A visual text is very different from a written text especially when it comes to effects. A visual text allows the reader to see effects such as light and colors and it is easier to use the imaginiation. These effects makes the reader perceive and see art in a different way than a written text. In this essay, the focus will be on a picture from Maus, Art Spiegelman, 1980 in the Carolina Reader. The reason behind focusing on this image is because of the history behind the story, which this image is a part of, namely the Hollocaust during World War II. 

The image depicts three uniformed mice standing in the front of a big crowd of civilian mice. One of the uniformed mice is raised above the others as a leader shouting a message through a megaphone. These three uniformed mice are placed in the right side of the picture and the crowd is placed in the rest of the image. In the top of the picture a speech bubble saying "FELLOW JEWS: ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12TH, EVERYONE OF YOU, YOUNG AND OLD, MALE AND FEMALE, HEALTHY AND SICK, MUST REGISTER AT THE DIENST STADIUM" is placed.. This saying is explaining that every Jew no matter condition, age or gender must register at the Dienst Stadium on August 12th to get a stamp in their passport. Also, placed right above the crowd are two other speech bubbles saying: "OH NO!" and "NOW WHAT?". These two sayings show the confusion and unsatisfaction. In the background is a bus and a big fence surrounding the crowd. There are two effects in this image that makes it especially interesting. The effect of the speech bubbles makes it easier to understand what is going on in the image and it makes it easier for the audience to understand it. The saying in the top speech bubble gives the reader a clear picture of the mice all being gathered to sign up for concentration camp. The way this speech bubble is built also appears as an effect for the audience, because it is not an usual speech bubble drawn like a soft sky but rather drawn with hard lines. It illustrates shouting and yelling also because of all of the letter being capital. Another effect is the three uniformed mice being raised above the crowd in the right side, this is illustrating power and hierarchy. The way the uniformed mice is being raised above the crowd put them in the focus of the image. The image is being build up around the uniformed mice and they appear as the most important part. Also, the uniformed mice holding the megaphone has raised his armed pointing at the crowd. This element also shows power, but because the mice is the leader in the image it also shows that what he is saying is very important. When a leader raises his hand and is pointing a finger when saying something, it is considered very important, so in this image the effect of the raised hand and pointed finger gives the audience an understanding of whom is whom and the relationship between the three uniformed mice and the crowd. Another effect is the colors used in the image. The image contains only of black and white, which gives the audience a feeling of darkness and sadness illustrating the dark and sad time of the Hollocaust event. There are no colours to lighten the picture and that gives the feeling of sadness, which depict the Hollocaust event.  

Another aspect of this image is symbols. The artist's use of mice instead of human beings is an important symbol in the image. Being made aware of the mice appearing as Jews, seen in the speech bubble in top of the image, is a symbol of the relationship between the Jews and the Nazis during the Hollocaust. This relationship symbolizes the cat being the strong and powerful animal who hunts and eats mice. During World War II, the Nazis were the strong and powerful people who not only killed but also hunted the Jews. 

The artist's use of the cats/mice symbol has to do with the genre of the story and image. The story is a comic strip that contains a lot of irony it is a very painful topic for many people especially those who have experienced such events as being in a concentration camp. It is a very sensitive event to talk about through comic and using irony. It is also very rare to bring up a so serious event as the Hollocaust through a comic strip, that usually is considered as fun reading. That is the reason why this image would be perceived very different in another context. If the audience did not know the whole story but only looked at this specific image, it would have a very different opinion and view at the artist. Just looking at the image with no story behind, it would be very difficult for the audience to understand the context.  

This image has a lot of different aspects but the most important ones are the understanding of the context and how the author uses mice to show the relationship between the Jews and Nazis during the hollocaust. Everybody knows the cat and mouse game from their childhood, where it is illustrated in so many cartoons. From a very young age, we learn to empatize with the mouse because of the fact that the mouse is the hunted one, who always  get frighten out of its wiz. But we also learn that the mosuse is crafty and rebellious. The mouse represents the Jews in this picture. From that we can conclude, that the artist wants us to gain the same feelings for Jews, that we from childhood have learned to gain for the haunted and crafty mouse. The cat on the other hand awakens some whole different feelings. The cat is looked at as the hunter of the helpless victims (the mouse) and because of that we have a tendency to abhorrence the cat. And that is exactually the felling the artist want us to feel about the Nazis. Also, the way this image is built in relation to effects gives the audience a clear picture of the three uniformed mice being raised and put in focus to illustrate importance and power. They show control and hierarchy the way they are dressed and how the center mice is pointing his finger at the crowd as a leader. It is also very important to understand the author's use of comic to understand the meaning, because if this image was in a different context it would be perceived very different. It would be much harder for the audience to understand and put themselves in the situation as a crowd member.       
