I just found a list of the animals used in Maus, and what nationalities they are supposed to represent here. I was curious as to why he used dogs for Americans, fish for the British and reindeer for the Swedes, so I looked up different possible meanings.
The only thing that turned up on the use of dogs was from a symbolism site, stating that dogs are "symbols of courage, vigilance and loyal fidelity." I've noticed that in foreign films, Americans are often shown as very straightforward people, so maybe Spiegelman's representation should be taken at face value.
When typing into Google Search 'why are the British fish in Maus,' before I could even finish typing it in, possible search terms to end 'why are the British...' included 'rude,' 'arrogant,' and 'so mean.' Because of that, I'm assuming now that Spiegelman is referencing the emotional detachment and stiff-upper-lip mentality characterizing British citizens during wartime. It's still a little ambiguous though. What do you guys think?
The reindeer search ended up being the most interesting. Reindeer were, apparently, often used in heraldry in Sweden, and are still featured in many family and province crests. Also, there is an indigenous group of people called the 'Sami,' or 'Sami people,' who herd reindeer across Northern Europe, especailly in Sweden.
hmm...it there something wrong with the format, are there words missing, and the link for the list of animals doesn't work. Is there an animal for chinese. just curious.
ReplyDeleteThat's strange! I tried fixing the format, but it keeps messing up. Here's the rest of the post:
ReplyDeleteWhen typing into Google Search 'why are the British fish in Maus,' before I could even finish typing it in, possible search terms to end 'why are the British...' included 'rude,' 'arrogant,' and 'so mean.' Because of that, I'm assuming now that Spiegelman is referencing the emotional detachment and stiff-upper-lip mentality characterizing British citizens during wartime. It's still a little ambiguous though. What do you guys think?
The reindeer search ended up being the most interesting. Reindeer were, apparently, often used in heraldry in Sweden, and are still featured in many family and province crests. Also, there is an indigenous group of people called the 'Sami,' or 'Sami people,' who herd reindeer across Northern Europe, especailly in Sweden.
Naomi,
ReplyDeleteI think you make an interesting point about the British being fish in Maus and, in fact, you've used multimedia literature to come to your conclusion. The list of search terms that are suggested say a lot about our collective cultural thought process.
Additionally, it's possible the British are fish because they live on an island, but I prefer your interpretation!