Visual texts are put together to persuade a reader with not only their words but also their images.  Words give ideas of what an author is trying to convey and when given an image, depending on what you want to believe, the story or situation can come to different terms.  Authors are often articulate when relating pictures to text.  Every detail must line up and lead the reader to a specific point of view.  In Art Spiegelman's, "Maus: A Survivors Tale" he speaks to a range of audiences through his use of symbolism, color and realism.  

Maus (which is pronounced like the English word "mouse") is a story of the effect the war had on Art's father, Vladek.  In Spiegelman's story, he replaces the characters of who would normally be people, with mice.  The story of Hitler's rage and destruction has been passed down through the ages and told in many different forms.  Art Spiegelman's story is a personal one and is told with rodents instead of his human family.  The representation of people as mice is symbol of how inhumane people were being treated.  The replacement of mice for people also opens up this story to a variety of audiences seeing as a mouse makes for a better comic character and is not as heart aching as people.  The idea of a drawn cartoon rather than just a writing piece could appeal to a variety of audiences, ranging from the teenage era and up.  There were in fact children that experienced Hitler's wrath and have survived to tell the tales.  It is a very prominent topic that is discussed in not only schools but often in peoples own homes as well. Through Maus: A Survivors Tale, Spiegelman tells his story in a unique way. 

Spiegelman's use of color creates a proper set design for the events discussed.  The events discussed are of the evil and war of the Holocaust and black and white are the only colors used in the story.  This event was to a lot of people, a very dark time.  The significance of the story is not lost in the comedic style text or images but the color keeps the story subtle and in the right state for the events discussed.  Hitler in general was very black and white, it was very clear of what he wanted and how he wanted the world to be.  This creates a setting without any enthusiasm, a dark time.  The characters are pencil drawn figures with slight modifications to show emotion. For example, on page 141 one can clearly tell that Mala is upset from the lines that are portrayed on her face.  The seriousness of the story leaves little room for anything that a typical comic might hold.  Through Spiegelman's drawings of the children at the table and the families being separated he makes the Holocaust relatable to a younger audience.  This way he can make learning and or reading about the Holocaust a little bit easier for the younger generation, such as young teens.

Maus revolves a lot around its relationship to the past and present.  Art in the first few panels of the story is represented in present time is asking Vladek to tell him the story of his family's survival many years ago.  As unrealistic as a mouse can be, in Maus the animated characters hold a much deeper meaning.  The connection between how the Jewish people and the rats known to be undesirables puts this story in a real light.  During the Holocaust Jewish people were forced into cramped living situations with extremely poor hygiene.  Spiegelman uses a great deal of realism by representing the people in his story as mice.  Vladek's family was treated unfairly and the Nazi's forced Vladek's family away from him.  Jewish people were trying to be as quiet as mice so they could sneak by the Nazi's and out of Hitler's wrath.  Everyone at some point or another has found himself or herself in a cat and mouse scenario.  In Maus: A Survivors Tale, The Nazi's enslaving the Jewish Mice were drawn as cats. This adds to the "cat and mouse" scenario.  Just as mice are undesirables to people, the Jews were undesirables to the Nazi's.  Also, mice are often experimented on and used for animal testing, they are also considered low on the food chain and in this scenario the Jews are the ones "low on the food chain".  The Jewish people were forced into slaughter like animals.  

An image can hold a thousand words.  In Art Spiegelman's Maus: A Survivors Tale he shows how his use of symbolism, color and realism can speak to an assortment of audiences.  This story is one of great importance and Spiegelman did a good job of not drawing away from the seriousness of it with his cartoonish drawings.  Spiegelman does a great job of directing all of his audiences to see his story from a specific point of view through his graphic choices.  Considering the Holocaust is such a dark and serious topic, Holocaust stories are often told in a simple way.  That being said, Spiegelman's comic style story gives a different approach to the more traditional Holocaust stories of grief and war.  Maus: A Survivors Tale is a very non-fictional story drawn with fictional characters.  

