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
I really liked your first analysis! I like how you gat straight to the point, i know exactly what you are talking about and where you are in the story. I think that simile is a good choice for the passage. I almost have nothingg bad to say about it...one thing though is make sure that you stay on analysis, and so not go over into summary. Great job Holly
ReplyDeleteI like how very easy it is to understand your analysis, it's all very straightforward and well put together
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