I am excited to read Hurston's book with you. I was never assigned this book in any of my classes, and when I read it last summer I was embarrassed to realize that I had somehow overlooked one of the most amazing masterpieces in our literature. This is one of my favorite books. I am curious to see what you all think. The novel is tight, but perhaps not quite as tight as Gatsby, and I'm afraid you might feel it's a let-down, but I think it is very nearly as intensely written, and Hurston performs much more amazing feats of ventriloquism than Fitzgerald attempts. I hope you end up seeing that this book is as virtuosic as Gatsby, and maybe even more mature, because less ironic.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Chapters 5-6: Eatonville
The book shifts gears a bit here (again!). What are you thinking as you read? What do you notice? What parts do you particularly like, and why?
At first, I was impressed by Jody's initiative, and I liked how the narration switched to include long stretches of dialogue from the townspeople so we could see how other people viewed the couple. In chapter six, I loved how the narrator took us through all of Janie's thoughts, even the most mundane relating to math calculations in the store. Jody became more and more irritable; first, with Janie's hair, and then, his amusement at the old mule. My favorite part of this section was the narrator's description of the changing state of Janie's marriage: "She wasn't petal-open anymore with him She was twenty four and seven years married when she knew. She found that out one day when he slapped her face in the kitchen." Time seems to be moving increasingly quickly now. - Catherine Marris
Joe seemed to me as a rather interesting man. He had wonderful leadership qualities. He created a town from .... nothing. At first, the "town" was just a pathetic slum with people who did'nt really care. He changed that within ONE night. He bought the land, called a meeting the next day, and created a town from scratch. He had a charismatic and assertive voice, and was able to lead the whole town into a prosperous stage. They eventually had a market, a mayor, and a streetlamp (the first streetlamp in a black town). These achievements made me admire him alot. However, look at chapters 7/8 whereby he started treating Janie badly. That part kinda made me hate him. Janie ditched Logan to marry him, and he wants to treat her badly after she stuck to him? Oh wow, what a mean person. (He slapped Janie, like a disgusting man)
As the relationship between Janie and Jody becomes more strained and Jody continues to dominate Janie, it seems to me that Jody becomes less and less of a noble man. Although he came to the town and built it up, acting nobly before, people thinking of him as noble just enhance his sense of holding himself so highly.
I thought the death of the mule was a really interesting passage in the book. It showed the changing relationship between Jody and Janie, in which Janie is coming to feel increasingly trapped and belittled (I think there's more of that possible feminism here- the scene could be read through that lens). It also seemed to represent a more folkloric style of writing, especially the passage that described the vultures coming to the mule's carcass after the townspeople leave. The personification of the vultures, especially the Parson, the almost ceremonial behaviour of the vultures, and their call and response dialogue (this and the naming of the head vulture as a parson seems to allude to a more religious aspect), all reminded me of folklore. It seemed to be a little bit of a departure from Hurston's description and dialogue in the rest of the book so far.
Eatonville strikes me as an odd town. Joe Starks becomes mayor by strolling in and telling people to start building stuff as if everybody was just sitting around doing nothing before. Joe Starks also seems like the only one to own a business at all. The whole situation reminds me of a medieval fairy tale village with a fabulously wealthy king and peasants who just work off the land. So to me even though it's an all black town and the people there can escape discrimination, it seems like a pretty austere place to live. I wonder if this is the feeling Hurston is trying to convey
there are two many J names is this on purpose? Probably...
Anyhoo i agree with many of the comments above that the style and content of the writing seems very old fashioned and i dont find any of the characters very likable. Hopefully i'll be in school tomrorow!
I agree with Kasra's comment. I think Jody started as one of the most noble characters in the book but fell to being one of the least likable characters. He is flaunting his wealth. Instead of taking pride in the town he built up, he seems to think he is better than anyone else in the town.
I also really agree with Coco's comment. At first I didnt read the mule's death as a turning point foor Janie and Jody's relationship but when thinking back, I think it definatly was. I think the events/ceremonies and parties in the book are really interesting. For sometime the town did not see Jody's mistreatment of Janie, it was a very private matter between them. This contrasts with the gossip and big events that involve the whole town. I'm not quite sure of the significance of the events but I do think their really interesting.
So far, I don't really like any of the characters that much (though I don't dislike them, which is possibly more of a testament to their verisimilitude because they all have faults that make them act in ways I hate, like Jody in his treatment of Janie, but they have good qualities as well and the bad ones usually result from some negative experience) but I find the interspersed dialogue of the people in Eatonville interesting. Mostly they are just watching the world go by sitting on the porch, but then they have discussions, like the one between Sam and Lige about nature versus caution that are odd and intellectual. In their everyday dialogue they express unique ideas that make them "the center of the world" (60). I was confused, however, about the part with the million-year-old beast who eats houses and gasoline. Anyways, this passage also made me think about how everything they do and talk about in front of the store (especially when the women walk by) is just a play, with its cast in well-defined roles repeated over and over again without the acknowledgement of its frivolity. Everyone is in on it but no one says a word. It makes it seem as if they just know each other that much better, that they act out this dance of arguing, teasing, and flirting in such an easy way, and without judgement, just for the entertainment of it. Also, the woman who is most sought after is named Daisy, just like in Gatsby.
CHAPTERS 7-9 In these chapters, I was impressed by the profound meanings and emotions that Hurston laid over events that weren't ordinary, but certainly were not particularly unique. Janie and Jody's fight seemed to be a breaking point, but it was simply a fight on the surface. However, Hurston allows the reader to experience how deeply Janie's words cut Jody, as she "robbed him of his illusion of irresistible maleness", and this gives us perspective into just how important this fight was as the culmination of the troubled emotions that Janie had been experiencing for years, and her eventual inability to prevent them from being, in a somewhat unintentionally vicious way, voiced. Hurston's description of Jody's reaction also seems to be used as an example for a larger view of masculinity, the loss of which is so terrible because the illusion persists, and when this illusion is broken, the "maleness that all men cherish" is gone. Hurston really pushes this description of Jody's disillusionment at Janie's hands to represent a pointedly painful and disheartening experience, that delves much deeper than a fight.
CHAPTERS 7-9 I was struck by how so much time has passed, 17 years, and how the characters (apart from Janie's descriptions of the dying, dissolving Jody) really don't seem to have changed much. And even though he is becoming more violent and critical of her, their relationship appears the same. They still don't know each other, and as the reader, we don't know much about either of them, how they have developed as people over the course of their time in Eatonville. Even through Janie, we see them very much from the outside (or at least it feels that way to me). I think that might change after Jody's death because Janie acknowledges how little he knows her, " You done lived wid me for twenty years and you don't half know me atall" (82). Then we see more of her thoughts at the funeral with,"Darkness. Deep hole. Dissolution. Eternity. Weeping and wailing outside. Inside the expensive black folds were resurrection and life" (84).
I agree with Coco, that the mule is a symbol for both Janie and Joe. He is made fun of and underappreciated, like Janie. But he comes to represent the town and everyone acts like they respect him, but it is really just for show and for something to do, which is similar to the way the town thinks of Joe. And he is again similar to Janie, once he dies and the vultures swoop down and swarm him, when Joe dies and tons of suitors swarm her in an attempt to win her over. Another random thought I had while reading these chapters was how when Joe Starks first meets Janie, he thinks that its absolutely ridiculous that a woman is doing work, and that "A pretty doll-baby lak you is made to sit on de front porch and rock and fan yo'self and eat p'taters dat other folks plant just special for you." But once they got married, Janie had a whole store to take care of and plenty of work to do. To me, this initial broken promise showed their marraige would never work out in the end.
Jody begins to decrease in likability in chapters 5-6 and at a time when Janie could have fought back, she didn't for the longest time. Jody believes that Janie should be happier than she is because of his social standing and all of his work to build up Eatonville and as a response to Janie not appreciating him, he picks on her. As a result, Janie learns to keep her thoughts to herself instead of fighting further. At the end of chapter 6 when Janie decides to join a conversation, Jody dismisses her and it's back to business as usual. Although, maybe even if Janie had spoken all those times she disagreed with Jody, nothing would be different except that their relationship would be strained over fighting instead of silence.
Chapters 7-9 I had the same reaction as Tracey when it came to how long Janie and Jody were together before he died. The way their relationship was described, it was the same thing day-in and day-out with Jody criticizing Janie and Janie going to her happy place in her mind. Janie also reacted with surprise when she noticed that Jody had changed into an old, sick man because they stopped looking at each other. Although as Janie said and Tracey restated, Jody never really knew Janey. This is an example of how success and money don't bring happiness because Jody, the mayor, the landlord, and the rich man, died afraid, bitter, and emotionally alone despite the fact that his wife, a woman that he could have treated right, was next to him.
Nice catch, Sarah: Joe promises Janie a life of ease, and then he makes her mind the store all the time. Well, maybe minding the store WAS life of ease--at least she was rich--but it doesn't sound so great to me. He wouldn't even let her take part in the conversation on the porch! --EC
I got tricked into believing that Jody was actually the one for Janie because in the begininng he was acting all nice and well-dressed. But now they argue because he doesn't let her do anything, it just show how Janie is always under control of an authority and how twisted Jody's thoughts are about where women should be in society. Janie should speak up more about his bad control behavior
While reading this chapter I couldn't stop picturing Jody as a white plantation owner. For like Janie says, he lives in the "big house", which overlooks the entire town and has two floors. Jody also disrespects women as many plantation owners once did. Henry Lucey
joe/jody starks is an extreme opposite of jane's previous husband she ran away from. yes, they are both rich, but joe's aggressive personality is alot stronger and it is this kind of personality i think that jane and many other women of that time period really value. Joe starks is the man, he just goes to town and buys land for it and then becomes the mayor
Henry's comment describes exactly how I feel, however, until I read it, I couldn't quite figure out exactly what I was thinking. The relationship between Jody and Janie seems like that of a plantation owner and of his wife, or maybe of a slave. The way he doesn't let her participate in the conversation on the porch really upset me, and made me grow to dislike him quite a bit. He seemed to be such a great find in Janie's life at first, but through these chapters I grew to dislike him more and more the further I read. -Sydney
I also agree with Henry's comment, as his treatment of Janie quickly transitions from being loving to being domineering and forceful, much like a plantation owner as Henry said. I also find it a bit weird that if Janie was so quick to leave Logan, why couldn't she just leave Jody just as quickly. -Ben Hyman
I do not particularly like this part. The one thing that I do like is the detailed manner of the setting. It is interesting to really know where the characters are and how the interact during their everyday life. This part seems very important for setting the stage for greater things to come.
I think it's interesting the way the relationship between Jodie and Janie has evolved, when compared to Janie's relationship with Logan. Jodie and Janie were in love, at least, before they left together. And although their relationship has devolved rather drastically, they do not hate each other as Janie hated Logan. Janie's marriage to Logan was forced; she found him repulsive from the start. I wonder how Janie looks back at her marriage with Logan. She hasn't mentioned it again.
The relationship between Jody and Janie is very repulsive, like a modern psychological abuse relationship we hear about. It's interesting how quickly Jody's character went from being new, mysterious, and fascinating to harsh and unlikeable.
I find it interesting how Janie is able to put up with what she go through for so long with out retaliating. It will be interesting to see how this relationship continues through the book.
CQ, I dont think this relation will continue on much further and definitely not forever because first, we have already seen a future lover at the beginning of the book, TeaCake. Also, she has already admitted that the love has left their relationship. When she said this about her relationship with logan, it ended, just not immediately.
When I was reading this part of the novel, I wondered why Jody seems to be one of the only men who feels the need to exclude Janie from participating in other things that the town does. Why is this? He seems to believe in a non-existant, unique social hierarchy system.
Initially it seemed that Jody would help Janie discover herself however, Jody continues increasing his power over Janie which is a sign that the relationship is headed for doom. I don't understand why he feels the need to be so protective of Janie. Is it simply because he is afraid of loosing her to another man or is it because he wants to show that he has the power and ability to be in control?
Jody revels in his trophy-wife: she's young, beautiful, part white and - for the most part - quiet and obedient. He loves to flaunt her and his ability to "own" this stereotypically perfect woman. Janie, who was raised in the house of a strong, independent, wise woman, is unfamiliar with obeying a man's unjustified dominance. Janie, who is forced to remain a silent spectator of society and a political figurehead in the community, is frustrated at her imposed isolation, which is stirring rebellion. It's amazing how she's survived seven years of this kind of social exclusion. While this chunk of the novel is less metaphoric than the first part, I am interested to continue reading some of Hurston's flowery, poetic and abstract descriptions.
I found it interesting that Jody grew distant from the rest of the town once he and Janie moved in. Then in chapters 7-9 he is viewed as an abusive husband, and grows distant from Janie as well.
These chapters made me feel bad for Janie and hate Jody, which it seems like the author intended. Janie's life is suppressed. By running away from her first husband she has found only what she was running away from in the first place. In circumstances and location that one would think ideal for a happy marriage and happy life Janie has found the opposite. This seems to be particularly hard on Janie as she is such a strong female character, having been raised solely by her grandmother. During these chapters Janie's future seems desolate, it appears that she is to work in the store and live with Jody for the rest of her days. This is a truly bleak future for her, and is largely why i feel sympathy for her.
I sortof hate that Jamie can't get close to what she wants at all. She keeps on getting close to a good happy life for example when she was out kissing boys living happy with her grandma...but then she died. Then she married a man....and it turned abusive. Then her "prince" came along, but of course she has to work and he is rude to her about wanting him home at all. It reminded me of Antonia in a way.
I am enjoying the book a lot but I also find it very frustrating. While Janie is playing her role in society, being submissive to her husband, it is so hard to watch her get hurt. She has no voice and does not stand up for herself. Ahhhh
In these chapters you can clearly see the textbook strains of marriage. The strains develop from Jodies seeming need to keep Jody within her distinct "role". That is, tending the shop, house etc. This seems to be his need to present an air of superiority around him. This more than likely develops from his extreme determination to keep his a layer of distance from him and the towns people, this is in my opinion how he tries to express dominance.
I think in some ways Jody becomes a pitiable character, because he starts off confident and charming, but he ends up insecure and abusive. He life seems to take a turn for the worse once he becomes the mayor, even though he has reached his dream.
At first, I was impressed by Jody's initiative, and I liked how the narration switched to include long stretches of dialogue from the townspeople so we could see how other people viewed the couple. In chapter six, I loved how the narrator took us through all of Janie's thoughts, even the most mundane relating to math calculations in the store. Jody became more and more irritable; first, with Janie's hair, and then, his amusement at the old mule. My favorite part of this section was the narrator's description of the changing state of Janie's marriage: "She wasn't petal-open anymore with him She was twenty four and seven years married when she knew. She found that out one day when he slapped her face in the kitchen." Time seems to be moving increasingly quickly now.
ReplyDelete- Catherine Marris
Joe seemed to me as a rather interesting man. He had wonderful leadership qualities. He created a town from .... nothing. At first, the "town" was just a pathetic slum with people who did'nt really care. He changed that within ONE night. He bought the land, called a meeting the next day, and created a town from scratch. He had a charismatic and assertive voice, and was able to lead the whole town into a prosperous stage. They eventually had a market, a mayor, and a streetlamp (the first streetlamp in a black town). These achievements made me admire him alot. However, look at chapters 7/8 whereby he started treating Janie badly. That part kinda made me hate him. Janie ditched Logan to marry him, and he wants to treat her badly after she stuck to him? Oh wow, what a mean person. (He slapped Janie, like a disgusting man)
ReplyDeleteAs the relationship between Janie and Jody becomes more strained and Jody continues to dominate Janie, it seems to me that Jody becomes less and less of a noble man. Although he came to the town and built it up, acting nobly before, people thinking of him as noble just enhance his sense of holding himself so highly.
ReplyDeleteI thought the death of the mule was a really interesting passage in the book. It showed the changing relationship between Jody and Janie, in which Janie is coming to feel increasingly trapped and belittled (I think there's more of that possible feminism here- the scene could be read through that lens). It also seemed to represent a more folkloric style of writing, especially the passage that described the vultures coming to the mule's carcass after the townspeople leave. The personification of the vultures, especially the Parson, the almost ceremonial behaviour of the vultures, and their call and response dialogue (this and the naming of the head vulture as a parson seems to allude to a more religious aspect), all reminded me of folklore. It seemed to be a little bit of a departure from Hurston's description and dialogue in the rest of the book so far.
ReplyDeleteEatonville strikes me as an odd town. Joe Starks becomes mayor by strolling in and telling people to start building stuff as if everybody was just sitting around doing nothing before. Joe Starks also seems like the only one to own a business at all. The whole situation reminds me of a medieval fairy tale village with a fabulously wealthy king and peasants who just work off the land. So to me even though it's an all black town and the people there can escape discrimination, it seems like a pretty austere place to live.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if this is the feeling Hurston is trying to convey
there are two many J names is this on purpose? Probably...
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo i agree with many of the comments above that the style and content of the writing seems very old fashioned and i dont find any of the characters very likable. Hopefully i'll be in school tomrorow!
I agree with Kasra's comment. I think Jody started as one of the most noble characters in the book but fell to being one of the least likable characters. He is flaunting his wealth. Instead of taking pride in the town he built up, he seems to think he is better than anyone else in the town.
ReplyDeleteI also really agree with Coco's comment. At first I didnt read the mule's death as a turning point foor Janie and Jody's relationship but when thinking back, I think it definatly was.
ReplyDeleteI think the events/ceremonies and parties in the book are really interesting. For sometime the town did not see Jody's mistreatment of Janie, it was a very private matter between them. This contrasts with the gossip and big events that involve the whole town. I'm not quite sure of the significance of the events but I do think their really interesting.
So far, I don't really like any of the characters that much (though I don't dislike them, which is possibly more of a testament to their verisimilitude because they all have faults that make them act in ways I hate, like Jody in his treatment of Janie, but they have good qualities as well and the bad ones usually result from some negative experience) but I find the interspersed dialogue of the people in Eatonville interesting. Mostly they are just watching the world go by sitting on the porch, but then they have discussions, like the one between Sam and Lige about nature versus caution that are odd and intellectual. In their everyday dialogue they express unique ideas that make them "the center of the world" (60). I was confused, however, about the part with the million-year-old beast who eats houses and gasoline. Anyways, this passage also made me think about how everything they do and talk about in front of the store (especially when the women walk by) is just a play, with its cast in well-defined roles repeated over and over again without the acknowledgement of its frivolity. Everyone is in on it but no one says a word. It makes it seem as if they just know each other that much better, that they act out this dance of arguing, teasing, and flirting in such an easy way, and without judgement, just for the entertainment of it. Also, the woman who is most sought after is named Daisy, just like in Gatsby.
ReplyDeleteCHAPTERS 7-9
ReplyDeleteIn these chapters, I was impressed by the profound meanings and emotions that Hurston laid over events that weren't ordinary, but certainly were not particularly unique. Janie and Jody's fight seemed to be a breaking point, but it was simply a fight on the surface. However, Hurston allows the reader to experience how deeply Janie's words cut Jody, as she "robbed him of his illusion of irresistible maleness", and this gives us perspective into just how important this fight was as the culmination of the troubled emotions that Janie had been experiencing for years, and her eventual inability to prevent them from being, in a somewhat unintentionally vicious way, voiced. Hurston's description of Jody's reaction also seems to be used as an example for a larger view of masculinity, the loss of which is so terrible because the illusion persists, and when this illusion is broken, the "maleness that all men cherish" is gone. Hurston really pushes this description of Jody's disillusionment at Janie's hands to represent a pointedly painful and disheartening experience, that delves much deeper than a fight.
CHAPTERS 7-9
ReplyDeleteI was struck by how so much time has passed, 17 years, and how the characters (apart from Janie's descriptions of the dying, dissolving Jody) really don't seem to have changed much. And even though he is becoming more violent and critical of her, their relationship appears the same. They still don't know each other, and as the reader, we don't know much about either of them, how they have developed as people over the course of their time in Eatonville. Even through Janie, we see them very much from the outside (or at least it feels that way to me). I think that might change after Jody's death because Janie acknowledges how little he knows her, " You done lived wid me for twenty years and you don't half know me atall" (82). Then we see more of her thoughts at the funeral with,"Darkness. Deep hole. Dissolution. Eternity. Weeping and wailing outside. Inside the expensive black folds were resurrection and life" (84).
I agree with Coco, that the mule is a symbol for both Janie and Joe. He is made fun of and underappreciated, like Janie. But he comes to represent the town and everyone acts like they respect him, but it is really just for show and for something to do, which is similar to the way the town thinks of Joe. And he is again similar to Janie, once he dies and the vultures swoop down and swarm him, when Joe dies and tons of suitors swarm her in an attempt to win her over.
ReplyDeleteAnother random thought I had while reading these chapters was how when Joe Starks first meets Janie, he thinks that its absolutely ridiculous that a woman is doing work, and that "A pretty doll-baby lak you is made to sit on de front porch and rock and fan yo'self and eat p'taters dat other folks plant just special for you." But once they got married, Janie had a whole store to take care of and plenty of work to do. To me, this initial broken promise showed their marraige would never work out in the end.
Jody begins to decrease in likability in chapters 5-6 and at a time when Janie could have fought back, she didn't for the longest time. Jody believes that Janie should be happier than she is because of his social standing and all of his work to build up Eatonville and as a response to Janie not appreciating him, he picks on her. As a result, Janie learns to keep her thoughts to herself instead of fighting further. At the end of chapter 6 when Janie decides to join a conversation, Jody dismisses her and it's back to business as usual. Although, maybe even if Janie had spoken all those times she disagreed with Jody, nothing would be different except that their relationship would be strained over fighting instead of silence.
ReplyDeleteChapters 7-9
ReplyDeleteI had the same reaction as Tracey when it came to how long Janie and Jody were together before he died. The way their relationship was described, it was the same thing day-in and day-out with Jody criticizing Janie and Janie going to her happy place in her mind. Janie also reacted with surprise when she noticed that Jody had changed into an old, sick man because they stopped looking at each other. Although as Janie said and Tracey restated, Jody never really knew Janey. This is an example of how success and money don't bring happiness because Jody, the mayor, the landlord, and the rich man, died afraid, bitter, and emotionally alone despite the fact that his wife, a woman that he could have treated right, was next to him.
Nice catch, Sarah: Joe promises Janie a life of ease, and then he makes her mind the store all the time. Well, maybe minding the store WAS life of ease--at least she was rich--but it doesn't sound so great to me. He wouldn't even let her take part in the conversation on the porch! --EC
ReplyDeleteI got tricked into believing that Jody was actually the one for Janie because in the begininng he was acting all nice and well-dressed. But now they argue because he doesn't let her do anything, it just show how Janie is always under control of an authority and how twisted Jody's thoughts are about where women should be in society. Janie should speak up more about his bad control behavior
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this chapter I couldn't stop picturing Jody as a white plantation owner. For like Janie says, he lives in the "big house", which overlooks the entire town and has two floors. Jody also disrespects women as many plantation owners once did.
ReplyDeleteHenry Lucey
joe/jody starks is an extreme opposite of jane's previous husband she ran away from. yes, they are both rich, but joe's aggressive personality is alot stronger and it is this kind of personality i think that jane and many other women of that time period really value. Joe starks is the man, he just goes to town and buys land for it and then becomes the mayor
ReplyDeleteAndrew
Henry's comment describes exactly how I feel, however, until I read it, I couldn't quite figure out exactly what I was thinking. The relationship between Jody and Janie seems like that of a plantation owner and of his wife, or maybe of a slave. The way he doesn't let her participate in the conversation on the porch really upset me, and made me grow to dislike him quite a bit. He seemed to be such a great find in Janie's life at first, but through these chapters I grew to dislike him more and more the further I read.
ReplyDelete-Sydney
I also agree with Henry's comment, as his treatment of Janie quickly transitions from being loving to being domineering and forceful, much like a plantation owner as Henry said. I also find it a bit weird that if Janie was so quick to leave Logan, why couldn't she just leave Jody just as quickly.
ReplyDelete-Ben Hyman
I do not particularly like this part. The one thing that I do like is the detailed manner of the setting. It is interesting to really know where the characters are and how the interact during their everyday life. This part seems very important for setting the stage for greater things to come.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting the way the relationship between Jodie and Janie has evolved, when compared to Janie's relationship with Logan. Jodie and Janie were in love, at least, before they left together. And although their relationship has devolved rather drastically, they do not hate each other as Janie hated Logan. Janie's marriage to Logan was forced; she found him repulsive from the start. I wonder how Janie looks back at her marriage with Logan. She hasn't mentioned it again.
ReplyDeleteThe relationship between Jody and Janie is very repulsive, like a modern psychological abuse relationship we hear about.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how quickly Jody's character went from being new, mysterious, and fascinating to harsh and unlikeable.
I find it interesting how Janie is able to put up with what she go through for so long with out retaliating. It will be interesting to see how this relationship continues through the book.
ReplyDeleteCQ, I dont think this relation will continue on much further and definitely not forever because first, we have already seen a future lover at the beginning of the book, TeaCake. Also, she has already admitted that the love has left their relationship. When she said this about her relationship with logan, it ended, just not immediately.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was reading this part of the novel, I wondered why Jody seems to be
ReplyDeleteone of the only men who feels the need to exclude Janie from participating in other things that the town does. Why is this? He seems to believe in a non-existant, unique social hierarchy system.
Initially it seemed that Jody would help Janie discover herself however, Jody continues increasing his power over Janie which is a sign that the relationship is headed for doom. I don't understand why he feels the need to be so protective of Janie. Is it simply because he is afraid of loosing her to another man or is it because he wants to show that he has the power and ability to be in control?
ReplyDeleteJody revels in his trophy-wife: she's young, beautiful, part white and - for the most part - quiet and obedient. He loves to flaunt her and his ability to "own" this stereotypically perfect woman. Janie, who was raised in the house of a strong, independent, wise woman, is unfamiliar with obeying a man's unjustified dominance. Janie, who is forced to remain a silent spectator of society and a political figurehead in the community, is frustrated at her imposed isolation, which is stirring rebellion. It's amazing how she's survived seven years of this kind of social exclusion. While this chunk of the novel is less metaphoric than the first part, I am interested to continue reading some of Hurston's flowery, poetic and abstract descriptions.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that Jody grew distant from the rest of the town once he and Janie moved in. Then in chapters 7-9 he is viewed as an abusive husband, and grows distant from Janie as well.
ReplyDeleteThese chapters made me feel bad for Janie and hate Jody, which it seems like the author intended. Janie's life is suppressed. By running away from her first husband she has found only what she was running away from in the first place. In circumstances and location that one would think ideal for a happy marriage and happy life Janie has found the opposite. This seems to be particularly hard on Janie as she is such a strong female character, having been raised solely by her grandmother. During these chapters Janie's future seems desolate, it appears that she is to work in the store and live with Jody for the rest of her days. This is a truly bleak future for her, and is largely why i feel sympathy for her.
ReplyDelete- Matt Goroff
I sortof hate that Jamie can't get close to what she wants at all. She keeps on getting close to a good happy life for example when she was out kissing boys living happy with her grandma...but then she died. Then she married a man....and it turned abusive. Then her "prince" came along, but of course she has to work and he is rude to her about wanting him home at all. It reminded me of Antonia in a way.
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying the book a lot but I also find it very frustrating. While Janie is playing her role in society, being submissive to her husband, it is so hard to watch her get hurt. She has no voice and does not stand up for herself. Ahhhh
ReplyDeleteIn these chapters you can clearly see the textbook strains of marriage. The strains develop from Jodies seeming need to keep Jody within her distinct "role". That is, tending the shop, house etc. This seems to be his need to present an air of superiority around him. This more than likely develops from his extreme determination to keep his a layer of distance from him and the towns people, this is in my opinion how he tries to express dominance.
ReplyDeleteI think in some ways Jody becomes a pitiable character, because he starts off confident and charming, but he ends up insecure and abusive. He life seems to take a turn for the worse once he becomes the mayor, even though he has reached his dream.
ReplyDelete-Benny