The characters in the mini comic Prisoner on The Hell Planet, which is featured in Maus, are not anthropomorphized because humans tend to react and relate more strongly to human suffering than to animal suffering.
Art SpiegelmanA writer who has a poor relationship with his father, Vladek, and blames himself for the death of his mother, Anja.
In his short comic Prisoner on The Hell Planet, Art is depicted as a prisoner, sobbing over his mother's body and mentally putting himself in jail. This further illustrates Art's guilt over his mother's death. Anja SpiegelmanVladek's first wife who suffered from depressive episodes shortly after Art's birth.
She eventually commits suicide after the holocaust. Art blames himself for her death and portrays her as a lonely mother figure in his mini comic by mentioning the way she asked for his affection the last time he saw her alive. Vladek SpiegelmanA holocaust survivor and a hard man to understand.
Vladek is unwilling to let anyone in emotionally and constantly belittles his second wife, Mala, because he's unwilling to admit that he's still in love with his first wife. Vladek is seen to be somewhat disappointed with Art's career choice and is unable to accept help when he needs it. In Art's mini comic, he is seen in hysterics after finding his wife's body and relying on Art for emotional assurance, a characteristic that isn't seen in the anthropomorphized version of Vladek. Mala SpiegelmanVladek's second wife.
Mala is also a holocaust survivor and an old friend of Vladek's. She takes care of Vladek the best she can while ignoring his scathing insults. She recognizes that Vladek and Art are still hurting from Anja's death and tries to get them to open up to each other. Mala is not featured in Prisoner on The Hell Planet because she didn't know Art when his mother died. |