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Symbolism in Maus by Spiegelman

The themes of suffering and survivor's guilt in maus, the concept of guilt and its representation in maus, analysis of father-son relationship in maus, let us write you an essay from scratch.

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The Importance of Anthropomorphic Characters in Maus

Art speigelman’s depiction of the father-son relationship in his book, maus, the interconnection between the past and the present in maus, the use of visual narrative and formal structure in maus: a survivors tale by art spiegelman, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

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An Analysis of Maus, a Graphical Story by Art Spiegelman

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1991, Art Spiegelman

Comics, Novel, Graphic novel, Comic book, Biography

Vladek Spiegelman, Art Spiegelman, Anja Spiegelman, Mandelbaum, Mala Spiegelman, Françoise Mouly

"Maus" is a graphic novel written by Art Spiegelman and is based on the experiences of his father, Vladek Spiegelman, a Holocaust survivor. The novel is a unique and poignant exploration of the Holocaust, using the medium of comic art to depict the harrowing events. Inspired by his father's firsthand accounts, Art Spiegelman tells the story of Vladek's life during World War II, including his time in Auschwitz concentration camp and his struggles to survive and protect his family. "Maus" stands out for its innovative portrayal of the characters as anthropomorphic animals, with Jews depicted as mice and Nazis as cats. This metaphorical representation adds depth to the narrative, allowing readers to engage with the story on multiple levels.

The story begins with Art's attempts to understand his father's past and the impact it has had on their relationship. Vladek shares his harrowing journey, from the rise of anti-Semitism in Poland to the Nazi occupation, the horrors of Auschwitz, and his eventual liberation. Throughout the novel, Art grapples with the weight of his father's story and the responsibility of representing it truthfully. The narrative not only explores the brutality and dehumanization of the Holocaust but also delves into the complex dynamics between father and son, the trauma of survivors, and the challenges of memory and storytelling.

"Maus" is primarily set in two distinct time periods: the present-day 1970s in New York City and the past during World War II in Poland and various concentration camps. In the present, the story takes place in the urban landscape of New York City, depicting the everyday lives of Art Spiegelman and his father, Vladek. The city serves as a backdrop for Art's interviews with his father, as well as their interactions and struggles in dealing with the lingering effects of the Holocaust. The past setting of the narrative is situated in Poland during the rise of Nazi Germany and the subsequent occupation. It portrays the stark realities of life under Nazi rule, the ghettos, and the horrors of concentration camps such as Auschwitz. The grim and oppressive atmosphere of these settings highlights the extreme circumstances faced by Vladek and countless others during the Holocaust.

One of the primary themes is the trauma and its intergenerational effects. The graphic novel delves into the psychological impact of the Holocaust on both survivors and their children. It portrays the burden of memory, guilt, and the struggle to reconcile personal experiences with the larger historical context. Another significant theme is the power of storytelling and the role of art in representing history. Art Spiegelman employs the medium of comics to convey the complex and emotional story of his father's survival. Through visual imagery and the use of anthropomorphic animals as characters, the narrative challenges traditional depictions of the Holocaust and highlights the capacity of art to engage with difficult subject matter. Additionally, "Maus" explores themes of prejudice, dehumanization, and the consequences of unchecked bigotry. It delves into the ways in which individuals grapple with their identities, navigate social hierarchies, and confront prejudice in a world scarred by the Holocaust.

One prominent literary device is symbolism. Art Spiegelman utilizes anthropomorphic animals to represent different groups of people, with Jews portrayed as mice and Nazis as cats. This metaphorical approach adds depth and complexity to the storytelling, allowing readers to grasp the power dynamics and dehumanization inherent in the Holocaust. For example, the use of mice to represent Jews underscores their vulnerability and prey status in the face of Nazi persecution. Another literary device employed in "Maus" is foreshadowing. Through subtle hints and clues, Spiegelman foreshadows future events, creating suspense and anticipation. An example of this is when Art's father, Vladek, mentions his first wife and children who died during the war, foreshadowing the tragic fate that awaits them. Additionally, the use of flashbacks is a significant literary device in "Maus." The narrative frequently shifts between the present and past, offering glimpses into Vladek's experiences during the Holocaust. These flashbacks provide crucial context, deepen character development, and offer a layered understanding of the historical events. Moreover, the graphic novel format itself is a distinct literary device in "Maus." The combination of visuals and text allows for a unique storytelling experience, providing visual cues and imagery that enhance the emotional impact of the narrative. The illustrations contribute to the overall narrative structure and create a powerful synergy between the words and images.

First and foremost, Art Spiegelman's groundbreaking work revolutionized the graphic novel medium. "Maus" demonstrated the artistic and narrative potential of the graphic format, elevating it from mere entertainment to a serious and respected literary form. Its success opened doors for other graphic novels to explore complex themes and historical events. In terms of Holocaust representation, "Maus" introduced a new perspective by using anthropomorphic animals to depict the characters, reflecting the dehumanization and brutality of the Holocaust itself. This innovative approach challenged traditional portrayals and expanded the possibilities of Holocaust storytelling. Moreover, "Maus" sparked critical discussions about trauma, memory, and the transmission of history. Spiegelman's exploration of his father's experiences as a Holocaust survivor highlighted the intergenerational impact of trauma and the complexities of memory. This prompted a reevaluation of how personal narratives and collective memory shape our understanding of historical events.

1. "Maus" was the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize. In 1992, Art Spiegelman's groundbreaking work received the Pulitzer Prize Special Citation, marking a significant moment in the recognition of graphic novels as a legitimate form of literature. 2. "Maus" has been translated into over 30 languages, reaching a global audience and resonating with readers worldwide. Its powerful storytelling and unique visual style have transcended cultural boundaries, making it a universally acclaimed and widely read work.

Maus is an important subject for an essay due to its exceptional contribution to literature and its innovative narrative style. The graphic novel by Art Spiegelman delves into the Holocaust and its aftermath, presenting a poignant and deeply personal account of the author's father's experiences as a survivor. By using anthropomorphic animal characters to represent different groups, Spiegelman creates a powerful metaphorical framework that explores complex themes of identity, trauma, memory, and the impact of historical events on individuals and generations. Writing an essay about Maus provides an opportunity to delve into the unique literary and artistic techniques employed by Spiegelman, such as the use of panels, visual symbolism, and interweaving narratives. It allows for an examination of the graphic novel's impact on the acceptance and recognition of the genre as a form of serious literature. Additionally, an essay on Maus can shed light on the Holocaust's ongoing relevance, the responsibility of memory, and the power of storytelling in confronting historical atrocities. Overall, Maus prompts critical analysis and deep reflection, making it a compelling and important subject for an essay.

"I cannot forget it...tonight, you have made me hate you, and the whole ghetto, because of this ridiculous uniform you're wearing!" "Friends? Your friends...if you lock them together in a room with no food for a week...then you could see what it is, friends!" "I'm tired of hearing about the Holocaust!" "Richieu, my brother, where are you now?" "To die, it's easy...but you have to struggle for life!"

1. Rothberg, M., & Spiegelman, A. (1994). " We Were Talking Jewish": Art Spiegelman's" Maus" as" Holocaust" Production. Contemporary Literature, 35(4), 661-687. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1208703) 2. Young, J. E. (1998). The Holocaust as Vicarious Past: Art Spiegelman's" Maus" and the Afterimages of History. Critical Inquiry, 24(3), 666-699. (https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/448890?journalCode=ci) 3. Orbán, K. (2007). Trauma and Visuality: Art Spiegelman's Maus and In the Shadow of No Towers. Representations, 97(1), 57-89. (https://online.ucpress.edu/representations/article-abstract/97/1/57/95740/Trauma-and-Visuality-Art-Spiegelman-s-Maus-and-In) 4. Tabachnick, S. E. (1993). Of Maus and memory: the structure of Art Spiegelman's graphic novel of the Holocaust. Word & Image, 9(2), 154-162. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02666286.1993.10435484) 5. Tabachnick, S. E. (2004). The religious meaning of Art Spiegelman's Maus. Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies, 22(4), 1-13. (https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/17/article/170723/summary) 6. Spiegelman, A. (2008). Maus I & II. Historia de un sobreviviente: Y aquí comenzaron mis problemas. (https://www.tpet.com/content/PHSamples/MausRJs.pdf) 7. Knowles, S. (2015). The postcolonial graphic novel and trauma: From Maus to Malta. Postcolonial traumas: memory, narrative, resistance, 83-96. (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137526434_6)

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• Instructions Followed To The Letter
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by Art Spiegelman

• MAUS Summary

Note: Maus jumps back and forth often between the past and the present. To facilitate these transitions in this summary, the Holocaust narrative is written in normal font, while all other narratives are written in italics.

Book I: My Father Bleeds History

As the book opens, it is 1978, and Art Spiegelman arrives in Rego Park, NY, to dine with his father, Vladek, a Holocaust survivor. It is immediately apparent that the two men are not particularly close. Art's mother, Anja, killed herself in 1968, and Vladek is now remarried to a woman named Mala, herself a survivor. The couple does not get along, and there does not appear to be much love in their relationship. Vladek, constantly fearful that Mala will steal his money, is intensely stingy and treats his wife like little more than a maid. After dinner, Art tells his father that he wants to draw a book about his experiences in the Holocaust, and Vladek starts to tell his son the story of how he met Anja.

It is 1936. Vladek is living in Czestochowa, Poland, and has been dating a girl named Lucia Greenberg for several years. One day he travels to Sosnowiec and is introduced to Anja, the intelligent daughter of a wealthy manufacturer. They are married in 1937, and Anja's father gives Vladek part-ownership in his profitable business. Anja gives birth to the couple's first child, Richieu, soon after the marriage. After the birth, Anja becomes consumed with depression, and Vladek takes her to a sanitarium for the next three months. When they return, Vladek is drafted into the Polish army and sent west to guard the border in anticipation of a German attack.

As the Germans advance, Vladek manages to kill one soldier before he is captured and taken to a prisoner of war camp. One night, Vladek dreams of his grandfather, who tells him that he will be released during the Jewish week of Parshas Truma. Three months later, it is Parshas Truma, and Vladek is indeed released. When he returns to Sosnowiec, there are twelve people living in Anja's father's house. The family's business has been taken over by the Germans, and they are living off of their savings. Vladek meets an old customer, Mr. Ilzecki , and the two begin a dangerous business of black market dealings.

In 1942, the Jews are forced to move to a separate part of town. Soon after, Anja's grandparents are told to report for transport to a new community for the elderly. The family hides them, but soon they are taken away to Auschwitz. Not long after, all remaining Jews are told to report to a nearby stadium for "registration." Here, the elderly, families with many children, and people without work cards are sent to the left, while everyone else is taken to the right. Those on the left are sent to their deaths at Auschwitz. Vladek's father is sent to the right, but when he sees his daughter alone with her four children on the left, he crosses over to be with her. None survive the war.

Art speaks briefly with Mala about her own Holocaust experiences before going to the living room to look for his mother's diaries, in which Vladek said she had recorded all her experiences during the war. He cannot find them.

A few days later, Mala calls Art early in the morning in hysterics. Vladek, it seems, climbed on top of the roof in an attempt to fix a leaky drain and then climbed back down because he felt dizzy. Art does not want to help, and Vladek finally arranges for his neighbor to help him. A week later, Art visits his father, clearly feeling guilty. Vladek is upset, having found a comic Art had drawn years ago about the death of Anja, titled "Prisoner on the Hell Planet: A Case Study ." In the comic, Vladek arrives home in 1968 to see his wife dead in the bathtub. Art has just arrived home from a stretch in a state mental institution, and he feels responsible for his mother's suicide due to neglect and a lack of affection.

In 1943, all Jews are forced into a ghetto in the nearby town of Srodula. Uncle Persis, chief of the Jewish council in the nearby ghetto of Zawiercie, tells Vladek that he can keep Richieu in safety until things calm down. Vladek and Anja agree, and Richieu is sent there with Anja's sister, Tosha . Soon afterwards the Zawiercie ghetto is liquidated by the Nazis. Rather than be sent to the Auschwitz, Tosha poisons herself, her daughter, and Richieu.

In Srodula, Vladek constructs a series of bunkers in which the family can hide during the Nazi raids, but they are eventually captured and sent to a compound to await transport to Auschwitz. By bribing his cousin, Haskel, chief of the Jewish Police, Vladek is able to arrange for the release of himself and his wife, but Anja's parents are sent to Auschwitz. Miloch and Pesach, Haskel's brothers, build a bunker behind a pile of shoes in the factory where Vladek and Anja hide for many days without food, until the ghetto is finally evacuated. Unsure of where to go, Anja and Vladek walk back to Sosnowiec.

On his next visit, Art, finds Mala crying at the kitchen table. She is miserable in her marriage and thinks Vladek is both cheap and insensitive. Vladek walks into the room, and the two begin to argue over money. Mala leaves in a huff.

Anja and Vladek return to Sosnowiec. They knock on the door of her father's old janitor, who hides them in his shed. They soon move to a safer place - a farm outside the city owned by a Mrs. Kawka . But it is getting cold, and they need a warmer place to live. Vladek befriends a kindly black market grocer named Mrs. Motonowa , who offers her home to the Spiegelmans. The arrangement is comfortable, but one day Mrs. Motonowa is searched by the Gestapo at the market and returns home in a panic, kicking them out of the house. They live on the streets for the night and eventually return to Mrs. Kawka's, who tells them of smugglers who will take them to safety in Hungary.

A few days later, Mrs. Motonowa apologizes and they hide with her again. But Vladek does not feel safe, and he arranges to meet with the smugglers. An old acquaintance, Mandelbaum , is also at the meeting with his nephew, Abraham . Abraham agrees to travel first and write to them if he arrives safely in Hungary. A few days later, they receive a letter from Abraham and board a train with the smugglers, but they are arrested by the Gestapo and sent to the concentration camps.

Back in Rego Park, Vladek tells Art that he burned his wife's diaries shortly after her death in an attempt to ease his own pain. Art is furious and calls his father a murderer.

Book II: And Here My Troubles Began

Vladek leaves a message saying he has just had a heart attack. When Art calls the number his father left, he learns that Vladek is healthy and staying in a bungalow in the Catskills. He left the message, it appears, to ensure that his son would call him back. Mala has left him, and Art and Francoise immediately depart for the Catskills. On the drive, Art tells Francoise about his complex feelings about the Holocaust, including the guilt he feels for having had an easier life than his parents.

Vladek arrives at Auschwitz with Mandelbaum. All around, there is a terrible smell of burning rubber and fat. They see Abraham, who tells them that he, too, was betrayed and forced at gunpoint to write the letter that sent Vladek and Anja to the camps. Vladek begins teaching English to his guard, who protects him and provides him with extra food and a new uniform. Mandelbaum is soon taken off to work and never heard from again. After a few months, the guard can no longer keep Vladek safe as a tutor, and he arranges for him to take a job as a tinsmith.

It is 1987, a year after the publication of the first book of Maus and five years after Vladek's death. Art is depressed and overwhelmed, and visits his psychiatrist, Pavel , also a Holocaust survivor. The two speak about Art's relationship with his father and with the Holocaust. They focus particularly on issues of guilt. Art leaves the session feeling much better and returns home to listen to tapes of his father's Holocaust story.

During this time, Anja is being held at Birkenau, a larger camp to the south. Unlike Auschwitz, which is a work camp, Birkenau is a waiting room for the gas chambers. Anja is despondent and frail, and her supervisor beats her constantly. Vladek makes contact with her through a kind Jewish supervisor named Mancie , through whom he is able to send additional food to his wife. Vladek also arranges to be sent to work in Birkenau, where he is able to speak briefly with Anja.

Vladek arranges to switch jobs from tinsmith to shoemaker, and by fixing the shoes of Anja's guard at Birkenau, he markedly improves her treatment. He learns that some prisoners at Birkenau will begin working at a munitions factory in Auschwitz and saves tremendous amounts of food and cigarettes for a bribe to ensure that Anja is among them. Soon, though, Vladek loses his job as a shoemaker, and he is forced into manual labor. He begins to get dangerously frail, and he must hide during daily "selections" so that he will not be sent to the gas chamber. As the Russians advance towards the camp, he works again as a tinsmith and is made to deconstruct the gas chambers.

The Russian army is now within earshot of Auschwitz, and the prisoners are evacuated under German guard. They march for miles in the freezing snow and are packed like rats into crowded boxcars, where they stay for days with no food or water. Eventually they arrive at Dachau, another concentration camp. Only one in ten prisoners survive this trip.

Vladek, Francoise, and Art drive to a grocery store, where Vladek attempts to return opened and partially-eaten food items. Art and Francoise wait in the car in embarrassment, but to their surprise, Vladek is successful.

At Dachau, Vladek meets a Frenchman who is able to receive packages through the Red Cross due to his non-Jew status. He shares this extra food, likely saving Vladek's life. Vladek eventually contracts typhus and lies close to death for days, until his fever begins to subside. Just as it does, the sick that are able to walk are boarded onto a train bound for Switzerland to be exchanged as prisoners of war. Vladek is among them.

On the way home from the grocery store, Francoise stops to pick up an African-American hitchhiker. Vladek is profoundly distrustful of blacks, and he is furious.

Vladek is made to leave the train and move on foot towards the Swiss border. The war ends before they reach it, and their guards march them back onto a train that they say will take them to the Americans. But when the train arrives at its destination, there are no Americans, and the prisoners walk off in all directions. Vladek is stopped by a German patrol and made to wait by a lake, where he meets his old friend Shivek . The Jews think that they will be killed, but when morning comes the guards are gone. Vladek and Shivek begin to walk again, but they encounter yet another German patrol, which forces them into a barn with fifty other Jews. Again, they fear for their lives, but when they awaken the next morning, the guards are gone. Vladek and Shivek eventually find an abandoned house, where they stay until the Americans arrive and take the house for military use.

Vladek shows his son a box of old photographs of his family, mostly from before the war. Of his parents and six siblings, only one brother, Pinek, survived.

Art is in his apartment when he receives an urgent and unexpected call from Mala. She is in Florida and back together with Vladek, though she does not seem happy about it. Vladek had just been admitted to the hospital for the third time in a month, and now he has left against the advice of his doctors. He wants to see his doctor in New York. Art flies down to help him get home. Back in New York, Vladek sees his doctor and is cleared to go home. A month goes by before Art visits his father again. When he arrives, Mala tells him that Vladek has been getting confused. Art sits down on the end of his father's bed and asks him about the end of the war.

Vladek and Shivek leave the German farm for a displaced persons camp, where they receive identification papers. Life at the camp is easy, but Vladek soon leaves with Shivek for Hannover, where Shivek has a brother. While in Hannover, Vladek hears word that Anja is still alive, and he departs for Sosnowiec. The trains are largely incapacitated, and the journey takes him over three weeks, but he eventually arrives for a tearful reunion with his wife.

And here Vladek ends his story: "I'm tired of talking, Richieu," he tells Art, calling him by the name of his dead brother, "and it's enough stories for now."

MAUS Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for MAUS is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Page 32, “Right away, we went.” Where are Vladek and Anja going and why?

Right away, we went. The sanitarium was inside Czechoslovakia, one of the most expensive and beautiful in the world.

Anja, Vladek's wife and Spiegelman's mother, went to a sanatorium in Czechoslovakia in 1938.

Vladek wants to go to Hungary in order to escape the danger and uncertainty of his life, as well as Anja's. Hungary represents hope and safety.

The visual device used to show the difference betweem Vladek and Anja is that Anja has a tail protruding from under her coat, a detail that emphasizes her Jewish identity.

Study Guide for MAUS

MAUS study guide contains a biography of Art Spiegelman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• Character List

Essays for MAUS

MAUS essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of MAUS by Art Spiegelman.

• Stylistic Detail of MAUS and Its Effect on Reader Attachment
• Using Animals to Divide: Illustrated Allegory in Maus and Terrible Things
• Father-Son Conflict in MAUS
• Anthropomorphism and Race in Maus
• A Postmodernist Reading of Spiegelman's Maus

Lesson Plan for MAUS

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to MAUS
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• MAUS Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for MAUS

• Introduction
• Primary characters
• Publication history

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Maus Now: Selected Writing, edited by Hillary Chute review – the Maus that made history

While Philip Pullman and Adam Gopnik illuminate Art Spiegelman’s towering graphic novel, few others in this collection succeed in capturing its spark and sophistication

T his job has taught me to be wary of meeting my heroes, but when I interviewed Art Spiegelman in New York in 2011, it really was one of the great days. In his SoHo studio, the air thick with cigarette smoke and whatever strange substance old paper quietly emits (the place groaned with books), he and I talked long and hard about Maus , then shortly to celebrate its 25th birthday, and every moment was – for me, at least – completely thrilling. I’d long wondered about Spiegelman’s daring in the matter of his famous comic. How on earth had he done it, committing to paper what felt at the time like a kind of blasphemy? But sitting opposite him, I think I understood. In conversation, certainty had only to appear on the horizon for ambivalence to wrestle it to the ground – and vice versa. He simply had to work stuff out. I doubt he could have resisted making Maus even if he’d tried.

I guess there must still be some people out there who don’t know about Spiegelman’s masterwork. So perhaps I’d better explain. The only comic ever to win a Pulitzer prize, Maus is a two-volume graphic novel about the Holocaust. Based on interviews with his father, Vladek, a survivor of Auschwitz, it depicts Jews as mice, Nazis as cats and Poles as pigs, though the source of the shock it caused when it came out ( Maus I in 1986, and Maus II in 1991) lay more in its refusal to sanctify the survivor than in its anthropomorphism. The Vladek we see living in Queens with his second wife, Mala – the book has two time frames, past and present – is a parsimonious bully and a racist, a man his adult son can tolerate only when they’re discussing the camps. As Spiegelman put it when he spoke to me: “This is the oddness of it. Auschwitz became for us a safe place: a place where he would talk and I would listen.” (Vladek died in 1982; Spiegelman’s mother, Anja, another survivor, had killed herself in 1968.)

Naturally, Maus has been much written about down the decades, not least in recent months (in 2021, a school board in Tennessee decided to ban it from an English curriculum; the outcry that followed led to it selling out on Amazon ). Spiegelman’s paradigm-shifting book appeals to so-called serious types in a way most other graphic novels simply do not. But, alas, it has to be said that this isn’t always a good thing. Wading through Maus Now , a new collection of Maus -inspired pieces edited by Hillary Chute, an academic who writes about comics for the New York Times , is a pretty dispiriting experience. So many words expended to so little effect. So much earnestness and showing off! What on earth, I wonder, does Spiegelman make of it? Again, I picture a struggle: a battle between easy flattery and frankly appalled disdain.

Spiegelman, as it happens, appears in the most interesting piece in the book: a Q&A with the writer David Samuels from 2013. If Samuels, who prefers to make mini-speeches than to ask to-the-point questions, comes off like a bit of jerk, Spiegelman is ever zippy and contrarian, carefully explaining that, for him, being Jewish means carrying on the traditions of the Marx Brothers and the cartoonist Harvey Kurtzman (in a poll, most Jewish Americans had said it meant remembering the Holocaust). He’s fascinating about the creation of the state of Israel – and seemingly uninterruptible on the subject, even by Samuels. But elsewhere, our celebrated author hardly exists; his narrative has taken on a life of its own. Turning the collection’s pages, I was brought back to my student days, when the dead hand of critical theory threw a black polo neck over even the most enjoyable of texts, shrouding them in darkness. Maus tells the worst story of all; at moments, it’s almost unbearable. Yet its very existence is a kind of light, extraordinary and transfiguring. This may be something the contributors to Maus Now are apt to forget.

On the plus side, the book includes decent essays by Philip Pullman, the New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik, and the critic Ruth Franklin (best known as the biographer of Shirley Jackson), and I like its roughly chronological order, a strategy that reveals the way attitudes towards Maus have shifted and settled across the years: Gopnik’s piece dates from 1987, and in it, he’s still agog, wrestling to say intellectually what he knows in his heart to be true. There are also some interesting illustrations, not only by Spiegelman, but by those who worked in the tradition of “physiognomic comparison” (making men look like animals, and animals like men) before him, among them the 17th-century Frenchman Charles le Brun and the artists who made The Birds’ Head Haggadah , a 13th century Ashkenazi illuminated manuscript that is a masterpiece of Jewish religious art. But one must cherrypick; American criticism, which comprises the majority of this book, can be so desperately toneless.

It may be the case that Maus Now , medicinal as it often tastes, will send some readers back to the book that inspired it with new and livelier thoughts in their minds – in which case, hooray. But I also think that one aspect of the genius of Spiegelman’s cartoon is that it speaks so loudly for itself. If it is intricate and masterful, it is also severely and audaciously unpatterned. However many times I read Maus , I always close it with the feeling that no more needs to be said.

Maus Now , edited by Hillary Chute, is published by Viking (£20). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com . Delivery charges may apply

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The Takeaways From Disney’s Board Fight with Nelson Peltz

New voting rules made for sharper attacks, while a bold defense kept the activist investor at bay. But pressure remains on the company’s chief, Bob Iger.

By Andrew Ross Sorkin ,  Ravi Mattu ,  Bernhard Warner ,  Sarah Kessler ,  Michael J. de la Merced ,  Lauren Hirsch and Ephrat Livni

How Iger beat back Peltz

It’s over. Disney fended off the activist investor Nelson Peltz for the second time in two years, as its shareholders rejected his effort to win two seats on its board.

The House of Mouse claimed a “substantial” margin of victory, after a bitterly fought contest with Peltz and his major backer, the former Marvel chair Ike Perlmutter. Based on preliminary results from Wednesday’s annual investor meeting, Disney’s board candidates won the backing of 75 percent of individual shareholders, an outsize investor base.

But like any good Disney tale, the board fight provided a series of lessons for the future — for companies and activists alike.

A robust defense matters. Executives, led by the Disney C.E.O. Bob Iger, mapped out a series of bold initiatives last autumn, in part to blunt Peltz’s calls for change, according to The Wall Street Journal. That included cost-cutting efforts, an investment in the video game giant Epic Games and a shake-up in the struggling movie division.

It helps that Disney’s stock has risen 20 percent in the past year, diminishing Peltz’s argument that the company needed help. (His biggest wins have come at companies like Procter & Gamble where share prices languished.) That almost certainly mattered a great deal to big investors like BlackRock and Vanguard, which sided with Disney.

New proxy voting rules changed the fight’s dynamics. For years, companies’ shareholders were asked to choose between two slates of board candidates proposed either by the companies or by activist investors. But a new S.E.C. rule allows shareholders to more easily vote for a mix of nominees from both sides.

Parties involved in this battle told DealBook that because each side was fighting against specific individuals, instead of against an entire slate, attacks became more personal. (That said, there’s no love lost between Perlmutter and Iger.) The new system also enabled another activist investor in Disney’s stock, Blackwells Capital, to campaign against Peltz, dividing the opposition.

C.E.O. succession planning matters. One of Peltz’s biggest criticisms of Iger was his yearslong failure to properly identify and prepare his replacement, as the aborted tenure of Bob Chapek showed. That issue was cited by the proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services, which recommended voting in Peltz. And State Street, one of Disney’s three biggest shareholders, voted against re-electing Mark Parker, who leads the company’s succession planning committee.

Analysts and industry watchers expect Disney to redouble efforts to address succession ahead of 2026, when Iger’s current (and by his account, final) contract expires. Internal Disney candidates like the TV chief Dana Walden, the theme parks leader Josh D’Amaro and the ESPN head Jimmy Pitaro have been taking on more prominent assignments in recent months.

HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING

Janet Yellen defends protecting U.S. industries against China. The Treasury secretary suggested overnight that the Biden administration would defend emerging sectors like clean energy against Chinese overcapacity , a topic she’s expected to address with her counterparts in Beijing. That follows President Biden’s addressing unfair trade practices with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping earlier this week.

Paramount rebuffs a $26 billion overture from Apollo. The approach this past weekend for the entire media company — representing an expansion of Apollo’s $11 billion bid for just Paramount’s movie studio — was ignored, The Times reports. Paramount executives were focused on advancing negotiations with another bid , by Skydance, and preferred the bird in hand.

Google reportedly weighs charging for A.I.-powered search features. The tech giant is considering making available only to subscribers of its premium services the advanced capabilities that draw upon its Gemini artificial intelligence model, according to The Financial Times. It would be the first time Google has charged for anything related to its core search business.

Apple is said to explore home robots as its next big product. The iPhone maker is investigating the potential of personal robots and a robotic-driven display as future moneymakers, though the work is early and may not become full-fledged products, Bloomberg reports. Apple is casting about for hit products, after abandoning its electric-vehicle project and waiting possibly years for its Vision Pro to become mainstream.

A cheat sheet for tomorrow’s jobs report

Investors on Thursday still largely believe that the Fed will begin cutting interest rates in June.

It’s a bet that officials of the central bank themselves won’t make: Jay Powell, the Fed chair, reiterated on Wednesday that it is waiting for more evidence that inflation is slowing before it begins lowering borrowing costs.

Two major reports are arriving in the coming days, starting with tomorrow’s nonfarm payrolls report. Here’s what to watch.

Economists expect employers to have added at least 200,000 jobs last month , according to a Bloomberg survey. That would be a considerable drop-off from the 275,000 jobs created in February, but would still indicate a robust labor market. “Our economy has been short labor, and probably still is,” Powell said on Wednesday.

His contention was underscored by data from the payroll processor ADP that showed a surge in hiring , especially in the construction, leisure and hospitality sectors. Following the ADP report, economists at Goldman Sachs raised their forecast for tomorrow’s nonfarm payrolls number to 240,000, from 215,000.

Look at immigration. While it’s a hot-button political issue, it’s also a focus of economists. Foreign-born workers have become a surprising part of the job growth story (and may explain why the unemployment rate has gone up despite solid hiring figures).

Robust immigration has also been a big factor in America’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Wage growth will be of particular interest. There are signs that workers’ pay gains have begun to ease during the past year, as inflation slowed. Wall Street is on alert for any signs that wages are ticking up, which could force the Fed to recalibrate its rate-cut timeline.

Here’s a worst-case scenario for investors, according to economists at Bank of America: “Job growth of 250k+, stronger-than-expected wage growth, and a fall in the unemployment rate would likely further price out the chance of a June cut,” they wrote in a research note this week.

Shorting Trump has been a bad bet

Donald Trump’s social media company has lost more than 30 percent in the past week in highly volatile trading. Despite that swoon, investors shorting the Trump Media & Technology Group are losing big.

The souring trade is complicated by the fact that major asset managers have largely stayed away from the stock, leaving “shorts” to scrimp for a relatively small pool of shares to acquire and pay dearly for them.

Trump Media is one of the most “shorted” stocks in the U.S. — and one of the costliest , according to S3 Partners, a financial data company. Last month, traders racked up $126 million in losses betting against Trump Media, the company said. (Short-sellers essentially borrow shares of a target company and sell them, hoping to buy them back at a lower price that locks in a profit.)

There’s some rationale for investors to short the stock: Trump Media reported this week that it had lost $58 million last year on sales of about $4 million, and that an independent auditor had expressed “substantial doubt” about its financial viability before it began trading last week.

Many of the shorts are betting on a surge in Trump Media warrants , which would give holders the right to new company stock at a fixed price. The gamble: Regulators would have to give the company the green light to issue the new shares.

Investors appear undeterred by such uncertainty. “There are still so many people looking to short the name,” Ihor Dusaniwsky, managing director of S3 Partners, told The Times.

Elsewhere in Trump Media news: Two brothers accused of masterminding a $23 million insider-trading scheme involving the company in its pre-I.P.O. days pleaded guilty to the charges on Wednesday . They each face prison sentences of up to 20 years.

The open and closed case for A.I.

Of all the debates in artificial intelligence circles, one of the biggest comes down to access: Should companies make their tech available for anyone to view, change and use (an approach known as open source)?

The White House, as part of its efforts to create new rules to govern A.I., is wading into the debate . On Wednesday it published more than 300 comments it has collected on the risks of open-sourcing A.I. The feedback boils down to two major categories:

Open-source A.I. is fairer and safer. Meta, one of the biggest proponents of the approach, wrote that it “leads to better, safer products, faster innovation, and a larger market.” The start-up incubator Y Combinator said such models “may have a heightened potential for misuse, but they also allow for democratic contribution and oversight.” And Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has invested in scores of A.I. start-ups, argued against any policies that would inhibit the development of open A.I. models. Its rationale: that open-source software has become a “foundation of the internet.”

It’s better to be cautious. Some of the biggest names in commercial A.I. — who stand to gain from keeping their tech proprietary — say that having tighter control of advanced systems protects against what OpenAI called “the operations of a number of nation-state cyber threat actors.” Google wrote that “open” and “closed” source sit on a spectrum, and that it’s better to talk about “different degrees of access to different components of a given system.”

THE SPEED READ

Tottenham Hotspur , the English soccer club, says it’s in talks with potential investors about selling a stake as team valuations skyrocket. (FT)

Patrick Whitesell , the co-founder of the Endeavor entertainment conglomerate, is setting up a new media company with $250 million in backing by the investment firm Silver Lake. (Hollywood Reporter)

The rock band Kiss will sell its song catalog and the rights to its image and name to Pophouse, the entertainment company behind the ABBA avatar concert concept, reportedly for $300 million. (Bloomberg)

The Fed has reportedly blocked efforts by international regulators to incorporate climate requirements into new banking rules. (Bloomberg)

Donald Trump is increasingly hitting up billionaire donors for cash as his fund-raising from rallies for individual supporters looks less certain. (Bloomberg)

“A new AI-powered tool could revolutionize how lawmakers are held accountable for insider trading ” (Business Insider)

Best of the rest

Tesla is reportedly scouting locations in India for a new factory that could cost at least $2 billion. (FT)

How the Australian kids show “Bluey” became a $2 billion hit for Disney and the BBC — and why it may soon be over. (Bloomberg)

“Did One Guy Just Stop a Huge Cyberattack? ” (NYT)

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Andrew Ross Sorkin is a columnist and the founder and editor at large of DealBook. He is a co-anchor of CNBC’s "Squawk Box" and the author of “Too Big to Fail.” He is also a co-creator of the Showtime drama series "Billions." More about Andrew Ross Sorkin

Ravi Mattu is the managing editor of DealBook, based in London. He joined The New York Times in 2022 from the Financial Times, where he held a number of senior roles in Hong Kong and London. More about Ravi Mattu

Bernhard Warner is a senior editor for DealBook, a newsletter from The Times, covering business trends, the economy and the markets. More about Bernhard Warner

Sarah Kessler is an editor for the DealBook newsletter and writes features on business and how workplaces are changing. More about Sarah Kessler

Michael de la Merced joined The Times as a reporter in 2006, covering Wall Street and finance. Among his main coverage areas are mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcies and the private equity industry. More about Michael J. de la Merced

Lauren Hirsch joined The Times from CNBC in 2020, covering deals and the biggest stories on Wall Street. More about Lauren Hirsch

Ephrat Livni reports from Washington on the intersection of business and policy for DealBook. Previously, she was a senior reporter at Quartz, covering law and politics, and has practiced law in the public and private sectors.   More about Ephrat Livni