Megillat Esther

Let me start by saying that this was one of the tougher readings for me due to the fact that I really haven't been too religious for most of my life. That being said, one thing that I did like about the graphic novel was the pictures. I thought that the layers drawn within each picture were the most interesting of any graphic novel that we've read so far. They really added to the story and were much more detailed compared to other books. I also liked how the pictures weren't all drawn in separate boxes. I feel that this made it a little more open to interpretation as to how the book should be read and in what order.

Another thing that I found interesting was the overall idea of putting the Bible into a graphic novel. I think that this probably turns a lot of people away from giving the book a chance. The overall idea of the graphic novel is not as accessible to the public as other graphic novels that we have read. For instance, I would have never given the book a chance if I didn't have to read it in this class. I would have probably seen that it dealt with religion and just walked the other way. Graphic novels such as Maus interest me more because I know more about the subject. I think the reason for this is because public schools bring us up with so much knowledge about the Holocaust, but really aren't allowed to talk about religion in any fashion.

Waltz With Bashir

Since I missed the last two weeks of blogging, I figured I would go back and talk about Waltz With Bashir. I thought the movie was really good. One of the scenes that I found rather interesting was the opening scene with the dogs. I found the color scheme and the overall feel of the scene to be very powerful. It pretty much set the mood for the entire movie. I also thought that this scene immediately showed how the memories of the war affected the thoughts of each of the characters. The scene was basically a dream sequence of all the dogs that one of the characters shot during the war. This was fundamental in creating the setting for the story.

Another thing that I loved about the movie was the ending and also the overall music. I feel bad saying that I loved the ending because the story was very sad, but I thought the choice to show the actual video footage of the end of the war was very powerful. It reminded us that the animated characters in the movie were actually real people. The movie was already extremely emotional, but the woman at the end screaming made it that much more powerful without taking anything away from the animated part of the movie. The music in the movie was tremendous and definitely added an extra layer to the film.

Overall it was a great movie. It was the first animated film to ever be nominated for best foreign language film at the Academy Awards and it definitely deserved it.

The Stars

Another thing that I wanted to discuss was the importance of the star panel to the graphic novel. This one picture summed up the story for me. I thought the picture symbolized what Miriam Libicki was dealing with throughout the story. I personally have never been to the desert to see what she saw, but I have had moments when I felt similar to the way that she did when she was gazing at the stars. The stars showed that she was feeling that the world around her was collapsing. Somebody in class said that it felt like the stars were coming down on her. I thought this was an interesting way to think of it. The army and her personal life were in a way collapsing around her.

It also looked as though the stars were forming planes. This also symbolized both the army side of things and also her inner feelings. I thought the planes represented the battle that she was having with her own emotions. She was having trouble dealing with everything around her. This is why she had to resort to any way of connecting with another person. I thought this was the reason for why she had sex with all of the people she did. She was looking for any connection she could at the time to help get her through her feelings of an inner battle.

"Jobnik"

I thought Jobnik was an interesting tale of the day to day life of people in the military. I thought the title of "Jobnik" was an interesting choice. According to urbandictionary.com, the term Jobnik is described as "Israeli slang for a non-combatant soldier who serves his nation by doing secretarial work, clerking, counting inventory, or some other "job"-like function. Generally used with a hint of derision, as if the jobnik is lazier than a fighter." I thought this helps shed light on what this graphic novel was really about. This definition helps to explain many things that happened throughout the story. It explains why many of the characters treated her disrespectfully, and also helps to explain why she dealt with identity issues throughout the graphic novel. She didn't really fit in as a child or in the army.


Another topic that we discussed was whether or not this story is worth being told or not. I personally thought the story was interesting and a change of pace from the usual military stories. I think the story itself was important for many different reasons. One of these reasons was that many people don't know about the daily life in the military, which is what this graphic novel was mainly about. It was somewhat of a coming of age story. People in class had said that they didn't think the story was important. I, on the other hand, thought that the way in which the story was presented was more interesting than a normal story with a set plot.

The Cat

One thing I wanted to discuss about "The Rabbi's Cat," was why Joann Sfar chose a cat for this graphic novel. I thought it was an interesting choice, although, I think the main reason why he chose a cat was because a cat could be there without really being noticed. The cat kind of served as a fly on the wall of sorts. The stories in a way were through the cat's eyes, even though in the last few stories he couldn't speak.

Another thing I found interesting was the way the cat was drawn. To me it didn't really look like a cute little house cat. I thought it looked more like an alley cat. This was also a choice that Sfar had to make. I think if the cat was cute it would have made the story seem a little different. Readers would have felt more attached to the cat then they do in the original story. It would have also made some of the cat's actions such as testing God less bad. I think the choice of the cat having no hair and looking like an alley cat made this part of the story more powerful because readers are able to look at the cat's actions objectively.

The Rabbi's Cat

Going off of our discussion in class, I still can't decide if I liked or disliked this graphic novel. I thought there were many good parts throughout the story and brought up many good themes that deal with Jewish identity. I think from the class discussion I ended up liking it more than I did previous to class. Many of the questions that I had were answered.

One of the things that I found most interesting was the way in which the cat lost his voice. The cat tried to test God and used God's name in vein. God then proceeded to take the cat's ability to talk away from him, which in a way then made him then believe in god. I find it interesting that by taking something away from the cat he was actually giving the cat something also, a new found belief in God. To me, this seemed kind of ironic, as was most of "The Rabbi's Cat."

Along with the cat, the Rabbi does the exact same thing later in the graphic novel and God does nothing. I thought this was interesting and reminded me of "A Contract With God." To me, the moral of these parts were that God is always there. What I got from the parallels with "A Contract With God," was that seeing isn't always believing. If you believe in something, you shouldn't have to see it in action in order to believe.

Auschwitz and The Little Things

One thing I noticed when reading Maus II was that the little things that happened to Vladek gave him hopes of surviving. One part that I found particularly interesting was when the priest explained to him why he would be alive once everything was over. Vladek only saw this man one time and his words stuck with him throughout his whole life and time during the holocaust. Just by coming up with little positive things that the numbers on his arm represented helped Vladek keep faith that he would survive. The priest could've even lied about what the numbers represented and it still would've helped Vladek. I believe it was little things like this that helped many of the survivors of the holocaust last as long as they did. What else did they really have to look forward to or hope for?

While things were going "good" for Vladek, he had a friend named Mandelbaum that wasn't doing so well. All of the Jews were asked if they spoke English and Polish. Since Vladek knew both he was able to teach the German some English. At this time, his friend Mandelbaum Only had one shoe that he could use and no spoon. Through Vladek's speech lessons, he was able to get Mandelbaum a new pair of shoes. Vladek was able to help his friend and I believe this was only possible because Vladek believed he was going to survive. Before the priest talked to Vladek, he was in pretty bad shape. It was as if the priest helped Vladek and anyone that Vladek came across.

I also found it interesting that Vladek and Mandelbaum slept in the same bunk even though there were bunks open. I think this just shows the need for people in the camps to feel a connection with another person. The added support for one another helped them get through what they had to.