Acceptance is a major theme in the book Confessions of a Closet Catholic. Justine is eleven years old, going on twelve and couldn’t be more confused with who is she as an individual. She definitely doesn’t feel accepted by her family. “One thing that gets me mad about my family is that they never take me seriously. That’s just one thing. I made a list once of all the things that get me down about my family. It’s pretty long, but here’s the top five: 1) My mother loves my sister more than me. 2 My dad loves my brother more than me. 3) My mother loves her miniature poodle, Bijoux, more than me. 4) Mom is tall, thing, blond, and beautiful. (So is
Justine’s family is considered to be “twice a year” Jews. I have heard this term before and I consider myself to be a “twice a year” catholic. It’s interesting to hear Justine say that one of the reasons why she wants to be catholic is because “Catholic families are more normal than Jewish ones.” (Page 21). I don’t necessarily agree on any level with what she said, and I actually don’t think does either. She kind of contradicts herself later on by saying that, “There aren’t that many of my friends’ moms with whom I can imagine sitting around on my bed having hot chocolate and cookies. I can’t even imagine doing it with my mom, because I’d be so worried about spilling my drink or getting crumbs on the bedspread. But it seems cozy and natural doing it with Mrs. Weinstein and Shira” (Littman, 62-3). Well, if she can be this comfortable with Shira and her mother, why are Catholic families more normal?
I’m kind of glad the term “twice a year” Jew came up in this book. Not only can I relate to this term, but it also gives me more connections to the book. I am both, Catholic and Jewish because my mom is Catholic and my dad is Jewish. It has always been this way. I feel like I am both, a “twice a year” Catholic and “twice a year” Jew. But does this mean that I am not accepted into the church or synagogue less than everyone else? I don’t think so.
I think it’s hard for anyone to find their own identity and I think what Justine is going through is completely normal. She doesn’t feel comfortable with her religion or her family. The one person in her family that she is afraid to tell the truth about her feelings about religion is her Bubbe. And in the end, her Bubbe is the only one in her family that understands what she’s going through. “I decided to give up being Jewish for Lent” (Littman, 103). Her mother screams and yells back at her while her Bubbe stays calm and responds with, “‘Adele, leave her,’’It’s not such a big thing. All children go through a time of questioning. It’s natural. Actually, I think questioning is a sign of intelligence” (Littman, 103-4). It isn’t until the end of the book when she receives the Star of David necklace from her Bubbe that she feels accepted, whole and complete.
3 comments:
Your post made me think about how we define "normal" and what it means to feel "whole". Even reading your last sentences about Justine feeling whole touched me. I think what I like most about this book is how it describes, with humor, a process of moving from thinking of Catholicism (it could be anything) as "normal" to knowing and claiming and interpreting one's own history or identity as valid. (And, as you talk about, that identity might be about being both Jewish and Catholic.)
I really liked how you focused on the term "twice a year" Jew. While I am not Catholic, nor do I identify with any specific religion, I still attend church twice a year and those days are Easter Sunday and Christmas Eve. It scares me to think that I never really thought of religion as being a huge part of my identity until I read this book and your post. Since I never really identified with one, I never considered it a part of me, even though I do find it extremely important. I feel like I need to do what Justine did and research a bunch of religions to find out which one I like! haha I think that many people struggle with this though, especially since I am pretty sure you and I are not the only "twice a year" church goers out there. I think that we are two of many people.
I also am not a very religious person. My immediate family celebrates Christmas, and Easter, and so on, so I suppose it would be safe to say that I fit in the “twice a year” category as well. But I was brought up in a house where our lives never centered around religion, they in turn centered around the importance of family, and spending time together, etc. In reading this book, it makes me realize how different of an up bringing I had because of this. At this point in my life, I was impressed with all the research that Justine did, and sometimes feel as if I should do the same. That being said, I never felt as Justine felt about fitting in or not. I always felt as if I was “whole”. Yes, I went through the struggles of being younger and trying to figure out who I am- and to tell you the truth I still don’t really know. It had never occurred to me that religion could affect a family, or even an individual’s life as much as it does at such a young age. I will be interested to hear about others stories of growing up to see if I am in the minority of being raised in a religious house hold verses not.
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