Part 1:
Although Littman presents both Catholicism as well as Judaic religious environments, there is room for discussion as to whether each was presented equally and free of biases. Does Littman provide an accurate depiction of both Catholicism and Judaism – is it possible that she may be favoring one over the other? This concern stems from numerous in class debates centered around this notion of authentic authors verses those who may not have first hand experiences. This on-going insider outsider debate is indisputably controversial and should be approached respectfully and open-mindedly to avoid assumptions as well as oversimplifications.
Part 2:
In the face of adversary from her family, Justine decides to investigate a different faith. On page 3 Justine explains that she wants to be like her best friend, Mac, who is Catholic. Again on pages 20 and 21 Justine presents rationale for desiring to become Catholic, “Weekly confession was just one of the reasons I decided to become Catholic. Here are some of the others: 1) I get to celebrate Christmas […] 2) I like the music […] 3) Catholic families are more normal than Jewish ones.” Pages 11 through 14 depict Justine’s first closet confession experience. She investigates Catholic practices on her own in her closet with her own representations of symbolic items from this religion. While wearing a cross necklace, Justine pretends to “look like a nun” with a white napkin on her head, participates in communion with grape juice and matzos, confesses her sins to “Father Ted,” her teddy bear, and recites Hail Mary on her rosemary. While this practice may be valid, I question where Justine learned these activities – what source is this information coming from? Justine attends mass with Mac which serves as the first factual representation of the Catholic faith. Due to her lack of knowledge concerning the events of mass, Justine walks away with a possibly skewed image of this faith.
In terms of Jewish culture and religion, Justine is influenced mainly by the lifestyles of her grandmother Bubbe, and the Weinstein’s. As mentioned previously, Justine is exploring the idea of being more committed to her faith; becoming more connected with her Jewish roots. It is clear that Justine receives information about Judaism from her Jewish family, which makes these ideas more authentic as a reader. The text is packed full of references, information, and even Yiddish and Hebrew terms that further influence readers view of this culture. As Justine compares and contrasts Catholic customs with that of her Jewish ones, it is debatable that readers are generally exposed to more authentic representations of Judaism in light of the family’s rich surplus of information and experiences.
Part 3
The issue of accurate representations, in this case in reference to religion, is not an easy matter, nor does it have a simple solution. Jacqueline Woodson’s article “Who Can Tell My Story?” emphasizes the importance writers experiencing events they write about. In reference to her partner’s religion she explains, “It is not my house, nor will it ever be, but there are elements we share” (44). No matter what stand you take on the insider/ outsider debate, as teachers it is unavoidable that we will face the task of discerning quality writing from poor writing. We should concentrate on universal ties that we share instead of the differences that pull us a part.
