There are so many similarities between the bboks Maus and Night that one would wonder if the authors were twins who underwent the same conditions. Well maybe not. Anyway, not only did both protagonists go to Auschwitz, they both had similar feelings and experiences. In both books, there are rumors of the Nazis burning jews: before or after their death. Also, in Maus and Night alike, the main caracter ends up injured and in the hospital, where they recieve better treatment and more meals. In both cases, the historical event of the evacuation of Auschwitz promoted similar feelings, like the fear of being shot, but also the desire to stay and attempt to escape the Nazi's oppressive grip. But sinse they both end up leaving, they end up going on the imfamous "run".
Even though both caracters underwent similar emotions and experiences, their pre-war lives gave them different paths in the camp. In Maus, Art's father was a skilled craftsman and shoe-repairer. These advantages gave him good work that paid off during his stay at the camp. The survivor in Maus also could speak Polish and English. He used this knowledge to teach his Kapo in exchange for good food and low work. However; in Night, the protagonists' situation was much different. Elie at the time was just a child, and needed to take care of his father constantly. He was also easily controlled by other Jews in the camp. At one point he was told to abandon his father and fend for himself, and he did end up contemplating it. Furthermore, sinse he was just a kid, he had no special skills or talents that would help him get work.
In my opinion, Maus is more reader-friendly. It uses cartoony caracters, hence the pigs, mice and cats, and is formatted like a comic strip. Night is more dark and the main caracter seems more hopeless as he must fend for himself AND his father, with no particular skills. Maus includes a crafty and intelligent main caracter which takes away from some of the melancholy of the subject. I preferred the book Maus.
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