Journal #8

1. Zora Neale Hurston was deliberate in choosing the title of her novel. Their Eyes Were Watching God is important for two major reasons. Firstly, the word 'watching' is significant. Over the course of the novel, she has used motifs of watching, eyes and porches. These all convey a theme that the African-Americans were achieving power when they were not working by judging others. Secondly, the word God is important. The relationship between people and God has been repeated many times over the course of the novel. By putting that in the title, it shows that it was intentional and important. She comes out and says it, not alluding to it in any way, which further shows the obvious importance.

2. An optional title for Zora Neale Hurston's novel could be Noah's Cruise. This would alter the reading and focus of the story, but it would keep some similarities. There would still be a biblical reference with Noah's ark. Animals and anthropomorphism are used in the book extensively. This would amplify the significane of those techniques more than the other title. Also, it could take a cynical approach to God, that has been included in the text.

3. The title of my pastiche is "Under Foot." I used this because it has multiple connotations. In my pastiche, I use a motif of running, and also tell of how the rug was pulled out from under Tea Cake. There is an American idiom of being under someone's feet. This means that you are annoying to that person. I manipulate this a little by seeing it as an adversity. Adversities, connect to the theme of my story which is that the way people react to events define them.

Post #7

1. "So the beginning of this was a woman and she had come back from burying the dead"(Hurston 1).

Hurston messes with the chronology. The first page of this book did not start when Janie was born. It was not in the same order as time passed. This technique is an effective hook. However, that is not the only reason Hurston uses it. By having an event come first in a story, and then going back and explaining in more depth the details of it, the event becomes less important. The details carry more significance. In Eyes this helps connect with the townspeople and all the talking and spreading of rumors that they do.

2. "When the people sat around the porch and passed around the pictures of their thoughts"(Hurston 51).

Alliteration is used in this passage. In specific, the ‘puh’ sound is repeated. This is more of a hard sound than a soft sound. Alliteration affects the mood or atmosphere of a passage significantly. With this application, it mimics the sound of chatting and gossiping. It is done in a way that is low and quiet enough as to not draw attention. This further characterizes the people on the porch.

3. “Louder and higher and lower and wider the sound and motion spread, mounting, sinking, darking”(Hurston 158).

The use of parallel structure in Hurston's novel is very important. This is a common literary technique for her. She uses ideas that are similar, but they add depth. If this technique were not to be used, it would describe the situation, character, or scene in a bland manner. The repetitions add emphasis, so when Hurston uses parallel structure, the reader knows that whatever she is describing is important and the reader should focus more on that. 

#6- Revisions

The primary focus of my revisions was to improve my theme. I did this by changing the first and last parts of the pastiche in which there is narration. My editing these two areas, the theme became clearer. I chose to make these revisions because of the comments that were given by my peer, and by re-reading what I had written. I received good constructive criticism from the reviewal process, that told me to improve and develop the theme. This was backed up by reading through my pastiche and seeing that the theme was not apparent. Also, I deleted and added sections. The deletions helped improve the flow and effectiveness of the work, while the additions developed and supported. These revisions helped improve the pastiche, but it is not yet to a place where I am comfortable with it. I think that revising more will be necessary.

Journal #5- Pastiche

Based off of page 84
And Tea Cake started to think of Regret. Regret, the constant figure with slick skin and slept near your best thoughts. The cunning character inhabits the immense plain like a plateau without grass, and without trees. What does a shroud do for Regret; what can see her? She sits in her field that the world is built on. Sits silent and attentive ready to strike at any moment ready for the signal to be called. Had been sitting there as a who, a why and a how were created. He was bound to find a bite mark before long. Also he became lost and stunned. Innocent Janie! She shan't be given what she has worked to earn. He sent Phoeby in to figure out how she felt, but Janie  wudn't talk. Them gamblin' games were fine with the quick and inconsiderate, but they wuzn' meant for the ones with a knack. She'd be well when the charade wuz over, and her man would stop teasin her. Those were her thoughts. Phoeby, however, told her different, so it became known. Even if she hadn't, the following afternoon, a gathering was happening at the stairs to the store. Those who had not thought to buy a cigar or a deck of cards before were there. Just stood around below the steps and looked watchfully. Change, the apparent and noticeable dog found a step to lie on.


Hurston on page 84 gives imagery to Death. Specifically, the way she describes where death lives uses visual images. In the third line when talking about where Death resides, as she establishes the image, she also breaks it down by removing the key parts one would associate with the image. Similarly, I used visual elements that showed the core and primary element of where Regret lived. Also, Hurston choses Rumor to contrast with Death. These two aren't polar opposites like light and dark, but they do have a connection. This connection may be understated. I also chose to contrast two ideas that may not have obviously been seen as opposite.

Eyes #4

Examples of Hurston's awareness and manipulation of language:

Syntax: "'Nobody in heah ain't lookin' for no wife outa yuh. Old as you is'"(79).

Word Choice: "He had always been scornful of root-doctors and all their kind, but now she saw a faker from over around Altamonte Springs, hanging around the place almost daily"(82).


Contemptible tone towards Joe: "His prosperous-looking belly that used to thrust out so pugnaciously and intimidate folks, sagged like a load suspended from his loins. [...] There was nothing to do in life anymore. [...] So he struck Janie with all his might and drove her from the store"(76,80).

Sound Devices: (Alliteration)"He gave a deep-growling sound like a hog dying down in the swamp and trying to drive off disturbance"(85).

Eyes #3

Stylistic devices that Zora Neale Hurston uses:

1. "So when speakers stood up when the occasion demanded and said 'Our beloved Mayor,' it was one of those statements that everybody says but nobody actually believes like 'God is everywhere.' It was just a handle to wind up the tongue with."(48). Metaphor
2. "New lies sprung up about his free-mule doings. How he pushed open Lindsay's kitchen door and slept in the place on night and fought until the made coffee for his breakfast; how he stuck his head in the Pearson's window while the family was at the table and Mrs. Pearson mistook him for the Rev. Pearson and handed him a plate; he ran Mrs. Tully off of the croquet ground for having such an ugly shape he ran and caught up with Becky Anderson one the way to Maitland so as to keep his head out of the sun under her umbrella; he got tired of listening to Redmond's long-winded prayer, and went inside the Baptist church and broke up the meeting. He did everything but let himself be bridled and visit Matt Bonner"(59). Anthropomorphism.
3. "'What killed this man?' The chorus answered, 'Bare, bare fat.' 'What killed this man?' 'Bare, bare fat.' 'What killed this man?' 'Bare, bare fat'"(62). Repetition and Parallelism. 
4. "Here he was just pouring honor all over her' building a high chair for her to sit in and overlook the world...Maybe Sam would be sitting on the porch..."(62,63).  Motif
5. "They have got that fresh, new taste about them like young mustard greens in the spring, and the young men on the porch are just bound to tell them about it and buy them some treats"(67). Imagery, specifically gustatory. 

1) Anthropomorphism as highlighted in this passage is a key device used my Hurston. By giving the mule human characteristics, it in a way becomes a character. Furthermore, the character is used by Hurston to prove a point. In previous discussions, we have seen that the mule can represent a worker. When this worker was free, much like the slaves being freed, many people wondered what he would do. This new chance connects to the issue of slavery and provides a good comparison for the reader.

2) This imagery connects to a motif of the novel: food. In this specific case, mustard greens are part of a Southern cooking known as soul food. This comforting food is made of simple ingredients, but many times with recipes that have been passed down through the generations. This is a big part of the Southern culture. Hurston's knowledge of the culture makes the book seem more realistic. Food connects in this novel by contributing to the mood. 

Eyes #2

Rules of the dialect (my own creation):
First character:

1. Any words that are emphasized will be typed in all capital letters.
2. All statements made will end in two exclamation points.
3. The last letter of the word that ends a sentence will be repeated. (Mom, that's not fairr)

Rules for the second character:

1. All people will be addressed as Trevor.
2. All longer statements will end with '...t.'
3. The first word in a sentence will not be capitalized.
4. No commas will be used.
5. Any time possible, a contraction will be used. (He'll do it always)
6. The words your, you're will be incorrectly used. Also there, their and they're will be incorrectly used.

Pastiche style writing (pg.14)

The vision of Jeremy Rodgers devouring the burger, but Marvin didn't know how to tell his friend that. He instead just gazed at his blank cell phone screen.

"trevor."

"That is not my namee!!"

"you looked at me when I'm talking. he will be you're friend forever. and besides you had you're chance...t."

He threw a pillow at his face violently, and stared at his friend until their eyes met. With his arm raised for another projectile to be launched, he saw the huge amount of saliva that was collecting in the corner of Marvin's mouth. He went over and gave his friend a bro-hug. 

"get over here man. hug me like you used to. the bigger brother is you're ruler and always will be. their will be a time when that could change. he saw it they're and took it for himself. i've been praying that you'd get the respect you've deserved. dang dang dang..t."

For a good twenty minutes, the friends embraced in an intense bro-hug. Marvin dangled one arm over the shoulder of his friend, and it fell asleep. His friend nearly fell asleep standing against the body of the young boy.

TEWWG #1

Interestingly, Janie is the focus of the gossip of the neighbors. This is done even before the author describes her. There is a definite choice that the author made by using one characterization before another. What the people on the porch said was pretty harsh, "'She's 'way too old for a boy like Tea Cake'"(3). When Janie explains the situation, she has an easy answer. "'Yeah Pheoby, 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 where Ah was at.'"(7). She seems to me as misunderstood. Also, with Phoeby, she seems to be in the right, explaining her situation. Also, she understands what is going on. "'If they wants to see and know, why the don't come kiss and be kissed? Ah could then sit down and tell 'em things. Ah been a delegate to de big 'ssociation of life. Yessuh!'"(6). In short, she is saying, 'if they asked me what was going on in my life, I would be happy to tell them.'

The narrator is harder to figure out. From the first two paragraphs, the narrator separates men from women. There is more sympathy or understanding for the women.  This separation comes up again on page 2 when the neighbors on the porches perceive Janie. The men basically look her up, while the women commit to memory that she wore overalls, as to use it as a weapon against her later on. The narrator also has intimate knowledge of the friendship between Phoeby and Janie. "...Phoeby Watson didn't go in by the front gate and down the palm walk to the front door. She walked around the fence corner and went in the intimate gate with her heaping plate of mulatto rice. Janie must be round that side"(4). It seems that the narrator is a common friend of the two. These pieces of evidence make me believe that the narrator is a female.

Post #4

1. "The sea gasped for air with each shallow, stifled little wave that broke on the sand"(Camus, The Stranger 57). 
2. "...The blood-red earth spilling over Maman's casket, the white flesh of the roots mixed in with it..."(Camus, 18). 
3. The Odyssey a(n) _________.
4. As a whole, 1984 has a foreboding _______. 
5. "I never knew him. Maybe the only thing I did know about the man was the story Maman would tell me back then: he'd gone to watch a murder be executed"(Camus, 110). Differences in ___________. 

Post #3- Assonance

Assonance is defined by Webster's dictionary as the repetition of vowels without repetition of as consonants. Assonance is very similar to alliteration, but with using vowels rather than consonant sounds. Note that the letters do not have to be the same, but it is the sound that they make that is important. For example, brawn and gone. Just like alliteration, assonance is used to signify importance, especially in poems and prose.

From Their Eyes Were Watching God when the buzzards are talking to each other, "'What killed this man?'
The chorus answered, 'Bare, bare fat.'"

"Dead in the middle of Italy, little did we know that we riddled some middleman who didn't do diddily"- Big Pun, "Twinz"from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assonance

"on a proud round cloud in white high night" - E.E. Cummings from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assonance

Post #2 - Alliteration

An alliteration is a type of figurative language where the first sound of words near each other in a sentence. This is commonly used in poems. Alliterations can be used to signifying importance. Also, when alliterations are used, the section is more easily remembered.

An example of alliteration:
Barry the bee buzzed bodaciously!

Post #1

1) Of the three, the book that I enjoyed reading the most was Their Eyes Were Watching God. Although the dialect was difficult to comprehend initially, it was also the main reason why I enjoyed the novel. It was so unique and strange that it kept my interest. It also painted a good picture and showed, and didn't tell. The plot was not amazing, but was decent. Janie's progression went slowly from childhood to when she met the white man. However, after she met Jody and they started a new life, it was less cliche. With the introduction of Tea Cake, I was entertained. He was a relatable character, with a flaw shown early by stealing Janie's savings, but a second chance was granted.
2) 1984 was hard to get through for me. The setting was established well, but I still was not intrigued. The book had many detailed thoughts, but in my mind's eye, it was hard to connect to them. The totalitarian government was portrayed well, and might be what a modern day Soviet Union could look like. Although the author did a nice job intertwining some realistic elements with those that were absurd. Both Julia and O'Brien were mysterious, and initially they were very similar characters. When doublethink came up, I started using metacognition. I was disappointed that the novel ended in an anti-climactic fashion.
3) The Stranger was not my favorite, but also not terrible. It was rather dry, but in that sense it was also intriguing. Meursault's lack of emotions and general willingness to do things is appalling. He is such an individual, but in an way that is hard to relate to. I would focus on the characters. In what ways do the characters interact? What are the roles of the secondary characters (foil, mentor, etc.)? How do the characters change?