Blood Wedding Journal #1

Discussion on Literary Topics: Setting

The story takes pace on a countryside in the middle of nowhere. This adds to the theme of loneliness. It is clear that even though she is about to get married to the Bridegroom, the Bride clearly feels alone. She is not excited at all for her wedding, which is very strange for a bride to be feeling on her wedding day. She is very scared about making this decision to get married because it will last forever. It is said many times in the story how the house that they will be living in is away from everything and everyone. This adds to the anxiety felt by the bride. Everybody talks about this setting in a way that makes it seem like a very good thing. For example, the Wife is very jealous that she cannot afford to buy a similar property. The isolation that the setting represents is both metaphorical and literal in this story.

Comments

Ivan: Wild Duck Journal #2

I don't think it's strange that we can't see the characters' thoughts in this play. I think it adds to how Ibsen gives hints about the true situation but doesn't reveal it completely

Tate: Wild Duck Journal #3

I think this is a great representation of Hedvig's feelings. It captures her love for her family but at the same time the way it limits her.

Tanner: Wild Duck Journal #2

Good examples. Shows how the plays consist of constant "action" and an interesting plot.

The Wild Duck Journal #3

Comparison: "Although doubt is not a pleasant condition, certainty is an absurd one." In the light of this statement, explore the impressions of doubt and/or certainty conveyed in at least two works you have studied.

In Oedipus The King and The Wild Duck, it is clear that doubt leaves the main characters in a happier position than certainty does. This is because, according to the themes in these two plays, truth can only upset a situation that is running smoothly. For example, Oedipus enjoys life as king of Thebes. He loves his wife, his people, and his power. Once he searches and finds the truth about the murderer of Laius and his entire situation, he loses all three of these things. This shows how when he had lived in doubt, not knowing the truth about the situation allowed him to keep his throne and his happiness in tact, but once the truth comes out, his life takes a turn for the worse. One of the many themes of this story is that ignorance really is bliss. This is also shown through Hjalmar's situation. He is seemingly happy with his life, his wife, and his daughter. This is when he is living in the so-called doubt. He doesn't know about the possibility of his wife having their daughter with another man. He frequently says in the play that his daughter is the most important thing in his life, if he were to find out the truth about her, his life would be ruined. This shows that the quote mentioned above is conveyed and is consistent in these two plays.

The Wild Duck Journal #2

Discussion on Literary Topics: Links between two plays/ themes

Truth is clearly a very important theme in Oedipus The King and The Wild Duck, and the overall message in both of the plays are quite similar. The theme in both of the plays is that truth will bring unhappiness. Throughout the entire "investigation" of the truth by Oedipus, most other characters tell him to stop because the truth will hurt him. He decided not to take their advice, and sure enough, the truth ended up causing him great pain, implying that he would have been better off if he never would have found out what the truth really was. In The Wild Duck, this theme is shown when Gregers says "Just don't let her ever catch sight of the sea and the sky" when talking about the wild duck. This is because the duck is seemingly content with life in the attic, but if it were to find out what life could really be like (the truth about life), it would be very unhappy living in the attic knowing the kind of life that it could have. This reveals the theme of how truth causes unhappiness, and shows how this theme is consistent in both of these plays.

The Wild Duck Journal #1

Comparison: To what extent have you found it possible, in your consideration of literary works, to separate the individual from his or her public role? In you answer you should refer to any two or three works you have studied.

Based on the actions of Oedipus in Oedipus The King and those of Werle in The Wild Duck, it seems that it is very difficult for characters to separate the individual from his or her public role. This is shown through Oedipus because part of what drives his search for the truth is his image in his kingdom. He spoke very strongly about how important it was to find out who killed Laius. Even though he was told that it would bring him personal harm, he continued on searching in order to look powerful in the eyes of his people, this was his downfall. In The Wild Duck, Werle chooses to help Hjalmar, or at least makes it seem like he is helping him, but does so in a way that nobody finds out about it. This is because he doesn't want others to see him in a certain way. This is an attempt to separate his actions from his public role, but his public role certainly influences the way that he deals with personal events. It is clear that he cannot be separated from his public role when his son, Gregers, says "it just might occur that we never are alone." This shows that there will always be someone watching, so they must always act in a way that will satisfy their public role.

Oedipus The King Journal #3

Creative: Diary entry from any of the characters (Creon)

Today a witnessed the most despicable series of events that has taken place in Thebes. Oedipus, by not accepting the advice to leave the situation alone, found out that he was the murderer of his father, and the husband of his mother. The thought of revenge was constantly in Oedipus' head. He was upset with Tiresias and I for telling him the prophecy that Apollo had decreed, and he wished to exact revenge on us by finding out what he believed to be true; that we were plotting against him, that he was no murderer of kings and fathers. This thought of revenge and curiosity became his downfall, when he lost his wife, mother, pride, and sight. I suppose in a way, he's been blind for quite a while anyway. Still, after this revenge-filled mindset had brought extreme pain in his life, he wished to try again. He wished death upon the shepherd that saved his life as an infant. Imagine this, wanting the man that saved your life to be cursed or killed. Oedipus did not learn that revenge leads to nothing but pain, and he kept on trying for more. He fails to realize that revenge is synonymous with unhappiness. This is perhaps the greatest shame of all, the fact that he failed to learn from all of this. I am king now, I hope that I can lead these people justly, the gods know that they have been wronged in the past.

Creon

Oedipus The King Journal #2

Comparison: Readers are attracted to moments of intensity in a writer's work. By what means and with what effect have writers in your study offered heightened emotional moments designed to arrest the reader's attention?

A very intense scene in Oedipus The King occurs when Oedipus is questioning the old shepherd about the day that he found a baby while he was herding his flocks. This scene is very important because it is when the readers/ audience find out that Apollo's prophecy had come true, and that Laius and Jocasta are indeed his parents. The Shepherd is reluctant to share his memories with Oedipus, causing him to become anxious and angry, calling for an intense scene. In order to amplify the intensity of the scene, the writer makes each character's dialogue very short to create a sense of back and forth between them, creating a sense of urgency. He also includes threats within this dialogue which creates a sense of fear within the Shepherd, adding to the intensity of the scene. This use of short dialogue between two characters creates a heightened emotional moment for the reader. audience.

Oedipus The King Journal #1

Discussion on Literary Topics: Themes and Ideas

When Tiresias and Creon tell Oedipus the truth about what happened to Laius, Oedipus becomes extremely angry. This anger causes him to make wild accusations that have no reason behind them, and when Tiresias, Creon, and even the Chorus use reason to convince him to calm down, it is no use. This develops the idea of how anger can cause one to be irrational and impossible to reason with. When Creon is questioning whether or not Oedipus actually accused him of plotting against him, the Leader says "True, but a slur might have been forced out of him, by anger perhaps, not any firm conviction." (188) This shows how the words spoken by Oedipus were said out of an immediate angry response, before he knew what really happened. Once everyone else tried to convince him of how irrational he was being, reason had no place in the angry Oedipus, causing him to dig himself in an even deeper hole. When Creon asks Oedipus, "What if you're wholly wrong?" (195), Oedipus responds with, "No matter- I must rule." (195). This shows how reason will not convince Oedipus because he is blinded by his rage. He wants to kill Creon over something that clearly did not even happen. This theme is a timeless one that can be learned from forever. Because anger causes such irrational and borderline crazy actions from a person, one must step back from a situation that has upset them before making bad decisions that will come back to haunt them. In this story, this occurs when Oedipus is so sure that Tiresias and Creon are plotting against him, that when he concludes that it was in fact he who killed Laius, he must punish himself as harshly as he intended to punish Creon.

Brave New World Journal #3

Topic C

This book is a warning of society's focus on easy living and lack of struggle in life, the mindset we have of getting rid of anything unpleasant, as opposed to working through it. The mindset of happiness being linked with a lack of effort or critical thinking. The authors vision is very believable, of course it is an over-exaggeration of the idea, but still, it correctly demonstrates the dangers that lies with a lack of individuality and the neglect of the pleasures that lies in the struggles of life. The alternative that the author gives us is to rid ourselves of some modern day conveniences. He shows this through John; he can't handle the society because of it's lack of individuality and focus on stability rather than freedom, so he leaves to purify himself without any of their conveniences. This makes no sense to the citizens of the society because they are so stuck in their ways and have never considered another way of life; they are blinded. This is what the author is trying to tell us, that we are blinded, that we are caught up in the trend of easy life. This is why this book was written.

Brave New World Journal #2

Topic B

Bernard is the obvious character who is involved in a struggle against his society. Bernard is victimized by being treated the same as everyone else, but because he is "abnormal" by society's standards, this has a negative effect on him. Everyone else in the society is happy to be treated the same, but Bernard is not. He resists the lack of individuality in society by attempting to have a relationship in a different way than what it is supposed to. In this society, relationships are supposed to be strictly sexual, but Bernard wants a real relationship that includes emotions. This is not successful because he is the only one who wants this. He cannot break the conditioning of the rest of the citizens of this society. They are all trained so well that no matter what he says or does he cannot convince even one person (Lenina) to try his radical idea of a relationship. After behaving in a way that was socially abnormal, Bernard is reprimanded by a person of authority. Even though he is threatened to be excluded from the society, Bernard is happy because even thought it was negative, he was recognized as an individual for the first time in his life. "in the thought that he stood alone, embattled against the order of things; elated by the intoxicating consciousness of his individual significance and importance" (Huxley 66)

Brave New World Journal #1

Topic A

"'Think of water under pressure in a pipe.' They thought of it. 'I pierce it once,' said the Controller. 'What a jet!.'
He pierced it twenty times. There were twenty piddling little fountains. (...) Mother, monogamy, romance. High spurts the fountain; fierce and foamy the wild jet. The urge has but a single outlet. My love, my baby. No wonder these poor pre-moderns were mad and wicked and miserable. Their world didn't allow them to take things easily, didn't allow them to be sane, virtuous, happy. What with mothers and lovers, what with the prohibitions they were not conditioned to obey, what with the temptations and the lonely remorses, what with all the diseases and the endless isolating pain, what with the uncertainties and the poverty- they were forced to feel strongly. And feeling strongly (and strongly, what was more, in solitude, in hopelessly individual isolation), how could they be stable?" (Huxley 27)

This metaphor is a good representation of the mindset of this society. Emotion only leads to pain and misery. In the old society (similar to our current society), the single piercing in the pipe represents family life, how there was too much love and concern for each individual. In their eyes, this led to "mad and wicked and miserable" people. Strength in society lies with the lack of emotion. Towards the end of the passage, Huxley writes about how strong feelings leads to instability. In this society, instability is the worst possible thing on earth. Everything must be stable and efficient, and if anything is not, things go wrong. This is why all of the people in the society are conditioned exactly the way that the elite members want them to be, because this creates a stable society. Instability is feared more than anything else in this society, and instability is brought on by the presence of emotion. This is why all members of the society are taught to not become emotionally attached to other people, which is one of the reasons why Bernard is viewed as abnormal, because he feels emotions towards Lenina. This passage shows the society's main views on life.

The Stranger Journal #9 (Thesis Statement)

My thesis statement:
In The Stranger, Albert Camus creates a parallel between Mersault's emotions and his environment in order to show that one's world view is formed by inner thoughts and beliefs, that reality is created within one's self. This is done through the personification of natural elements and the diction used to describe his surroundings in a way that matches his emotions of tranquility, happiness, and anxiety.

The Stranger Journal #8

After reading The Stranger for the first time last summer, I did not enjoy it at all. I felt that there was only one simple message of indifference. But after re-reading the book and taking the time to analyze it, I actually really like some of the messages in it and I like Albert Camus' writing style.

This is one of the qualities in a novel like this that I think is important. The necessity to look deeper and take time to analyze a book before the messages become clear. This only makes the themes even more powerful for the reader because it feels as though he or she has thought of it themselves. The struggle to understand a book makes it worth reading. With that said, understanding a book should not be a painful struggle, but enough of one to stretch one's mind and force it to think in a new way; this is how authors change their readers. Not by telling them what life is or isn't, but making them figure it out on their own.

The Stranger Journal #7

Camus mirrors Mersault's emotions with a matching positive or negative environment to show that views of the world are formed by inner feelings, that reality exists within one's self.

"I went in. It was a very bright, whitewashed room with a skylight for a roof." (Camus 6) The brightness shows how overwhelmed with emotions he is. shows his confusion.

"The room was filled with beautiful late-afternoon sunlight. Two hornets were buzzing against the glass roof. I could feel myself getting sleepy." (Camus 7) As he is feeling sleepy and calm, the light is beautiful.

"It was pleasant; the coffee had warmed me up, and the smell of flowers on the night air was coming through the open door. I think I dozed off for a while." (Camus 9)

"She said, 'If you go slowly, you risk getting sunstroke. But if you go too fast, you work up a sweat and catch a chill inside the church.' She was right. There was no way out." (Camus 17) Shows the feeling of helplessness.

(first talking about how he doesn't like Sundays, relevant?) "It was a beautiful afternoon. Yet the pavement was wet and slippery, and what few people there were were in a hurry." (Camus 21) Shows his negative outlook on life. Even though its a nice day, he brings up the negative parts.

"The sky changed again. Above the rooftops the sky had taken on a reddish glow, and with evening coming on the streets came to life." (Camus 23)

"The house was quiet, and a breath of dark, dank air wafted up from deep in the stairwell. All I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears. I stood there. motionless. And in old Salamano's room, the dog whimpered softly." (Camus 33)

"The four o'clock sun wasn't too hot, but the water was warm, with slow, gently lapping waves." (Camus 34) The waves are gentle because he is happy when he is with Marie, but later, the waves are violent because he is so anxious.

"There was the same dazzling red glare. The sea gasped for air with each shallow, stifled little wave that broke on the sand." (Camus 57)

"The blazing sand looked red to me now. We moved steadily toward the Arabs." (Camus 53) As the situation becomes more intense, the sand gets even hotter. Shows his anxiety.

"But most of the time, he was just a form shimmering before my eyes in the fiery air. The sound of the waves was even lazier, more drawn out than at noon. It was the same sun, the same light still shining on the same sand as before." (Camus 58)

"He was looking all over the place, turning around, peering into the darkness of the entryway, muttering incoherently, and then he started searching the street again with his little red eyes." (Camus 38) The entryway is so dark to represent Salamano's loneliness without his dog after he loses him.

"Referring to Marie, he said, 'She's stunning, and I'd even say charming.' After that I didn't pay any more attention to this mannerism of his, because I was absorbed by the feeling that the sun was doing me a lot of good." (Camus 50) Because he is happy because of Marie, the sun is a positive thing.

"The whole time there was nothing but the sun and the silence, with the low gurgling from the spring and the three notes." (Camus 55)

"The sun was the same as it had been the day I'd buried Maman, and like then, my forehead especially was hurting me, all the veins in it throbbing under the skin. It was this burning, which I couldn't stand anymore, that made me move forward." (Camus 59) Matches the emotional strain of that day, explains why he does this violent act.

"And yet something had changed, since it was back to my cell that I went to wait for the next day... as if familiar paths traced in summer skies could lead as easily to prison as to the sleep of the innocent." (Camus 97)

The Stranger Journal #6

1. How is the sun related to Mersault's mood or state of mind?
2. Why does Albert Camus use such short and choppy sentences? What effect does this have on the story?
3. In what ways does Albert Camus relate the life of Mersault to that of Sisyphus in his essay? Does this have significance for a theme?
4. Why does Albert Camus use words that suggest a routine when describing the events in the book?
5. Why does Albert Camus keep Mersault from showing emotion? Is it because he doesn't care, or can he not deal with the stress of emotional  situations?

Tanner B.

4. Camus creates a character that does not react to changes in life in order to reflect his world view of absurdism, specifically that looking for answers to life will leave one unhappy.

Megan D.

2. Camus creates a character that is irritated when others show emotion in order to show his own inability to show emotion himself

Isabel H.

5. Camus makes Mersault accept the legal system because it reflects his own belief about life; the idea that searching for answers in a complex world will leave one unhappy, rather than just accepting life for what it is and not stress about understanding it, which will provide happiness.

Tate B.

1. Camus only describes weekends because he believes that during the week, everything is the same, the routine of one weekday is identical to another, while during weekends, one is not bound to a strict routine.

Shannon G.

2. Camus uses the strong relationship between Salamano and his dog to show Mersault's inability to have a relationship that requires him to show emotion.

The Stranger Journal #5

Camus made his book into two parts in order to show the change in Mersault's difference in perspective on life. In the beginning of the first part of the book, when he was not interested in something, or felt that anything he was doing was unnecessary, he would satisfy his immediate wants by ending whatever he was not interested in. When the funeral director was speaking to him, Mersault decided to tune him out because he no longer wished to listen, whether this be because he didn't care or he could not handle the emotional stress of the situation. "The director spoke to me again. But I wasn't really listening anymore." (Camus, 5) In the second part of the book, it is clear that Mersault has matured in the sense that even if he wants to end something that wasn't pleasant for him, instead of ignoring it and forgetting about it, he sticks with and completes his task or even his thoughts. During Mersault's visit with Marie, he was eager to leave, but makes a mature decision to stay. "I was feeling a little sick and I'd have like to leave. The noise was getting painful. But on the other hand, I wanted to make the most of Marie's being there." (Camus, 75) This also shows how Mersault starts to use emotion when making decisions, as opposed to only logic. The reason that the book is split into two parts is to highlight the difference in Mersault's personality and view of life.

The Stranger Journal #4

When Camus refers to Mersault's facial expression as a "funeral face", is this foreshadowing for the upcoming event?
Is the sun a representation of Mersault's mood? When he is with Marie and his friends and he is happy and says that the sun is a positive thing: "I was absorbed by the feeling that the sun was doing me a lot of good" (Camus 50)
Why are the men always referred to as "the arabs"? Is there a reason why they are never "the men" or anything else like that?
Why did Mersault take the responsibility of holding the gun? Maybe he was trying to protect Raymond from making a bad decision with it?
I understand that the sun is a parallel of some sort for Mersault, but why is it in almost every sentence in the climatic portion of this chapter?
Is the sea metaphor another symbol that represents the anxiety of Mersault? "The sea gasped for air with each shallow, stifled little wave that broke on the sand." (Camus 57)

The Stranger Journal #3

Responsibilism
1. Finding happiness is the responsibility of the individual
2. God exists, but He will not solve your problems, but will point you in the right direction so you can solve them yourself
3. Destiny is created by the individual, the only fate is what we decide for ourselves
4. One must do everything in his or her power to find happiness, but not at the expense of others
5. Immediate satisfaction is not as important as long-term satisfaction; live hard now so you can live good later
6. In addition of reaping the benefits of the task, hard work can bring happiness just from the satisfaction of working hard and taking pride in your work and accomplishments
7. No matter what situation you are in, you have the ability to advance yourself in life
8. You are accountable for what happens in life; bad things will happen to you whether it is fair or unfair, but it is up to you to deal with it and move past it.

I thought of this philosophy because my parents have always stressed the lesson that you must do things for yourself in life, because nobody else will do anything for you. I didn't just write this up randomly for an English assignment, I believe in this philosophy.

The Stranger Journal #2

I think that Matthew Ward's translation of the book has the most literary value because I feel that it mirrors the story closer to Camus' original story. In the other book, the author clearly adapted the book to have more of an American feel to it, doing things like changing the metric system to the standard system. While this may help American readers connect to the story, I think that changing the story to fit a group of readers (no matter how small the changes are) defeats the purpose of writing a book like this. The readers should change their own views in order to connect to the story. Having originated in another place and language, I think that this book is a particularly good challenge for readers.

A good translation for the title is "unconnected". This is because throughout the book, Mersault keeps himself distanced from anything emotional (maybe he does this because he cannot handle the emotional strain of being involved in significant events). He does this in many ways, one of which is word choice towards emotional events. When he is talking about his late mother being taken out of the home, he talks about "the casket coming through the gate" (Camus 14) as opposed to using words that suggests a strong connection with his mother; he makes her a material object.

The Stranger Journal #1

My plan for tabbing The Stranger is focusing more on the techniques that the author uses. While reading Their Eyes Were Watching God, I focused only on tabbing the themes and motifs of the book. This was helpful, but it was hard to go back and look for specific examples of the techniques that Hurston uses. Although I will still tab the motifs and themes in The Stranger, I will also tab the techniques used. Knowing where specific examples of writing techniques will help for the writing of the analysis of the book. I will keep track of the time motif, and really pay attention to setting and dialogue.

Journal #10

Despite society's expectations for the role of women in a relationship, it is not necessary for women to conform to these unspoken rules.

I will then go on to explain Janie's transformation from the stereotypical woman in an unbalanced relationship to a woman with power in her relationship.

"'If you don't want him, you sho oughta. Heah you is wid the onliest organ in town, amongst colored folks, in yo' parlor. Got a house bought and paid for and sixty acres uh land right on de big road...'" (pg. 41) The expectation that women should marry for security as opposed to love.

"Jaine's first dream was dead, so she became a woman." (pg. 44) Shows that society marks womanhood by making compromises and giving up dreams.

"'Thank yuh fuh yo' complements, but mah wife don't know nothin' 'bout no speech-making'. Ah never married her for nothin' lak dat. She's uh woman and her place is in de home.'" (pg. 69) Society's expectations for women.

"'Somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows. I god, they sho don't think none theirselves.'" (pg. 110) Shows the mindset towards women.

"'It's too late fuh y'all tuh be splittin' up and gittin' divorced. Just g'wan back home and set down on yo' royal diasticutis and say nothin'.'" (pg 127) An example of society's expectations.

"Then she starched and ironed her face, forming it into just what people wanted to see..." (pg. 135) An example of Janie being what everybody else wanted her to be.

"'Uh woman be herself is uh pitiful thing', she was told over and again. 'Dey needs aid and assistance. God never meant 'em tuh try tuh stand by theirselves. You ain't been used tuh knockin' round and doin' fuh yo'self, Mis' Starks. You been well taken keer of, you needs uh man.'" (pg. 139) Shows the mindset towards women.

"He set it up and began to show her and she found herself glowing inside. Somebody wanted her to play. Somebody thought it natural for her to play." (pg. 146) This is the first time she ever got to play what society considered a "man's game".

"It was so crazy digging worms by lamp light and setting out for Lake Sabelia after midnight that she felt like a child breaking rules. That's what made Janie like it." (pg. 155) This is the first time Janie had the power over herself to do what she wanted, this is why she found breaking society's rules so pleasurable.

Journal #9

As Jake watched the two men on the basketball court, he felt the urge to join. He felt lonely on his island; the world they were in was nothing like his. They were in battle; losing was not an option. He was just sitting without the thrill of this fight. Jake could do better than these guys, he knew it. Nobody had ever asked him to play, but he knew that he was a man among children when it came to this game. He enjoyed the beauty of the game, the grace and brute force all rolled into one arena. He was very eager to play, but Patience suggested he wait. Who was He to tell him when he can do what he wants to do? Jake had no desire to obey Him, but he did out of habit. Soon after, the game ended, and new warriors were invited to join. Jake rose to his feet, stepped onto the court, and a new battle began.

1. I used the metaphor of the basketball game being battle in order to show the intensity and passion that is involved in the game between the two men.

2. I personified patience to make it seem that Jake, while not in the game at that time, was fighting his own fight. Making patience a tangible figure gives a visual of the dilemma that Jake was facing.

3. The word choice (diction) that was used helped form the battle metaphor. Instead of only saying players, I called them warriors to show how important this game was to these people.

Journal #8

One technique Hurston uses in these two chapters is personification. She personifies doubt in a similar way that she did for death. "In the cool of the afternoon the fiend from hell specially sent to lovers arrived at Janie's ear. Doubt." (pg. 163) She does this to help explain the internal conflict that Janie is experiencing at this point in the story.

She also continues her motif of power, but it is transforming into more of a mutual power between Janie and a man (Tea Cake). When Hurston describes the relationship between these two she mentions "All those signs of possession" (pg. 166) in order to show the power that both of them had. It shows how they both belong to each other, thus giving both of them power in the relationship. This is the first time that Janie holds any power at all over a man.

She also uses the metaphor of a tree to show the promise of the relationship between Janie and Tea Cake. "He could be a bee to a blossom- a pear tree blossom in the spring." (pg. 161) She used a tree in the spring as a parallel to Tea Cake's personality in order to show his excitement and beauty in Janie's eyes. Like a tree in the spring, their relationship had promise to become very successful.

Journal #7

So Billy couldn't help but consider Failure. Failure, the taunting being that is always present in every action we take. He resides wherever we do, just waiting. Failure has no place to go, no place to stay. He follows us, begging for some company. He waits for a moment of weakness, even the slightest slip up, and takes advantage of the little window of opportunity he is provided. He succeeds when we cannot. Billy feared Failure more than any other being. Billy always thought that Failure would never find him, but there He was, standing by him as clear as day. Alone, Billy fought. Nobody could help him with this. No amount of expertise or experience could help him; this was his fight. Billy had to stay focused, no mistakes. He could do this! But the problem was, Billy had never stood so close to Him. He heard the stories; all the times He had won, but never considered sharing this fate. People gathered to watch as Billy struggled through, not sure what to think, but enjoying the show nonetheless. What gave them the right to do this? It didn't matter; they were there, waiting on the behalf of Failure, ready to join Him in his torture.

In order to replicate Hurston's style, I personified my word, Failure, throughout the pastiche. I capitalized words like He in order to show that Failure was personified.

Journal #6

In this passage, death is personified.  Hurston personifies death in order to give the readers a picture of death based on what it does. Also, she does this to show the control that death has; she refers to it as "The great one" (pg. 129).

Towards the end of the passage, the people of the town "squatted under the trees and waited" (pg. 130). This is another example of the tree motif. Throughout the book, trees have been used as a representation of the emotions being felt by the characters. When Janie was feeling unimportant, she "watched the shadow of herself" (pg. 119) working, but she really wasn't doing anything. To show this feeling, she was sitting under a shady tree. When Joe and Janie had just arrived at the town, everybody was very exited to see the town be built. When the supplies were brought in, the were "piled under the big live oak tree" (pg. 65). The tree was big and live because it represented the excitement of the people and the promise of a prospering town.

In the last sentence, a wingless bird is used as a symbol for rumor. This is because a wingless bird can not fly or do anything that a bird should do; it's useless. This is like a rumor because rumors mean absolutely nothing, even though they are taken seriously frequently in this book.

Journal #5

Zora Neal Hurston uses the motif of judgment throughout her book in order to show how the expectations of others impacts the lives of those being judged.

Journal #4

FYI, my copy of the book is different from most of the books so my page numbers are different.

One pattern throughout the book so far is the flower dust motif. It represents happiness for Janie. It first appeared when she was lying under the tree when she saw the bee with the flower (pg. 24). The flower dust is mentioned again when Janie leaves with Joe. She is extremely happy at this point and expecting "to have flower dust and springtime sprinkled over everything" for the rest of her life (pg. 54). After Joe hits Janie for the first time, it was said that she no longer have "dusting pollen over her man" (pg. 112). In this instance, the lack of dust represents unhappiness.

Judgment is another motif in this book. Someone is constantly talking about someone else. For example, in the beginning of the book when Janie returns and is talking to Pheoby. Pheoby explains how judgment is always present in the world, "So long as they get a name to gnaw on they don't care whose it is, and what about, 'specially if they can make it sound like evil." (pg. 17) Another example of someone being judged is when Matt Bonner is made fun of for his mule (pg. 82). This is done as a form of entertainment for the men on the porch, but it is always done at the expense of someone else.

Another pattern is color. White is portrayed as a beautiful or powerful color. This has a particularly large impact on the story because of the time period and the area in which it takes place. For example, when Joe had his house built, he had it painted  "a gloaty, sparkly white". He painted his house this way in order to show is authority in the town; it worked. Everyone else in the town felt that his house was the center of the town, and the color made this an even stronger idea. Another example of white being portrayed as a "good" color is when the men on the porch are trying to impress the women walking by. When a woman named Daisy is walking by, she is wearing white clothes. She has "big black eyes with plenty shiny white in them" and her hair has "a kind of white flavor" (pg. 106). This woman is thought of as beautiful, and almost every description of her included the color white. This shows how white is used to put a positive outlook on what it is being used to describe.

Journal #3

The Harlem Renaissance figure that I researched is Duke Ellington. He was a very well known musician at this time. His music appealed to both black and white listeners, which helped provide them with common ground. He wrote many songs and touched many people with his music.

I chose to do an east coast dialect because I am originally from New Jersey and I am accustomed to the dialect.
Pronunciation
-er endings go to -ah (ex: paper = papah)
Words tend to be fused into one (ex: five dollars = fi-dallahs)
er in the middle of words sounds like oye (ex: New Jersey = New Joisy)
beautiful is pronounced as beauty-ful
Vocabulary
Managutz = an Italian pasta dish
Gravy = tomato sauce
Gubalini = hat
Grammar
singular and plural get mixed up with words like don't or doesn't (ex: he don't like that)
some words are left out (ex: why did you do that? = why you do that?)
the word "eh" is added to the end of a question, used similarly as huh (ex: how are you today eh?)

Just to reinforce the stereotypical name for someone on the east coast, my character is named Vince.

As Vince walked down the street, he heard amazing music that he had never heard before being played very well by a man.
"That music is beautyful," said Vinny, "I'm Vince, got a name?"
The man took a break from playing and looked up.
"My name is Duke, Duke Ellington", he said.
Impressed and intrigued by this new music, Vinny couldn't contain his excitement.
"What do you call that music eh? Never heard it before", he said.
Pleased to enlighten his new fan, Duke said with a smile on his face, "Well, I hate to describe an entire type of music with one word, but it's known an jazz"
"Jazz eh? How come I never heard it before?", said Vince.
"Its just startin' up now, but it's gonna be big, believe me", Duke said with some excitement of his own.
"If it all sounds somethin like what you'se was just playin, you bettah believe I'll be listenin to it", said Vince.

Journal #2

"Through pollinated air she saw a glorious being coming up the road. In her former blindness she had known him as shiftless Johnny Taylor, tall and lean. That was before the golden dust of pollen had beglamored his rags and her eyes" (Hurston, 25)

This paragraph is about perspective. Before her experience with the bee and the pear tree, Janie viewed this boy as "shiftless". He wasnt anything special. But after the pear tree, she sees him as a "glorious being". The recurring idea of judgment and its impact on life is present here. The symbol of pollen being present is mentioned twice in this paragraph because the pollen represents enlightenment in the sense that her eyes were opened to a new perspective by the pollen from the tree. The scene is set with the phrase "through the pollinated air". Her change in perspective is marked by the "golden dust of pollen" that "beglamored his rags and her eyes", it made her see past his exterior. She refers to her perspective before the pollen as blindness, because she had never considered life in this new way. This short paragraph shows the importance of considering more than one point of view. Once Janie started doing this, she was able to enjoy the company of Johnny without the limitation of her previous judgments of him.

Journal #1

If I were to tell a story of my own that is similar to that of Janie, I would tell it to a close friend. This is because a friend is the most likely person to understand what I would be trying to say and see it from my point of view. I feel that if this story was to be told to a family member, they would be very judgmental and not be able to understand the situation, even though family members are the closest people in my life. At the same time, close friends are also very influential and have opinions that I respect and value. Since I feel that they can see from my point of view, their opinions would have even more meaning to me.

I would tell this story starting with what I learned from it, a theme or moral. This gives the story a structure from the beginning and can help justify or explain the actions that were taken. If the listener can know what the end meaning or goal of the story is, they can better understand everything that happens on the way to finding it. For example, after reading Their Eyes Were Watching God all the way through and then revisiting it, knowing some of the desired themes have helped explain just the first page. This is why I would start the story with a theme.