Lord of the flies/Maus comparison

The Pig/symbol

Art Spiegelman uses different animals to portray different races in his graphic novel Maus

Although what it represents is different between the two books, the pig is used as a symbol in both Maus and Lord of the flies. In Maus the author uses the pig to represent the polish people, stemming from the stereotypical views of society on the polish from the early 1930's. He continues to use this method of portrayal for his characters when he uses the mice to represent the jews and predatory cats to represent the Germans. In the LOTF the pig is something that inhabits the island and is hunted by the boys. The pigs in lord of the flies act as a food source and the obsession with hunting and killing them begins to manifest itself within the choir boys when they begin to become ritualistic with their hunting.

The Beast/Evil within Theme

The evilness of the Nazi soldiers is displayed in this picture

Throughout reading both of these novels I noticed similarities with the beast from lord of the flies and the Nazi soldiers in Maus. In lord of the flies it is revealed later as the severed head of the pig explains to Simon that the beast is actually something inside the boys and that their fear of the unknown is the true cause of the evil that grows within their hearts. While reading Maus I was able to make a connection with the idea of underlying evil and the characters in the novel. Throughout Maus you are exposed to the horrific actions of the Nazi soldiers as well as the moral mutations of the main characters as they begin to become more hostile towards one another. The environment created by war and the concentration camps made the survivors distrust each other and multiple instances occur in the book where some of the characters turn against one another in fear for their own safety.

Differences in Writing

Art Spiegelman
William Golding

After finishing LOTF and picking up Maus the most prominent difference between the two is not only the use of artistry in the graphic novel compared to William Goldings book but the way in which the stories are being told. In lord of the flies the author paints the pictures in your head using imagery and detailed descriptions of setting or actions taking place in the story. The way in which Golding writes is also consecutive and things happen frame for frame in order with no flashbacks. Maus differs in the fact that the entire novel is one large ongoing comic strip with elaborate illustrations where the author is constantly jumping from the present to the past as his father explains to him his experiences. Dialogue also is more heavily used in Maus to accompany the pictures and give life to the black and white cartoons.


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