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.