Examples Of Allegory In Maus

The allegory used in Maus helps me to understand the Holocaust more. Portraying the Jews as mice, the Nazis as cats and the Poles as pigs, has made the story easier to follow and understand. On page 138 there is a clear example of the allegory used throughout the entire book. When Vladek and Anja try to hide they put on pig masks to disguise themselves. This shows how the use of animals is very clever, as the reader can tell straight away that they are actually Jewish pretending to be Polish.
The people in the story take on some of the characteristics of the animals that they are portrayed as. Cats can be thought of as sly and aggressive, which is very similar to how the Nazis acted. The Jews where shown as mice, who are scared, quiet, but