"Their Eyes Were Watching God": Journal 7

Theme words:

• Power/Control
• Religion
• Death
• Jealousy 
• Time/waiting
• Race
• Memories
• Doubt
• Dreams
• Fears
• Loneliness 
• Work/Money
• Gender roles
• Pride
• Social classes
• Hope
• Anger
• Grief
• Desperation
• Independence

Power:
In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, author Zora Neale Hurston suggests that it is human nature to desire power and control over those weaker than us, as shown through the relationship between races, as well as the marriage between Jody and Janie.

Gender roles:
Through Janie's marital relationships, Hurston suggests that in marriages, men often have dominance over women and control majority of the aspects in their day to day life.

Dreams:
Author Zora Neale Hurston suggests that in the end of the day, a human will always follow their true dreams, no matter what the consequence may be.

"Their Eyes Were Watching God": Journal 6

EXTREMELY Rough Outline:

1. Hurston uses ambiguity, dialect, euphemisms, mood, tone, syntax, personification, imagery and figurative language to depict Janie's true fears of dying a lonesome death.

2. In the first paragraph, Hurston portrays Janie's regret towards waiting for her fantasized ideals of love through ambiguity and euphemisms to soften the hard truth.

3. In the first few sentences of the second paragraph, Hurston uses personification and imagery to give the audience an image that Janie's thoughts and fears are a permanent memory of the past in her mind that continue to linger on with her.

4. The last half of the second paragraph switches into first person point of view, which gives the reader a personal experience with Janie through Hurston's use of dialect.

5. In the last paragraph, Hurston uses figurative language in describing Tea Cake's homecoming as a symbol of return for Janie's hope.

6. In the middle of the paragraph, Hurston plays with color imagery to represent the changes in Tea Cake's personality.

7. In the final lines of the paragraph, Hurston reinstates Janie's fears of waiting for love and dying a lonesome death because of it.

Comments:

To Hana: I like how you talked about the change in Hurston's tone towards the sun. Hurston, up until this point, used the sun as a representation of a new beginning, but I think you are right in that she now shows pain and desperation towards it. Maybe Janie is now desperate for a new beginning, so Hurtson is referencing to the sun to show this?

To Clara Dunklee: This is a very strong analysis! I would never be able to come up with these things on my own! I like how you talked about love killing Annie Tyler. I also like how you referenced it back to the beginning of the book when Hurston talked about dreams. It's interesting how these character's dreams will eventually kill them - Annie's dream of true love; Jody's dream of being a man of power and eventually dying from being weak, etc. 

For the "dying in peace" part, I thought Hurtston was using a euphemism  to simply say that she was dying a slow death and that her daughter was once again taking care of her. I do agree though that Janie is reflecting and in a way, scaring herself into thinking that she is going to be just like Annie Tyler. 

To Vlada: It's cool how you focused on imagery! Your analysis on the imagery of the sun is something I never thought of. Your approach to the color description that Hurston uses is extremely creative as well. I never thought of the "white" meaning serious before, but it all makes sense. When I first read it, I thought the color description of red  representing attraction and white representing the fear that Janie develops with Tea Cake about him leaving her. 

"Their Eyes Were Watching God": Journal 5

"They put her to bed and sent for her married daughter from up around Ocala to come see about her.  The daughter came as soon as she could and took Annie Tyler away to die in peace.  She had waited all her life or something, and it had killed her when it found her.
      The thing made itself into pictures and hung around Janie's bedside all night long.  Anyhow, she wasn't going back to Eatonville to be laughed at and pitied.  She had ten dollars in her pocket and twelve hundred in the bank.  But oh God, don't let Tea Cake be off somewhere hurt and Ah not know nothing about it.  And God, please suh, don't let him love nobody else but me.  Maybe Ah'm is uf fool, Lawd, lad dey say, but Lawd, Ah been so lonesome, and Ah been waitin', Jesus.  Ah done waited uh long time.
      Janie dozed off to sleep but she woke up in time to see the sun sending up spies ahead of him to mark out the road through the dark. He peeped up over the door sill of the world and made a little foolishness with red, but pretty soon, he laid all that aside and went about his business dressed all in white.  But it was always going to be dark to Janie if Tea Cake didn't soon come back.  She got out of the bed but a chair couldn't hold her. She dwindled down on the floor her head in a rocking chair."

I highlighted the light blue words because I thought it was an interesting contrast in word choice. Hurston often does this with words.

I highlighted the purple for no specific reason, but I found that line to be interesting. In a way, it's foreshadowing for Janie. Although Janie does not die, her eternal quest for love will eventually be the thing that destroys her as well.

The yellow I highlighted represents imagery. The words "pictures and hanging" made me envision Janie's thoughts like a dark cloud, or bad memory that is captured inside of her and won't go away. Also, the word laughing appeals to my hearing sense, so I actually imagine people laughing at her in Eatonville if she were to return. 

The green highlighted text shows the sudden change of point of view. Hurston goes from third person point of view to first person in the same paragraph, which ties in with syntax. Hurtston switches points of view often, so that gives the reader the effect that they are getting more of an insight into Janie. The green also represents dialect. Hurston goes from fluid and formal writing to choppy, informal and almost in a way, uneducated writing. 

I am having a difficult time taking the orange highlighted text apart. Sun is usually used as a symbol in Their Eyes Were Watching God to represent a new beginning, but judging by that text, I'm not sure if that's what Hurston is trying to imply. 

The dark blue words are repetition. Hurston repeats darkness.

The red text is interesting because of Hurston's play with color imagery. In past English classes, we learned that red usually represents things like attraction or sexuality. So that got me thinking maybe that's what Tea Cake is to Janie. He is much younger and attractive and that's what lured Janie in. But after Janie got to know him, he realized that he is much more bland and that's where the "white" comes in.

The last sentence, in the dark purple, gives the reader a sort of helpless mood. The way she "dwindles on the floor" make me feel bad for Janie. Even after "running away" with Tea Cake, she is still lonely. 

Also, I don't know why the text is randomly being highlighted white..........

"Their Eyes Were Watching God": Journal 4

Yet Marcus started to contemplate Bravery. Bravery, that handsome lion with the elegant mane who roamed in the dark jungle. The wise one who fostered your loving heart like a white blank page without words to it, and without a reason. What use does Bravery have for hiding, and what dangers cannot face him? He rests on the peak of danger that over sees all the people. Rests alert and composed all night with his paws drawn back, waiting for the villain to make his move. Continue resting there before there was a why or a how or a then. He was bound to find a note from his enemy hidden with a victim any day now. He was anxious and distant too. Poor Winston! He ought not to burden the stress all by himself. He tried offering a helping hand, but Winston Refused. The towns people had their knickers in a bunch with the mad-man on the loose, but they had been blinded by the lies they saw on telly. He would be safe just as soon as the bloody fool stopped his evil actions. He wasn't going to end his life soon. That was what struck him. And the people warned him differently, but he knew. And then if he hadn't, the following dawn he discovered the truth, for the villain had carried out his plans and people hid helplessly under the the rising sun. People who would once have stayed and fought now fled to the country. Just wept under the ruins of their city and witnessed. Anger, that menacing monster, had destroyed the world.

"Their Eyes Were Watching God": Journal 3

I find Jody Starks to be absolutely fascinating. Out of all the characters in the book, I find his complex ego and complete lack of affection for Janie to be one of Hurston's most interestingly characterized characters. I would like to bring attention to the quote "That was because Joe never told Janie how jealous he was. He never told her how often he had seen the other men figuratively wallowing in it as she went about things in the store. And one night he had caught Walter standing behind loose end of her braid ever so lightly so as to enjoy the feel of it without Janie knowing what he was doing. Joe was at the back of the store and Walter didn't see him. He felt like rushing forth with a meat knife and chopping off the offending hand. That night he ordered Janie to tie up her hair around the store" (55) because it shows how possessive and controlling Joe is. In this quote especially, Joe's thoughts make it seem like Janie is more of his property than a woman he loves and respects. Hurston characterizes Joe as a man who must always be in power. If he doesn't feel a sense of power, then he retaliates and often takes it out on Janie. What I also found interesting about this passage was that this was one of the first times the narrator spoke from Joe's perspective. Hurston heavily focuses on the characterization of Joe in chapter six through his verbal and physical actions towards Janie.

"Their Eyes Were Watching God": Journal 2

I have selected the following passage to do my journal entry on:

"The burst of applause was cut short by Joe taking the floor himself.
'Thank yuh fuh yo' compliments, but mah wife don't know nothin' 'bout no speech-makin'. Ah never married her for nothin' lak dat. She's uh woman and her place is in de home.'
Janie made her face laugh after a short pause, but it wasn't too easy. She had never thought of making a speech, and didn't know if she cared to make one at all. It must have been the way Joe spoke out without giving her a chance to say anything one way or another that took the bloom off things. But anyway, she went down the road behind him that night feeling cold. He strode along invested with his dignity, thought and planned out loud, unconscious of her thoughts." (43)

The first technique I am going to touch base on is imagery. Once again the word "face" is used and Hurston uses Janie's facial expressions as a way to convey her true emotions. Obviously, Janie is hurt by what Joe has said and she forces a laugh. Hurston does not abruptly say "Janie is hurt by Joe's words", she instead creates mental images through imagery and gives the reader an even deeper understanding of Janie's pain.

The second technique I am examining is epiphany. All of a sudden, Janie realized that Joe may not be the man she ran off. Janie is naive and easily blinded by love, and she finally surfaced back to reality by the few simple words that escaped Joe's mouth. The quote "It must have been the way Joe spoke out without giving her a chance to say anything one way or another that took the bloom off things" (43) is what really stood out to me in the passage. It seems as if Janie is finally grasping an understanding of what kind of man Joe really is. He isn't the well dressed, good-looking, and sweet-talking gentlemen anymore. Instead she sees this ignorant and controlling aspect of him that scares her.

My second technique leads me onto my third that I have selected, which is Joe becoming the antagonist in Janie's story. He literally went from being the good guy to the conflict in Janie's life within 10 lines. Janie is seen as the protagonist and since we often feel our emotions in the story through her, we begin to develop this sort of disloyalty towards Joe with her.

Tone: Condescending and honest

Mood: Sympathetic

I chose this passage because to me, it showed a lot about Janie and who she is as a person. Janie is gullible and falls into people's traps. She is very innocent and still like a child in a way. She is dependent on others taking care of her. I thought this passage was important because for the first time in the book, I saw Janie starting to developed mature emotions. She had an epiphany about Joe and began to see the world as it really is and this is the beginning of her starting to take action to prove her independence.

"Their Eyes Were Watching God": Journal 1

While reading the first four chapters of Their Eyes Were Watching God, one of the first things that caught my attention was Janie's complex vision of love and her need to be loved. In her Grandmother's eyes, Janie's perception of love is, for a lack of a better word, crazy. Janie's Grandmother believes that marriage is more about profit than anything, as shown in the quote "If you don't love him, you sho oughta. Heah you is wid de onliest organ in town, amongst colored folks, in yo's parlor. Got yo house bought and paid for and sixty acres uh land right on de big road and...Lawd have mussy! Dis love! Dat's de very prong all us black women gits hung on" (23). Janie's Grandmother thinks that love means nothing compared to wealth and fortune. Janie, on the other hand, has a youthful approach to love. She wants a husband who is young, spirited in life and believes in change, basically the polar opposite of what Logan Killicks is. Janie uses interesting figurative language in describing Logan Killicks as well. She calls him an "ole skullhead" (13), but that is just the beginning. She goes on to using amusing similes like "his toe-nails look lak mule foots" (24).

Some questions that arose for me while pondering about Jamie's perspective of love are: Is Janie's desire to be loved caused by the lack of her father in her life? Maybe she seeks love to compensate because she never really knew her true mother? Or will Janie's view of love ultimately be her downfall?

Another thing I found interesting about Janie's perception of love is that Hurston often symbolizes it through nature, one of the more specific examples is the "pear tree" and she constantly references to it. The quote "Ah wants things sweet wid mah marriage lak when you sit under a pear tree and think. Ah..."(24) shows Janie's affection and understanding of the Earth. Another quote that stood out to me was "She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight. So this was a marriage" (11). This was the first time Janie experienced love. At the age of sixteen, she of course began to think about marriage and the desired it. Janie chases after the ideals of a perfect marriage and true love pretty much for the rest of her life. Hurston has a devotion towards mother nature and symbolizing love through it and I picked that up while reading. She uses tons of personification while describing it as well. "The rose of the world was breathing out smell" (10) was one that stood out to me. Not only is it beautifully written, but it makes you think. Janie tends to see the beauty in the world and ignores the ugly. Or she at least manages to escape the ugly.

My questions for this section are: Does Janie kiss Johnny-Taylor just because she wanted to feel loved or was there another motive? Will Hurston maintain this theme of mother nature throughout the story? Since Hurston uses ridiculous amounts of personification towards Earth, does Hurston imagine the world as an actual living thing?

My last point is completely unrelated to love, but Huston uses a magnificent amount of figurative language in the first few pages. One of my favorites is how she describes the "sitters" or village people as "tongueless, earless, eyeless conveniences all day long" (1). To me, this quote alone represents how the African Americans  still felt inferior to the white people. Doing some background research, I know this book takes place during the Jim Crow Laws, which means African Americans were segregated and lacked basic rights any human deserves. Hurston has a bone chilling description of the feelings an African American felt around its fellow men compared to how inferior they felt around the whites, "But now, the sun and the bossman were gone, so the skins felt powerful and human. They become lords of sounds and lesser things" (1).  When they were in Eatonville, they could be themselves without fear of the white man. Hurston also talks about how the "sitters" "sat in judgement" (1), so this got me to thinking, are the sitters tired of being judged themselves, so they are taking it on someone else? Maybe the women look at Janie and think "I wish I had her independence"?
Hurston's figurative language expressing the gossip from the town's people is terrifying. She turns positive things such as laughing into murder tools and questions into burning statements in the example "They made burning statements with questions, and killing tools out of laughs. It was mass cruelty" (2). The contrast Hurston uses between words of a dark nature and words of a positive nature is astounding.

I wonder if Hurston will continue with this pattern of Light vs. Dark words? Did Hurston mean to create the image of the town's people being "evil"? Will Hurston ever elaborate more on the inferiority the African Americans felt?




Wow, this was hard, but definitely made me think A LOT.. Hopefully journal entries will get easier as time goes on!