Part 1:
I think that Hurston chose the title she did because the book is heavily centered around religion. There are many biblical references throughout the story and often times they may come across as cynical. I think Hurston's purpose in naming the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God is because she wants possibly hint at the fact that while people believe in a certain religion, the "god" that they follow often times does not come through in their time of need. She highlights this just before the flood near the end of the novel. "They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching god" (Hurston 213). Just after this line is said, the flood begins and everything goes down hill.
Part 2:
An alternative title I think Hurston could have used for her book is Sunset. It's a little simplistic but I think it really ties into the story well. Two out of three of Janie's husbands all end up in death, which is connected to the sun-down imagery throughout the story. It links to all parts of the novel, and since the book is also cynical of religion at times, I think sundown sums it up pretty well. The sun being gone is associated with a lack of a presence of God, which in a sense is critical of religion.
Part 3:
The title of my pastiche is Skyscrapers. I think that this is the best possible title for my story because the imagery of skyscrapers comes up a large amount. It becomes a critical motif in the novel and helps to tie everything together. It also builds into the theme greatly and personally I think that most main ideas in a story would make a good title for that particular work. To me the motif of skyscrapers stood out the most and I felt that it would be a good way to incorporate the reader into the story right from the get-go.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Journal #7
1. "Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board." (Hurston 1)
Zora Neale Hurston is using this line to compare ships to dreams of men. She does this to show that dreams of men are often times just too far out there to accomplish. Like ships on the water searching for land. Men are just waiting and searching for their boat to land. Meaning that they don't necessarily act out toward accomplishing their goals and just wait for it to come to them. This connects to Their Eyes Were Watching God because it shows the contrast between men and women. With the women doing what they want, to get what they want.
2. "Nanny's head and face looked like the standing roots of some old tree [...]" (Hurston 16)
In this quote, Hurston uses the tree to symbolize life. She uses it in the sense that Nanny is literally old and looks like a tree because of her age. Also, she uses it symbolically to represent life. It works in this way because Nanny is elderly and the quote is trying to say that she is elderly by comparing her to the old roots of a grand tree. The tree comes up repeatedly throughout the novel, representing life again and again. Sometimes old and some times new.
3. "She was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree [...]" (Hurston 14)
This quote is used by Hurston to characterize Janie. This quote characterizes Janie by putting her in a lazy sort of naive set of mind because she is just 16. This is only the beginning of the story and after all of the events of the novel are said and done, the characterization of Janie is far more mature sounding which parallels the fact that she has matured throughout the novel.
Zora Neale Hurston is using this line to compare ships to dreams of men. She does this to show that dreams of men are often times just too far out there to accomplish. Like ships on the water searching for land. Men are just waiting and searching for their boat to land. Meaning that they don't necessarily act out toward accomplishing their goals and just wait for it to come to them. This connects to Their Eyes Were Watching God because it shows the contrast between men and women. With the women doing what they want, to get what they want.
2. "Nanny's head and face looked like the standing roots of some old tree [...]" (Hurston 16)
In this quote, Hurston uses the tree to symbolize life. She uses it in the sense that Nanny is literally old and looks like a tree because of her age. Also, she uses it symbolically to represent life. It works in this way because Nanny is elderly and the quote is trying to say that she is elderly by comparing her to the old roots of a grand tree. The tree comes up repeatedly throughout the novel, representing life again and again. Sometimes old and some times new.
3. "She was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree [...]" (Hurston 14)
This quote is used by Hurston to characterize Janie. This quote characterizes Janie by putting her in a lazy sort of naive set of mind because she is just 16. This is only the beginning of the story and after all of the events of the novel are said and done, the characterization of Janie is far more mature sounding which parallels the fact that she has matured throughout the novel.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Journal #6
In my revisions of my pastiche rough draft I chose to revise a good portion of my writing. I mainly focused on the sentence structures and complexity and the dialogue. Most of my writing needed to be taken up a level. Some of it was written with a humor that did not fit the mood or theme I was trying to progress towards. I gave the writing a more sophisticated appeal in my eyes and sped up the pace some so that the reader might stay more interested in this time. I think my revisions definitely helped my pastiche progress towards the final copy.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
TEWWG Journal #5
Pastiche
Then Peter began to think of Success. Success, that ever elusive creature with such a stealthy disguise who resided deep in America. The needed one who hid from every man and woman, even though he hid in plain sight, in front of their very eyes. What reason does success have to hide, and what lucky person will ever be able to find him? He sits on top of buildings to better view his country. Sits patient and thoughtful all day with his choice made, waiting for a sign to confirm his selection. Been sitting in that very spot before there were people or a town or a country or a civilization. Peter was bound to receive a idea in his mind at any moment. He was nervous and frightened too. Poor Jack! He shouldn't have to confront this decision himself. Peter sent Consuela to him to set up a meeting, but Jack quickly Refused. Those investors were okay with the small business owners, but they couldn't be held reliable for a situation like his. He'd be fine if the six-headed fiend offered a large sum of cash. He was going to succeed for sure. That was what he assumed. But Consuela told Peter differently, so he knew. And then if Consuela did not, the next week would tell Peter for sure, for Jack and his investors were huddled around a picnic table beneath an umbrella. Those investors would never have stayed that long before and clearly did not agree with Jack's ideas. Just sat around the table and fought. Failure, that sore loser, had claimed victory over Jack.
Statement of Intent
Re-reading my pastiche made me realize that I should have switched the places of my two abstract nouns. Since this pastiche was done very tight I had tried to copy the way the abstract nouns were used but since I used my more positive noun first, that messed it up because Hurston uses two abstract nouns that are more negative whereas I chose one that could be positive. Also, I tried to create a metaphor with a material object like Hurston does with the "feather from his wings" but with the nouns I chose the only phrase that makes sense was "an idea" which doesn't necessarily work as a metaphor in this situation.
Then Peter began to think of Success. Success, that ever elusive creature with such a stealthy disguise who resided deep in America. The needed one who hid from every man and woman, even though he hid in plain sight, in front of their very eyes. What reason does success have to hide, and what lucky person will ever be able to find him? He sits on top of buildings to better view his country. Sits patient and thoughtful all day with his choice made, waiting for a sign to confirm his selection. Been sitting in that very spot before there were people or a town or a country or a civilization. Peter was bound to receive a idea in his mind at any moment. He was nervous and frightened too. Poor Jack! He shouldn't have to confront this decision himself. Peter sent Consuela to him to set up a meeting, but Jack quickly Refused. Those investors were okay with the small business owners, but they couldn't be held reliable for a situation like his. He'd be fine if the six-headed fiend offered a large sum of cash. He was going to succeed for sure. That was what he assumed. But Consuela told Peter differently, so he knew. And then if Consuela did not, the next week would tell Peter for sure, for Jack and his investors were huddled around a picnic table beneath an umbrella. Those investors would never have stayed that long before and clearly did not agree with Jack's ideas. Just sat around the table and fought. Failure, that sore loser, had claimed victory over Jack.
Statement of Intent
Re-reading my pastiche made me realize that I should have switched the places of my two abstract nouns. Since this pastiche was done very tight I had tried to copy the way the abstract nouns were used but since I used my more positive noun first, that messed it up because Hurston uses two abstract nouns that are more negative whereas I chose one that could be positive. Also, I tried to create a metaphor with a material object like Hurston does with the "feather from his wings" but with the nouns I chose the only phrase that makes sense was "an idea" which doesn't necessarily work as a metaphor in this situation.
Monday, February 20, 2012
TEWWG Journal #4
Chapter 7 page 102
Syntax
The beginning passage at the start of chapter 7 uses many short sentences that flow very quickly. It seems that Zora Neale Hurston uses the short, quick sentences to create a sense of time moving by quickly and the exhaustion that comes with all of the hassles of Janie's relationship with Jody.
Word Choice
Hurston's word choice in this passage is not as clear to me as some of the other techniques she uses but I did notice that at the beginning of the passage she used the word fight, and at the end she uses flight. This could connect to the fight or flight response that humans and animals experience when they are in a conflict. This works into the novel because at the beginning of the story Janie tried to fight, but it did not work with her first husband so she fled (flight). This is what happens with her second husband as well, as we are beginning to see here in this passage, and since that is repeated we can assume that she could end up in the same situation with her third husband.
Tone
The tone of this passage is clearly rushed because of the flow of the sentences, but it could also be tired and filled with longing. Hurston uses words such as "Now and again she thought of.." and "considered flight" to represent Janie's longing for a different live in a different place and her desires to "fly away". This sets a tone of longing for Janie.
Sound Devices
Hurston uses assonance by repeating the vowel sound of a "u". She uses words like "sun", "up", "rut", "come", "nothing" and "was", which all have an "uh" sound in them. The repetition of the sound creates a chugga-chugga sound in the back of the readers mind, which creates an image of a train which could symbolize Janie's life which is chugging away like a train.
Syntax
The beginning passage at the start of chapter 7 uses many short sentences that flow very quickly. It seems that Zora Neale Hurston uses the short, quick sentences to create a sense of time moving by quickly and the exhaustion that comes with all of the hassles of Janie's relationship with Jody.
Word Choice
Hurston's word choice in this passage is not as clear to me as some of the other techniques she uses but I did notice that at the beginning of the passage she used the word fight, and at the end she uses flight. This could connect to the fight or flight response that humans and animals experience when they are in a conflict. This works into the novel because at the beginning of the story Janie tried to fight, but it did not work with her first husband so she fled (flight). This is what happens with her second husband as well, as we are beginning to see here in this passage, and since that is repeated we can assume that she could end up in the same situation with her third husband.
Tone
The tone of this passage is clearly rushed because of the flow of the sentences, but it could also be tired and filled with longing. Hurston uses words such as "Now and again she thought of.." and "considered flight" to represent Janie's longing for a different live in a different place and her desires to "fly away". This sets a tone of longing for Janie.
Sound Devices
Hurston uses assonance by repeating the vowel sound of a "u". She uses words like "sun", "up", "rut", "come", "nothing" and "was", which all have an "uh" sound in them. The repetition of the sound creates a chugga-chugga sound in the back of the readers mind, which creates an image of a train which could symbolize Janie's life which is chugging away like a train.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
TEWWG Journal #3
1.) "De Sun-maker brings it up in de mornin', a nd de Sun-maker sends it tuh bed at night." (pg 60) Biblical Reference
2.) "You keep seeing your sister in the 'gator and the 'gator in your sister" (pg 64) and "They bowed down to him rather, because he was all of these things, and then again he was all of these things because the town bowed down." (pg 67) Parallel Structure
3.) "Speakin of winds, he's de wind and we'se de grass. We bend which ever way he blows." (pg 66) Metaphor
4.) "If you'se smart lak you let on you is, you kin find out." and "Yuh skeered to lemme know whut it is, 'cause yuh know Ah'll tear it tuh pieces." (pg 85) Dialect
5.) "When the mule was in front of the store, Lum went out and tackled him. The brute..." (pg 75) Allusion
Analysis
2.) Parallel structure is important because it helps to connect two separate passages or parts of a novel that would otherwise not have any relation to each other. It helps with figuring out meanings of certain passages and getting a better grasp of the story. Zora Neale Hurston uses parallel structure in these two sentences to give the reader a better image of the mayor. She does this by using parallel structure early in the passage within a sentence about someone's sister. Saying that you see your sister in the gator , and you see the gator in your sister. Later, she uses parallel structure again in another sentence, by saying the town bows down because the mayor has power, and the mayor has power because the town bows down. This two sentences can connect because they have a similar structure, and this can paint a picture in the readers mind that the mayor is in fact a gator, in the metaphorical sense. This meaning that the mayor has the town in his power, but he only has the power because the town fears him, like a woman could fear an alligator.
5.) An allusion is typically used to reference a different piece of literature or a passage earlier in the book to make a connection. Zora Neale Hurston uses the sentence on page 75 to allude to the first page of chapter one. On the first page of chapter one, the narrator says that when the sun goes down "Mules and other brutes" have occupied the skins of the towns people. This allusion Hurston decides to make connects the story together and helps paint a better image in ones mind. The mule, being a hybrid animal, symbolizes that by day, the townspeople are workers and friendly, but by night, they switch personalities like they were two different people in one. The brute represents how cruel everyone in the town is behind other people's backs. This allusion backs up the saying that you can tell everything you need to know about a novel from the first page.
2.) "You keep seeing your sister in the 'gator and the 'gator in your sister" (pg 64) and "They bowed down to him rather, because he was all of these things, and then again he was all of these things because the town bowed down." (pg 67) Parallel Structure
3.) "Speakin of winds, he's de wind and we'se de grass. We bend which ever way he blows." (pg 66) Metaphor
4.) "If you'se smart lak you let on you is, you kin find out." and "Yuh skeered to lemme know whut it is, 'cause yuh know Ah'll tear it tuh pieces." (pg 85) Dialect
5.) "When the mule was in front of the store, Lum went out and tackled him. The brute..." (pg 75) Allusion
Analysis
2.) Parallel structure is important because it helps to connect two separate passages or parts of a novel that would otherwise not have any relation to each other. It helps with figuring out meanings of certain passages and getting a better grasp of the story. Zora Neale Hurston uses parallel structure in these two sentences to give the reader a better image of the mayor. She does this by using parallel structure early in the passage within a sentence about someone's sister. Saying that you see your sister in the gator , and you see the gator in your sister. Later, she uses parallel structure again in another sentence, by saying the town bows down because the mayor has power, and the mayor has power because the town bows down. This two sentences can connect because they have a similar structure, and this can paint a picture in the readers mind that the mayor is in fact a gator, in the metaphorical sense. This meaning that the mayor has the town in his power, but he only has the power because the town fears him, like a woman could fear an alligator.
5.) An allusion is typically used to reference a different piece of literature or a passage earlier in the book to make a connection. Zora Neale Hurston uses the sentence on page 75 to allude to the first page of chapter one. On the first page of chapter one, the narrator says that when the sun goes down "Mules and other brutes" have occupied the skins of the towns people. This allusion Hurston decides to make connects the story together and helps paint a better image in ones mind. The mule, being a hybrid animal, symbolizes that by day, the townspeople are workers and friendly, but by night, they switch personalities like they were two different people in one. The brute represents how cruel everyone in the town is behind other people's backs. This allusion backs up the saying that you can tell everything you need to know about a novel from the first page.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
TEWWG Journal #2
Rules of Dialect (Adapted from Star Wars and LotR) Character 1
1) All sentences are short and to the point.
2) Most sentences must end in an exclamation point.
3) The order of the sentence is switched so that the verb is first. Only done about half of the time.
4) If the character is talking about them self, they must do so in third person.
5) Must add an "s" to the end of any verb that is about them self. Such as, "I wants."
6) The word "will" is not used when talking about what other people will do.
7) Almost all of the sentences are repeated, especially those that end in a "!".
Character 2 (Made this up)
1) All sentences end in a question mark.
2) Does not use the word "my", only "me". Such as MEself instead of MYself.
3) Emphasis is put on the second vowel of every word, shown by capitalizing the letter in the place of emphasis.
Dialogue/Layout taken from page 36
"Come here, come here! I needs help from you. Move this couch, we must! Yes, we must, we must!"
"Can't you do it?"
"No, no, no! Gregory is strong, yes! Yes! But the couch is far to heavy for Gregory alone. Lift this end you can."
"Why not find somEbody elsE? Me back is hurting?"
"No, your help I needs! This couch is a fancy couch. Worth very much! Very much! I needs to have you help carry it. You help keep it nice and fancy!"
Gregory stayed strong like a rock wall, while he waited for Mr.T to give him a final answer.
"You, I thought to come to for help, yes!" He continued to remain statute and Mr.T was silent except for a few words,"I'll help with yoUr coUch? As long as me back don't start hurtIng morE?"
"Gregory doesn't know what will happen to your back. Long way up stairs! Far up the stairs - but easier with two! Yes, easier!"
When Mr. T finished with the couch, he laid down on his bed for his back. But morning came soon, so he rose and went to chair by the window. The breeze came through the open pane and blew the curtains aside. He sat on that chair for a long time, until Gregory came by, asking for his help pushing his car that died just up the road.
1) All sentences are short and to the point.
2) Most sentences must end in an exclamation point.
3) The order of the sentence is switched so that the verb is first. Only done about half of the time.
4) If the character is talking about them self, they must do so in third person.
5) Must add an "s" to the end of any verb that is about them self. Such as, "I wants."
6) The word "will" is not used when talking about what other people will do.
7) Almost all of the sentences are repeated, especially those that end in a "!".
Character 2 (Made this up)
1) All sentences end in a question mark.
2) Does not use the word "my", only "me". Such as MEself instead of MYself.
3) Emphasis is put on the second vowel of every word, shown by capitalizing the letter in the place of emphasis.
Dialogue/Layout taken from page 36
"Come here, come here! I needs help from you. Move this couch, we must! Yes, we must, we must!"
"Can't you do it?"
"No, no, no! Gregory is strong, yes! Yes! But the couch is far to heavy for Gregory alone. Lift this end you can."
"Why not find somEbody elsE? Me back is hurting?"
"No, your help I needs! This couch is a fancy couch. Worth very much! Very much! I needs to have you help carry it. You help keep it nice and fancy!"
Gregory stayed strong like a rock wall, while he waited for Mr.T to give him a final answer.
"You, I thought to come to for help, yes!" He continued to remain statute and Mr.T was silent except for a few words,"I'll help with yoUr coUch? As long as me back don't start hurtIng morE?"
"Gregory doesn't know what will happen to your back. Long way up stairs! Far up the stairs - but easier with two! Yes, easier!"
When Mr. T finished with the couch, he laid down on his bed for his back. But morning came soon, so he rose and went to chair by the window. The breeze came through the open pane and blew the curtains aside. He sat on that chair for a long time, until Gregory came by, asking for his help pushing his car that died just up the road.
Monday, February 13, 2012
TEWWG Journal #1
How do you perceive Janie?
I perceive Janie as a woman that has been through a good amount of turbulence and change in her life, which makes her come across as wise and mature. However, I also see a more distraught, troubled and lost Janie behind the grown, silent woman all of her friends see when she returns home. The darker side of Janie jumps out more than the wise Janie because when she is talking with her best friend Pheobe in her backyard, she says, "Yeah, Pheobe, Tea Cake is gone. And dat's de only reason you see me back here - cause Ah ain't got nothing to make me happy no more.." (Hurston, 9). This line Janie says, shows that she does not want to be home and she preferred her life with her old husband, Tea Cake. This preference of her old life connects to the "lost" feeling about Janie I get when reading this first chapter. I think that because, now that she is back, she doesn't know what to do with herself anymore since she has no husband and has grown older.
How do you perceive the narrator?
Okay, this may seem like a large assumption, but to me, I think that the narrator was made to come across as a white person. I'm not entirely sure why Zora Neale Hurston would make a decision like that, unless she were trying to use this book to connect with white people during the time period of the Harlem Renaissance. She might have done it to try and break through the social barrier, by using a more educated sounding narrator than her characters so that the white people of the time could connect and understand the narrator better and therefore relate to her story. I also think that the narrator may be white, because of the contrast in language between the characters and the narrators speech. The characters often use words such as "Ah", "de", " 'bout", and "dat", whereas the narrator uses more descriptive full words like "monstropolous" and "dialated" and "zest". This contrast really stands out to me and I think it is the authors way of differenciating the narrator from the characters in terms of education. I'm not trying to say that it is a bad thing, just that it is a different way of going about it, especially with the racial tensions of the time period.
I perceive Janie as a woman that has been through a good amount of turbulence and change in her life, which makes her come across as wise and mature. However, I also see a more distraught, troubled and lost Janie behind the grown, silent woman all of her friends see when she returns home. The darker side of Janie jumps out more than the wise Janie because when she is talking with her best friend Pheobe in her backyard, she says, "Yeah, Pheobe, Tea Cake is gone. And dat's de only reason you see me back here - cause Ah ain't got nothing to make me happy no more.." (Hurston, 9). This line Janie says, shows that she does not want to be home and she preferred her life with her old husband, Tea Cake. This preference of her old life connects to the "lost" feeling about Janie I get when reading this first chapter. I think that because, now that she is back, she doesn't know what to do with herself anymore since she has no husband and has grown older.
How do you perceive the narrator?
Okay, this may seem like a large assumption, but to me, I think that the narrator was made to come across as a white person. I'm not entirely sure why Zora Neale Hurston would make a decision like that, unless she were trying to use this book to connect with white people during the time period of the Harlem Renaissance. She might have done it to try and break through the social barrier, by using a more educated sounding narrator than her characters so that the white people of the time could connect and understand the narrator better and therefore relate to her story. I also think that the narrator may be white, because of the contrast in language between the characters and the narrators speech. The characters often use words such as "Ah", "de", " 'bout", and "dat", whereas the narrator uses more descriptive full words like "monstropolous" and "dialated" and "zest". This contrast really stands out to me and I think it is the authors way of differenciating the narrator from the characters in terms of education. I'm not trying to say that it is a bad thing, just that it is a different way of going about it, especially with the racial tensions of the time period.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Post #4
1) Meursault is the in The Stranger.
2) The part of the plot in 1984 when Winston gives in to Big Brother and submits to living a controlled life is the
.
3) and 4) "Words walking without masters; walking altogether like a harmony in a song." (Their Eyes Were Watching God, 2) In this sentence there is and a .
5) " 'What she doin' coming back here in dem overhalls?" (Hurston, 2) There is a clear example of the author's
.
Word Bank: personification, resolution, similie, protagonist, diction
2) The part of the plot in 1984 when Winston gives in to Big Brother and submits to living a controlled life is the
.
3) and 4) "Words walking without masters; walking altogether like a harmony in a song." (Their Eyes Were Watching God, 2) In this sentence there is and a .
5) " 'What she doin' coming back here in dem overhalls?" (Hurston, 2) There is a clear example of the author's
.
Word Bank: personification, resolution, similie, protagonist, diction
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Blog #3 - Assonance
Assonance
Assonance is one of my favorite things. I've spent a lot of time practicing a sentence that uses a lot of assonance because it is fun to say. Assonance is the repetition of certain consonant sounds like "oo" or "aa".
Ex. How much wOOd cOUld a wOOd chuck chuck if a wOOd chuck cOUld chuck wOOd? A wOOd chuck cOUld chuck as much wOOd as a wOOd chuck cOUld chuck if a wOOd chuck cOUld chuck wOOd.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Blog #1
1. Which of the three books did you enjoy the most and why?
I enjoyed 1984 the most. I liked it the best because I found the plot of the story very interesting. The story dragged me in because Winston Smith's never breaking desire to dissent against Big Brother constantly grabbed my attention. The book was extremely descriptive and that helped to keep me interested because things were constantly being talked about and I did not find any dull moments.
2. Which of the three books did you enjoy least and why?
I least enjoyed Their Eyes Were Watching God because the language in the novel was difficult for me to understand. It makes sense that the book was written that way because of the time period of the novel, and that dialect fits well with the characters, but I found the book hard to understand at some points due to the diction.
3. If you were to write an essay on the third novel what element or elements would you focus on in that essay and why do think they are important?
If I were to write an essay on The Stranger, I would focus on how Meursault changes throughout the novel. I would focus on his attitude toward certain people and things and how his views change by the end. Also, during the chapter on the murder it might be possible to compare the tone of that chapter with the tone of previous chapters to help explain Meursault's change.
Blog #2
Alliteration
The repetition of a consonant sound throughout a phrase. I have a lot of fun with Alliteration because it is really just fun to use and to find in readings. It can be a useful literary element for helping to create an image.
Ex. Sally Sells Seashells by the Sea Shore
This example uses the "S" sound to create an feeling of being near the ocean in the reader's mind. While not very obvious unless paid attention to, the repetition of "S" makes a sound like the ocean when read aloud. Alliteration is a good way to add feeling to a passage while being subtle.
Ex. Sally Sells Seashells by the Sea Shore
This example uses the "S" sound to create an feeling of being near the ocean in the reader's mind. While not very obvious unless paid attention to, the repetition of "S" makes a sound like the ocean when read aloud. Alliteration is a good way to add feeling to a passage while being subtle.
Ex. Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers.
 |
| Peter is piping while picking his peck of pickled peppers |
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