3) Why does the experience of the Holocaust lend itself to this type of storytelling. Or, more simply, how could the Holocaust itself be seen as a story?

While Maus incorporates many aspects of non-fiction, the book also contains many elements commonly reserved for fictional works, including the frequent use of metaphor, symbolism, and allegory. In addition to these elements, Vladek's story is passed through many filters, revisions, and interpretations before it is conveyed to the reader. The nature of the story's transmission (from Vladek's experiences, to his memory, to his son, to the drawing board, to the reader) generates the very real possibility of inaccuracy and subjectivity. In Spiegelman's own words:

I'm all too aware that ultimately what I'm creating is a realistic fiction. The experiences my father actually went through [are not exactly the same as] what he's able to remember and what he's able to articulate of these experiences. Then there's what I'm able to understand of what he articulated, and what I'm able to put down on paper. And then of course there's what the reader can make of that. (Oral History Journal, Spring 1987)