Smoke and Conversation

            The series of panels I chose are the four lowest panels on page fourteen in Maus Volume 2. I specifically want to draw attention to the conversation taking place between Art and Francoise along with the smoke coming out of the car. Art and his wife are talking about the lack of understanding Art has about Auschwitz and the experience his father went through. The conversation then, rather dramatically, transforms into one where Art confesses he would rather prefer his mother live and his father die in the Nazi’s gas chambers. In my opinion, as Art is having difficulty understanding the torture and pain the Jews went through during the Holocaust, he is, probably subconsciously, trying to connect the infamous events that took place during the Holocaust with his personal feelings about his family just to get a better sense. Since both of his parents underwent the Holocaust, Art transfers his direct frustration with his father into one which recreates the horrors during the Nazi reign and frequently results the death of Vladek. While this conversation is taking place, the smoke coming from the car also changes shape. At the beginning, the smoke comes out in rings. The last panel on this page illustrates the smoke in a more constant stream and no longer in rings. As we have talked in class, smoke is apparent throughout both volumes and generally acts as a motif which symbolizes the Nazi reign and terrors of the Holocaust. When the smoke is in rings, Art is still in a half mindset where he feel sorry for Vladek, but also is very frustrated with him, but when the smoke is in a constant stream, Art declares that he would allow his father to die if his mother could be saved. The smoke in the last panel on page 14 depicts the smoke that would be released through the burning of Vladek in Art’s mind and the ringed smoke just represents the frustration Art has with his father.