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.
“Janie is whatever Ah wants tuh be. Dat’s de kind uh wife she is and Ah love her for it. Ah wouldn’t be knockin’ her around. Ah didn’t wants whup her last night, but ol’ Mis’ Turner done sent for her brother tuh come tuh bait Janie in and take her away from me. Ah didn’t whup Janie ‘cause she done nothin’. Ah beat her tuh show dem Turners who is boss.” 171 This part was very surprising to me. This passage seems completely out of character for Tea Cake, but that’s both the point and the problem. We see here Tea Cake can be very manipulative and sneaky. He enforces punishment on Janie after listening in on a conversation in order to send a message to the Turners. This sounds like something Joe would do. How can we trust anything he has done after hearing his explanation for this?
ReplyDelete-Dylan
“Ah didn’t wants whup her last night, but ol’ Mis’ Turner done send for her brother tuh come bait Janie in and take her away from me. Ah didn’t whup Jane ‘cause she done nothin’. Ah beat her tuh show dem Turners who is boss.” Chapter 17. Reading thisnpassage I was a little uncomfortable as to why the author would have Tea Cake, a guy seemingly great for Janie would do this. I think it represents his clear insecurity of being with a woman of higher class and someone who is “better” than him. Why do you think the author has Tea Cake do this and why does Janie seem unbothered by the abuse?
ReplyDeleteThey looked back. Saw people trying to run in raging waters and screaming when they found they couldn’t. . . Ten feet higher and as far as they could see the muttering wall advance before the braced-up waters like a road crusher on a cosmic scale. The monstropolous beast had left his bed. The two hundred miles an hour wind had loosened his chains…. The sea was walking the earth with a heavy heel" (ch.18). Here are some examples of the narrator using personification to compare the storm to a "monstropolous beast". This chapter is awakening for Tea Cake, because him and Motor Boat think they are better than the storm and will be able to escape it, the water was "ten-feet high" and he had to fight off a dog. No one can escape the storm, no matter how much pride or confidence you have, the storm is like God, their arrogance made them believe they were better than God, but in the end, the storm humbled them.
ReplyDelete"Janie learned what it felt like to be jealous. A little chunky girl took to picking a play out of Tea Cake in the fields and in the quarters. If he said anything at all, she’d take the opposite side and hit him or shove him and run away to make him chase her. Janie knew what she was up to"(159). The fact that Janie was jealous of Nunkie reveals that Janie really wants Tea Cake to be solely hers. To what extent will Janie go in order to ensure this?
ReplyDelete"You dont know...pockets" (171). In this quote they talk about how you wouldnt know that that woman is his, due to her strong features like teeth, is this supposed to say that a woman isnt supposed to have a man when shes strong, or that only a weak woman can have a man? You can infer that they are saying a strong woman cant have a man because that means she can hold herself down, when being in a relationship often should only have to do with love/connection.
ReplyDelete“Before the week was over he had whipped Janie. Not because her behavior justified his jealousy, but it relieved that awful fear inside him. Being able to whip her reassured him in possession. No brutal beating at all. He just slapped her around a bit to show he was boss. Everybody talked about it next day in the fields. It adoused a sort of envy in both men and women”(170). Tea Cake’s desire for power is so great that he whips her in order to validate himself. People are even jealous of Tea Cake because of his control over Janie. I was a little confused why Janie didn’t speak up for herself after Tea Cake beat her because it contradicts the fact that she has found her voice with him.
ReplyDelete"Naw, it’s real. Ah couldn’t stand it if he wuz tuh quit me. Don’t know whut Ah’d do. He kin take most any lil thing and make summertime out of it when times is dull. Then we lives offa dat happiness he made till some mo’ happiness come along"(chapter 16). This quote is important becuase Janie likes Tea Cake in a different way and although Mrs. Turner wants to make Janie have feelings towards her brother instead, Janie can't get herself to do that because they have gone through so much together and she feels as if he is really important to her.
ReplyDelete“Ah b’lieve you been messing’ ‘round her! She panted furiously . ‘No sich uh thing! Tea Cake retorted. ‘Ah b’lieve yuh did.’ ‘Don’t keer how big uh lie get told, somebody kin b’lieve it!” (160). This is interesting because it shows how jealous Janie has become of Nunkie, it shows how there is little trust in the relationship.
ReplyDelete- Mary-Clare
"Tea Cake had a brainstorm. Before the week was over he had whipped Janie. Not because her behavior justified his jealousy, but it relieved that awful fear inside him. Being able to whip her reassured him in possession.No brutal beating at all. He just slapped her around a bit to show he was boss" This is interesting because Tea Cake doesn't hit Janie because of something she did, but he reassure himself, the fact that he whips her isn't portrayed as out of the ordinary, it is mentioned pretty casually. Also it reassures him "in possession", again showing that women are under the direction of men, and that a wife is just like any other possessions a man can have.
ReplyDeletep 170
Delete“You oughta meet mah brother. He’s real smart. Got dead straight hair. Dey made him a delegate tuh the Sunday School Convention and he read a paper on Booker T Washington and tore him to pieces” (Ch 16). Did Janie not tell Mrs Turner about her last and about the “educated man” Jody that she had married before? I doubt she would have approached the topic in this way if she had known about Jody.
ReplyDelete-Alicia
In the beginning of chapter 15, “Janny learned what if felt like to be jealous. A little chunky girl took to picking a play out of Tea Cake in the fields and in the quarters...She began to be snappish a little. A little seed of fear was growing into a tree.” She almost thinks of Tea Cake as her own property now as she becomes jealous of girls approaching him. She also portrays her jealousy through a tree growing, which is similar to the way she portrayed her lack of love to Logan or Jody, although this time the tree is not destroyed, but growing.
ReplyDelete◦ The donkey symbol re-emerges at the beginning of chapter 18 when the author describes the Seminole women as “laden, stolid women following [the men] like burros”. It seems like the author is pointing out how this superior-inferior relationship between genders was universal during the time period. I wonder why the symbol seemed to go away for a while (or did it not)?
ReplyDelete"So she didn't cling to Janie Woods the woman. She paid homage to Janie's Caucasian characteristics as such" (169). Hurston's decision to include Mrs. Turner's character in the novel is interesting to me because her character presents an issue that is not as present throughout the rest of the novel. However, whether or not it is mentioned again in the novel, it's important that Hurston used her writing to show the unfortunate brainwashing that was a result of white superiority.
ReplyDelete"Janie seethed. But Tea Cake never let go. They wrestled on until they were doped with their own fumes and emanations; till their clothes had been torn away; till he hurled her to the floor and held her there melting her resistance with the heat of his body, doing things with their bodies to express the inexpressible." It's interesting how their relationship has moved from mind games and checkers to simply physical actions to cement their love. they don't have the same feeling as they used to, because it's almost like Tea has stopped recognizing her as competent.
ReplyDelete" “You done hurt mah heart, now you come wid uh
ReplyDeletelie tuh bruise mah ears! Turn go mah hands!” Janie seethed. But Tea
Cake never let go. They wrestled on until they were doped with their
own fumes and emanations; till their clothes had been torn away; till
he hurled her to the floor and held her there melting her resistance" (160). I thought this quote was interesting as it shows how shallow Janie and Tea Cake's relationship is. Instead of comforting Janie by expressing his feelings for her, Tea Cake uses his physical presence to calm her down. Their relationship seems to be driven only by physical appearance instead of true love.
-Edward
Delete"Anyone who looked more white folkish than herself was better than she was in her criteria, therefore it was right that they should be cruel to her at times, just as she was cruel to those more negroid than herself in direct ratio to their negroness" (168). This quote both, shows how racist Ms. Turner is, and reflects the tendencies of people who are put down. While Ms. Turner is put down by white people she turns to the people below her to put down so that she can feel better about herself, as many people still do today.
ReplyDeleteOn page 182 while Janie, Tea Cake, and Motor Boat are still in the house Tea Cake says to Janie, "but 'sposing you wuz tuh die, now. You wouldn't git mad at me for draggin' yuh heah?" Tea Cake seemed confident and sure of himself earlier when they decided to move and stay in the Everglades, but now he is apologetic. This is unexpected from him as I would assume him to be more stoic and confident.
ReplyDelete-Evan Bak
"Janie learned what it felt like to be jealous. A little chunky girl took to picking a play out of Tea Cake in the fields and in the quarters. If he said anything at all, she’d take the opposite side and hit him or shove him and run away to make him chase her"(159). I think that Janie is also afraid to lose what she has with Tea Cake. She doesn't want her relationship with Tea Cake to end poorly like how her past two relationships ended. All she wants is to have a relationship be successful and work out.
ReplyDelete"The wind came back with triple fury, and put out the light for the last time. They sat in company with the other shanties, their eyes straining against crude walls and their souls asking if He meant to measure their puny might against His. They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God."(183). The scene in which Janie, Tea Cake and Motor Boat take refuge from the hurricane is significant because it shows the conflict of humans against nature. It was significant for Hurston to include Motor Boat because it shows how the struggle includes not just Janie and those close to her but rather all of humanity. Janie
ReplyDelete"watching God" could mean that Janie is after the truth, not what tradition says is truth. This goes back to that quote at the beginning of the book women: "The dream is the truth."(17). Janie's dream of finding love in which she is respected must be what is meant to be because it is her dream.
-Jona
Delete"A little seed of fear was growing into a tree. Maybe some day Tea Cake would weaken" (159). Janie's love for Tea Cake is marked by a jealousy described as a growing "seed", which further hints at a tree motif representing the growth of Janie's romantic life (I mentioned this previously for chapters 9-11).
ReplyDelete-Oliver
Delete“It was inevitable that she should accept any inconsistency and cruelty from her deity as all good worshippers do from theirs. All gods who receive homage are cruel. All gods dispense suffering without reason. Otherwise they would not be worshipped. Through indiscriminate suffering men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion. It is the stones for altars and the beginning of wisdom. Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood” (168).
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting passage coming from Mrs. Turner. The reason she values these Gods are that she feels less than because of her race and she uses religion to reclaim a level of superiority and self-importance. This is different from the kind of suffering Jamie has faced throughout her life, in regard to the abuse she has had to face with her husbands and her family. It really contrasts the two women in the book and shows further divides in their relationship.
"Morning came without motion. The winds, to the tiniest, lisping baby breath had left the earth. Even before the sun gave light, dead day was creeping from bush to bush watching man" (178). This is an interesting quote that shows the way the use of nature imagery has changed throughout the book. In this quote, nature is described negatively overall. The use of the word "dead" in "dead day" foreshadows the destruction that the hurricane causes to the people who live around Lake Okechobee.
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting how Mrs.Turner seems not to consider herself as a “black” woman. As shown on page 164, she even perceives “blacks” as a nuisance and holds a similar bias towards “blacks” that a white person may have had at this time. She tells Janie, “...Dey laughs too much and dey laughs too loud. Always singin’ ol’ nigger songs! Always cuttin’ de monkey for white folks. If it wuzn’t for so many black folks it wouldn’t be no race problem. De white folks would take us in wid dem. De black ones it holdin’ us back... Who want any lil ole black baby layin’ up in de baby buggy lookin’ like a fly in buttermilk?”(164) She even goes so far as to point out that if one is “black”, they are seemingly contaminating the pure white race.
ReplyDeleteTea Cake’s reasoning for whipping Janie at the beginning of chapter 17 is an example of toxic masculinity. Tea Cake’s friends all think that a good husband is one who exerts physical power over his wife, and even though Tea Cake has mostly treated Janie very well up to this point, he nonetheless beats her to look tough in front of his friends and the Turners. In addition, Tea Cake and his friends agree that a good wife is one who doesn’t fight back when her husband beats her, and that Janie’s place is wherever Tea Cake wants to be, which makes him sound not all that different from Joe. Gdner roles and sexism are pivotal themes in this novel, and Tea Cake’s words in chapter 17 put bluntly the biggest problem that Janie keeps walking into.
ReplyDelete"'Once upon a time, Ah never 'spected nothin', Tea Cake, but bein' dead from the standin' still and tryin' tuh laugh. But you come 'long and made somethin' outa me. So Ah'm thankful fuh anything we come through together" (190)
ReplyDeleteJanie likes being with Tea Cake more than being with Jody, despite having to survive a hurricane in the Everglades, since she is not extremely bored by doing little activity. However, being with Tea Cake is still overall not necessarily good (as Tea Cake spent her $200 without telling her and whipped her to look more masculine) but only better than being with Jody or Logan. Additionally, Janie's gratitude in the quote could be magnified by being assisted by Tea Cake in escaping the hurricane.
"The wind came back with triple fury, and put out the light for the last time. They sat in company with the others in other shanties, their eyes straining against crude walls and their souls asking if He meant to measure their puny might against His. They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God" (183). This quotes gives us the phrase that serves as the novel's title. It also summarizes one of the novel's central conflicts humans against nature. In this scene, as Janie, Tea Cake, and Motor Boat tries to protect themselves from the raging hurricane outside, they unite in a common struggle. This passage shows that human interaction and intimacy provide refuge against forces of nature. When Janie finds this intimacy and true love with Tea Cake, she is finally able to maintain inner peace.
ReplyDeleteAfter learning that Mrs. Turner's brother is in town, we find out that, "Before the week was over [Tea Cake] had whipped Janie. Not because her behavior justified his jealousy, but it relieved that awful fear inside of him. Being able to whip her reassured him in possession. No brutal beating at all. He just slapped her around a bit to show he was boss" (170). Through this, we see Tea Cake trying to prove his masculinity. Just like Joe, Tea Cake is just very insecure. Whether or not it's because Janie is older and has more money we don't know, but whatever it is, Tea Cake feels an urge to prove that he wears the pants in their relationship. Will he continue to let his actions be dictated by other's opinions?
ReplyDelete"A little chunky girl took to picking a play out of Tea Cake in the fields and in the quarters...She began to be snappish a little. A little seed of fear was growing into a tree.” (168). Janie is beginning to grow weary of other women that Tea Cake spends time with out in the fields. As an older woman, she is not the dazzling spotlight she once was, and with Tea Cake's history of running out for a week, she must be feeling anxious about being left behind for the next best thing. In the setting Janie is living in, everything is replaceable, and I think she is feeling a bit left behind as she is getting older.
ReplyDelete“Not because her behavior justified his jealousy, but it relieved that awful fear inside him. Being able to whip her reassured him in possession”(170). Tea Cake believes that he must establish his dominance over Janie by leaving marks on Janie’s body for everyone to see. It is his way of telling people that he has control of their relationship. In contrast, when Janie gets jealous over Tea Cake and Nunkie, it isn’t okay for Janie to get upset. Instead, Tea Cake blows it over and the whole issue seemed to be forgotten. This shows the power dynamic between a man and a woman in a relationship. I’ve also noticed that Tea Cake’s attitude is getting worse the more the story goes on. In the beginning, he was a funny guy that won Janie’s heart by being respectful (teaching her to play checkers on pg116). After they get married, he then spends most of Janie’s $200 for his own pleasure and is now physically whipping her. It seems like he no longer respects her as much. -Angie Zhao
ReplyDelete“Anyone who looked more white folkish than herself was better than she in her criteria, therefore it was right that they should be cruel to her at times, just as she was cruel to those more negroid than herself ... Insensate cruelty to those you can whip, and groveling submission to those you can’t” (168) I fond this quote really interesting. Mrs Turner believes she must do whatever she can do become more white, and to her that means being friends with Janie who is bought of as close to white in the community. It’s startling how much cruelty Mrs Turner believes she can yield because she thinks of herself as whiter than others. And it’s also shocking that she expected and let’s herself be treated so badly by those more white than her because she believes this is just the natural pecking order of the world.
ReplyDelete"Uh person can see every place you hit her. Ah bet she never raised her hand tuh hit yuh back, neither" (170). Not only does Tea Cake beat Janie to maintain dominance over her, he seems to be socially pressured to do so.
ReplyDelete"Through indiscriminate suffering men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion. It is the stones for altars and the beginning of wisdom. Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood." (pg. 168)
ReplyDeleteThese lines really stuck out to me as I was reading, not only for its beautiful language but also for the many ways the ideas expressed in the passage are weaved throughout the book. All of Janie's love interests have proved that "fear is the most divine emotion," as their abusive actions were driven by the fear that Janie would become more powerful and/or leave them. Ultimately, it is the men's fear that restricts Janie from finding her voice and her true self. I also find it very interesting how Hurston states that "Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood." This plays an interesting role in the nature imagery we have seen throughout the book, as this line suggests that Janie's flower and spring filled fantasies never were destined to come true. But, as her story continues, Janie begins to discover that she must sacrifice blood if she wishes to continue to live out her fairy tale dream. Although it may appear perfect from the outside, Janie and Tea Cake's relationship demands blood rather than "wine and flowers."
“ “before the week was over he had whipped Janie. Not because her behavior justified his jealousy, but it relieved the awful fear inside him”(170). Tea cakes character development has been very consistent towards almost an archetype of Janie’s soulmate and perfect match. While it has been crumbling away— the excessive gambling and him loosing her $200, this is the first time his darker nature has been fully revealed. The significance of it taking so long for him to show physically abusive traits is that like Jody, he had to show the best side of himself first so Janie would runaway with him. I’m predicting his character is going to get increasingly more abusive as he gets more comfortable in their marriage and as Janie wasn’t even fighting with him it was an external conflict that caused him to lash out— meaning no matter what she does, something can trigger him.
ReplyDeletechapter 17, “Janie is wherever Ah wants tuh be. Dat’s de kind uh wife she is and Ah love her for it. Ah wouldn’t be knockin’ her around. Ah didn’t wants whup her last night, but ol’ Mis’ Turner done send for her brother tuh come bait Janie in and take her away from me. Ah didn’t whup Jane ‘cause she done nothin’. Ah beat her tuh show dem Turners who is boss.”
ReplyDelete-- Jack Hayes
“The wind came back with triple fury, and put out the light for the last time. They sat in company with the others in other shanties, their eyes straining against crude walls and their souls asking if He meant to measure their puny might against His. They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God.“ This quote is the basis of the novel, referencing the title of the book in the quote. This quote also demonstrates the refuge that these three people feel when all together in such a significant natural disaster.
ReplyDelete“It aroused a sort of envy in both men and women. The way he petted and pampered her as if those two or three face slaps had nearly killed her made the women see visions and the helpless way she hung on him made men dream dreams” (170). This passage shows the pattern of abuse that Janie endures in all her relationships. Janie tends to think that her new relationship is completely different, but they all end up the same.
ReplyDeleteI found the quote "It was so evident that Mrs. Turner took black folk as a personal affront to herself. Look at me! Ah ain’t got no flat nose and liver lips. Ah’m uh featured woman. Ah got white folks’ features in mah face. Still and all Ah got tuh be lumped in wid all de rest. It ain’t fair. Even if dey don’t take us in wid de whites, dey oughta make us uh class tuh ourselves." extremely interesting. In this quote, Hurston touches on the sensitive topic of race. In her world, race often dictates social class and success, causing Ms. Turner to resent her race. She doesn’t expect that the existence of a racial hierarchy will change, so she wants a new race, or a new class, to be made so that she can have better opportunities.
ReplyDelete“You got mo’ nerve than me. Ah jus’ couldn’t see mahself married to no black man. It’s too many black folks already. We oughta lighten up de race”. This quote is said by Mrs. Turner and she is saying that Janie shouldn’t be married to a black guy and that there are too many of them.
ReplyDelete"Mah wife takes time for whatever she wants tuh do. Real strong headed that way. Yes indeed.' He laughed a high hungless laugh"(167) I dont understand why having an outgoing wife is demoralizing or viewed as a negative thing. I feel like it may be an ego thing with these people to have a "disobedient" woman as a wife.
ReplyDelete"Ah didn't wants whup her last night, but ol' Mis' Turner done sent for her brother tuh come tuh bait Janie in and take her way from me. Ah didn't whup Janie 'cause she done nothin'. Ah beat her tuh show dem Turners who is boss"(171).
ReplyDeleteThis is where Tea Cake starts showing his true colors. Throughout their relationship he's always made excuses in this same relaxed tone as if what he did is perfectly understandable as long as you see his side of it. We know from the fight he got in after gambling that he has no problem beating up strangers to defend his own actions so he should theoretically have no problem confronting the Turners directly, but he chooses to beat Janie because he wants to reaffirm that he sees her as her property.
“Before the week was over he had whipped Janie”(170). While Tea Cake is still different from Janie’s past husbands and I have hope for him to be good, he fits himself into the mold of the men Janie as been with.
ReplyDeleteI really like the quote in chapter 18, “The wind came back with triple fury, and put out the light for the last time. They sat in company with the others in other shanties, their eyes straining against crude walls and their souls asking if He meant to measure their puny might against His. They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God.” I feel really happy for Janie as they both Janie and Teacake share an intimacy that allows them to struggle and survive these forces. The bonds of human interaction and intimacy provide refuge against the forces of nature. Janie receives the love that she shares with Tea Cake enables her to endure another hostile force.
ReplyDelete“Before the week was over he had whipped Janie. Not because her behavior justified his jealousy, but it relieved that awful fear inside him. Being able to whip her reassured him in possession”(170). What this chapter shows that Tea Cake has a feeling of inadequacy when it comes to his masculinity, and so uses the beating as a way of help his irrational fear. What the passage shows through the lack of Janie's voice is her strength and love for Tea Cake. Although what Tea Cake is doing is absolutely absurd, the passage frames it in a more positive way compared to how it framed Jody's beatings. What this shows is Janie's willingness to endure Tea Cake's faults for his sake out of love since a relationship is built of mutual sacrifice. Janie sees the beating she gets as a needed sacrifice to help Tea Cake's inner issues.
ReplyDelete- Seiyoung Jang
"All gods dispense suffering without reason. Otherwise they would not be worshiped. Through indiscriminate suffering men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion. It is the stones for altars and the beginning of wisdom. Half gods are worshiped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood” (168). These are potentially my favorite lines of the novel. They seem as though they are coming directly from Hurston herself, rather than one of her characters. It is her multilayered attempt, both in the world of her literature and the world in which she lives, to rationalize the immense suffering she and other African Americans, women, and minorities on the whole have been forced to endure. Especially in the United States, which used to pride itself on being a melting pot of nations, Hurston needs a higher power to assign blame to, because the gods of all the societies in America are exceptionally different. nevertheless, the suffering continues, and those who are negatively affected must continue to find spiritual reasons for the crushing drudgery of the day-to-day.
ReplyDeleteOn page 170, Hurston writes, “Before the week was over he had whipped Janie”(170). This quote really upset me, as I had hope that Tea Cake would be different from Janie's other husbands. However, as all men in the novel ultimately behave the same way, to expect normal behavior from someone like Tea Cake would be irrational.
ReplyDelete"If it wuzn’t for so many black folks it
ReplyDeletewouldn’t be no race problem. De white folks would take us in wid dem.
De black ones is holdin’ us back." (164). Mrs. Turner shows how racism as been absorbed into communities of non-white people. This also presents a contrast to Janie who has spent over 20 years in an all-black community and has not been exposed to as much racism and in turn has not taken to it like Mrs. Turner has, even as a lighter skinned person.