The Rabbi's Cat (Kitty Analysis)

            In the Story “The Rabbi’s Cat, there are many important characters. Each character in the story has a different purpose as well as meaning to the importance to the Rabbi and his religion. Some of the characters stand out more than the others, one of those characters being Kitty.  Kitty plays a very controversial character to me.

When I am first introduced to Kitty he is a silent character. He does not speak nor does he sleep at night time.  There is something very hard for me to identify.  His owner the Rabbi is very cultural. He sticks to his religion at all times. Kitty does not have a set personality nor religion. One minute he can be a good positive person on the story then Kitty can have a negative influence on the story and not care about is behavior.  Kitty was so confused he didn’t know if he was a Jewish cat or not. (pg 9) the third panel Kitty says “I don’t know if I’m a Jewish cat or not.”  So in order for kitty to colonize and fit in he is willing to go through the Jewish religion and have a  Bar Mitzuah. (pg10) panel 3 talks about the planning for Kitty’s Bar Mitzuah.
           In the story kitty has n clear understanding. He does not know who God is. Kitty also does not abide the rules or laws of the culture. Every time Kitty talks he tells lies. Kitty compares Christians to Jews a lot in the story and says that god is only a man and that he can resemble a man as well because he can talk.

In conclusion to the ending of the story Kitty has no set culture. He is colonized into thinking he is Jewish. He likes the Rabbi’s daughter so much he is willing to adapt to her set norms, tradition, and cultural beliefs. Colonization is so strong it is a destructive force that can changes one’s life, and when see that when we study the life of Kitty in this story.

*I choose this pic because it examplifies the point I am trying to make. Cats don't read. Cats dont have set traditions or religions. The are colonized to there environment. Kitty looks more intelligent and like he fits in with the family more. He is trying to be Jewish to win over the Rabbi's daughter.

Nervous Conditions

                 In the book I read by Tsitsi Dangarembga titled “Nervous Conditions” I found the culture very different from our culture today. A very important aspect to me that stood out to me was the value of work.  In chapter six it talked a lot about how special white people were on missions and they were holy. They were labeled as very giving people. They gave rather than take from the African people. They made many sacrifices for their people which made them very superior amongst others. A change from the past to the future is there arent as many white people on the mission anymore. One downfall about the people who helped on the missionaries was it was hard to understand them because they always answered in Shona. I know that had to be very hard and difficult for the African people because they were so use to talking to the white people in English or not having the proper education to speak English.

          Ive also looked at English as being the primary language. When I read books like this it reminds me that over in Africa many people didn’t have the opportunity to learn more that their own native language. Many families couldn’t send their child/ren to school because of being in poverty and due to their lack of.  I rememeber growing up I had a Mexican Friend. All they spoke in her household was Spanish. This really confused me and made me feel out of place. They were very nice and helpful but it was a hassle for me to accept that we were different from one another and had some developing to do.

Ngugi's Writings

            I really liked Ngugi Wa Thiong’s particular style of writing. He stresses the important reasons to have and use your native language.  One particular story that really stood out to me was “Minutes of Glory”.  This author uses the colonization of names to emphasize their mindsets.  Beatrice’s identity is not who she really wants to be. She really does not like Nyaguthu and wants to be like her, while in the mean time Nyaguthu is not happy with herself and wants to be more like Beatrice. Deep down these two main characters envy each other which is a great example that Ngugi is showing to exemplify the gender bias in the story.

          Looking back I can say I relate a lot with Ngugi’s writings. I always think to myself I am not smart enough and I want to be more like this or that person but in reality the way the United States is set up to me is to colonize the mind. We see a lot of this taking place in magazines, TV, and etc. Sometimes I give people a name just to fit in with a particular crowd in which I don’t belong just to give off a new identity or less negritude.

Gordimer's Writings

                I really did not like the style of Gordimer’s writings because she had a particular style that she wrote in that was very stereotypical to me.  For example in the story “Amnesty”  there was a character that did not have a name because that person was to represents one side of the population as a whole such as all white men or all black men in the United States.  So not depending on who you where but what race, county, complexity, sex, religion, or language you were you were already given a back ground coming into the story. One important think that I did notice that the author did was set up the plot to the readers could find symbols in the story. The man in the story named the daughter Inkuleleko which means South African Independence when is a symbol that he is in control of the future.

          When reading “Six Feet of the Country” it really disgusted me. How the system does operate.  When the wrong person gets involved bad things may happen. This should not be the case. When you hear the word authority you do not think of disrespect, prejudice nor ignorant and this is exactly what came to my mind when reading this story. Statements such as “He had no identity anyways”, or “there are so many black faces, surely one will do”. What type of system or authority shows this type of disrespect? Maybe one where the writer is somewhat stereotypical in there writing. This is strictly my opinion though.  Only one side of the  black people where portrayed in the story, the country people being ignorant, backwards and, not dressing well. What about the country people with educations, dress well and own land? I think to make the story more interesting the author should of not only made a nameless character to represent one side of the population but all sides.

Achebe's Writings

          My whole views of the Writings by Chinua Achebe were positive.  I related on so many aspects. People can create their own realities. In your previous class we read the short story “Continuity of Parks” the author to me had very similar ideas. He believed that if a person believed in it deeply fiction does become the reality in which we live. 

The story that stood out the most to me was “The Madman”. If you did not read the story correctly you would get very confused on who actually was the mad man and who actually was not. If you are always told something you start to believe it. Well in the story Nwibe was not crazy he was just modest and going about his business when in actual reality the madman was the man that was really crazy and insane.  It makes me wonder if in an unjust system what your best option is. Is it to go crazy? Yes I feel that way you get to set yourself free and no longer have to deal with being told “you’re crazy, your ugly or etc” deep down inside you know the truth and why your actions provoked you to act in such a way. I like the author’s particular style of writing because instead of making one character crazy she made both characters crazy which made the story come to life more. It also showed me the differences of how Colonization of the mind happens, and in this story it exemplified it well.  

"The Stranglehold of English Lit"

In the poem I read “The Stranglehold of English Lit” it confused me a lot. When I first started reading it I came across many words that I felt had nothing to do with English Lit in our society. But the more and more I read I seem to figure out that the author Mnthali was questioning the works of Africa.  He uses works such as stab; jab and gore to answer the question would Europe in Africa stood the time of English Lit.

One thing in the poem that stood out to me the most was when Mnthali said “While history went on mocking the victims of branding irons and sugar plantations” he is stating in that quote that The people of Africa or as we call them today African Americans are the people in history being looked down upon and with people like Jane Austin around how could this be stopped or how could these questions be answered. English Lit back then was just seen as a cruel joke and in the colonization of the mind the British often conquered the Africans. And the Sons and daughters that have been disposed, Africans that had been educated were a mockery to them and didn’t exist.

When I reflect back on this poem it makes me take a whole new perspective of English Lit. I will never view English Lit the same. When I think of English Lit I think of all the positive effects it has over its entire people. I never thought of it singling out the Africans. But also when I think about it maybe this poem was a way that the author explained and got across his points to the people who read it what exactly was going on.

fhfgher,