essay 3

The new prompt

Please read the MAUS books 1 and 2 

English 101 – Maus In-class Essay Prompt:

·       Be sure that you have an arguable thesis, at least 3 main points, and a conclusion that draws larger implications (answers the “so what?” question).

·       Write neatly so that multiple people could read your essay. Print and/or skip lines if you need to make things clearer. Please do NOT write on the backs of pages.

Select one of the following prompts.

1.     How does Spiegelman’s stylistic choices in this graphic novel (comic format, choice of animals, use of color, creative ways of drawing certain unexplainable situations, etc.), as a form of story-telling, affect our emotional interpretation? How do a few of these work in the books? What are the advantages and disadvantages in how the pictures accompanying the words affect our perception of certain events or characters? Give examples.

2.     In a post-racial society such as ours where one's race or ethnicity should no longer be viewed as culturally threatening, why should students read and discuss Maus? What does it teach children, and how? At what age should they read it to compliment history lessons? Support your answer with three concrete, critically chosen examples, scenes, or topics that support the reading of Maus.

3.     Many philosophers and psychologists discuss how in extreme survival situations, people often become morally ambiguous, and some more than others. How did experiences surrounding the Holocaust turn people into “monsters”?