I am really enjoying "Their Eyes Were Watching God" I have already read Monday and Wednesday reading. Janie is a relate able character, she is a strong woman. If I wanted something to read I would not have picked this book myself and I am always a little scared by assigned reading because they are "the classic" and tend to be boring, but this is very good. The language is difficult, but once I read for a few chapters I started getting to the point that I reading it fluency. I was wondering how much of "Their Eyes Were Watching God" is true or based on things that happened in her life. I did read the information in our text about her and see that her father was the mayor of Eatonville. So maybe Jody/Joe was based on her father and Janie is loosely based on her mother. You can defiantly tell that Zora lived in Eatonville she describes the people and the town so well.
Janie seems unhappy with Joe because he is controlling, but she stays with him. I didn't understand why, seeing that she left her first husband so willingly. Another thing I didn't understand was why she could just leave her first husband and marry another without a divorce! Why is that?? Doesn't that make her marriage with Jody null and void?? That confused me. Jody was not a like able character. I just didn't like him, he seems like a smooth talker who gets what ever he wants. Janie is a good example of this he got her to run off with him, considered her a trophy wife and then in the end she was just a way to look like a man. At the end of his life he doesn't even trust her and wont take food from her and wont even allow her in his bedroom. He is just a mean power hungry man and I think he got what he deserved in the end.
I thought it was kind of interesting that the chapters talking about Eatonville where focused on the men of the town and more specifically Jody. It demonstrates Janie and the rest of the women's influence on the town. They are unimportant. I felt that Janie was pushed too far into the background at times, but I guess in shows who Janie was in relationship to Jody and the men towns folk. As for the women other then Janie they are literally no existent except the occasionally conversation between Janie and Pheoby.
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"Be who you are and say what you want, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
-Dr.Seuss
7 comments:
I agree with what you said about how Hurston is more focused on the men in the town, and that jainie seems to not hold as much connection with jody as they put on. i think that a lot of this is because she is a product of her generation, and society. while she is really independent and a forward thinker, she still is greatly influenced by others around her. i think the reason she stays with jody is due to social pressure, and because there isnt anywhere for her to go. she even says at one point when she realizes how miserable she is with him, there is no where for her to go, and she wouldnt even know where to start. I also think she focus more on the men in the town because there a destinct gender roles in this town, where men run it and initiate, and women tend to thier needs, and just are.
It is interesting what you said about the character of Joe possibly being based on Hurston’s father. I think that the similarities between this story and her life, such as the setting, she and Janie both not always knowing they were black, and now what you are saying about Joe and Hurston’s dad, give her story and the perspectives expressed added credibility than if this story was purely fictional.
I think that Janie stays with Joe for a few reasons. She is far, now, from any friends or relatives who could help her to escape from Joe. The only people she knows now she knows through Joe and, as he leads the town, it is unlikely they would undermine his authority. Also, she does voice to him how she is lonely in their current arrangement, and although he dismisses her, perhaps she is hopeful that the situation will get better. Janie does not have much experience with males and in her naiveté does not know what to expect. This is shown through her surprise each time Joe does something to her displeasing, such as deny her the chance to speak publicly at his acceptance of the position of mayor.
It is interesting how this story is very relatable to real life. The different relationships that she is involved in shows how much her life changed from them. I like Hurston's writing and she is easy to read adn to think about all the different things that she touches on in the lives of her characters like Janie.
I was also wondering how she could go get married again without getting a divorce. This part of the story is odd because so much changed so quickly. She barely knew this man she was running off to marry, and Logan was now completely out of the picture. I thought possibly this was done to show the resentment Janie had for her grandmother. Logan was becoming less and less the man that Janie wanted to be with, but still it didn’t explain to me why she would just run off with a man that she hardly knew. He was impressive in the manor that he was able to present himself, and maybe that it was what swept Janie away. I guess the best way to think of this situation was it was perfect timing for her to move on with her life.
I also enjoy reading this book because it's very interesting, and it makes me want to keep reading to find out what Janie is going to do next. It already sounds like she's starting to get tired of being married to the mayor of the town, but I'm still glad she married him because he took her away from her first husband who she didn't love at all. If I was her, I would never marry someone because I was told to. I do understand why the grandmother wanted her to marry out of love though, she wanted to make sure she was taken care of and protected. The grandmother knew that Janie would be all by herself once she had passed.
Yeah I don't get that either why she's able to marry him if she didn't get divorced with the other guy. I agree with you that Joe Starks is not a nice man at all. He doesn't even let Janie talk at the public meeting. He didn't even ask her if she wanted to say anything. He wants all the attention and none for her. Joe also makes her work in the store while he's being mayor when she really should be at home tending the house.
I was thinking the same thing. Why was it harde for janie to leave her seond husbund when she did it so willingly wth her first husband. Maybe there was somthing there that was keeping her. What I dont know. I also agree with you it was very confusing to that she remarried without getting a divorce, but maybe it wasnt legal in the firts place and that why she was able to remarry. I was also shocked at the fact that she was such a strong women and she was with such of man like Jody.
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