Characterization: Pheoby Watson
While reading chapter one, the character Pheoby Watson really stood out to me. She is by no means a one-faced character in that many of the different aspects of her personality are expressed within her conversations with the other town people and with Janie.
When the townspeople gossiped about Janie, Pheoby stood up for her.
“You mean you mad’ cause she didn’t stop and tell us all her business? Anyhow, what you ever know her to do so bad as y’all make out? The worst thing Ah ever knowed her to do was taking a few years offa her age and dat aint never harmed nobody. Y’all makes me tired” (3).
Personally, I love this passage from Pheoby and I wish that I could stand up for things like that. Even through her heavy southern dialect it is very clear that Pheoby is an intelligent woman. Her ability to stand up against her fellow people in order to protect her best friend shows how willful and confident she is. Pheoby was also the only one who was willing to go, catch up with Janie and make sure that she was fairing well.
I really adored Pheoby’s character in chapter one. She seems to come off as that perfect friend to Janie that everyone longs for. She cares about Janie in that she brought her over food and was willing to talk about Janie’s adventure with her and even more importantly in my opinion, she was willing to go against the other townspeople and stand up for her best friend. That feat is not an easy one to achieve and I strongly admire her bravery in doing so. Pheoby is also highly comedic as shown when she and Janie were talking. Her personality comes alive in their conversation through the way that she talks about her own husband and the way she talks about the other people in the town. So far in the novel, Pheoby’s character is by far my favorite because she isn’t afraid to stand up for what she believes in.
(when you search “standing up to bullies” on Google images, this is the image you get...I thought it was appropriate)
While reading chapter one, the character Pheoby Watson really stood out to me. She is by no means a one-faced character in that many of the different aspects of her personality are expressed within her conversations with the other town people and with Janie.
When the townspeople gossiped about Janie, Pheoby stood up for her.
“You mean you mad’ cause she didn’t stop and tell us all her business? Anyhow, what you ever know her to do so bad as y’all make out? The worst thing Ah ever knowed her to do was taking a few years offa her age and dat aint never harmed nobody. Y’all makes me tired” (3).
Personally, I love this passage from Pheoby and I wish that I could stand up for things like that. Even through her heavy southern dialect it is very clear that Pheoby is an intelligent woman. Her ability to stand up against her fellow people in order to protect her best friend shows how willful and confident she is. Pheoby was also the only one who was willing to go, catch up with Janie and make sure that she was fairing well.
I really adored Pheoby’s character in chapter one. She seems to come off as that perfect friend to Janie that everyone longs for. She cares about Janie in that she brought her over food and was willing to talk about Janie’s adventure with her and even more importantly in my opinion, she was willing to go against the other townspeople and stand up for her best friend. That feat is not an easy one to achieve and I strongly admire her bravery in doing so. Pheoby is also highly comedic as shown when she and Janie were talking. Her personality comes alive in their conversation through the way that she talks about her own husband and the way she talks about the other people in the town. So far in the novel, Pheoby’s character is by far my favorite because she isn’t afraid to stand up for what she believes in.
(when you search “standing up to bullies” on Google images, this is the image you get...I thought it was appropriate)
-Erin :)
Phoeby is important to this story. Janie is telling this story to someone she has a close relationship with. Therefor we are hearing this story from Phoebe's perspective. It is as if we are Janie's trusted companion. While referencing the story make sure to use the present tense.
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