories every single day. This is contrasted with Art who is only documenting it, whether it be writing it down or recording it. Art can choose to stop listening or scrap any parts of the story he doesn't want to include, but Vladek is stuck inside this never ending loop, like you mentioned, of war memories. Also I loved how you brought up Art's cigarette matching up with the chimney! This is something I didn't even notice. Great Job!
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