17
December
2008
For the time Janie was living with her Grandmother, many things were were pushed upon her. Janie was forced to marry at the tender age of 16, and was constantly reminded by Granny of the life she could have had if born just a few decades earlier. All parents say, “back in my day….blah blah blah” however after our discussion in class today, i may understand why.
How am I, a Jewish teenager in 2008, supposed to know how lucky i am to be free to practice my religion and even walk outside without fear? How is a black child supposed to know that their college education is a blessing to their grandparents? How is someone supposed to know that the fact that Barack Obama is our 44th president an amazing moment in the world? The answer is a story. Stories have been told and then written down for centuries and they allow the generation of the present to learn about the generation of the past. Stories then allow us to compare our lives today and how our lives would have been if we lived in the previous generation.
It may seem that our system of books is old and not up to date in school and that perhaps our district is living too much in the past. However it is so important for us to learn and understand the past to understand why other things have happened in the future.
By understanding the past we are able to appreciate the present.
Posted: Connections, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
14
December
2008
A lot happens in these few chapters including an attempted intervention by Janie’s friend Phoebe, who we saw in the beginning of the book for a short time. The people of the town cannot understand why Janie would act in such free, outgoing ways, just 9 short months after the death of her husband. However what the people don’t know are the true feelings that existed between Joe and Janie and how she is actually happier without him.
“Ah ain’t grievin’ so why do Ah hafta mourn?” (pg. 113) ~ Janie to Phoebe when Phoebe questions her lack of black clothing and new blue style
Is it true that all families have their own problems? Even the ones we are supposed to look up to and admire, such as a mayor’s family? I think so. Just recently I learned a whole lot of garbage that has been going around a family that i know. I used to think their life was perfect with lots of kids, grandparents, and all living within 20 minutes of each other so a family dinner or activity was a breeze. However my vision is not true. I was shocked when i learned this as i always used to be embarrassed by my own family, believing we were not up to par. I used to be embarrassed with myself as I believed all the other girls my age were too good for me. However there can never be a perfect family, even if they make everything seem fine on the outside. Janie’s family was never perfect, and although they were able to fool the people of Eatonville, she was not able to fool herself.
“…buy Jody wouldn’t ‘low me tuh. When Ah wasn’t in de store he wanted me tuh jes sit wid folded hands and sit dere. And Ah’d sit dere wid de walls creepin’ up on me and squeezin’ all de life outa me.” (pg. 112)
Hurston makes it easy to see the transformation of “sit at home proper women Janie” to “free, fun loving, life loving Janie.”
“He drifted off into sleep and Janie looked down on him and felt a self-crushing love. So her soul crawled out from its hiding place.” (pg. 128)
For the first time in Janie’s life, she is taking direction of her life herself. She is finally happy and content with where she is in life with Tea Cake. And although she will not live in a big house, with plenty of furnishings, and her own little spit cup, she is living happily as her own free women.
Posted: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
11
December
2008
This group of chapters represents a bitter yet sweet ending. I do not believe Janie ever loved Jody, not even when they ran off together from Logan’s house. She loved the idea of him, the life that she believed was possible if she was with him. However after 20 or so years of silence, hate, and anger, Jody died, leaving Janie with everything he owned, including the store. I also said this was a sweet ending. Janie for the first time in about 30 years was free of a man, and in the first time in her life, free from a guardian at all. The first thing she did when Jody died was take her hair down. It shows that she is no longer bound up and all tied up like her hair was, but she was able to go free, let loose a little, and live life the way she wants to. Some changes include wearing her hair down in a braid, and at night leaving the store to go on the porch and have fun with the rest of the town. Jody’s death will be good for her however with the entrance of Tea Cake, makes me wonder if she will be single for much longer.
“Here Nanny had taken the biggest thing God ever made, the horizon-for no matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you-and pinched it in to such a little bit of a thing that she could tie it about her granddaughter’s neck tight enough to choke her. Se hated the old women who had twisted her so in the name of love. Most humans didn’t love one another nohow, and this mislove was so strong that even common blood couldn’t overcome it all the time.” pg 89-90
When Janie talked about her dream being broken in the first few chapters was a bit confusing. However now with this quote i understand. Janie’s dream was love. However with all that has happened with her “parents”, her husbands, and now her grandmother, it is hard to believe in something you have never seen come true. Janie does not trust her grandmothers love as she questions the “old women’s” motives as she believes she has taken the greatest thing in the world and choked her with it. Janie feels dead inside as she cannot feel love, or see love anymore.
Janie says she has a jewel inside of her that wants to shine however it has been stifled by the store (a symbol of constraint and “mislove”). Her jewel is her love and thus when Tea Cake comes and sweeps Janie off her feet, she can feel the Jewel shinning as she begins to believe as she did when she was a little girl. She begins to believe in love.
Posted: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
10
December
2008
Every great book has a symbol. In Moby Dick, the doubloon symbolized hope for many of the men. It represented religion and everything the men were fight for on the Pequod and off. In The Great Gatsby the green light symbolized something so great that you can never have. It showed your dreams and goals always two steps ahead of you. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, I found that the porch in front of the town building represents a different culture. There people go not only to gossip but to have fun. They do not have any bars or parties to go to, there is no cineplex or restaurant to spend some time. Instead they meet up at the porch every day at about the same time. The Porch was not always there. It was created by Stark when he moved to the town and demanded a central point. It shows the progress the people have made in the town and how they can all live together in peace and guidance.
The people of this town are fine with having the porch as a central spot. HoweverJanie is not. She is too restless in her position of running the store. The porch is stable and will not move. It is contained and will never grow any more or become broader. This is how Janie feels being married to Stark. She feels trapped in a life she believed she wanted for herself. Howevershe learned the harsh truth as she did not feel free enough as a woman and as Starks wife. She wants to grow and move around the town and get to know things, however her husband is holding her back. He is too interested in being the perfect mayor, or at least the perfect man. That is why he gets so upset when Janie crosses him at the store.
“Janie had robbed him of his illusion of irresistible maleness that all men cherish, which was terrible…she had cast down his empty armor before men and they had laughed, would keep on laughing.” (pg. 80)
Janie and Jody are two verystrong individuals. Janie knows her place as a woman and is fine with doing the cooking and such, however cannot stand being told what to do. She needs her own voice and her own freedom. This is something she only had as a girl growing up that ended with her first marriage. Jody is an extremely strong man. Although i believe he means well, he is to certain on the image he has for himself, his wife, and his town, and thus any little disappointment or change will not suit him. Seeing as people are NOT perfect, it is very hard for others, especially Jamie, to follow his ideals.
Posted: Connections, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
9
December
2008
These chapters show the inevitable. Janie was too unhappy with her husband so when a well-dressed, wealthy stranger came down the road one day, she was more than swept off her feet. Janie’s new husband, Joe Starks, is a restless man who is looking for the opportunity to be involved with the creation of a new, all black, town. When they arrive, they see that the town is in total ruin as they do not even have a mayor. Joe talks about bringing things to the town, such as a post office, which some of the local men find difficult to comprehend.
“Us talks about de white man keepin’ us down! Shucks! He don’t have tuh. Us keeps our own selves down.” (pg. 39)
It is hard to believe this however when one of the towns men says it, the other agrees. This town is so old and full of people who do not see a future for themselves. However with the arrival of Joe Starks, they begin to see and help with the change that is occurring in their town.
With all leaders, good or bad, there are bound to be people who disagree with the current leadership. However in this town, the people have never encountered a strong leader before and thus feel threatened by Starks. The men talk about how they feel pushed around and how the mayor has so many benefits while the others work. From my stand point Starks is a great leader however the people have never seen something like this before and thus immidietly identify him as a threat. Although Joe does seem to be drawn to power, so does every other leader in history. Hopefully Joe will realize this mistrust coming from the towns people or else i fear for his job, his home, and his life. And now that Janie is his wife, there is much more at stake as he is responsible for more than just himself no matter what.
“They bowed down to him rather, because he was all of these things, and then again he was all of these things because the town bowed down.” (pg.50)
Posted: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
7
December
2008
The purpose of the first two chapters was to give an in site into who our main character, Janie, is and where she comes from. We learn about her difficult life of being raised by her grandmother and being the product of a rape. In class we discussed how many African Americans who read this book were offended however we could not understand why. I do not believe the reason for this hostility was based on the language used in the book as many of the words are slurred “Ah takes dat flattery offa you, Pheoby, ’cause Ah know it’s from de heart.” pg 5. Instead the harsh feelings come from the story behind the people. Just from the first few chapters it seems like the only thing these people do is sit and gossip about another person in the town. From Janie’s story about growing up, we only see a story about a young women whose daughter was raped and had a child. The women who was raped became a drunk and left her baby in the hands of her mother. And in the present day, no one knows where she lives, and if she is even alive.
The core story of the book so far is not flattering at all for the people who live that life. All these characters are African American which could explain why the black community was not thrilled with the publication of this book.
Just as in The Great Gatsby and Moby Dick, there is a person (Nick/Gatsby and Ishmael) who go into a situation, or new society they are not familiar with (West egg and the Pequod). We see this pattern again in Their Eyes Were Watching God as although Janie lives in this town with the same people as before she left, they see her in a different light now as she returns in dirty cloths and man-free. It will be difficult for Janie to continue her life here as there are so many people who already know her past, but do not know what has happened since she left the town with a younger man.
Posted: Connections, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
