Journal # 4 - Philosophy affecting reading

My philosophy puts a different point of view on reading than other people. I am open minded to the philosophies that I read, and judge them based on what I believe to be truth. Sometimes I take them into my own, and sometimes I don't. It depends on what the philosophy is.

Journal # 3 The Stranger

Benjamminism... :)
1. There is an omnipotent, omnipresent God that controls/allows every thing and action every taken by anyone to take place.
2. People and the world are inherently evil, but can become good if God works through them.
3. Things happen because of a master plan, but that master plan has an order to it.
4. Religion as an institution may be unneeded in the future.
5. People are all, at their core, Hedonists.
6. Nihilists are suppressing their emotions and disallowing themselves to feel attached to anything.
7. Anyone is capable of making any available choice at any time. (I am relatively unsurprised by anyone doing anything, whether it seems against their character or not.)
8. There is Absolute Truth, although I don't believe we can know what it is until whatever is in the afterlife...
9. The choices people make matter most when they affect others.
10. Teenagers rarely have sturdy philosophy. And I am no exception.
11. This is but a small taste of what I may or may not believe. One night is really not enough time to come up with a decent philosophy of any kind in my opinion. I didn't feel like I had enough time to fully explore my true feelings on these issues.

Stranger Journal 2

Journal # 2, Chapters 1 and 2.

Mersault is an average man, who has average needs and desires. However, he is also detached from the world, very straightforward, immoral, and unemotional thus far. His actions show that he is unreligious and probably an Atheist, which would fit with the general philosophy of existentialism as well. Camus creates his protagonist and has him do these actions to demonstrate that existentialism is a good option. After Marie leaves, for instance, Mersault doesn't seem to care. He realizes that his relationship with her doesn't matter, niether does his Maman's death or anything. Nothing has changed.

Journal # 9 - Beginning to End

Journal # 9 - Beginning to End

Hurston uses the same setting in the beginning as the end to help the reader think back through the plot and recall many of the important points in the plot. This is a good way to end the book on a good note. It also helps to sum up the book and wrap it up. It allows Hurston to tie the end to the beginning, making the transition out of the book smoother.

Journal 8 Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Journal 8 - Chapter 18

The significance of the title is that although people may do things to change their lives or make them better, God can step in and, in the case of this novel, ruin what was good. This novel suggests that God does not seem to care about or help any of the characters, the only real mention of God in the book is during times of crisis, such as the hurricane in chapter 18. This suggests that people achieve the things that happen, and God's primary "job" is to screw things up. Although this is a rather pessimistic view of God, that is what I took Hurston to mean throughout the book. People achieve things, and after these things are achieved, they must keep their eyes watching God to make sure that he doesn't change things up for them.

Journal 6 - The Turner's

Journal 6 Chapters 16-17

The Turners are different than any other couple in this novel in that the woman wears the pants in the relationship. She makes all the decisions and is generally more harsh with Mr. Turner than he is with her. This is juxtaposed with every other couple in the book where the man is in charge. In this culture it is not unnatural for a man to beat his wife now and again, whereas in the Turners relationship it is more likely that Mrs. Turner will beat Mr. Turner than vice versa. It acts as a foil to all the other relationships in the book, including Janie's marriages and all of Janie's friends marriages. Mr. Turners feelings about Mrs. Turner are also shown when he doesn't stand up for her at the bar fight in her restaurant.

Journal 6 What motivates Janie? What changes are seen in Janie?

Journal # 6 - What motivates/changes do we see in Janie? Chapters 11 and 12

Janie's motivations are rather complex. She wants to find the love she has never had from her other two husbands, while also wanting to protect herself from being damaged yet again by another illegitimate man. This is why she approaches Tea Cake so carefully in chapters eleven and twelve, she doesn't want to be hurt by Tea Cake if his feelings are illegitimate, but at the same time she wants to know if he truly is the one that she will love for the rest of her life. She tries to talk herself out of Tea Cake, but finds that she really feels the connection with him this time, and therefore feels that it is worth the risk.

The changes we see in Janie throughout the book are subtle, and yet very significant. At the start of the book she is gullible, and quick to believe what Granny says about marriage. But after Logan, she feels cautious about men, but initially Joe Starks has a spark that she thinks she wants, so she goes with him. But Joe's true nature is too oppressing for Janie, and after his death she tries to find someone new, someone who will let her be herself, and be there for her all the time. I truly hope that this is what Tea Cake is, but who knows, he could be another failure too...

Journal # 5 Personification of an Abstract Noun

Journal # 5 Personification of an Abstract Noun Chapter 8

Then Tyler began to wrestle with Fear. Fear, that hideous thing with monstrous jaws, residing in the deepest depths of the human psyche. The hunched one who stays in the prostrated palace with the twisted trapdoors and the screaming slaves. What does Fear need to do to protect itself, what attacks can affect it? It crafts in its savage abode, using the world as it's puppet. Gazes piercing and still all the time, with his jaws held tight in suspense, waiting for the right time to strike at the heart of man. Been drooling there since before there was a where or a when or a then. He was dreading the day that scaly letter came from the Pennsylvania Penitentiary. He was hoping and praying that the day wouldn't come. Poor Thomas! He needn't have to sit in that tiny cell alone, waiting his inevitable sentence. Tyler sent magazines and books in, but they just came right back out. The meaningless drab of literature won't help with my dilemma, they don't know how I feel. I'll be alright as soon as this stupid smack kicks in. The sentence probably won't be carried on with anyways, they know it's just a mistake. At least that's what Thomas thought. But history told Tyler differently, he knew that death sentences were never withdrawn. And if he hadn't known this, Thomas's letters to him would have told him this, for he wrote how the guards came by his cell every day at noon and laughed and ridiculed him under the cement ceiling and through the metal bars. Guards who were usually quite quiet and unassuming came to mock and jeer at Thomas. They just came over and joined the rest in their horrible chanting of death. Hopelessness had began it's slow stalking into Thomas's mind, the battle was already lost.

Journal 3 - Chapter 4 Literary Techniques

Journal # 3 - Chapter 4 Literary Techniques

1. page 26: Consonance: "'Scuse my Freezolity Mist' Killicks, but Ah don't mean to chop the first chip.": Using the double "ch" sound at the beginning of "chop" and "chip" allows the reader to focus on the fact that Janie really will not chop her own wood. It highlights the words and how she will not do them. It's her own way of cutting off all possibilities of this happening in the future.

2. page 27: Personification: "But springtime reached her in there.": Hurston uses this technique to demonstrate and clarify that the weather "reached" Janie. It makes it seem as if the "springtime" wanted Janie to come out, so it reached into the barn for her. This shows Janie's love of the outdoors and freedom that we have seen demonstrated in her actions in the past.

3. page 28: Foreshadowing: "Yeah Joe Starks was the name, Joe Starks from in and through Georgy.": Hurston tells us his name and we immediately realize that, since her last name later becomes Starks, she will run away with him and marry him. This foreshadows what happens in the near future and also acts as a hook to keep the reader reading to see what happens in her life next. This really helps to demonstrate the importance of this character, since it also includes repitition.

4. page 28: Repitition: "Yeah Joe Starks was the name, Joe Starks from in and through Georgy.": The repitition of Joe's name highlights him as an important character in the story. It makes the reader focus on the name and helps to display her feelings for him right off the bat. The repitition allows the reader to understand that Janie thinks about him twice, showing us that he is important to her from the start.

5. page 27: Simile: "Logan held his wad of tobacco real still in his jaw while he studied Janie's face and waited for her to say something.": The simile focuses on the stillness of the chewing tobacco in his mouth, showing that he changes his normal stance in order to focus on her reaction to his suggesting that she work the fields. A thermometer also connotates temperature, which could be interpreted also as temper or mood. This shows that her reaction to his words will create a strong reaction in him as well. Which is a hinging point in the plot.

Journals 1 and 2 - Their Eyes Were Watching God

Journal # 1 How does the narration differ from the dialect and what is the effect?

The narration is superbly intelligent and savvy with words and language, while the dialect spoken between characters is rather unintelligent and coarse. Hurston does this for an atmosphere of a story being told by a wiser character/being, looking back at her past and narrating. I believe that she does this to achieve an effect that shows that African Americans, though perceived as unintelligent and coarse in this time period, are actually intelligent, amazingly important parts of society. It creates a language and communication barrier between narrator and subject, but this barrier highlights the intelligence and beauty of the subject.

Journal # 2 How does the setting affect the text: atmosphere, characterization, motivation...?

The setting of Their Eyes Were Watching God affects the text in numerous ways, it changes the atmosphere of the book. In the book, the African Americans are just beginning to try their hand at striking out on their own. This creates an uncertainty and untrusting feel to some of their characters. The women in the beginning of chapter 1 gossiping about Janie shows some of this untrusting attitude. They feel as if she is hiding things from them that they have a right to know, when in reality this is none of their business. Also, this time period of change creates in Janie the tendencies she has towards freedom and happiness. From the beginning of the novel, we can see through her words and her actions that she will, if unhappy, change her situation. Her comments to Nanny about how marraige does not necessarily create happiness show that her spirit will not linger in a place where she does not feel satisfied. This may be foreshadowing that she will go through multiple situations of hardship and unhappiness before she finds the life that she wants.