Journal #8

1. The effect Hurston created with the title Their Eyes Were Watching God is that the reader knows that a group of people are watching God for his moves and how it will effect their life. It affects my reading knowing that the people in the book are religious and before starting I had an idea this book would be more tragic than happy, because the people's lives are controlled by what God decides. During the hurricane when Hurston uses her title in the narration, I got a better sense of what the title mean. God could also mean nature.

2. An alternate title she could have used was Janie. This would alter the reader's interpretation because they would go in knowing who the is wrapped around and expect it to be all about Janie. Which it is, but I think Hurston uses Janie to demonstrate themes.

3. The title of my pastiche is The Gaze Remained. I think this is the strongest title, because similar to Their Eyes Were Watching God the reader will get a sense of helplessly waiting, watching for something to happen.

Journal #7

“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 comes along” (Hurston, 141) This technique of metaphor was used to show the power Joe had on Janie to make her happy. It relates back to the beginning when Janie is sitting under the trees, feeling the wonders of marriage through nature. Now Joe can make any day into summertime.

“Ah wuz fumblin’ round and God opened de door” (Hurston, 158) The allusion to religion sets the characters and what their society was like. From this sentence the reader can tell God is an important figure in their lives when things go wrong or go really well, he is called upon. It also shows the power they give God to give them new opportunities in life.

“It woke up old Okechobee and the monster began to roll in his bed. Began to roll and complain like a peevish world on a grumble. […] Chink up your cracks, shiver in your wet beds and wait on the mercy of the Lord. The bossman might have the thing stopped before morning anyway. It is so easy to be hopeful in the day time when you can see the things you wish on. But it was night, it stayed night. Night was striding across nothingness with the whole round world in his hands” (158) The use of personification of nature demonstrates the power over everything else it has. Okechobee is a real lake. And is referred to as a monster, who is usually asleep. It brings a strong common feeling of fear to the reader of being chased down by something fast and dangerous.

Journal #6

Revision Process:

First, I re-read and fixed some sentences to flow easier. I added length to the story and re-wrote some of the original to make more sense. I found better adjectives and played around with word choice. It was hard to decide what to keep or take out, but reading it through helped to find what fit most naturally. Overall, I felt revising was improved my pastiche because I saw what hadn't worked before and after not reading it for a few days I felt less attached to what I had written so it was easier to cut out anything that I noticed didn't' work.

Journal #5 Mini-Pastiche

After a while, Vera plunged into a deep reverie of Love. Love, that whimsical grip with the delicate fingers who lived in the night from sunset, starry night sky, to dawn. The gentle one that breathed through big smiles and red lips without cultivation, without a brain. How than does Love break tear open the heart of the strongest men? She poises giving her seductive looks that powers over all humans. Poised veiled and ready all day with her ecstasy ripe, lingering for the calling for her to breeze in. Always erect since the first newborn crawled out of the womb into the world of here and now. Vera was anxious to hear the whispering wind prance into her bedroom late at night. She was aroused and beautified as well. Bless Franz! He shall not have to madden himself alone. She sent Janus to advice a reconcile but Franz said No. These ideas were right for the books and movies, but they knew nothing about an instance like his. He'd be fine right when the deceptive gnomes were satisfied from their little game. He would not love ever. Or so he believed. And Janus confirmed the truth, and she realized. But even had he not, at dusk she was instilled to know, for thoughts grew in her useless brain beneath the layers of flesh and bone. Thoughts she never allowed to rise into her consciousness crawled in yet refused to form into words. Only causing confusion inside and stayed. Infidelity, that mocking hyena, had stripped off the mask.

" The gentle one that breathed through big smiles and red lips without cultivation, without a brain." is similar to Hurston's because she writes about a house without a side or roof, things that are expected for a house. Lips are attached to a face and brain, however in Love's case, the brain is not used.

"These ideas were right for the books and movies, but they knew nothing about an instance like his." is similar to Hurston's because the voodoo doctors know only what has been passed down from generation or they falsely believe, but they can't not really cure the sick. Many ideas work in books and movies and influence the viewers who find out the hard way that reality is often much more difficult and harsh.

Journal #4

Read chapters 7 and 8.

Journal #4: Choose a passage that clearly depicts Hurston's awareness and manipulation of language. Analyze the passage for one aspect of EACH of the following: syntax, word choice, tone, and sound devices.

Passage: "After that night Jody moved his things and slept in a room downstairs. He didn't really hate Janie, but he wanted her to think so. He had crawled off to lick his wounds. They didn't talk too much around the store either. Anybody that didn't know would have thought that things had blown over, it looked so quiet and peaceful around. But the stillness was the sleep of swords. So new thoughts had to be thought and new words said. She didn't want to live like that. Why must Joe be so mad with her making him look small when he did it to her all the time? Had been doing it for years. Well, if she must eat out of a long-handled spoon, she must. Jody might get over his mad spell any time at all and begin to act like somebody toward her." (81)

Syntax

Hurston uses the narrator to explain Jody's reaction, Jody and Janie, the towns, and than how Janie felt about it. She starts the first few sentences with 'he', 'they', than 'anybody'. They are simple and straight to the point, her progression of different points of view of the situation lets the reader have a less bias view of the situation to openly interpret Janie's next reaction. Her thoughts are posed in questions and than final decision.

Word Choice

Some words that stick out of this passage are crawled, lick, wounds, sleep, swords, must, mad, and spell. These words could easily be replaced with a synonym. Hurston used crawled, lick, and wound to depict a picture of Jody as a hurt dog. He later dies. Tea Cake died from a dog wound later on. Her choice of 'sleep of swords' creates connotations of war and death. She repeats 'must' a few times in the last sentences, she is emphasizing that she has no choice in the matter, justifying her reason to the reader. 'Mad spell' infers that Jody is not acting as who he really is. Janie left with a man she thought would make her life better and believes that that man is still somewhere.

Tone

The overall tone of this passage is afflicting. There is a lot of affliction between Janie and Jody's conflict through actions and silence.

Sound Devices

Hurston uses an alliteration in this passage: "But the stillness was the sleep of swords". The 's' sound is smooth, however its also reminds me of a snake ssss...and snakes bite and are poisonous. I think Hurston uses the 's' sound to show how quiet and peaceful the environment seemed, but Janie could feel the invisible tension and infliction.

Journal #3

Absent: 2/13, 2/14, 2/15

1. "And when Ah touch de match tuh dat lamp-wick let de light penetrate inside of yuh, and let it shine, let it shine, let it shine" (45) Reference to religion and God

2. "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" (50). oxymoron

3. "But Joe kept saying that she could it if if she wanted to and he wanted her to use her privileges. That was the rock she was battered against" (54) metaphor

4. "They wanted to begin, but the Parson wasn't there, so a messenger was sent to the ruler in a tree where he sat" (61). parallel to the town and Joe

5. "'What killed this man?'

The chorus answered, "Bare, bare fat.'

'What killed this man?'

'Bare, bare fat.'

'What killed this man?'

'Bare, bare fat.'

'Who'll stand his funeral?'

'We!!!!!!!'

'Well, all right now.'" (62)

anthropomorphism

Analysis:

When Joe relates the lamppost to God, he is making the event more of an Holy event than what it actually is. The book has many references to God, and the way Joe is portrayed may be mocking the use of God in the world because he is using its power to highlight a lesser event. This style also better describes the setting of the story, where religion is a very important aspect to African Americans. God symbolized as hope during slavery, and for equality after the Civil War. The lamppost symbolizes a better change and hope for the town.

Hurston's use of anthropomorphism of the buzzards is a little scary, it reminds me of the head of the pig talking to Simon in the Lord of the Flies. She uses this technique to bring out human attributes in the beasts. It is curious that they refer to the mule as a man as well as how the people make a mock human funeral as if the mule was more than a mule representing something else. The chorus of the buzzards chant in reply to the leader. This symbolizes the town or social norm, everything follows the leader.

Journal #2 Dialect

*Absent 2/13,2/14,2/15

South African language

the short 'i' sound is pronounced 'uh'

long 'a' sound used, for words such as France and cast

double t's are pronounced with a 'd' sound such a little or pretty

Slang Words from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_South_African_slang_words

awe=greeting

stukkie=girl

hard up=in love

gunner a pehrer=fighting

swak=bad

Vrou=wife

grafts=work

pozzy=home

Dialogue taken from p22

"Awe, What's the maytter, stukkie ? You do not look to well" asked Ouma

"Uht's nothing. I just need a lidle information from you" replied Johan.

Ouma laughs, "Hayve you already goden knocked up already-let us see,

thus Saturday uts two month and two weeks.

"No, Ouma, Thayts not uht" Johan said sheepishly.

"Don't feel ayshamed, stukkie , you and him are hard up, just like every other couple"

"I'm just not sure about that"

"Has he been gunning a pehrer with you"

"No, he isn't swak to me. He treats his Vrou very nicely. He grafts in the factory all day and keeps the pozzy kept and clean"

Journal #1

Absent 02/13, 2/14, 2/15

From chapter 1, I see Janie as a beautiful confident women that does not care what other people think. She follows what she believes in, even if it doesn't fit the social norm. "The men noticed her firm buttocks like she had grape fruits in her hip pockets; the great rope of black hair swinging to her waist and unraveling int he wind like a plume" (2)This personality causes other women to be jealous of her. "Seeing the woman as she was made them remember the envy they had stored up from other times" (2). Judging by the way Phoebe stands up for her, I perceive Janie as misunderstood and not what the other women say about her. "The worst thing Ah ever knowed her to do was taking a few ages offa her age and dat ain't never harmed nobody" (3). From the first chapter, it is evident Janie has gone through many experiences that has changed her outlook on life. When Janie begins to tell Phoebe her story she is "full of that oldest human long-self revelation" (7).

I perceive the narrator as an older person looking back on his mistakes and making sense of life with a somewhat pessimistic tone as if he realizes there is much more pain in life than happiness. "His dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men" (1). He also makes a point to differentiate men from women. "Now, women forget all those things they don't want to remember, and remember everything they don't want to forget" (1). This is made most likely due to Hurston's background, writing this story during the Harlan Renaissance. The narrator describes Janie's life, from an observer's view, often using metaphors and personification to describe the setting. For example instead of just saying 'the women began gossiping' she describes it as "They became lords of sounds and lesser things. They passed nations through their mouths. They sat in judgement" (1).

Literary Term Mini Test

1. ...laughed again as he had laughed over his father's taste of brandy.

Dr. MacPhail looked at him for a moment, then turned his attention once more to the straps.

"When you laugh like that," he remarked in a tone of scientific detachment, "your face becomes curiously ugly."

Taken aback, Will tried to cover his embarrassment with a piece of facetiousness. "It's always ugly," he said.

"On the contrary, in a Baudelairean sort of way it's rather beautiful. Except when you choose to make noises like a hyena. Why do you make those noises" Island by Aldous Huxley

The passage has an example of _________________.

2. It's as familiar as an old face in an old photograph as tho I'm gone a million years from all that sun shaded brush on rocks and that heartless blue of the sea washing white on yellow sand...

Big Sur by Jack Kerouac

This passage has an example of a _______________.

3. "And now she is dead. My God! my God! Harry, what shall I do? You don't know the danger I am in, and there is nothing to keep me straight. She would have done that for me. She had no right to kill herself. It was selfish of her."

"My dear Dorian," answered Lord Henry, "If you had married this guy you would have been wretched. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Lord Henry serves as a _________ to Dorian Gray, the main character of the novel.

4. Lying there in bed, I tried to think back when I first noticed it. I think it was once when we were still living in the village on the Columbia. It was summer...

...and I'm about ten years old and I'm out in front of the shake sprinkling salt on salmon for the racks behind the house.. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

The narrator begins to tell a story, it is a _________________.

5. He leaned close to him and touched his forehead with his lips. As he did this, something wonderful happened to him. While he was still dwelling on Siddhartha's strange words, while he strove in vain to dispel the conception of time, to imagine Nirvana and Sansara as one, while even a certain contempt for his friend's words conflicted with a tremendous love and esteem for him, this happened to him.

He no longer saw the face of his friend Siddhartha. Instead he saw other faces, many faces, a long serious a continuous stream of faces- Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

The character is having a/an ____________.

Ambiguity

Ambiguity: of words or phrases is the ability to express more than one interpretation. It is distinct from vagueness, which is a statement about the lack of precision contained or available in the information.

-from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambiguity

In other words, ambiguity is something that is up for interpretation because the intention is not clear. This should be avoided because it leaves the reader confused on the meaning. Usually when ambiguous language is used, there is only one intentional meaning to be expressed. They did not realize the other possible meaning.

Some examples are:

Indian folk lore researcher..

is it [Indian] folk lore researcher or [Indian folk lore] researcher

The short man and woman stood next to each other..

is it the short man and short woman or only short man

However, ambiguity can also be a useful tool for humor as a play on words.

Some examples are:

"Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" by Crystal Gayle

Blue can mean the feeling of sadness or literally mean her brown eyes changed to the color blue

"Last night I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I’ll never know" a joke by Groucho Marx

The 1st sentence, readers would conclude he shot the elephant while wearing pajamas. The 2nd line is the joke.

Motif

A motif is a reoccurring element that helps develop the theme and mood in a story. Usually the motif has a symbolic significance to a bigger idea. Motifs can be created by objects, images, words, phrases, literary devices, sounds, and actions. The difference between a theme and a motif is that a theme is more of an overall message or idea of a story, while a motif is a element that is repeated for emphasis for a larger meaning.

An example of a motif is the 'beast' in the Lord of the Flies. The' beast' reoccurs throughout the book as obscure objects seen by the children and motivation to move the plot along. It symbolizes the savage behavior that results from their fearful imagination.

Another motif example would be the repeated phrase in Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut: "So it goes"

Motifs are used in music and films. A motif for the movie 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' is the theme song that repeats throughout the movie to illustrate a certain mood. It is played when the characters have a sense of a new beginning.

Summer Reading

1. Out of the three books, I enjoyed Brave New World by Aldous Huxley the most. The dystopian society functioned as both a mirror and critic of society. However, unlike 1984 which depicts more of a communist country, Huxley demonstrated how developed countries that can enjoy leisure time may someday forget about who they are because they are too absorbed in pleasure. The character John who was born outside of the World State is educated by Shakespeare and explores his consciousness with the plant peyote, which is the custom of the 'savages'. When he is brought to the World State he cannot live in a world of just comfort without poetry, danger, freedom, goodness, and sin. All these things are thought provoking and give the human choices to make. The theme, message, controversial content, and style of this book all intrigues me and is one of my favorites for sure.

2. I least enjoyed 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' because it wasn't very thought provoking. It followed a story about a woman looking for love. I got that she was happiest with Tea Cake even if they were poor and had a lot of unfortunate events happen, but after finishing I didn't see the point of reading it really for an English class. The style of writing also bugged me because it was hard to read the Southern African American accent on paper. This is the kind of book that I would prefer to watch as a movie because the message doesn't need to be conveyed through text.

3. If I were to write an essay about 'The Stranger' by Albert Camus which I wouldn't mind at all because I also enjoyed this book very much I would focus on the theme of absurdism. The main character (forgot his name) sees life just as a list of events, none which are very meaningful to him. He shows this in his simple direct narration. When he shoots the Arab and faces the justice system, all his meaningless events are illuminated and analyzed. Suddenly, every thoughtless action he has made determines whether he lives or not. I think it is important, because Camus is provoking the reader to think about these matters about life and meaning.