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DOCUMENT SCORE

Overweg- Maus 84 of 100

ISSUES FOUND IN THIS TEXT

27
PLAGIARISM

1%
Contextual Spelling No errors

Grammar 3
Incorrect Verb Forms 2
Wrong or Missing Prepositions 1

Punctuation 4
Punctuation in Compound/Complex Sentences 3
Comma Misuse within Clauses 1

Sentence Structure No errors

Style 20
Passive Voice Misuse 9
Inappropriate Colloquialisms 4
Unclear Reference 4
Wordy Sentences 3

Vocabulary enhancement No errors

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Overweg- Maus
Jana Overweg
Mr. Bradley
Honors English 10
20 September 2017
Literary Analysis of Maus
1
How and why is a social group represented in a particular Unoriginal text: 12 words
way 1? www.scribd.com/document/1167845…

Art Spiegelman, the author of the book Maus,

incorporated lots of symbolism in his writing. The artwork
in this graphic novel shows the Jewish people in the
Holocaust as mice, which is a metaphor for how others
saw them during that time period 2. They were treated 3 as
2
if they were no better than farm animals. In Poland and all [time period → period]
3
over Europe, Jewish people were persecuted 4 for their Passive voice
4
religious affiliation and background, and Art’s dad, Passive voice
Vladek, was one of those Jews. In this graphic novel, we
hear Vladek’s story about how he survived Prisoner of
War camps, being a Jew in hiding, and the infamous death
camp, Auschwitz.
Art drew the Jewish people as mice because they were
being exterminated 5 like pests. In the death camps, the
Jewish people were gassed and killed in mass amounts.
5
This 6 is how we get rid of pests 7, by poisoning them and Passive voice
killing them in large quantities. Vladek says to Art,
6
“Zyklon B, a pesticide, dropped into hollow columns. It Unclear antecedent
7
was between 3 8 and 30 minutes-it depended 9 how much Repetitive word: pests
gas they put-but soon nobody was anymore alive.”
(Spiegelman 71) These gas chambers were used to kill a
8
horrifying amount of people, just like we would spray a [3,]
9
beehive, or set out fly strips. After all of these people were [depended on]

gassed, their bodies were burned 10, not even buried. It was
other Jews who had to carry the bodies to the ovens. These
Jews were being exterminated 11 as if they were pests,
killed with actual pesticide. They were treated as terribly
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10
as we treat infestations of bugs. Passive voice
The Nazis toyed with the Jewish people like a cat
11
would toy with a mouse, and this is another reason why Passive voice
Art would draw them that way. The German soldiers
would have total control of what the Jews could and could
not do, and they would kill anybody who did not conform
to their ideas of what was acceptable. On page 65 of
Maus, Vladek’s dad says “They made us sing prayers
while they laughed and beat us.” The Nazis were eager to
humiliate the Jewish people for their own 12 enjoyment,
forcing them to sing Jewish prayers and beating them.
This 13 dehumanized the Jews and put down their religion,
making them feel ashamed and inferior. This 14 was a
tactic the Germans used to make the Jewish people more
submissive to the wishes of the Nazis. The Jews were
easier to control if they were beat 15 down and
12
dehumanized. The mice got batted around by the cats, 16 [own]
13
and were lucky if they could escape alive. Unclear antecedent
The German people looked down upon the Jews and
acted as if they were far better than the Jews. When the
14
Germans needed things, they forcibly took them from Unclear antecedent
Jewish people. When this happened, the Jews thought they
were going to get paid for their stuff, but they rarely did.
15
“Wait! I 17 haven’t 18 been paid 19, yet.” Vladek’s father [were beat → were beaten]
16
says. The German that was seizing their property replied, [cats, ]
“Please, 20 if you want to stay alive, go back inside.”
(Spiegelman 70). The Germans did not value the Jews or
their wishes, and they did not care what the Jews said.
This 21 is very similar to how we treat animals. We make
them do whatever we want and get rid of them when they
are not valuable to us anymore. We do not often think
about what they want, nor do we place much importance
17
on it. The Jewish people were looked down upon like we Personal pronoun in formal writing
18
look down upon animals 22 and this is why Spiegelman [haven't → have not]
19
Passive voice
represented them as mice. 20
[Please, ]
Art Spiegelman could have also used the words of
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Adolf Hitler himself as inspiration for drawing the Jews as

21

mice. On the copyright and publication page of Maus, Unclear antecedent

there is a quote from Hitler, the leader of the Nazi party,

that says 23 “The Jews are undoubtedly a race, but they are
not human.” Hitler obviously did not see the Jews as
people, and he treated them accordingly. Actual animals
were treated 24 better than the Jewish people. Art wanted to
show that the Jews were treated very much like vermin
22

during the war, so he drew them as mice. [animals,]

Art Spiegelman was very symbolic in his writing and

illustrating of Maus. The metaphor of these Jewish people
being portrayed 25 as mice strengthened the book by
showing us how the Jews were so often degraded 26 for
their religion. Being openly Jewish was basically 27 suicide
23

in Europe during World War II. Had all the characters in [that says → which says]

the book been 28 drawn as humans, we would not see this

separation as clearly. Spiegelman used his artwork to
symbolize the dehumanization of the Jewish population in
24

the Holocaust, and he did so very well. Passive voice

Word count: 806

25
Passive voice

26
Passive voice
27
[basically]

28
[been → were]

Works Cited
Spiegelman, Art. Maus: A Survivor's Tale. New York:
Pantheon Books, 1986. Print.
Spiegelman, Art. Maus II: And Here My 29 Troubles
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Began. New York: Pantheon Books, 1991. Print.

29
Personal pronoun in formal writing