One of the more illuminating sections of Maus II is the extended conversation that Art has with Francoise on their way to see Vladek. Art discusses what life was like growing up in the shadow of Richieu, his older brother that did not live through the holocaust.

“They didn’t need photos of me in their room…I was alive!…the photo never threw tantrums or got in any kind of trouble…it was an ideal kid, and I was a pain in the ass. I couldn’t compete…It’s spooky, having a sibling rivalry with a snapshot!” (pg 15)

Respondents: Is it possible Art is discussing his fears about having published Maus? Is the book the new picture that he won’t be able to compete with?

The opening conversation exposes deeper themes about Art’s anxiety towards  an accurate depiction of life (a snapshot) versus a stylized version of life (the graphic novel)? Does his comment on page 16 (“…In real life, you never would have let me talk this long without interrupting” accurately sum up the anxieties he’s discussing? By consciously acknowledging the manipulated nature of narrative versus objective fact, does Maus sometimes negate this distinction?

Respondents: Do Maus’s dives into metafiction (which is, according to the internet Wikipedia science, is “fiction that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction”) strengthen or weaken the book’s impact?