The Rabbi's Cat, by Joann Sfar

In the graphic novel The Rabbi’s Cat, by Joann Sfar, many characters are described and shown through narrative text, spoken text, and the art of each panel. Throughout this novel, we see how the characters change, whether it is a good or bad change. Some start to question their beliefs and life decisions while others strengthen their beliefs. Kitty is one character that we see the most change in. we are introduced to Kitty from the very beginning and are told the story through his perspective. Kitty starts off with a simple life of leisure and freedom with love and attention from the rabbi and his daughter. The only problem is the noisy parrot that talks constantly while Kitty cannot talk. To solve this problem, Kitty eats the parrot and gains the ability to talk. Kitty begins to show his distaste for religion but wants to be bar-mitzvahed to show that he is a good kitty and so he will be allowed to spend time with the rabbi’s daughter.

Problem with Kitty’s ability to speak is that he lies. “Yes, but there’s a great misfortune too. He tells on lies” (pg. 8, panel 2). This shows that they are happy with Kitty’s ability to talk but are worried that all he will do now is lie. This is also shown when Kitty talks with the rabbi’s rabbi. Kitty tells him that he is God and that he was there to test him. During this set of panels, Kitty is shown in great detail. Throughout the graphic novel, Sfar draws Kitty in varying degrees of detail. Times where Kitty is talking about important topics, such as religion, or is being serious, he is drawn in greater detail. Times where he is trying to be cute and cuddly and nice, he is drawn with just an outline and with soft features to make him look more like a cartoon. This is done to help show the personality and emotions of Kitty in that panel or series of panels. This allows for a more in-depth reading of the novel by reading the pictures along with the text. This also allows for more types of people to read the story and have an understanding of it. The original text was written in French, which is the colonial language in Algeria, but the pictures are drawn in Algerian. One is able to change the language that something is written in but cannot change the style that the pictures are drawn in.

Kitty eventually loses his ability to talk but loses it for a reason that was unexpected to me. While the rabbi was taking his dictation, Kitty was trying to invoke a miracle from God by saying his name over and over again. The miracle works because the rabbi passes and is allowed to stay as the rabbi but Kitty loses his ability to speak. This is the beginning of the change we see in Kitty. He was willing to invoke the name of God even though he knows it is forbidden to help his master. This is something that is prevalent in my life. I personally do not like to break rules that I know are important but I am willing to break them all to help someone I love, just like Kitty. While I was not in school, I would help my fiancé write her papers for her classes so that she was able to focus more on her major classes and receive better grades in them. I know it was wrong but I would rather help her with that than have her stressed out and not do well in more important classes. The message that I got from this set of panels was that Sfar was saying that people are willing to give up things that they have to help out the people that they love.

Nervous Conditions

In the novel “Nervous Conditions”, written by Tsitsi Dangarembga, there are many different aspects of African life in poverty that has been portrayed. The main topic that I am going to be focusing on is the education of the children. I know that I have taken my education, especially my earlier education, for granted. I did not know how lucky I was to have been able to go to school every year since I was four years old. I always knew that it was hard for children in Africa to receive an education but this novel really helped me to understand what people go through. In the novel, Tambu was only able to go to school when her family could afford to send her. She even attempts to grow and sell maize to help raise money to send herself to school. Her brother, Nhamo, was the first to receive the money to go to school. He was taken to the mission by his uncle to live there and continue his education to help his family. The only reason he is able to go to the mission to school is because his uncle, Babamukuru, is wealthy. When Nhamo dies, Tambu is taken to the mission so that she can finish her education. She is the next oldest and is taken by Babamukuru to his house to live and attend classes.

In the United States, schooling is funded through property taxes and state budgets to allow all citizens a free education through the twelfth grade. Anything beyond that has to be paid for in some other way. For the most part, every child in America is guaranteed an education, as long as they pass. In Africa, if you are a male, you have a better chance at receiving an education but still nowhere near guaranteed. And a female has an even worse chance. The main focus is to help the family out. This means that children, mainly the girls, may miss weeks of school at a time to help with daily life at home. This would put them so far behind and they would usually eventually stop going all together.

A family is more inclined to pay for their son to attend school because he can grow up to get a better job and better help support the family. They are less likely to invest the money in the daughter because as soon as she is married, she belongs to her husband’s family and any income she may have, benefits her husband’s family and not hers. They do not get the benefit of having the daughter around her entire life helping to provide for the entire family. Here, we sometimes help out our families, when needed, but for the most part stay away financially from out extended family. I live with my parents, recently moved back in with them when I moved out to Ohio, and all I can think about is how long until I can move back out. It is not that I do not like my family, I love being around them. It is just that in America, we are all about being independent and being out on our own, living our own life away from our parents. Even when I was not living at home and I was in the same state as my parents, I would do what I could to help them out. I cannot even count the number of times that I would go down to help my dad around the house. Now, I do what I can to help around the house but I do not have specific chores I do every day. It is the same when I am at my fiancé’s parents’ house. In Africa, the wife only helps out the husbands’ family. In America, there is equal help to both families.

Ngugi wa'Thiong'o

There were three stories that we read this week by Ngugi, an excerpt from "Decolonization of the Mind", "Wedding at the Cross", and "Minutes of Glory". Again, these three stories were written based on colonialism. The two short stories use irony to show how colonialism affects people differently in Africa. In the story “Wedding at the Cross”, we meet Wariuki as a young man that was all about having fun. He would ride his bicycle around, performing tricks for all to see. This is where Miriamu falls in love with him. We follow him throughout the story as he changes. He joins the army, gets picked up by the Europeans, fights for them against his own villagers. He receives land and money from the Europeans as they leave. He joined the Church in gratitude when he does not face retribution from his fellow villagers. This is when we start to see the change in him. Wariuki changes his name and becomes Dodge W. Livingstone, Jr. This is when Miriamu starts to notice a change in her husband. They are to be married again at the wedding at the cross. This was supposed to be a happy day, Livingstone is now accepted by her father but she ends up saying no to him. She says that she has been married before and that her husband, Wariuki, is dead. He of course is not dead in body but the spirit of Wariuki, to her, is no longer present in Livingstone. She does not love the man in front of her after he conformed to colonialism.

There is a similar correlation to how people act once they are conformed to colonialism. They are out for thrills and will only look at or interact with men and women that look wealthy or important. We also see that the narrator will only be called by her English name, Beatrice, because it sounded more pure and more beautiful. Beatrice means blessed by God with beauty. Wanjiru, her African name, is the name of one of the founding goddesses and is related to beauty. She is a plain-looking woman that does not really have anything to her that makes her stand out. She never gets a second look from men and the only time they talk to her is when they have no other option. She finally steals money from the lorry driver and buys herself a dress, heels, stockings, and earrings. She then went to a restaurant to eat, ignored then man that came and sat with her, and left. The man followed her but lost his confidence. She was finally being noticed by men and was being given drinks, seats on the bus, and attention. She went back to the bar that she stole the money from and the men in the bar all stopped talking and stared at her. She was still the same women but since she was wearing a nice dress, heels, earrings and stockings, the men started to pay attention to her and lust for her. She was soon arrested by the police for stealing the money but she was not harmed during the arrest. This shows that women that dress and look like her are treated differently. Some people in the bar thought she should have been beaten.

These stories show that material possessions are how people distinguish people of importance and wealth. We see this in many places all over the world, especially in America. We have become a country that worships our material possessions. People cannot live without all of our accessories that make our lives easier. It is different in Africa because the possessions that they value are things we take for granted, like running water, clean clothes, heels, stockings, and jewelry. No matter where you are in the world, material items are an important part of life.

These stories are more interesting than I thought they were going to be. I know that I have an attachment to my possessions. All of us probably take for granted that we have computers to even write these blogs on and classrooms that have projectors, air conditioning, and white boards to discuss these stories and blogs. I felt that these texts have something to show us all. We need to take a step back and not take everything that we own for granted. We need to remember that we are lucky to live where we do and have the things we have.

Nadine Gordimer

In the three stories written by Nadine Gordimer, “Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants”, “Amnesty”, and “Six Feet of the Country”, she discusses and shows how nobody can win with apartheid. She uses different examples in “Six Feet of the Country” on how people are taken advantage by the system, even the people that implemented apartheid. The man was not able to get what he wanted from the government. He felt that as a white man, he was able to get whatever he wanted and it frustrated him. This shows that even white men are unable to benefit from the system. Gordimer also shows in “Amnesty” how people in all parts of the country are affected by apartheid. In this story, she shows how change needs to happen not just by the men fighting in the cities but by the women raising the children in the country. She felt so strongly that the change needed to come with the raising of the children that she only gave one character a name, their little girl and her name was Inkululeko. The man wanted the woman to know what was going with the Movement. He allowed her to sit and listen when he and the other men from the union gathered to discuss what needed to be done. He wanted her to be able to raise their children to be able to fight against it if they needed to and so that they would understand who he was and why he was not around.

I found these three stories easier to read and much more entertaining. Gordimer develops her stories better and makes them seem more personal. She uses the first person narrative to set this more intimate look into the effects of apartheid. This does not affect me personally but it does clash some with my views on government. I feel that it is a mistake to give a government or system too much power over the people. I do agree with the concept of a government as long as there are a series of checks and balances. I see this as a problem even in our own government. We have a series of checks and balances but they are not all elected by the people. Some are appointed by the heads of the government. I think that this needs to change before anything can be done to change the country for the better. We need people like the man in “Amnesty” to fight to get things changed.

Gordimer is my favorite author that we have read so far. Her stories are just so much easier to read and are more entertaining than any of the others that I have read. The first person narrative makes it easier to relate to the stories and easier for me to understand. It also makes it easier for me to find the hidden message and to figure out the irony. She has wrote the stories for a wider audience, so that more people could read and understand it.

Chinua Achebe

The irony that Achebe uses in his stories "Girls at War" and "The Madman" reminds me of my own ironic situation. A good thing happened to me because of a bad situation.I was moved out to Ohio by my parents, not by choice, to get away from the life I was living out in California. I did not want to move and resented my parents for it. I did, however, meet the girl who is now my fiancé and I could not be happier. Achebe shows his irony in “Girls at War” when Gladys is killed as she tries to save a helpless soldier and Nwankwo is spared because he leaves them behind.

I know that it happens, even in our country, but I have a problem with prostitution. In “Girls at War”, Gladys goes from being a soldier to selling anything that she can get ahold of, including her own body. I understand that someone will do what they can to survive but I would personally find another way. In “The Madman”, I agree with Achebe when he implies that people judge other people based on a single action they see. Nwibe was considered mad by his village based off of one mistake of naked run through the market, chasing after someone that they never saw. The outcome of these accusations caused his whole personality change and affected the rest of his life. This is prevalent today in our schools. Kids are harsh with each other and some have committed suicide or resulted to violence to get back at them. These tests helped to strengthen my views on how the world is and how people around the world acts.

I did not like “An Image of Africa”. It was too dry, boring, and seemed like he was trying to be excessively academic. The other two stories were easy to read and were entertaining. They were great stories that had ironic examples. I enjoyed reading them and would not mind reading similar stories by Achebe or another author.

The Stranglehold of English Lit.

In "The Stranglehold of English Lit." Felix Mnthali takes a stand that Jane Austen novels are not beneficial to students in African countries to read and learn about. They are not relevant to the lives of these students nor do they pose any benefit by reading them. Mnthali states that she is "mauling the flower of our youth in the south". Jane Austen's novels are unrealistic fairy tales for even the Africans with the European education to understand and read them. Their country does not run this way.

I personally have never read a Jane Austen book nor do I ever plan on reading one. I have seen two movies, not by choice, based on her books "Atonement" and "Pride and Prejudice". Based on these movies and from what I heard about her in class, I know that she writes Chick Lit. and romance novels. I do not feel that they are beneficial to anyone in Europe or North America. I completely agree with Mnthali when he asks "how could questions be asked...with Jane Austen at the centre? How could they be answered?" I feel and I believe that Mnthali feels the same, that students in Africa need to read books and novels that are more relevant to their situations and lifestyles. This does not mean that they should not learn about the outside world but should learn from their own countries readings.

Mnthali is not quite as forward about saying that the colonization of Africa by Europeans needs to be abolished as Kenyatta was in "The Gentlemen of the Jungle", he is trying to state that their needs to be more African Literature. Mnthali is closer to what Ngugi states in "Creating Space for a Hundred Flowers to Bloom". Teach everything, learn about all cultures, let everyone have a language and come up with their own written language. They both feel that it is a costly suggestion but it is worth the cost to make it happen.