Journal #9

An important theme supported by the last two chapters of the book is always running away from bad things in life ultimately leads a person right back to what they were trying to escape.

One passage in which this theme is highlighted is found in chapter 19, back in the 'Glades. Tea Cake finds Ole Motor after the storm, alive and well, when Janie had figured that the hurricane must have drowned him in the house he was hiding in. " 'Heah we nelly kill our fool selves runnin' way from danger and him lay up dere and sleep and float on off!' " (Hurston 173). While Janie and Tea Cake could have stayed in the same house as Ole Motor and been just fine, they thought it necessary to run from the hurricane. In running from the hurricane, the two did not end up escaping it at all, but rather being more trapped in it than they were before.

A second part of chapter 19 that demonstrates this theme is Janie and Tea Cake's decision to move from Palm Beach back to the 'Glades. Mainly, they leave Palm Beach to escape the destruction and dead bodies all around them (that Tea Cake has been forced to help bury). " 'Janie, us got tuh git outa dis house and outa dis man's town. Ah don't mean tuh work lak dat no mo' " (Hurston 171). In trying to escape the death around them, the two are led to the 'Glades where there are still many dead bodies around. Furthermore, although they think they are leaving death behind them in Palm Beach, Tea Cake and Janie have more death and tragedy awaiting them when Tea Cake gets very sick, very fast. This event, like the previous example and many other circumstances in Janie's life, suggests that running from bad or dangerous things does not end up helping a person escape at all.

Plot Diagram:
Ava is a single woman living in a small town where everyone knows everyone. She has done some things in her past that now cause the people of the community to look down on her. Since nobody will associate with her, Ava has become very lonely and introverted. In hopes of leaving her loneliness behind, Ava moves to a new city for a fresh start, where nobody knows about her or her past. Ideally, this new location will help her make friends or even find love. However, since Ava has become so introverted, she has difficulty socializing and does not make any friends in this new town. Soon she is hiding out in her own little house feeling the same way she did before she moved. By running away from the loneliness in her old town, Ava has been led once again to the very thing tried so hard to escape.

Journal #8

Hurston uses the setting of chapter 18 to develop a theme surrounding the idea that people often do not fully appreciate what they have until they realize it could be taken away. The destructive hurricane that blows through the muck where Janie and Tea Cake live forces them to escape from their home in search of higher ground. Just before they leave their house, Tea Cake asks Janie if she wishes that she had stayed in her big house in town. She replies, " ' naw. People don't die till dey time come nohow, don't keer where you at. Ah'm wid mah husband in uh storm, dat's all' " (Hurston 159). Tea Cake then asks her, were she to die, would she be mad at him? Once again, she tells him she would not. This is such a relief to Tea Cake, who up until now did not know exactly the way Janie felt about him. " 'Well then, Janie, you meant whut you didn't say, 'cause Ah never knowed you wuz so satisfied wid me lak dat' " (Hurston 160). Because of the storm coming and the panic of getting out of the area as quickly as possible, Tea Cake and Janie take one last chance to tell each other their true feelings. In case they do not make it through the hurricane, they want to make sure the other knows they are loved. Because Hurston places this conversation in such an urgent setting, we get the sense that the storm is necessary to bring these two characters together like this. This theme follows of the idea "you don't know what you've got until it's gone". Like the common saying, Hurston is trying to make the reader understand that taking things for granted while we have them and appreciating them more when they are gone is a troubling aspect of human nature. Like Janie and Tea Cake, many of us do not take the time to convey our true feelings to one another until we realize there may never be a chance again, or the chance has already passed us by.

Journal #7

When Janie wakes up one morning about a week after marrying Tea Cake, she realizes that her secret stash of two hundred dollars is gone. Tea Cake returns home a day later and explains to Janie that when he found the money, he took it and "made up his mind to see how it felt to be a millionaire" (Hurston 122). Janie now faces the decision of whether or not to believe (and forgive) her husband. Surprisingly, Janie is very quick to forgive him for stealing her money and wasting it on a party with food for people he doesn't even know. I think that Janie makes this decision without hesitation because she is afraid to lose Tea Cake by upsetting him with her doubt. This demonstrates her dependence on her husband, but also shows her genuine love for him as she does not want to start a fight that will come between them. Another reason Janie is not mad at him for taking her money is because she honestly believes him when he says that he will win it all back for her by gambling. Janie's belief in Tea Cake highlights one of her main qualities as a character - her trust in others. Many times, Janie is not sure what is going to happen in a situation, but she trusts that by relying on the guidance of her loved ones she will not be misled.

But what if Janie decided not to forgive Tea Cake?
" ' Ah see what it is. You doubted me 'bout de money. Thought Ah had done took it and gone. Ah don't blame yuh but it wasn't lak you think ' " (Hurston 121).

Pastiche:
"Not what Ah think, you tellin' me? Ah s'pose you never heard 'bout ol' Missis Tyler. Well, that's what Ah'm thinkin' 'bout now, and Ah can't see no difference between her gettin' robbed of her money and me gettin' robbed of mine now. Ah came here and married you thinkin' you wuz different than all de ones back in town who wanted me for mah things. You'se awful sneaky you know that? Waitin' a good long time tuh get yo' hands on mah money."

"Janie, whut you talkin' 'bout? Good Lawd, you gotta listen tuh me. Ah don't want none of yo' things, Ah jus' want you. You know that Ah love you, that's why Ah married you."

"Ah thought Ah knew that, but Ah can't be sho no mo'. Anyway whut you still doin' wid an ol' woman lak me? Ah'm almost twelve years older than you, and Ah ain't gettin' younger. You'se jus' a young boy. If Ah didn't have a big ol' bank account, you wouldn't be wid me no mo' anyway."

"Ah didn't mean no harm by takin' yo' money. Aw, Janie, Ah thought you would understand me. Ah didn't mean no harm."

"Tea Cake, Ah gotta go back home. Maybe Ah'd still love you if you didn't take mah money, but I was bound tuh find out some day. All this got me thinkin' and Ah can't do this no mo'. Ah need to talk wid Pheoby and think 'bout what to do next. Maybe that fella from Sanford is still waitin' on me. Maybe Ah don't care 'bout him one way or de other. But Don't give me no reasons, Ah shoulda followed mah first thoughts back in de town when Ah first met you at mah store and was gettin' caught in yo' mysteries. By now Ah sho had mah share of muddy relations and Ah know all Ah'm lookin' for now is clear water."

So Janie gathered her things and set off for the train. This time she did not hear the engineer's whistle. The train trudged on as every heavy teardrop stained her new blue dress.

Journal #6

"Stopped and talked a little with everyone she met, turned aside momentarily to pause at a porch or two - going straight by walking crooked" (Hurston 112).
- Oxymoron

" 'De Pastor claim Tea Cake don't 'low her tuh come tuh church only once in awhile 'cause he want dat change tuh buy gas wid' " (Hurston 111).
- Irony (of a gossiping pastor)

It is the day after Tea Cake has spent the night at Janie's for the first time, and now that Tea Cake is at work, Janie is left by herself to overthink their growing relationship. "In the cool of the afternoon the fiend from hell specially sent to lovers arrived at Janie's ear. Doubt" (Hurston 108). In this passage, Hurston personifes doubt to give the idea more power and to convey to the reader the struggle Janie is having surrounding it. Though this feeling of doubt is almost inevitable in new relationships, Janie does not easily brush it off like others might. Doubt is an unfamiliar feeling for her in realtionships. For example, when she first meets Joe, Janie is swept away by him and does not consider he may possibly have bad intentions or other sides to his personality. Now she is more careful. This shows us that Janie has developed as a character and has by now had more experiences that have caused her to mature into who she is. Because she now knows the possiblities of what can go wrong in a relationship, Janie takes this feeling of doubt very seriously to avoid repeating the mistakes of her past.

As soon as word gets out about Janie's relationship with Tea Cake, the town is abuzz with the news, and everyone starts to gossip about all the places the two are going and the things they are doing. "Tea Cake and Janie gone hunting. Tea Cake and Janie gone fishing. Tea Cake and Janie gone to Orlando to the movies. Tea Cake and Janie gone to a dance" (Hurston 110). Through her use of parallel structure in this passage, Hurston gives us a closer look at the relationship between Janie and Tea Cake and demonstrates their commitment to each other. By mentioning again and again the things Janie and Tea Cake are doing as a couple, Hurston emphasizes their togetherness and how close their relationship is. While she could have simply said "Tea Cake and Janie did everything together", Hurston chose not to because she wanted us as an audience to clearly distinguish this relationship from Janie's others. In her marriage with both Logan and Joe, Janie barely knew the men before she got married. Because she has grown in her experiences and knowledge in this type of thing, Janie is making sure she really loves Tea Cake before she marries him by testing out being a couple with him.

One day when Pheoby is in town, she and Sam Watson start discussing Janie and her new relationship, and Sam brings up Janie's hair to suggest that she must be seeing someone. " 'New dresses and her hair combed in a different way nearly every day. You got to have something to comb hair over' " (Hurston 111). This passage uses Janie's hair as a symbol of her freedom. When Joe was alive, he made Janie tie up her hair every day in rags so she would not attract attention from other men - and Janie obeyed him even until the day he died. With Joe's death, however, Janie finds her independence and decides to live her life as the person she wans to be and not as the submissive wife she has been for nearly all of her marriage. By burning up her hair rags and combing and styling her long hair whichever way she chooses, Janie shows us that she has realized it is time for her to assert herself and her independence and let others accept her as they please. This importance of letting her hair down and therefore choosing freedom follows Janie throughout the novel, and is used by Hurston to begin to develop theme.

Journal #5

"Janie starched and ironed her face and came set in the funeral behind her veil. It was like a wall of stone and steel. The funeral was going on outside. All things concerning death and burial were said and done. Finish. End. Nevermore. Darkness. Deep hole. Dissolution. Eternity. Weeping and wailing outside. Inside the expensive black holes were resurrection and life. She did not reach outside for anything, nor did the things of death reach inside to disturb her calm. She sent her face to Joe's funeral, and herself went rollicking with the springtime across the world" (Hurston 88).

The passage I chose demonstrates Hurston's very unique syntax through punctuation and sentence length. One thing from this quote that stands out to the reader very quickly is the series of single words that are each punctuated as their own sentences. "Finish. End. Nevermore. Darkness. Deep hole. Dissolution. Eternity." Hurston uses this unconventional syntax of very incomplete sentences to emphasize her point of Janie having moved on from Joe's death. Instead of telling us how Janie feels in long, flowing sentences, Hurston uses periods after every word to create an abruptness and straight-to-the point explanation. The staccato structure of these sentences does not invite lingering on each word but rather moving quickly from one to the next. This style of writing parallels Janie's feeling of being ready to move forward from Joe instead of dwelling on the past. As soon as Hurston is done talking about Janie's feelings towards Joe, the sentences begin to get longer again, further evidence that these short sentences were written for the purpose of paralleling Janie's feelings.

Hurston's word choice throughout the novel is pretty basic. This passage follows the pattern of the rest of the book by using common words that are easy to understand instead of words that require a dictionary. Hurston's intention in using easy words is to give the reader an opportunity to understand the true meaning she is trying to convey through her sentences as a whole. Even through the basic vocabulary used here, this passage does its job of conveying Janie's emotions and connecting us to what she is going through at this point in the book.

In this passage, Hurston's words first create a tone of understanding towards Janie, and then a tone of hope for her future. The first half's choppy sentence structures and short sentence lengths move the reader right along, just like Janie has moved on from Joe. By the author moving through these feelings so quickly in the passage, it can be seen that she understands her character's desire to move forward instead of dwelling on the past. Hurston also feels a lot of hope for Janie's future, as seen when she lengthens the last few sentences that regard the remaining resurrection and life inside Janie, instead of hurrying the reader through.

As for sound devices, in this passage Hurston uses alliteration to help convey her point. The repetition of D's is used to emphasize the negative feelings Janie has moved past: death, darkness, deep hole, dissolution. All of these D words have negative connotations attached to them, and the literal sound of a D is harsh and final. By putting three of these words right in a row, ("Darkness. Deep hole. Dissolution."), Hurston pulls off her intention of drawing the reader in to pay special attention to this section of the passage.

Through the aspects of syntax, word choice, tone, and sound devices found in this passage, it is clear that Hurston is very aware of the way she writes. It seems that none of her sentences happen by accident, but rather are all written the way they are for a specific purpose - to help her audience gain a greater understanding of her characters and their experiences and emotions.

Journal #4

Then, Nick started to ponder Regret. Regret, that conceited one with the ever present eyes who lived always within reach. The unwelcome being who dwelt in the hearts of men without invitation, without permission. What requires Regret to be summoned, and what force can push him out? He slithers around his internal hiding spot that is invisible to the universe. Hides vigilant and camouflaged hour after hour with his fangs ready to pierce, awaiting the call to make himself known. To wrap himself around man and remind him what could have or would have or should have been done. He was bound to find blood from its bite staining her thoughts one day soon. He was sympathetic and scared for her too. Miserable Katherine! She shouldn't have to win this fight on her own. He had Ann bring in others to offer their wisdom, but Katherine declined. These others wuz fine to console themselves, but there was nothing they could do to go back in time. She'd be just fine when the red sea in front of her parted. She wouldn't let herself drown. That was the way she saw it. However, Ann had told him the opposite, so he knew the truth. And even if he didn't, soon enough he was liable to realize, for her home filled with life had been transformed into a holding place for stale memories of a bitter past. Weeds that never would have tried to grow in the gardens before now burst through the dirt defiantly. Simply pushed aside the flowers and begged for judgement. Remorse, that motionless snake, had poisoned another life.

Journal #3

"Nanny's words made Janie's kiss across the gatepost seem like a manure pile after a rain" (Hurston 13). - Simile

" 'It must be uh recess in heben if St. Peter is lettin' his angels out lak dis' " (Hurston 68).
- Allusion

"She was a wind on the ocean. She moved men, but the helm determined the port" (Hurston 70). - Metaphor

In the new colored town, all of the townspeople seem to like their mayor, Joe Starks, when he is around - however, once he steps inside the post office, all of the people gathered on the porch have other opinions to share. " 'Speakin' of winds, he's de wind and we'se de grass. We bend which ever way he blows' " (Hurston 49). This passage is an example of a metaphor. By using the image of Joe as the wind and the townspeople as blades of grass, the author emphasizes the power Joe holds over everyone in town. By showing up at this small town and using his money to build it up, it becomes claer that Joe not only wants respect and power, but he demands it. The poor people of the town are so excited at the prospect of the growth of their town that they barely notice Joe sneaking in and taking control over everything. Now, like the townsman says, Joe has complete control over everyone and can make them do what he wants - in the same way that wind can move individual blades of grass. I also think the author included this metaphor here to reveal to us a deeper side of Joe's personality. While we first meet him as a well rounded gentleman who "rescues" Janie from her failing marriage, now we can see that there are indeed evils lurking beneath his surface, such as this need for control. It makes the reader wonder what other bad qualities he has hidden as well.

Hicks and Coker are in the middle of a discussion regarding whether their town will be allowed to set up a post office or not, and they eventually decide that like many other aspects of their life, it will be up to the white men and they will have to just wait and see. " 'Oh, Ah'm waitin' all right. Specks tuh keep on waitin' till hell freeze over' " (Hurston 39). This quote uses a hyperbole to exaggerate how long the town will have to wait for a post office. However, I think the author uses this hyperbole of exaggerated time to emphasize the idea of waiting in general. It seems that many of the characters in the story are always waiting for something to happen to them - instead of going out and making it happen. Either as colored people they don't have the power they need to get what they want, or they don't think they have the means to make it happen on their own. In the beginning of the story, Janie is waiting for her real life to begin, Nanny is waiting for Janie to get married, and Logan Killicks is waiting for Janie to accept his proposal. Once Janie marries Logan, she is waiting for her feelings of love toward him to grow, and even once she leaves Logan for Joe, Janie is waiting for her life to settle down with him in the new town she is in. I think this idea of waiting plays an important role in the story because it helps us to see and understand the motives people have for waiting so long for things to happen, and helps us identify what is most important to each character by what they choose to wait for or let pass them by.

Journal #2

"All of you colored 'oman sittin' heah for uh sermon? Ah'll give you uh sermon. All de menfolk in de town, white or colored jus' the same, dey ain't pushin' for you tuh succeed. Dey wanna hold you back, keep you as work-ox's lak dey did tuh me when Ah was a young 'oman. Or dey want you in de house, cookin' and cleanin' for dem when dey ain't givin' you nothin' in retuhn. But what dey can't do, no Lawd, is take yo' dreams and wishes 'way from you. So what you doin' sittin' 'round heah watchin' de same sun rise and set, rise and set, day afta day, day afta day? Dreams don't come chasin' afta you. You gotta go get'um for yo' own self, befo' dey gone for good. Anotha thing, don't you settle fo' any ol' breath-and-britches dat walks on by you in de street. Find a decent man who done treats you well. And if you see danger in yo' life, go on and walk de otha way, where you kin make yo'self right in de eyes of de Lawd. And if you find yo'self makin' trouble or losin' yo' dream, you best be on yo' knees to de good Lawd askin' for mercy and guidance. Now, Ah done de best Ah kin wid mah own life, but if i hadda 'nother chance to do mo' better, Lawd knows Ah'd take it. Yuh see, de world sees colored woman as de lowest dere is - we ain't got much respect. If we jus' sit heah waitin' fo' snow in de middle of summa, lak it feels we doin' so often, de only thing we're gonna see is dry ground. So Ah wanna see you makin' somethin' outta yo' lives. You're young and Ah know you got lotsa dreams out there tuh chase. So go get'um! What you waitin' on?"

Journal #1

I perceive Janie as a strong woman who is confident in who she is. She is independent and not bothered by the opinions of the women on the porch who gossip about her all the time. As a younger child and into her teenage years, Janie was quite the dreamer. As described in the book, she loved to sit under the blossoming pear tree in her backyard and contemplate the beauty and possibility she saw in the world. This is an exceptional quality about Janie. Even though her early life was such a struggle - with her growing up motherless and fatherless, without a permanent home, and under the harsh judgment of her classmates - Janie still sees beauty in the world all around her and has hope for her life. "Oh to be a pear tree - any tree in bloom! With kissing bees singing of the beginning of the world! She was sixteen. She had glossy leaves and bursting buds and she wanted to struggle with life but it seemed to elude her." It seems that Janie is not quite a dreamer anymore, likely due to the experiences she has had between her childhood and now that changed the way she thinks, but the way in which she tells her story is not exactly cold and hopeless either. One last notable quality about Janie is the loyalty she has toward those she loves, as seen through her love for her grandmother and Pheoby.

I see the narrator as easygoing and relaxed. The language used by the narrator is a contrast to the dialogue of the characters. While the dialogue tends to be kind of choppy and straightforward, the narrator takes his or her time explaining what is happening, and the word choice includes plenty of imagery and metaphors. I liked seeing this imagery style demonstrated in the passage that describes Janie's afternoon under the pear tree on page 10 (also the section of the book that the above passage is from).

Hi...first post of my IB junior English blog/journal!