Maus and Life is Beautiful Essay

The Holocaust was a persecution and murder of approximately six ­million Jews by the German Nazi regime. The Nazis came to power in January of 1933. They believed that Germans were racially superior and that the Jews were inferior threats to their community. The Holocaust is a tragic event and has been portrayed in many books and movies as that but there are two particular tales of the Holocaust that illustrate it differently. Maus is graphic novel written by Art Spiegelman and Life Is Beautiful is a comedy drama directed and Roberto Benigni who is also the main character, Guido Orefice. Both of them depict the horrors of the Holocaust through the eyes of resilient characters. Maus is a story of the memories of Vladek Spiegelman. He is a Polish Jew who survived the Holocaust and is being interviewed by his son Art Spiegelman who want to write a book about his father’s experience. Life Is Beautiful is a 1997 academy award winning film that took place in 1930’s Italy. Guido Orefice is an Italian Jewish bookshop owner who uses his imagination to protect his son Joshua from the horrific reality of the Holocaust concentration camps. In the story Maus Vladek is a dashing young man, good ­looking, ambitious, intelligent and resourceful. When the Germans invade Poland conditions worsen for the Jews and Vladek is forced to move from his role as a successful businessman to a resourceful skilled laborer in the concentration camps. While others suffer, he is a voice of hope.