Rabbi's Cat

The Rabbi's Cat was an interesting and attention grabing graphic novel that brought a new and funny light to the issues of colonialism. Firstly as a graphic novel the author Joann Sfar is able illustrate his thoughts literally ands abstractly which gives the reader a more precises interpritation of the story . Kitty, the cat of Rabbi Abraham, wants to become Jewish cat for his mistress Zlabaya, the rabbi's daughter. Kitty's cynical and question attitude upsets rabbi Abraham for he does not have answers for kitty. kitty's questioning of the Jewish faith under colonial control leads Rabbi Abraham into a religious crisis. This crisis of rabbi shows the true conflicts with colonialism. the rabbi is subjected to a "qualification" test by the French in French. Sfar is pointing out the major flaws in the institution of colonialism. How can someone in France determine the qualification of a someone in Algeria? How does speaking French in Algeria, where the native tongue is Arabic qualify as a useful skill? Sfar shows the enormous power that colonialism has over their lives and their way of thinking. Zlabaya, the rabbi's daughter, is a very traditional girl and Kitty loves her dearly. When she wed to a reviving Jew she does so without complaint. her father and kitty are hurt by her departure because of their strong bonds. Sfar also comments on the silliness of the feuding between Jews and Muslims during the rabbi's and his Muslim friends Sfar's walk to the grave. Sfar's donkey and kitty argue over the origination of Sfar's name both in defense of their releigion. even though the name Sfar his derives from both religions. when i was a Freshman in high school i was very involved with my church and therefore very connected to and defensive of my religion. in having a conversation with a girl from a different church we began to argue over whose church was better. We both curses screamed and even threated each other over whose church was better not realizing that there was really no point to the argument. We both belong to Christian church, and worshiped the same God. Are feuding caused to do and say unchristian like things to each and defeated to purpose of many Sunday school lessons teaching us to be king to one another. The only thing that came out of the matter was 2 weeks of detention and a phone call home. Sfar is pointing out he same point that the feuding is leading to nothing but more feuding so what is the point?    The Rabbi's Cat really showed some of the difficulties of living in Algeria under French control while also being a funny lighthearted read.

Neverous conditions 1-9

Tsistsi Dangarembga, author of Nervous Conditions, tells the story of an impoverished young African girls, who pulled out of poverty into a better society. This novel through its extraordinary cast of characters brings out many different struggles and consequences of everyday life in a colonized world. The narrator Tambu, though impoverished, is strong willed and determined to get her education. Tambu moves in with her uncle's family with the honor of furthering her education. Nyasha, Tambu's rebellious cousin fights against the restraints placed upon from the patriarchal colonized society. Maiguru, a highly educated woman, struggles with her "duty" to womanly family operations and to have self actualization.  Ma' Shangaiyi, Tambu's mother, has lived in poverty all her life and is trapped in a never ending circle of low value and poor living. Lucia, Tambu's proud aunt, is unmarred and pregnant wanting to find a way out of her oppressive lifestyle.
All of these women battle with the limitations that colonialism and a patriarchal society place on them, as many real women in Africa do.
Dangarembga stresses the use of education through Tambu, Nyasha, and Maiguru, to break through the chains of oppression. Yet, while breaking though their barriers, the women loose pieces of themselves, further plummeting into appeasement, denial, and rebellion.   Dangarembga also places emphasizes around the usage of language and how using or not using your native tongue can destroy your mindset. Nyasha battles with this parallel, causing outer turmoil with her father. With the loss of language comes the loss of tradition. When Nyasha returned from her stay in England, she had forgotten she native language and culture, creating a gap between her, Tambu and the rest of the family. Nyasha is submerged in a world that pulls apart all her ideologies and morals and chooses to fight for the morals that she hold dear.
I too have fought a similar battle in my teenage years.  When I was 16 my mother was remarried to a man I knew very little about. I packed up my things and moved across town with her to a world very separate form my own. I constantly fought with my mother, about my stepfather. I felt I must battle with him for her love. In being an only child this feeling completely ripped my world apart. I began to rebel. I stayed out with my boyfriend all the time, cuss out and physically fight with my mother and disassociated myself from reality. I valued my mother’s love and wanted it without compromise, just as Nyasha wants her womanly worth.

Dangarembga points out not just the out struggles of the colonized world, but the inner and more tainted side of colonization. The women of this story note only physically suffer in some way; they also fight inner pressure of human nature.

Gordimer

Nadine Gordimer widely opened the door with her take on the segregated yet, integrated mindset under the institution of Apartheid. "Good climates. Friendly Inhabitants" brings a critical eye to the hypocrisy of apartheid. The reason for the being of apartheid is to separate the 'uncivilized' or colored folk from the more civilized people aka whites. Gordimer points out that apartheid crates a mindset not only enslaving the coloreds but the whites as well. The narrator of "Good Climates, Friendly Inhabitants" is a lonely struggling white woman who is conned by a mystery man. Jack, an African worker, is an intelligent, kind hearted person who distantly looks after the narrator. Even though jack is kind to the narrator, she still refers to him and other African in derogatory terms. While still being a good person at heart, her inhabitants have taught her that she should still be racist. Gordimer points out this contradiction to show that apartheid has warped the minds of not only the inferior but the superior people as well. In relation to Gordimer's observation, America has a warped mindset from the times of slavery and racial discrimination. 
August 2009, I left for my first year of college at Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana. Ball State is located in a very rural part of Indiana and most of the students there are from farms. In being white many of the students had never interact with a black person before including my roommate. Though she seemed polite and nice I began to sense of uneasy from her when we interacted. I walking around campus I began to notice people moving away from me, or other ethnic students that crowded around the bus stop. In deciding to ask someone about these strange happening I found out that the students were hesitant to interact with me because they had never done so with a black person before.  They were fearful to interact with me because of my color. Not because of my personality or not even because of the way I dressed or walked. The institution of racisms is still in abundance in the United States is in abundance. Even though slavery has been over for at least a century and the Civil Rights movement is a prominent mark in history experienced by mine and many others grandparents. Yet, the mindset of racism has carried on through many generations.
In the story “Amnesty” Gordimer brings attention to the woman on the home front keeping a house hold together while men go and fight against apartheid. She uses a lowly farm girl whose boyfriend is using his intelligence and the justice system to fight the oppression of apartheid. Women are the backbone to the movement. Though men receive all the publicity, it is the women of give the men something to fight for. This is a very common message for members of our society. Not only do women go out and have successful careers, have they also held down the household by cooking cleaning and caring for the children. As a single mother and a child of a single mother I can identify with the difficulty of the narrator of ‘Amnesty”. She struggles with the loneliness and condescending attitude of her boyfriend being off fighting with the Africa Nation Congress. I too must balance my happiness with the weight of the world and attitudes toward my position as a young single mother. Women are looked at as a nuance and hindering to the movement. Women are not giving their fare credit for their contributions to the movement and to life.   Women are the backbone to not only the movement, but to any society. Women keep life in the things the men are fighting for. Single mothers not only breathe life into society by holding down the house hold, but by fighting as well.  

Achebe's Irony = The World Today

Achebe and his tactful talent for irony was last weeks theme. Achebe uses irony to express his feelings about colonialism and show its effect on the conlinized. In "Girls at war" Achebe tells the story of an african Gladys and Nwankwo an egotistical  high goverment official. The irony of the story is in the death of Gladys, the oppressed and the survival of Nwankwo, the oppressor. This story illistrates an ever prevelent truth in countries around the world; the evil survives while the good quickly dies out. This is true of human nature espcially in todays world where evil is praised. On every primetime TV show there is always one extreme antogonist. this antogonist is quickly glorified for they are the person everyone loves to hate. On the current season of Celebrity Apprentic Nee Nee, from the "Real house Wives of Atalanta", is the oppresive bully trying to bring people down as she climbs her way to the top. Her disaterous behavoir keeps the audience on their toes and pulls in top ratings. This ever repating cycle causes an oppresive cycle because the bad behavior is rewared. The Mother Coutries reap the benifits and praise of their oppessive behavoir, thus crating the never ending cycle of colonism.
Achebe also comments on the colonial mindset of colonialism. The Madman illistrats the effect of how outside critisism can warp and reverse the mindset of  a a completely acceptable person. the sane Nwibe is taunted by a madman, causing those who  saw Nwibe to bleive he had gone mad. this public perception of himself caused Nwibe to go insane. Acheberelated this story to his belief that colonicalism is a mindset. If you tell soemone that he is crazy so many time, he will eventually become crazy. If the mother countries continaully tell and treat the african natives that they are inferrior and uncivil, the colonized countries will begin to believe it.
In America a "I must be skinny to be beautiful" train of thought is prevelant in the media, leading people to eating disorders such as aneraxia and balemia. Typically young girls starve or purge themselves of food so that they can be as beauiful and thin as Gisel Bunchen. They inflate their bodies with silicon and other plastics in order to get the perfect set of boobs, legs, butt and stomachs. They try to turn themselves into Malibu Barbie to what benefit to themselves? All because of a culture that promote a mindset of outside artificial beauty, instead of finding the beauty within. This is a colonized mindset that repeats the cycle every generation destroying lives and creating tension. Somethings gotta give!!!!    

stanglehold of english lit. response

"Stranglehold of English Lit." by Felix Mnthali, argued about the controversy of teaching English literature to the African culture. the author confront this "Jane Austen" superiority system in outrage in disgust. i feel this piece of literature is important not only for his application but for African Americans and other minorities as well. In my childhood, and even still today, black history is only addressed during one month out of the year. Schools, even predominately black schools, mostly teach out the histories of the majority seldom working in the attributions of the minorities. How can one learn of their culture, when their culture is seldom recognized? "your elegance of deceit,
Jane Austen,
Lulled the sons and daughters
of dispossessed
into calf-love
with irony and satire
around imaginary people."
Mnthhali expresses how the natives are blind to their own cultural literature, instead believing that Jane Austen ( the English) is the intelligent literature of study. This is similar to the battle or recognition of African American history in the United States. I feel that our question of heritage and culture  academically go unanswered. Just as those questions that English literature imposed do not benefit African society. The enriching knowledge of the culture is being lost as bias, denial or whatever the excuse maybe, refuse to recognize and educated the histories and literature of the Africans and African Americans. This gave me a clearer vision of the fraud taking place before me. This texts opens your eyes  and enwrapps with a fiery messages. It gave me feeling of anger , disgust,  and even brought me to a point of fear. Fear for my culture, fear for my education, fear of a  trend that doesn't promote the equality that my ancestors gave their lives for.