"Maus" Analysis

Maus Page 55 of III. I 

On page 55 of Book One of Maus, Art Spiegelman illustrates the relief felt by the soldiers, including Vladek, upon seeing their warm and cozy living arrangement.  However, a closer look at the elements of the panels suggest otherwise.  The contradictory facets of the images accentuate the false appearance of safety and the reality of danger during World War II.  

Rather than providing assurance, the aspects of the images foretell the horrors of the future.  The most apparent signal is the stove.  The soldiers see the stove as a positive feature, since it gives warmth to the chilled soldiers, but it is a direct indication of death in the concentration camps' ovens.  Also, the wooden planks in the floor and walls create a likeness to the stripes on prisoner uniforms.  These stripes are surrounding the soldiers.  This implies that their new luxuries and thoughts of asylum are illusions and that they remain prisoners of war and victims of the Nazis.  In addition, Spiegelman's play on the use of black and white highlights the inconsistency between appearance and reality.  This inconsistency specifically connects the color of the bed sheets with the stove.  The color white is a positive omen and the color black is a symbol of death.  The blankets appear white to the soldiers, but later panels depict the blankets as black, emphasizing death's disguise.  In another perspective, these sheets can be considered as fire blankets.  Initially, the blankets are white and free of harm, but these blankets become black with smoke while protecting the men.  This foreshadows that the soldiers are doomed to a horrendous future in the concentration camps, but are temporarily free of harm.