Ali Field

Foreword Journal #5

            The author of the foreword, Edwidge Danticat, had discussed, like our class, why Janie allowed Tea Cake to beat her. A view that I never realized came to my attention and helped me further understand the book. Danticat discussed that Hurston may not have wanted characters who were “too holy nor too evil.” If he were too nice to her, she would praise him, but if he were too mean, then there would not have been a love story. Danticat also mentions that Tea Cake’s sins toward Janie are repented when he risked his life, and eventually died, in order to save hers.

            Hurston often used places and events that she had been to in Their Eyes Were Watching God. She also debatably wrote this book in seven weeks. Using her own experiences could have helped her write the book in such a short amount of time. Her writing the book in a mere seven weeks could also attribute to pieces of the book that were not as well written, such as Tea Cake getting rabies from a dog riding a swimming cow. It is amazing that an author could find time to write a book in seven weeks while on an anthropology trip in Haiti, but it reflects negatively in pieces of her writing.

             Danticat also brought to my attention that it has been debated whether Janie Crawford is “a good role model for women or was she solely defined by the men in her life.” Throughout the book, I, like other people mentioned in the foreword, do not think of Janie as a role model. This makes me curious if Hurston intended Janie to be a role model. At the end Hurston makes me feel like Janie is supposed to be a role model because Pheoby wants her husband, “Sam [to] take [her] fishin’ wid him after this” to spent more time with him like how Janie spent time with Tea Cake. I don’t feel like Janie became a role model until you lost her love and learned lessons throughout her life, but I still wonder what Hurston intended.

Ali Field

Journal #4 – analyzing an analytical paper

The introduction is too specific, instead of giving the techniques that support the effect of, he/she goes in depth into why the techniques support it specifically. Stating a few techniques and not going in depth would help give a more stable start and outline for the piece. He/she also brings up that the journey is long, then goes into the big mama effect, which is point of view, making me question why the journey being long mattered at all. He/she did not state the book or author in the intro.

The author had good organization in the piece. Each paragraph was specific to a technique and gave examples. Having the techniques laid out in the intro would help the reader know what to expect throughout the paper. The author used text to direct the help the reader know and understand the techniques and effect which was very helpful and effective. The short pieces of text really helped her analysis. The author went in depth with the analysis of each technique and did not just summarize the text. This piece was overall very well written, although the introduction was weak. 

Chapter 9 Mini-Commentary- Journal #3

            After being married for several years, Janie and Jody’s relationship turned sour. Jody got sick and stopped talking to Janie. Immediately after Janie gets the courage to speak with him and tell him off for his wrongs, Jody dies. Janie attended Jody’s funeral because it’s proper, not because she was grieving. “She sent her face to Joe’s funeral, and herself went rollicking with the springtime across the world,” (88) happy on the inside to have the opportunity to find a ‘bud to her pear tree.’ She was “weeping and wailing on the outside” (88) to please the townspeople by pretending that she was truly sad, but on “inside…[was] resurrection” (88) of her single life and following her childhood dream of love. Her husband’s “death [did not] disturb her calm,”(88) but instead gave her power to start a fresh life. Before leaving her house, “Janie starched and ironed her face [and hid] behind her veil” (88) because she didn’t feel comfortable enough with the people in town to show her real feelings. She thinks that “all things concerning death…were done. Finished. End. Nevermore,” (88) clearly feeling ready to move on to the next chapter in her life and find her true love; the bud to her pear tree.

Ali Field

September 12, 2012

Their Eyes Were Watching God Chapters 5-6 Journal

            Jody turns out to act the opposite of the man he promised Janie he would be. He once told her that he doesn’t want to “make a dog outa [Janie,]” (29) but “make a wife outa [her]” (29) instead. He orders her around the store and orders her to do his tasks, such as “you better go fetch me dem shoes.” (57) He also makes her “keep her head tied up lak some ole ‘oman” (49) because he is jealous of other men looking at her and he “never told Janie how jealous he was (55). Instead of telling Janie how he feels, he covers up his feelings by being forceful, shutting her out of the town life, by making her stay out of the “draggin’-out” (60) because of the “passle pushin’ and shovin’ ”(60). I think he keeps her away from the dragging out because he doesn’t want her to be around other men because he’s jealous, not because of the ill-mannered pushing or the speech he is going to give.  Jody continually treats her as if she were a dog that he controls. He also says that “he was no fist fighter,” (47) but hits Janie for burning dinner, and to show the other men his power. Jody is far from the man he said he was before he became mayor.

            Janie is oppressed by her husband, Jody. When given the opportunity to give “uh few words uh encouragement” (43) in front of the town, Jody imminently jumps in her way before she has the chance to say anything. Even though, she “didn’t know if she cared to make [a speech] at all,” (43) it’s the fact that Jody didn’t give her a chance that “took the bloom off of things.” (43) Janie is not allowed to partake in the conversations around or in the store. If she shows interest or laughs, Jody tells her to go do something in the back, get something for him. Janie does what she is told and, usually “[gets] up without a word” (57) to tend to Jody’s needs. When she finally gets the courage to speak her mind, Jody cuts her off. He tells her “you getting’ too moufy, Janie” (75) when she tries to defend that being a women is not the same as being a helpless baby chicken. Jody does not seem worried that Janie will ever leave him. He doesn’t think about her when he makes decisions or orders her around. Their relationship is more like slavery, rather than Janie’s ‘pear tree’ perfect relationship.

Ali Field

IB Junior English

1^st  Literary Terms List

Dictionary.com and http://bm017.k12.sd.us/Reading/glossary_of_terms.htm

Alliteration:

Two or more words in a sentence that start with the same letter or sound. Ex. Elephants enjoy eating.

 Allusion:

A passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something either directly or by implication. “Baited by the fickle fruit” is an allusion of the forbidden fruit. (Countee Cullen, Yet Do I Marvel)

Ambiguity:
An unclear, indefinite, or equivocal word, expression, meaning, etc.: a contract free of ambiguities. The ambiguities of modern poetry.

Antagonist:

Person who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes with another; opponent; adversary. Voldemort is the Antagonist in the Harry Potter Series.

Protagonist:

The leading character, hero, or heroine of a drama or other literary work. Clary Fray is the protagonist in The City of Bones.

Apostrophe: Someone talking to someone/something that cannot reply, usually dead. I told my flowers how beautiful they were today.

Assonance:

Resemblance of sounds.Also called vowel rhyme. Rhyme in which the same vowel sounds are used with different consonants in the stressed syllables of the rhyming words, as in penitent  and reticence.

Chronology:

The sequential order in which past events occur. World War 1 came before the holocaust.

Conflict:

To come into collision or disagreement; be contradictory, atvariance, or in opposition; clash: The account of one eyewitness conflicted with that of the other. My class conflicts with my going to the concert.

Connotation:
The associated or secondary meaning of a word or expression in addition to its explicit or primary meaning: A possible connotation of “home” is “a place of warmth, comfort, and affection.”

Anthropomorphism:
Giving human qualities to a living thing, usually an animal. Mickey Mouse is anthropomorphic because he wears clothes.

Denotation:
The literal or primary meaning of a word. A word that names or signifies something specific. “Wind” is the denotation for air in natural motion. 

Dialect: 

A variety of a language that is distinguished fromother varieties of the same language by features of phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, and by its use by agroup of speakers who are set off from others geographically or socially. Janie speaks with a black-southern accent, using words such as ‘somebody’ll.’

Diction:

Style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words. Using ecstatic instead of happy would be a more exciting diction.

Epiphany:
Asudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality oressential meaning of something, usually initiated by somesimple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience. I’ve had musical epiphanies on the dance floor.

Euphemism:

The substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression forone thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt. “To pass away” is a euphemism for “to die.”

Foil:

A person or thing that contrasts with and so emphasizes and enhances the qualities of another. Ex The earthy taste of grilled vegetables is a perfect foil for the tart bite of creamy goat cheese

Hyperbole:

Obvious and intentional exaggeration. An extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken 

literally. As in “to wait an eternity.”

Imagery:

The formation of mental images,  figures, or likenesses ofthings, or of such images  collectively. The navy blue ocean rolled of the warm beige sand of Hawaii.

Irony:

The use of words to convey a meaning that is the oppositeof its literal meaning: the irony of her reply, “How nice!” when I said I had to work all weekend.

 (especially in contemporary writing) a manner of organizing a work so as to give full expression to contradictory or complementary impulses, attitudes,etc., especially as a means of indicating detachment from a subject, theme, or emotion. It is ironic that Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that their secret could make them go mad and later in the story they do go mad.

Juxtaposition:

An act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast. Countee Cullen used Juxtaposition to compare African Americans to the eternally damned Sisyphus and Tantalus.

Metaphor:

A figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in A mighty fortress is our God.

Mood:

A state or quality of feeling at a particular time: What's the boss' mood today?

A distinctive emotional quality or character: The mood of the music was almost funereal. A prevailing emotional tone or general attitude: The country's mood.

A frame of mind disposed or receptive, as to some activity orthing: I'm not in the  mood to see a movie.

Motif:

A recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., especially in aliterary, artistic, or musical work. Blood is a motif in the novel Macbeth.

Motivation:

The act or an instance of motivating, or providing with a reason to act in a certain way: I don't understand what hermotivation was for quitting her job.

Oxymoron:

A figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect.  cruel kindness and to make haste slowly are both oxymorons.

Paradox:

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.  Act I, Scene I “when the battle's lost and won” (Line 4) from Macbeth is a paradox.

Parallel Structure:

The same grammatical structure of parts within a sentence or of sentences within a paragraph. I want to swim, I want to dance, contains parallel structure with “I want” being repeated.

Personification:

A form of metaphor in which language relating to human action, motivation, and emotion is used to refer to non-human agents or objects, or abstract concepts. The weather is smiling on us today and love is blind are examples of personification.

Point of View:

The vantage point from which a story is told. In the first person or narrative point of view, the story is told by one of the characters. In the third person or omniscient point of view, someone outside the story tells the story. Their Eyes Were Watching God has multiple points of view.

Onomatopoeia:

 The use of a word whose sound suggests its meaning (e.g. clang, buzz, twang).

Satire:

 A literary technique in which ideas, customs, behaviors, or institutions are ridiculed for the purpose of improving society. Satire may be gently witty, mildly abrasive, or bitterly critical, and it often uses exaggeration for effect. Saturday Night Live is a show of satires, or making fun of behaviors of people in society.

Plot:

The action or sequence of events in a story. Plot is usually a series of related incidents that builds and grows as the story develops. There are five basic elements in a plot line: (a) exposition; (b) rising action; (c) climax; (d) falling action; and (e) resolution or denouement. In short terms, the plot in Harry Potter is an orphaned boy who survived a curse who fights through obstacles to battle the wizard who tried to murder him as a child.

Simile:

 A comparison of two unlike things in which a word of comparison using like or as (e.g. She stood in front of the alter, shaking like a freshly caught trout.-- Maya Angelou) 

Text structure:

The organizational pattern an author uses to structure the ideas in a text (e.g. cause/effect, compare/contrast, description, problem/solution, sequential, goal/action/outcome, concept/definition, proposition/support).

Symbol:  A person, place, or object that represents something beyond itself. Symbols can concisely communicate complicated, emotionally rich ideas. Ex. The heart is a symbol of love.

Syntax:  The way in which words are put together to form constructions, such as phrases or sentences. Ex. Sparse are the fields, as opposed to, the fields are sparse.

Theme:  A central idea or abstract concept that is made concrete through representation in person, action, and image. Theme is not simply a subject or an activity, vice for instance, but a proposition, such as “Vice seems more interesting than virtue but turns out to be destructive.” Sometimes the theme is directly stated in the work, and sometimes it is given indirectly. There may be more than one theme in a given work. The theme of the Lorax can be depicted in many different ways, including, the technology of the world today leads the world into a synthetic, isolated, and undesirable future.

Tone:  An expression of a writer’s attitude toward a subject. Unlike mood, which is intended to shape the reader’s emotional response, tone reflects the feelings of the writer. Tone can be serious, humorous, sarcastic, playful, ironic, bitter, or objective. Langston Hughes is angry in the poem “White Man.”

Universality Appealing to readers and audiences of any age or any culture.  Ex. The Christmas Scrooge is an old man, but the lesson, you don’t what you have until it’s gone, helps the Scrooge realize that he has life and needs to do more or he’ll die without love, which applies to everyone.

chapters 1-2 journal

Ali Field

September 10^th, 2012

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Chapters 1-2 journal

 While Janie is talking to Pheoby about where she has been and what happened to the boy she ran off with, she used the expression, “Tea Cake is gone.” (7)  By using euphemism and saying ‘gone’ instead of ‘dead,’ it’s apparent that Tea Cake was more important to her than someone she wasn’t close with. This helps me understand her relationship level with him and see that she didn’t just run off to have a fling with a man that “she’s ‘way too old for.” (3) Maybe that was just the term used regularly then, as well as nowadays, but on the first page there is a whole paragraph of imagery of her burying “the bloated; the sudden dead, their eyes flung wide open in judgment” (1) which leads me to feel that her use of euphemism of ‘gone’ was carefully selected because the pain of ‘dead’ is too much for her because he meant a lot to her. Janie says he gave her “every consolation in de world” which may have been why she loved him and why she had the strength to come back and face the judgment of the town.

Janie’s grandmother used the metaphor “us colored folks is branches without roots and that makes things come around in queer ways.” (16) This metaphor lets us see the view of African-Americans from the guardian of Janie. She thinks that blacks are different from whites because they don’t have ‘roots,’ or a strong support system to “fulfill [the] dream of whut a women oughta be and to do.” (16) I feel that this metaphor contradicts her hopes for Janie because he wants her to marry decent, didn’t tell her she is colored until she finds out for herself at age six, and wants to “take a stand on high ground lak [she] dreamed.” If blacks have no strong support system, how does she expect Janie to accomplish these tasks? She must believe the Janie has strength even though she says that she, “in particular,” (16) is a branch without roots.