Maus Volume 1 is a graphic novel written by Art Spiegelman, published in 1986. The novel tells the story of a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust named Vladek Spiegelman, the father of the author, and his experiences during the World War II in Nazi occupied Poland. The novel is different and unlike anything I have seen on in its depiction of the Holocaust. It uses animal characters to represent the different groups involved in the conflict. Jews are depicted as mice, Germans as cats, and Poles as pigs. The novel is split into two parts, with the first part primarily focusing on Vladek’s experiences before and during the war, while the second part deals with the author’s relationship with his father. It talks about the struggles of growing up as the child of a Holocaust survivor. The first part of the novel tells a very good parts of the horrors of the Holocaust. They are very different, and I was impressed with the writing. Vladek’s story is a very personal, and the graphic novel allows the reader to feel as if they are experiencing his experiences firsthand. Spiegelman’s use of animals adds an additional layer of meaning to the novel. By representing the different groups involved in the conflict as animals, Spiegelman is able to explore the ways of human behavior in a way that would not be possible with human characters. I also thought the use of animals also is a good portal of how the Jews were not treated like people, but rather like wild animals. I found Maus Volume 1 to be one of the better books that we have been asked to read for this class, and I would recommend for others to read it.