Their eyes were watching God is very similar to The sisterhood of the traveling pants. In both novels, women are finding their role and voice in life through a series of events. Janie, in Their eyes were watching God, in very quick to fall in love with men and in a way is very naive about the world around her. At the beginning of the novel Janie marries Logan Kullick because it's what her Nanny wants. Her Nanny believes that a women will be satisfied if they are wives to rich men. Janie however leaves Logan after meeting Jody. Jody is power-hungry and while he appears to comfort Janie by showing her a chivalrous lifestyle, she soon finds out that Jody is more domineering than considerate. He doesn't let Janie speak her mind or let her express the emotions stirring in her heart. Jody dies and Janie becomes infatuated with a man named Tea Cake. Tea Cake lets her be herself, which is a refreshing freedom for Janie. The sisterhood of the traveling pants is filled with love, loss, and of course pants. In both books, their is a significance to the hair Janie has and the pants the four girls share. The pants and Janie's hair gives them strength as they explore the world to discover themselves. In The sisterhood of the traveling pants the four girls are very different but they are affected by the views each of them share. Janie is affect by many different factors as well. Janie is affected by the values of her grandma, the values of Jody, and at the end her own person values finally emerge. Both books also show women empowerment by causing the women to reflect upon themselves to discover the desires, values, and things they find happiness in.
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Jody Starksmeets the main character of the novel after she marries Logan Killicks. Jody begins to tell Janie Crawford stories about his future endeavors. He wants his voice heard and to become an important man in the new city where everyone is black and equal. Janie follows him to this city because she has always been a dreamer of new things. Not only is she leaving her husband Logan because she is curious about the new city, but she is leaving him because Jody is confident and his views are fresh to her. Jody in reality is power-hungry, domineering and cruel to Janie. He only see’s Janie as a prize, not a woman who is his life partner. Jody controls Janie because he is only happy and secure when he feels that he holds power over those around him. He marries Janie for the sole purpose that she is a prize and will suit the ideal mold for a “mayor’s wife”. An important quote that sums up Jody would be something that Janie once said “he needs tah have hus way all hus life, trample and mash down and then die ruther than tuh let husself heah ’bout it.” Jody eventually dies while in a fight with Janie. Janie feels no sorrow for him; she only feels freedom as she lets her hair finally hang loose.
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Sunday, April 4, 2010
Literary Elements
Literary Elements
Purpose: Purpose here
Tone: Hurston's attitude toward Janie seems to be somewhat understanding and, in a way, sympathetic toward the character's many mishaps and hardships that befall her.
Mood: Whilst reading this book, the reader is filled with a sense of affection for Janie, sometimes pity, love, and hope. Her misfortunes are great, and the reader only hopes to see them righted. Voice: Hurston's voice is, as with any author, unique in its syntax, diction, etc. She carries the tones of a Southern writer and effectually writes for the Southern dialect, yet she writes with a certain beauty, one which, if studied, could only have been managed by a wise and intelligent being.
Diction: The diction of Their Eyes Were Watching God is a rather unique one. While the dialogue is broken, a nearly flawless rendering of the deep Southern accents of the 20s and 30s, the narration is poetic, with beautiful descriptions and thought-provoking declarations.
Setting: This story takes place in rural Florida, during the 1920s to 1930s, the time of Zora Neale Hurston's earlier writings.
Symbolism: -Janie's long, beautiful hair represents a rebellion, a freedom. When she "lets down her hair", she is "freeing" herself from Logan Killicks and the marriage forced upon her by Nanny Crawford. -The peach tree that grew in Nanny's yard is used to show the "blossoming" (for lack of a better term) of Janie's sexual desire and her entrance into womanhood. ("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!") Shortly after this passage, she is caught by her grandmother kissing Johnny Taylor.
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Theme
The most prominent theme expressed throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God is Janie's endless search of fulfillment in both love and independence. As she goes on her journey for love she not only seeks for affection but also to find and explore herself. Once she is exposed of her Grandmother's warm, affectionate love, she tries to locate it in others as well. She encounters many lovers, such as Logan and Jody, but is never truly satisfied until she is with Tea Cake. Her relationships with Logan and Jody and Tea Cake were all necessary attempts at her spiritual fulfillment and towards the end of the novel she finally feels at rest with her previous mistakes and the unfulfilling relationships she had. Even though she is alone at the end of the novel she is at peace with her decisions and finally feels secure.
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Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Logan Killicks
Logan Killicks
"Don't you change too many words wid me dis mawnin', Janie, do Ah'll take and change ends wid yuh! Heah, Ah just as good as take you out de white folks' kitchen and set you down on yo' royal diasticutis and you take and low-rate me! Ah'll take holt uh dat ax and come in dere and kill yuh! You better dry up in dere! Ah'm too honest and hard-workin' for anybody in yo' family, dat's de reason you don't want me!" (page 31)
- Janie's first husband; old, unattractive farmer - Nanny arranged Logan and Janie's marriage because he was a financially stable and secure suitor - Tries to provide a respectable home and help out with the chores - He knows that Janie is in search of more and feels as if he is not good enough for her - Janie runs off and leaves Logan for Jody
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Nanny
Nanny Crawford
Ah wouldn't marry nobody, though Ah could have uh heap uh times, cause Ah didn't want nobody mistreating mah baby.
Relevance to story: Grandmother and guardian, raised Janie Crawford
Background: Nanny Crawford was a slave at a large plantation close to Savannah, Georgia, and was impregnated by her master. A week after the birth of Leafy, her daughter, her master left to join the Civil War, and his enraged wife insisted on having Nanny beaten (upon discovering that Leafy had grey eyes and fair hair, making it obvious that she was the child of the woman's husband).
That night Nanny wrapped her baby tightly in a blanket and fled the plantation, hiding out at a swamp. She eventually went to work for a white couple, in order to provide a better life for her daughter. After the raping of her daughter, and the birth of Janie, Nanny took it upon herself to look after Janie, as Leafy had not done so.
She raised Janie and put all of the hopes and expectations she had set for her daughter onto Janie. When Janie was sixteen, Nanny arranged a marriage between her granddaughter and Logan Killicks, in order to guarantee protection and stability for the girl.
Zora Neale Hurston’s correct birthdate is unknown due to the fact that during her lifetime she was constantly dishonest about her age. She was the middle child, born to John Hurston who was a baptist preacher, a tenant farmer and a carpenter. Her mothers name was Lucy Hurston. The oldest was a girl named Sarah and the youngest a boy named John. When Zora Hurston turned three her family moved to Eatonville, FL. Her father became the mayor of Eatonville and often rejected her because he was disappointed that she wasn’t a boy. This town was the first completely African American town that wasn’t a slum or a ghetto. She never experianced the racism that was going on in the societys outside the town because Eatonville was all one race. When she was nine her mother, Lucy Hurston, passed away. Lucy often encouraged Zora to be independent and creative. She wanted all of her children to "jump at de sun".
Throughout most of Zora’s lifetime she was poor and stuggled for money. At the age of fourteen she ran away with a traveling drama troupe, who took her to Baltimore where she enrolled in Morgan Academy. She graduated in June of 1918. After Morgan Academy she went on to Howard where she received her associates degree in 1920. After collage “she took her black rural culture and heritage and celebrated it at a time when most black scholars were trying hard to deny and forget it.” Zora stayed in the carribean for two years studying their voodoo, rituals, and culture.While she lived in the Carribean, Zora wrote the book she is probably most known for Their Eyes Were Watching God. Zora Neale Hurston was married several times and she is known to be a mostly private person. Zora didn’t portray African Americans as defeated, humiliated, degraded, or victimized in her work. “She wanted to show them laughing, celebrating, loving, and struggling.”
