The Rabbi's Cat

The Rabbi’s Cat by Joann Sfar is a very interesting picture novel. Having both the pictures and the words present on the page gives a whole other meaning to reading. The story is able to be told in a different way than traditional books. The pictures allow for the reader to visualize exactly how the author wants the book to be visualized. The negativity of having so many pictures is that they can be distracting to the reader when trying to focus on the words. If the novel is read slowly, including the pictures, the story is very clear.

                For me it was a little hard to relate to the Jewish religion since I am not a Jew myself, but religion is very important to me just as it was to the rabbi, his daughter, Jules, and many others in the book. I also had not had experience with other things in this book, but sometimes I think it would be easier if we were able to talk to the animals. The way this text did relate to me was through readings that we have already read and discussed, for example the book Nervous Conditions. In this novel the problem presented is the effects of colonization. In The Rabbi’s Cat there is not a lot of colonization presented, but the idea that the rabbi had to take a test in French and pass in order to stay rabbi there when he did not teach in French shows colonization in that sense. The school that Jules went to was a French school where he was taught to be a rabbi. It just seems not right for the French to be teaching something that will not be taught in French.

                This text clashed with my views on the learning and qualifications to become a rabbi.  It is hard for me to understand that things can be taught in one language and performed on a daily basis in another. I do not think it is right for those involved in a particular event, or those who shouldn’t be, to make up a criterion that must be followed that is really irrelevant.

                I had learned just like in the previous text required for the class, that there is always someone who is colonizing the so called “lesser” developed country. This makes things complicated for the individuals in the story. To want and to do the best, for the rabbi’s daughter, causes her to change for her husband.

                The text was enjoyable and entertaining. The story was clear and not all over, very easy to understand. I liked having the pictures along with the words. It made for easy and fast reading, but also brought the story more to life. It created a visual link to what was really going on in the story.