Noah: Throughout the first 4 chapters, Zora Hurston uses the symbolism of dreams and conveys how life can either fulfill or destroy these fantasies. Janie's adolescence, for instance, is described as hopeful and innocent; in which Hurston builds the realm of Janie's idyllic future. By creating this image, Hurston foreshadows the future disappointment of Janie's dreams, which are over-cumbered by the theme of marriage. In the sentence, "Janie's first dream was dead, so she became a woman," further emphasizes the themes of adolescence and hopes and dreams. In that line, Hurston conveys the idea that marriage is something that kills the hopes and dreams of youths and symbolizes the beginning of womanhood. Womanhood and the experiences of women at that time is also a main theme of the first 4 chapters, in which Hurston writes and explains the experiences of three generations of women- Janie, her mother, and her grandmother. I feel that Hurston uses three different generations in order to show that at that time women had a universal experience; no matter the age or origin.
Chapters 5-6:
Matthew: Spending more time with Jody, Janie realizes how much power Jody wields over the town with only a few traits. He flaunts his money and has an air of superiority about him; while this does give him the power over the city that he craves, it also alienates him form the rest of the town. They view him as no more than a colored version of their previous white masters. Jody's boat coming in with the tide (from the beginning of the novel) has arrived, and he uses it to assert his dominance over others. By building a light, he is playing God.
Later on, Janie starts to slip away from Jody after he displays obvious forms of control. He refuses to let her talk to others or show her hair, offering only that she wouldn't want to talk with "those trashy people" or that some woman needs help. Matt's mule is fed repeatedly, but never gets any fatter until he is freed. Janie is supposedly in a happy relationship with a husband that cares, but never feels any satisfaction from it. Maybe this means she will run away to be truly happy? The conversations on the porch represent the small pleasures in life. Janie, however successful she may be, never gets to participate in the interesting discussions there. Escaping marriage and leaving behind the childish image of true love may be a better path for Janie.
Chapters 7-12:
Maddy: The reoccurring theme of independence is displayed throughout these chapters. When Jody hits Janie for talking back to him in public, their relationship crumbles. When Jody becomes ill, there is no hope left.
Jody's death symbolizes Janie's freedom. Now that no one is bossing her around, she can regain control of her own life. When she discovered this new freedom, she did not wish to return to married life.
Tea Cake embodies Janie's freedom. As he falls in love with Janie, she questions if she wants to give up this new independence. By the end of Chapter 12, Janie is completely on board with being with Tea Cake. Despite the age difference, Janie believes that their love will remain constant.
Chapters 13-17:
Chapters 13-17 introduce Janie's suspicion with Tea Cake and his fickleness as his flaws begin to unfold. Janie begins to doubt Tea Cake and starts to question if her judgement on Tea Cake is reliable. Although Janie forgives Tea Cake for stealing her money rather quickly, the story continues to point out his faulty character.
White supremacy is also an underlying theme in these chapters as Mrs. Turner patronizes Janie for her "white features." Mrs. Turner also antagonizes her darker colleagues and describes them as savages.
-Noah
Chapters 18-20:
The hurricane symbolizes the lack of control the characters really have on their worlds. Similar to Jody "playing God," Tea Cake's supernatural gambling skills, and Janie's first husband's controlling attitude, Janie tries to find a stable point, marriage, among the unpredictable and violent forces. The storm pushes everything aside and lays waste to the land, with no discrimination or malice. Janie cannot do anything to stop any of the above forces, only endure them. The bond between friends is the only thing she has in the battle between them and God.
Similar the rest of the novel, the racism in the burial squad is less of a character trait and more of a product brought about by the circumstances. Soon after, Janie's next conflict is again a force: the disease and slow disappearance of Tea Cake. Janie, evolved greatly from the confused and lost girl from the beginning of the novel, is more or less secure with her fate after Tea Cake's death. The trial matters little to her: being misunderstood is the real threat at hand.
Back in the present, Janie tells Pheoby that she is content living in Eatonville among the people who had shunned her. She says Tea Cake has showed her the horizon, and she has come full circle. The narration catching up with the present-day conversation fortifies that Janie has been "to the horizon and back," and this provides a sense of completeness. After hearing the story, Pheoby remarks that her life feels incomplete without the meaningful, albeit unpleasant, life Janie has lead.
By destroying her hopes and dreams (as you said), I agree that Janie's arranged marriage is her entry into womanhood. Even more evidence for this is her early childhood, as Janie can't even see her color before the others practically force it upon her. After this incident, Janie enters a new stage of her life with a new, separate house. In exactly the same manner, her thoughts on love and how marriage should be are ruined by an outside force (her grandmother).
ReplyDeleteHowever, I disagree about all three generations sharing the same experience, as Nanny has a completely different outlook on life. Maybe society makes the generations the same, despite different interests?
I do agree that they all had different experiences in most aspects of their life, but I meant that marriage and love all had similar impacts on them. For instance, Nanny and Janie's mother had similar experiences with becoming pregnant. Nanny said, "He sorta wropped his hands in it, pulled mah big toe, lak he always done, and was gone after de rest lak lightnin'," and Janie's mother was raped, in which her rapist vanished afterwards. Nanny's and Janie's mother's experience with conception share the concept of loneliness and abandonment.
DeleteThe page made it seem like they all had similar experiences with everything. I agree, their love experiences are pretty similar, and although Janie was not raped, she also has a loveless relationship.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with Noah. The three generations reiterates the theme of a harsh reality for minority women. The fact that Janie only became a woman when her dream died is completely shocking to me. I have never viewed life in that way. I do also agree with Matthew because the three generations had very different experiences. It is very possible Janie could follow in their footsteps and have similar events in her life. The loveless relationship theme, as Matthew said, creates somber imagery. Marriage in this text is something that traps Janie. She is only free when she escapes Logan, but then is trapped again when Jody and her arrive at Eatonville. She marries people in high social status which creates the theme of loneliness in Janie's character.
ReplyDeleteI have nothing to add to your comments. You three are making sharp points. Expert analysis. Keep up this high standard of discourse.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how Matthew brought up the point about the mule. Even though the mule is fed, he still looks weak and thin until he is freed. The symbolism of oppression is repeated. Janie will continue to be silenced and starving for happiness until she is freed from Jody. The now loveless marriage is destroying both Jody and Janie. Janie is once again helpless in a marriage. She cannot escape the sexist mentality of men.
ReplyDelete