Response to "Nature"

Kayleigh, I found your post on Nature to be really interesting. I also wanted to add that Hurston emphasizes the wisdom of Nature and the people that watch nature. For example, it is the Indian tribe that realizes that a hurricane is imminent. As we all know, Native Americans are extremely close to nature - they survive off of it and use it in so many aspects of their lives. So, instinct tells us that we should listen to these "nature experts" if they warn us about a dangerous natural disaster. But no. The characters in the novel act just like greedy capitalists who think nothing could harm them. Tea Cake even goes on to say that if the Indians were always right, then why would they have lost all of their land? If Tea Cake had listened to the Seminoles, he would not have gotten bit by the rabid dog and he would still be alive. Hurston is really emphasizing the importance of the people that are in complete harmony with nature, like the Indians.

This picture was also quite...interesting. It is how I imagined Tea Cake to look at times when he was angry (after he got infected).

Janie and Society

Throughout the novel, Janie plays a role in different societies. I think that it is interesting that she takes on unique roles in the different societies that she is in. In her original home, where she lives with Nanny and eventually marries Logan Killicks, she is an ordinary woman and does not really stand out from society. Then when she moves to Eatonville with Joe Starks she takes on a completely different role. Joe Starks becomes the mayor of the new city with most of the power. Because Janie is his wife, she is not treated like all of the other women in the town. She is seen as a prominent figure rather than an ordinary person. While most of the women who live in Eatonville get to discuss with the porch sitters, Janie is forced to stay in the store. Also, Janie is not allowed to go to the mule’s burial because she is the mayor’s wife. This is just another example of how Janie is treated differently than everyone else in the community. Janie is always slightly removed from society, which I think leads to inner conflict. After living at Eatonville, Janie moves to the Everglades with Tea Cake. At first Tea Cake does not want Janie to work in the muck, and Janie is once again estranged from society. While most of the women are working, Janie is home. As the novel goes on Janie is asked to work in the muck and interacts with society more. I think this interaction allows Janie to feel more freedom and to get her ideas across better.
I think that Janie is conflicted over the idea of society. While at times she seems to enjoy society, other times she seems to be very much against it. This may be because of her independent personality. Also, at times she seems to care what others think about her, but other times she does not. As the novel concludes, I think that Janie realizes that she does not care what others think about her because she understands herself. As she passes the porch sitters back in Eatonville she does not explain anything to them or care about how they may judge her. At the beginning of the novel, she is trying to discover herself and relies somewhat on society to help her but as the novel concludes she relies more on herself. I am not sure if Janie's interaction with society was harmful or helpful in reaching her goal to understand herself. I think that it could probabaly be both.

Reaction to Caroline's Post

Caroline, awesome song and great connection to the novel. The only thing is I feel like in a way Janie did waste a huge part of her life. She did what others wanted her to do for long. First she married Logan because her grandmother told her too. Then she married Jody and stayed in a loveless marriage, one in which she was controlled by her husband. She did not get out of the marriage on her own accord. It was not until Jody was on his death bed that she finally uttered those last powerful words and left. It was late in life, therefore, that Janie found Tea Cake and with it came true happiness.

So is this good? To spend the majority of our lives looking for happiness? To me that is a waste. I feel like I can learn from Janie's mistake. Independence is something that is extremely important to me. Now it means me having a car and a job, but later in life I must remember that it also means doing what makes me happy. I don't want to waste my life, as Caroline also said in her post. That is a fear of mine as well. I think that if we are conscience of this fear, however, that we will not become like Janie. This is the main lesson I learned from the novel.

Perfectly Imperfect

As I write this post, I will be ruining the perfect number of 111 blog posts that have been posted thus far. My hesitation to ruin this perfectly palindromic number made me realize that Zora Neal Hurston was a big fan of using imperfections in her novel in order to stress ideals. Janie's situation throughout the novel always seems like she has almost everything. However she seems to be missing that final link, that last petal of the flower to make it an even 10. For example, her original relationship with Logan Killicks obviously could have been much better even though her physical comforts were all easily met. With Joe Starks it was much the same where she was very well provided for and lived very comfortably but was missing that last thing that would have made her life perfect. Even with Tea Cake she is lacking that final intangible facet of love that would have made her life perfect. The difference is with Tea Cake she feels that she can achieve this last piece to perfection although Tea Cake dies before she can accomplish this.

This lack of perfection is important to Hurston's novel in that it creates a constant struggle for Janie to deal with underneath the obvious conflicts that occur between her and her various partners. Hurston utilizes this tactic to keep the reader interested in the story while nothing is really going on. It is impressive how just when I would be about to put the book down in disinterest, Hurston would remind me just how much improvement needed to happen with Janie's situation as a new problem arose. Hurston perfectly balances the inconsistencies and imprefections that happen in Janie's life with her otherwise comfortable, easy living.

Janie's Fate: Response to Class Discussion and Peer Post

{ I found a picture that I thought went along with this pretty well because it is a person jumping away from a bible, but for some reason it isn't showing up so I just included the link below: http://flickr.com/photos/badzo/3185950682/}

I wanted to expand on what we ended class talking about - Janie's independence in relation to God - and since Amanda already did a post about this, mine is sort of a rebuttal.

I'm in agreement with Tien that Janie is not complacent in her view of fate and God. This completely contradicts her journey to independence which she wants to share with Pheoby and does not reflect the changes Janie undergoes after shooting Tea Cake. One of the first points I want to clarify about Tien and my argument (I think he agrees with me on this because we talked about it at the end of class, but just to be sure I'll put a disclaimer that he might not) is that Janie does not resign herself to or accept the fate that God sets, what she accepts is Time and Death, the two entities Hurston personifies in this novel.

Referencing Amanda's first quote "Did He mean to do this thing to Tea Cake and her? It wasn't anything she could fight. She could only ache and wait. Maybe it was some big tease and when He saw it had gone far enough He'd give her a sign. She looked hard up there for something to move for a sign. . . Her arms went up in desperate supplication for a minute. It wasn't exactly pleading, it was asking questions. . . God would do less than He had in His heart" (178) I took it to have a different meaning. Janie does say that "It wasn't anything she could fight," and that can be taken to mean she couldn't fight God and the fate He set for her. However I believe the thing she can't fight is Tea Cake's death, not God. This is because Janie no longer has an opinion that God is benevolent or even indiscriminant becuase he simple isn't watching. She says "God would do less than He had in His heart", showing that Janie doesn't have much faith in God anymore in his affects on her daily life.

Janie's loss of belief is also shown in another quote; "They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God." Everyone is watching God, waiting for His recognition of their lives, good or bad. However it also says that what they are really watching is the dark. God doesn't have an omnipotent presence in Janie's life and she foreshadows this change in the above quote and elsewhere because every time Janie appeals to God, or watches God, she has no response and so she turns away from God.

This change manifests itself in her independence because Janie will not accept the fate of a god who ignores her life. Instead Janie is affected by Time, who mocks men's dreams to death (opening paragraph), and Death who had "been standing there before there was a where or a when or a then" (84). Throughout the novel, both time and death play an important role. Janie, Tea Cake, Joe Starks, and Logan Killicks are all criticized for their age in various ways. Janie is too young or old for a man; Tea Cake is too young for Janie and is untrustworthy; Joe's age is brought to light by Janie and he is demoralized by it; Logan is too old to keep Janie's attention. Also the idea of how time is spent - Janie feels like a shell when she spends her years in Eatonville with Joe Starks, but when Tea Cake shows her how to make the most of a moment, Janie feels fulfilled. Death is also a major part of Janie's life because Joe's death and Nanny's death both release some of the chains holding Janie back, while Tea Cake's death is the ultimate turning point in Janie's finding independence as she is able to kill the man she loves and relies upon because it will be better for him and she knows that she can get on without him.

I also wanted to address the last quote in Amanda's post; "Two things everybody's got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about living for theyselves." (192) Amanda used this to show that faith is necessary for self-discovery, but it can also be construed in the opposite direction. I think it is very important to notice that Janie separates the journey one makes to God, and the process of learning to live. To me, this shows Janie's separation of life and self-discovery from God. Janie says that a person needs to go to God, and then after do they learn how to live. In my opinion, at this point Janie has gone to God, realized that He does not control her life, and then learned to live in accordance. She recognizes the power of spirituality and so Janie considers God an important part of an individuals journey, but I believe that Janie also wants Pheoby, and others, to experience what she did in order for them to separate God's fate - which is a biblical and unproven entity - and the fate brought about by time and death, which is a tangible occurrence. The beginning and the end of this novel are told during the same time (Janie's present) and are told by Janie when she has completed her self-discovery. Yet the first mention of fate or a deity is not God, it is time. This furthers my belief that Janie does not consider herself humbled to God's will and accepting of whatever fate He has set for her, but merely living under the constraints of Time and Death, which are inescapable.

Nature

Nature plays a huge role in this Novel. Janie grew up in a civilized town and she found no freedom there. When She and Joe first moved to Eatonville it was rough and uncivilized. This town was closer to nature. In the beginning of their marriage Janie is happier and while Joe is busy she has freedom. However when the town is settled and a store built she has to tie up her hair and work in the store. Then Janie Marries Tea Cake and they move to Jacksonville. In Jacksonville Tea Cakes has to leave Janie alone at the house when he goes out to work and gamble. She has no freedom there. Then they move to the glades. The glades is as close to nature as Janie gets. She is allowed to act independently here and she plays games, dances, and even works like a man. Here the reader sees her real spirit. However her happiness does not continue because Nature ( the hurricane) chases Janie and Tea Cake out of the glades and back into civilization. Through this book Hurston shows that if you are closer to nature you will be free.

Response to Dani's Post

I agree with you Dani in the idea that the hurricane that occurred towards the end of the novel has numerous symbolic aspects. I really liked the idea about it representing an angry god; it’s kind of like what Tien talked about today when bringing up the speech Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. I also think there are some ideas that the hurricane symbolizes.

For one thing, I think that the hurricane could represent a new start. Water in many stories can represent many different things from purity to freedom but I think here is represents a new beginning for Janie on her journey to find herself. Especially since Janie is forced to find a new path after the storm and the loss of Teacake. When a hurricane hits a certain area, that area needs to rebuild their lives because of the destruction. In doing so it is forcing these people to restart their lives in many cases.

From a religious perspective, the hurricane reminded me of two well-known biblical stories. One of them is Noah’s ark where the water flooded the earth in order to get rid of all the evil in the world and the other being Moses who was able to get himself and his people to safety by parting the sea and then closing it on their enemies. I am pretty sure that there are other references to water being pure and saving the good from the evil in the bible but I can’t think of any other references off the top of my head.
 I wonder if Hurston is trying to prove that this actually did happen, in that all the evil was taken out of Janie’s life after the storm or if she means that it wasn’t that and instead there was still more evil left even after the storm. Is there a further message to be found here or am I once again reading into it too much?