Journal #9: Two content elements and Plot diagram

A theme that gets developed throughout the story that is supported by chapters 19 and 20 is that one who impacts another person's life will ultimately change and leave a lasting effect on that person.

After Tea Cake is killed, Janie attends Joes funeral wearing her overalls. Janie was, "too busy feeling grief to dress like grief" (Hurston, 189). This shows us that Janie was clearly impacted by Tea Cake's death. In comparison to when Joe dies, Janie actually is upset about Tea Cake dying. The contrast of Janie's two husbands' deaths illuminates the fact that with Tea Cake, she does not feel like she has to put on a false appearance to show others her true feelings about him. He has changed Janie and with her expression of "grief" it is obvious how much he impacted her and how upset she was when he was no longer in her life.

Janie is chatting with Phoeby at Janie's house and she mentions to Phoeby that, "Love is lak de sea. It's uh movin' thing, but still and all it takes its shape from the shore it meets, and it's different with every shore" (Hurston, 191). Janie is referring to all of her previous relationships. She expresses that with every man she has been with, a change has been made to her. She is never quite the same person and can grow with each marriage. Although love is a powerful thing, like the sea, it can still change and form to any element it encounters. Janie is a strong person, but the men she has married definitely have left a lasting effect on her.

Plot diagram:

Anne has never known what it is like to live with her parents. She has grown up under her Grandmother's roof. Her Grandmother has taught her many lessons- anywhere from "Don't cry over spilled milk" to "Just be yourself." Listening to those sayings as a young child, Anne did not think anything of them. However, after Anne's Grandmother passes away a few years later, she finds herself recalling all the times she could listen to a word of advice from her wise Grandma. She finally realizes how much she cherished those times and how much of an impact her Grandmother's sayings had on her.

Journal #8: Setting that develops a theme

After the dramatic hurricane struck, Janie expresses her gratitude to Tea Cake for helping her establish who she is as an individual. "Once upon uh 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" (Hurston, 167). Hurston uses setting to help establish the theme of how going through tough times helps Janie realize how much she appreciates the people that helped her become the person she is today. Tea Cake allowed Janie to have more freedom than she did with Joe. This has helped Janie realize that she should not have to hold her thoughts and opinions to herself. When the hurricane that strikes threatens both of their lives, she realizes how devastated she would be if she lost Tea Cake. Hurston uses the setting in this sense to emphasize the potential danger the characters could face and how if something happened to Tea Cake, Janie would have lost a part of her that helped shaped the person she is currently. Because this situation is happening in this setting, it forces the reader to emotionally attach him or herself and realize how difficult it would be to lose someone that moulded the personality and independence that makes up one's identity. Through this occurrence in the setting, Janie grasps how quickly the people she appreciates most can be taken from her and makes it clear that she is who she is because of Tea Cake.

Journal #7: Character decisions and Pastiche

Near the beginning of the story, Janie makes the decision to leave Logan for Joe after he convinces her that she, "ain't never knowed what it was like to be treated like a lady" (p. 29). However, Joe does quite the opposite. He is disrespectful and forbids her to contribute to conversations he is having with other townsmen. Janie's motivation for moving on from Logan to Joe is the fact that she longs for equality. Joe has a heroic quality about him when he is first introduced in the novel and it comes across that he is going to treat her very well. She is tired of Logan rushing her and giving her orders of things to do around the farm so she feels that moving on to Joe is the best decision she could make.

Pastiche:

Janie pivoted from the door instead of acknowledging it, and positioned herself in the center of the room instead of moving on. She felt uneasy just stalling to recognize her emotions. She had given what Logan said much thought and had kept it in a place that could easily be recalled. As soon as she was done she flung the mixture into the pan and flattened it over. She did not feel upset. Logan was blaming her of her mamma, her grandmamma and her feelings, but she knew what she must do. The dough in the skillet needed to be flipped. Twirled the cornbread with a plate then took a deep breath. Why would she even consider leaving Logan? The thoughts of her Nanny's wishes flooded across her. Janie quickly moved to the back door and picked up her work where she had left off. Although Joe was probably anticipating Janie's appearance that morning, she could not risk letting her Nanny down.

The aroma of the farm was like a worn-in pair of shoes. It showed her how tightly the shoelaces were knotted. She decided to keep them on and continue her life with Logan, the shoes ensuring her a place that is hard to detach from. After a while Logan came out to finish up on one of his jobs. A small smile crept across his face and he informed her of a few more jobs that needed to be completed. With him standing there, he seemed to have this massive shadow that greatly surpassed her independence. From now until she meets her demise she would have stones tossed at any thoughts she once had of equality.

Journal #6: Five Quotations analysis

Tea Cake and Janie have been spending more time together and one night, he shows up at Janie's house and the two of them spend the evening in eachother's company. "Then Tea Cake went to the piano without so much as asking and began playing blues and singing, and throwing grins over his shoulder." (p.103) We can see the certain aspects of how Janie is feeling at this point in time through Hurston's use of tone. From the way that Tea Cake is "throwing grins over his shoulder," it gives this sense of being in high spirits and pleasant. We get the feeling that Janie feels content because of the use of the simple, yet comforting, words like playing and singing. Tea Cake has this confidence and assurance about him, which we can see through the fact that he plays the piano without getting permission first, and because of this he shows Janie that she can speak up and deserves to get what she wants, too. The tone helps transition us from a gloomy Janie to a Janie that is truly enjoying herself.

Although Tea Cake and Janie have become closer, Tea Cake does not consistently keep up on their relationship. It upsets Janie when, "He did not return that night nor the next so she plunged into the abyss and descended into the the ninth darkness where light had never been." (p.108) This imagery impacts the text because the use of the harsh words really reveals how heartbroken Janie is. We can see the negative effect of Tea Cake's inconsistency on Janie because we are able to vividly picture the darkness that Janie feels has consumed her. This uncertainty, or abyss of darkness, has no positive light in it and we can literally see Janie's desperate emotions to find true commitment and love through the imagery in this passage.

"After a long time of passive happiness, she got up and opened the window and let Tea Cake leap forth and mount to the sky of a wind. That was the beginning of things." (p. 107) The reader notices Hurston's repetition of a short sentence summarizing the previous paragraph in this passage. One can recall that on the first page Hurston says, "That is the life of men" to summarize the first paragraph. She has repeated this short sentence summarization to bring us back to the beginning of the story and show us how far Janie had come. By referring us back to even the first page, it reminds the reader of all the obstacles Janie has overcome and it brings us on this journey of growth with our protagonist.

"Doubt. All fears that circumstance could provide and the heart feel, attacked her on every side." (p.108) Syntax

"Nobody else on earth kin old uh candle tuh you, baby. You got the keys to the kingdom." (p.109) Idiom

Journal #5: Hurston's language manipulation

Hurston definitely shows her awareness of language in her writing. Janie had the opportunity to befriend a man named Tea Cake earlier that day while working at the store in town and later that night, "she sat on the porch and watched the moon rise. Soon its amber fluid was drenching the earth, and quenching the thirst of the day." (p.99) Her manipulation of language is apparent through her word choice. By using the words 'quenching' and 'drenching' both in the passage, Hurston is saying the day and the night are connected and one can run smoothly into the other because they rhyme. The use of the words 'fluid' and 'thirst' emphasizes how much the day longed for the night and how content it was once the night arrived. By saying 'amber fluid', Hurston paints a picture of the color of the night sky and allows us to admire it along with Janie.

Through Hurston's use of syntax, she shows us how she wants us to read the passage. By placing a comma in between 'earth' and 'and', she forces the reader to stop and take the transition from day to night all in while Janie is doing the same thing. The comma also helps the reader differentiate between the night and day because it breaks the sentence into two separate parts, in a similar way that 24 hours are broken up. Because there is not a lot of other punctuation, it allows us to see how certain things, like the moon rising in the night sky, run smoothly into others.

The use of tone lets us have a better insight to the characters and the way they are feeling at that point in time. The tone that Hurston uses in this passage shows that Janie is content. With the relaxed word choice, we see that Janie does not have a lot of stressful things on her mind. She is watching one of nature's gifts happening and enjoying it. It is apparent that Janie is comfortable not only on her porch that evening, but also where she is in her life at that moment.

The sound device in this passage is quite interesting. There is an alliteration with the sound 'ch' throughout these two sentences. The ch sound has a wholeness about it and makes the words sound complete, just like how the day is complete. There is a satisfaction that ties in with the ch sound and this brings to light that Janie has had a fulfilling day. The sound has a replenishing feel about it which illuminates the fact that Janie is doing the same thing in preparation for a new day.

Journal #4: Pastiche

Then Abby started to ponder about Courage. Courage, that unpredictable presence with the strong will that is often times hard to grasp. The uncertain one that lived deep within the unfamiliar parts of us, often unsure. Why does Courage sometimes shy away, especially when it is needed most? He sits insecurely deep within, unclear of where he belongs. Sits anxiously and patiently while slowly twirling his thumbs, questioning his validity. Was sitting there wondering and waiting and expecting. She was sure she'd find his footprints in the mud one of these days. She needed some encouragement and assistance also. Unfortunate Willie! It's quite diff'cult to help someone stand up for they self if they ain't got the determination for it. Offered Albert's company to mend this diminished confidence but Willie didn't feel it was necessary. Yuh can't always help those that have weakened strength, 'cause they need tuh find that inner fortitude on they own. He'd rise above this if he could just finish his chess game with the words "check mate." He would find the courage. At least that's what he thought. However, Albert suggested otherwise, so she was informed. But, if it had been contrarily, the following afternoon she was destined to figure it out, because he faced the bad-mannered bully in the colorless, spaced-out courtyard behind the school. Students that usually braved the bully's harsh words removed themselves from their usual straightforwardness. Just kneeled on the concrete, questioning. Fear, the overpowering elephant, had trampled over the student body.

Journal #3: Quote Analysis

Quote Analysis #1

Nanny is definitely caught by surprise when she peers out her window after awakening from a nap to find Janie kissing Johnny Taylor. "Nanny's head and face looked like the standing roots of some old tree that had been torn away by storm." (p.12) Here, Hurston uses a simile. Hurston uses this because she wants to emphasize the helpless feeling Nanny got when she saw Janie and Johnny kissing. This simile helps us picture Nanny's desperate expression when she realizes that Janie is coming into her womanhood because it shows us that her face was lifeless, in a similar way the standing tree roots are. From the simile, we see how Nanny feels that she won't be able to protect Janie forever so she tries to convince Janie that she needs the protection in a secure marriage.

Quote Analysis #2

Janie and Phoeby cannot help but hear the unvalidated comments about Janie's personal life coming from the people on the road while they're trying to enjoy eachother's company. Janie tells Phoeby that, "If God don't think no mo' 'bout 'em then Ah do, they's a lost ball in de high grass." (p.5 ) Hurston uses a metaphor in this quote. She uses this to show how Janie is able to disregard the comments and not let them affect her. She wants to remove the people and their comments in a similar way that a lost ball is so removed from the baseball game going on. This metaphor works so well because it is easy to relate to the way Janie is feeling about being able to resist letting comments make her feel inferior.

"Looking, waiting, breathing short with impatience. Waiting for the world to be made." (p.11) Parallel Structure

"The varicolored cloud dust that the sun had stirred up in the sky was settling by slow degrees." (p.5) Alliteration

"It followed her through all her waking moments and caressed her in her sleep." (p.10) Personification

Journal #2: Sermon using Hurston's dialect

Ah do believe dat yuh can pick yo'self up if you's taken a fall. Ah don't believe dat anything should hold ya back from makin' yo' dreams come true. Wid some strong will an' some help from de Good Lawd, yuh can make all yo' wishes happen. Ah thank God fo' bringin' me tah where Ah am tuhday, standin' heah, speakin' fo' y'all. He didn't give up on meh, but most of all, Ah didn't give up on mahself. Ah been fightin' and strugglin' and workin' my way to where Ah wanna be and Ah know all y'all have de strength tah do it too. Keep on dreamin', 'cause one uh dese days, dose dreams is gonna come true. No mattah how hard it may be, don't give up. De Lawd will be makin' sho' yah stay strong. Don't let go of yo' heart, 'cause soon y'all are gonna be somedin' 'cause of it.

Journal # 1

I perceive Janie as someone that is confident in her own skin. When Janie says, "If God don't think no mo' 'bout them then Ah do, they're a lost ball in de high grass" (p. 5), it shows that she doesn't let what those people say get to her. There's also this innocent side of her that appears mostly in 'young Janie.' When she says, "Ah thought Ah wuz just like de rest" (p. 9), it reveals that she doesn't realize there could be a difference between her and the white children she grew up with. Also, when it says that 'she wanted to struggle with life but it seemed to elude her" (p. 11), it gives off the impression that Janie lives in the moment and there's nothing in her life to be troubled by. Although the innocent side is apparent in 'young Janie', 'adult Janie' experiences reality where people judge her and try to get under her skin. However, she does her best to avoid the comments and just be content with who she is.

The narrator uses imagery, similes and metaphors to really set the scene for the reader. These also allow the reader to get to know the characters and their personalities. The use of adjectives by the narrator sets the tone and gives some insight into the characterization.