Read Chapters 4-5 and find one passage that is confusing or interesting. Note the page number and write a question or observation about the passage on our class discussion page.
For example:
Hurston writes that Janie views "her life like great tree in leaf with things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone" (8). The simile comparing Janie's life and a tree with all its leaves suggests that Janie feels she has a vibrant life and connects Janie to the natural world.
I thought it was interesting how one sided the portrayal of gender is in these chapters. Jody, like most other men in the novel, seems controlling and possessive of women when he rules that Janie “don’t know nothin’ ’bout no speech-makin’”. However, Janie doesn’t seem to be portrayed as a victim of sexism, but rather of her own foolishness, in believing that men could be different. Her hopes seem naïve (1st chapter connection?).
ReplyDelete“Some say West Maitland and some say Eatonville. Dat’s ’cause Cap’n Eaton give us some land along wid Mr. Laurence. But Cap’n Eaton give de first piece.” I thought this quote was interesting because of the town name. It has its own name perhaps because it wants to show that the town is independent and the significance of it.
ReplyDelete"It was a citified, stylish dressed man with his hat set at an angle that didn't belong in these parts [...] He was a seal-brown color but he acted like Mr. Washburn or somebody like that to Janie" (Hurston 44). Janie describes the man in a way that illustrates he is unusual to her. Although he is black, she compares his mannerisms to the white man who nanny used to work for. This shows how environment affects behavior.
ReplyDelete"Janie pulled back a long time because he did not represent sun-up and pollen and blooming trees, but he spoke for far horizon"(46). I found this quote interesting because the horizon is something with limitless potential and it represents hope. Janie aspires for a new life without Logan, and she dreams for a new life with Joe. The horizon is also a reoccurring symbol as it is used in the opening lines of the novel as well.
ReplyDeleteWhile talking to Joe Starks, Janie mentions that Logan is out buying a mule for her to plow. When he hears this, Mr. Starks exclaims, "'A pretty doll-baby lak you is made to sit on de front porch and rock and fan yo'self and eat p'taters dat other folks plant just special for you'" (46). I connected this to the stereotypes that Chimamanda Adiche discussed in her TED Talk about feminism. This shows that women were expected to take care of the house, they weren't supposed to do manual labor.
ReplyDelete“Thank yuh fuh yo’ compliments, but mah wife don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no speech makin’. Ah never married her for nothin’ all dat. She’s uh woman and her place is in de home”(61). Janie “pulled back a long time ago because [Joe] did not represent sun-up and pollen and blooming trees, but spoke for far horizon”(46). Janie was attracted to joe not because he fulfilled her fantasy for a man, but because his ambition showed potential to take her to a level of freedom she wouldn’t be able to achieve without a man. While he’s a “far horizon” that can give her a new— arguably more successful life— he ultimately disappoints her as he does not give her the freedom she envisioned, he says her place is in the home and puts her a level beneath him.
ReplyDelete"There was no doubt that the town respected [Joe] and even admired him in a way. But any man who walks in the way of power and property is bound to meet hate. So when speakers stood up when the occasion demanded and said 'Our beloved Mayor,' it was one of those statements that everybody says but nobody actually believes like 'God is everywhere'" (66)
ReplyDeleteJoe, the mayor of the new town, is alienating himself from the townspeople, as he and Janie live in a relatively luxurious house while everyone else lives in what are described as "servant's quarters" (65). Joe also orders the townspeople to do things they don't like, such as draining the street in front of the store, where the townspeople "murmured hotly about slavery being over" (64). Over time the people like Joe less and less, which might eventually result in an overthrow.
"You behind a plow! You ain't got no mo' business wid uh plow than uh hog is got wid uh holiday! You ain't got no business cuttin' up no seed p'taters neither. A pretty doll-baby lak you is made to sit on de front porch and rock and fan yo'self and eat p'taters dat other folks plant just special for you"(46). Joe Starks comments on Janie's work in cutting up potatoes. This reflects the traditional view on how a woman is portrayed. She is not supposed to be doing work, she is treated as an object or a trophy that is for show.
ReplyDeleteThis is Yoo Min, I posted twice because I was confused as it said "unknown" for my name
Delete"You behind a plow! You ain't got no mo' business wid uh plow than uh hog is got wid uh holiday! You ain't got no business cuttin' up no seed p'taters neither. A pretty doll-baby lak you is made to sit on de front porch and rock and fan yo'self and eat p'taters dat other folks plant just special for you"(46). Joe Starks comments on Janie's work in cutting up potatoes. This reflects the traditional view on how a woman is portrayed. She is not supposed to be doing work, she is treated as an object or a trophy that is for show.
ReplyDelete“Long before the year was up, Janie noticed that her husband had stopped talking in rhymes to her” (25). This line, paired with the later “feeling of coldness and fear... far away from things and lonely” (44), is indicative of Janie’s rapid decline of infatuation with the men in her life. With Killicks, she initially attempted to fool herself into loving him, being a good wife to him. When she failed at that task, she was too quick to run off with a near stranger, and as she grows in her relationship with Starks, she realizes that he shares many of the same traits of dominance and self-involvement. This is an interesting and unique protagonist, as we see that much of the unhappiness and opposition she finds in her life is brought out of her own poor decision making.
ReplyDelete"They sat on the boarding house porch and saw the sun plunge into the same crack in the earth from which the night emerged" (50). In this quote, the sun is a symbol of a new beginning in which Janie is hopeful for a happy marriage and love. On the other hand, the sun enters the "crack" and is engulfed by the night which comes out of the same "crack". This foreshadows that Janie's future may not hold all the happiness and romance she is hoping for. Instead, she may be heading toward a dark path in her life.
ReplyDelete"The mourning road air... around her waist" (50). This quote showed the relationship between emotions and nature in this story. Her new dress is making her feel liberated and free, because of the clarity fresh air can bring you while you're in a confused point in your life.
ReplyDelete“She sho don’t talk much. De way he rears and pitches in the store sometimes when she make uh mistake is sort of ungodly, but she don’t seem to mind at all. Reckon dey understand one ‘nother.” The town had a basketful of feelings good and bad about Joe’s positions and possessions, but none had the temerity to challenge him. 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" (68) The last sentence of this quote is very interesting because it demonstrates the town's perspective of Jody, and his newfound power her. They "bow down" to him because of his wealth, but they know that he isn't the nicest guy and doesn't treat Janie with respect. They know that Janie has to wear her hair up in the store, which is a symbol of her identity and pride, and he takes that away from her due to his insecurities and aggression. - sam burge
ReplyDelete"Janie, if you think Ah aims to tole you off and make a dog outa you, youse wrong. Ah wants to make a wife outa you"(46). Looking back, Janie is full of hope that she will be freer with Jody but ultimately doesn't realize that the way Jody would treat a wife and the way he would treat a dog are not actually that far apart. Zooming out even further after looking at her relationship with Tea Cake, Logan and Jody, none of them really treat her with respect or like a full person. Janie seems pretty optimistic about a society that keeps letting her down, which Nanny said it would.
ReplyDelete-Jona
Delete“The morning air was like a new dress. That made her feel the apron tied around her waist. She untied it and flung it on a low bush beside the road and walked on, picking flowers and making a bouquet… From now on until death she was going to have flower dust and springtime sprinkled over everything. p50
ReplyDeleteHere, Janie leaves her first husband to leave with a much more charming man, the new beginning is shown again with a lot of nature related things, I found it interesting how everything with Janie is related to nature. Here, I thought that the imagery given and the use of nature the illustrate it was very pleasant. I liked how she just throws her apron in a bush, how she just starts to assemble a bouquet, seeming free and careless (in a good way).
"You ain't done me no favor by marryin' me. And if that's what you call yo'self doin', ah don't thank yuh for it"(48). Here is the first instance of the expectations Nanny Crawford gave Janie about marriage, where Logan asks her to do manual labor. Logan is by far not a good husband, but it is made worse by Janie's hopes that she will grow to love him.
ReplyDelete-Evan
"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." Its interesting to see how Jody's refusal to allow Janie to speak in front of the townspeople is one of the first instances where we see the negative effects of Jody's ambitious, powerful side on his relationship with Janie. He seeks power over Janie by trying to silence her, to stifle her voice. Janie's reluctant decision not to react to Jody, and her discomfort with that decision, this is important to her as she’s able to express herself and have a voice.
ReplyDelete