Topic Sentence

Mother-In-Law supports her daughter's decisions, however she treats Leonardo, her daughter's husband, like a child, showing her disapproval of her their marriage.

Journal 8

Part 1:
I think Zora Neale Hurston chose her title to emphasize power struggles within the novel. The reader gets the immediate impression that God plays a big role in the novel, and throughout it she plays around with who has more power: a specific character or God? Meanwhile she actively places biblical allusions here and there. I don't think she settled. Settling implies she had a bunch and this was just the best she could get, like a man settling on a woman that isn't the best for him but he can't get better anymore. She didn't settle, she chose this, it fits the way she intends, and she worked it proudly.

Part 2:
An alternate title, like A Bee To A Blossum, it would shift the reader's attention towards the question: "who is the bee and who is the blossum?" Which would, of course, be Tea Cake and Janie. All attention would go towards their relationship and Tea Cake's characterization.

Part 3:
"The Last Draw"
I chose this title because it emphasizes the cigarette as a symbol, but also the end where he quits. It's a short piece, and this describes one of the biggest items that ties the piece together and reoccurs. Nah mean?

3 Quotes

1) "So when the bread didn't rise, and the fist wasn't quite done at the bone, and the rice was scorched, he slapped Janie until she had a ringing sound in her ears and told her about her brains before he stalked on back to the store." (72)

This quote shows Hurston's use of syntax. Here she uses commas separating different clauses making it like an abrupt stop in time. The quick, jerky pace of this passage keeps the moment frame-by-frame. The jerkiness of the passage also kind of mimics the action of him slapping Janie over and over.

2) "Whut is it dat keeps uh man from gettin' burnt on uh red-hot stove-caution or nature?" (64)

In this quote the hot stove is used as a metaphor for the danger of humans. Hurston uses metaphors to describe things vividly and tie them into her theme.

3) "So Tony said testily, [...] So Joe Starks and his cigar took the center of the floor." (42)

Hurston often starts sentences with a conjuction, it is a part of her style.

Journal 5

     And Alfred now started to understand Desire. Desire, that awful being with magnet eyes who dwelled at the bottom of the valley. The powerful one who lived in a cave with no bottom. What would Desire need a bottom, if he never stays? He lurks in his cave, keeping a watchful eye on the world. Crouching watchful and motionless all day with his claws ready, waiting for a messenger to bid him come. Been sitting there for longer than there was life. Alfred was certain he'd find claw marks on his bedpost when he woke up. He was hesitant and compelled too. Poor Sarah! She knew not what was goin' on. He sent Frank to suggest a visit, but Sarah declined. Alfred wuz all right with lust, but he di'n't know nothin' 'bout this level. He'd be fine as long as the darkness gave way to light. He wouldn't give in. That was what he thought. But Frank told him different, so he knew. And then if he hadn't, he was bound to know soon as he woke up, for Desire sneaks in to rest within his mind. He who would not step foot before now rested deeply within. Just laid there, and waited. Lust, that slithery snake, had shadowed his mind.

I used Hurston's structure, use of commas and pronoun. I also repeated Desire, unlike she does, but for the same effect. Instead of talking about a group as a whole I internalized most of it. I kept the main character, 2nd character and 3rd party character like Hurston did. I used her darkness metaphor also because it stood out as a big thing in her passage. Also how Death could lead to Rumor, and vice versa I used Desire vs. Lust, where lust could lead to desire, but desire could also lead to lust. I also used the dialect (similar to hers) in about the same place she used hers.

Journal 3
5 quotes, 2 analyzed.
Let's go...

****"Folkes, de sun is goin' down. De Sun-maker brings it up in de mornin', and de Sun-maker sends it tuh bed at nigh. us poor weak humans can't do nothin' tuh hurry it up nor to slow it down. All we can do, if we want any light after deh settin' or befo' de risin', is tuh make some light ourselves. So dat's how come lamps was made. Dis evenin' we'se all assembled heah tuh light our dyin' day. De first street lapm in uh colored town. Life yo' eyes and gaze on it. And when Ah tough de match tuh dat lampwick let de light penetrate inside of yuh, and let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Brother Davis, lead us in a word uh prayer. Ask uh blessin' on dis town in uh most particular manner." (Hurston, 45).

****She talks about light, creating light on your own when the Sun-maker isn't making the light. This alludes to the idea that women are the ones who don't wait for God to provide for them. This street lamp, the first in a colored town, represents a lot of things. Not only is it representing them making light for themselves, but also a symbol for the blacks becoming more and more equal in the US. Also, like the porch, they assemble around it, like unity. She also says not "look upon it" but "lift yo' eyes and gaze on it" which ties to the title. God is assumed to be up in the sky, so if their eyes are watching God the image is them looking into the sky. The lamp - the light from the lamp - is like the light from God to them. No more hiding in the shadows at night, he is now always watching. Their eyes are watching God, but God's eyes are watching them as well.

"There was something about Joe Starks that cowed the town. It was not because of physical fear. He was no fist fighter. His bulk was not even imposing as men go. Neither was it because he was more literate than the rest. Something else made men give way before him. He had a bow-down command in his face, and every step he took made the thing more tangible." (Hurston, 47).

****"Yeah, but none uh all dis you see and you'se settin' on wasn't here neither, when he come. Give de devil his due." (Hurston, 49)

****Another biblical reference. The point made is also good, kind of tying to the religion thing. They watch God, but this white man is the devil. The devil made the town they live in, so without him they'd be nowhere. But he makes profit off of their labor. So in a way that's like the biblical devil, where without sin there is no way to judge the virtues. The devil helped make the world we live in, and profits off of it because humans give in to temptation. It may be a stretch, but it seems to work here.

"Speakin' of winds, he's de wind and we'se de grass. We bend which ever way he blows," Sam Watson agreed, " but at dat us needs him. De town wouldn't be nothin' if it wasn't for him. He can't help bein' sorta bossy. Some folks needs thrones,and ruling-chairs and crowns tuh make they influence felt. He don't. He's got uh throne in de seat of his pants."

"The town had a basketful of feelings good and bad about Joe's positions and possessions, but none had the temerity to challenge him. 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."

...paradox?

Journal 2

I just really enjoy the structure on page 2. My structure will not be from tonight's reading, I hope that's okay.

Chunk

Dialect - dialect - etc

Chunk

Chunk

Chunk

(i'll throw in one more dialogue bit somewhere in there so it isn't so much narration, if that's alright.

Rules:

1. Throw away the 'g' in 'ing' words

2. 'Th' replaced with 'F' (or 't')

3. 'Od' will be 'awd'

4. Drop the 'r' at the end of words

5. 'Word' type words will be Wohds

6. 'Out' = Owt

7. some contractions may be changed a bit

     Mrs. Fanybotum looked around at her classroom. It was filled, seemingly to the brim, with kids of all types. A couple kids with glasses, pocket protectors, well-organized binders and plenty of room in their cargo pants for various odd things. There were the pretty girls, each with their own accessory that must've been in fashion at the time (as fashionable as kindergarteners could get). She noticed one in particular, the kid that always gave her a hard time, Billy Bringleburg. A poor boy with the biggest mouth you could ever come across. He was the reason she drank after work. Somehow, through all the constant chatter before the bell, she could always hear Billy distinctly, always cutting through the crowd.

    "So I was like, hey chap, get owtta heya, - Downtcha just lawve my new shoews? - Billy! Gimme back my pencils! - My parents grownded me cawse - MAKE ME - Youh a tuhd - Oh wheredja heya that one? - I was wiff my fath - Youh gonna hawve to cawtch me! - Billy please gimme back my pencils!" DING DING DING DING

     Class started. With a reluctant sigh, Mrs Fanybotum got up from her comfy chair and stood punctually in front of her rambunctious class. With a stern voice anyone can get the attention of the students in Great Britain. Although their clatter is like nails on a chalkboard, they mind pretty well with some authority. Like the sudden urge to sneeze, Mrs Fanybotum remembered the lesson she was teaching today: addition and subtraction. This unit, in kindergarten, is like teaching a dog to shake. She must bribe them with a reward, and after a few practices they'll get it. 

     As she began on the lecture, Billy's hand shot up into the air.

     "Yes, Billy?"

     "I was wonderin' why da cross is used fo' addin'."

     Knowing very well that this was a stupid question, Mrs Fanybotum knew exactly how to handle the situation. Billy has asked many questions like this one before. With a condescending confidence she corrected him and carried on with her lecture. A few minutes later Billy's hand was back up. Like one of those punching bags that one could hit and it'd spring back up, Billy's hand was back up to take another blow.

     "...Yes, Billy?"

     "Why is a dash used fo' subtractin'?"

     Another lame question, but this time she got to thinking about it. Why was it? Why a cross-like shape? What use are they? She quickly dismissed his question and moved on, those questions burning a hole in the back of her mind.

     Later that night she decided to ask her husband. "Honey, why would a dawsh be used fo' subtracting, while a cross-like symbowl is used fo' adding? What pawssible puhpose could it hawve?" He didn't know either.

So I think this works? <:T

Journal Entry 1 - TEWWG

The author introduces Janie Starks, the protagonist of the story, as this beautiful woman. The words she chooses appeal more to the sexual nature of the woman rather than pure beauty which gives me the impression that Janie has perhaps gotten around pretty well. The author describes her with "grapefruits in her hip pockets; [...] pugnacious breasts trying to bore holes in her shirt" (Hurston, 2). The structure she uses on the second paragraph of that same page is very interesting. She staggers, using hyphens to seperate the many questions thrown around about her. This gives the paragraph a rushed mood, like they were all speaking at once.

Post 4, sample test

word bank: dialect, foil, personification, euphemism, allusion

1. "Many [african americans] go to prison, none come out like Malcom X" - The Roots
2. "...Maman was buried now," - The Stranger
3. The way anybody in Their Eyes Were Watching God would be quoted would be this.
4. Raymond is a ______ for Meursault.
5. "The sun was gone, but he had left his footprints in the sky." (Hearst, TEWWG)

Post 3

The Difference Between Oxymoron and Paradox.

Oxymoron,
An oxymoron is two contradictory words used in the same sentence for a certain effect.
ex.
Oddly normal, living death, false truth.

Paradox,
A paradox is a sentence that contradicts itself, but could also reveal a truth.
ex.
A fairly simple one: I am lying.
-If it's true, then the statement is false. Which wouldn't work because then the statement is false making the what is said true. Without any context, this is a gnarly cycle.

Post 2

Understatement: The opposite of hyperbole: representing something as much less in important than it actually is. Usually the writer's effect is to create irony-such as when Mark Twain wrote: "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."

Basically an understatement is just somebody saying something that means more than they make it sound. That last sentence was a bit of an understatement. Maybe that last one too. An understatement is like saying, "the superbowl is just a bunch of guys running around in tights trying to land an oddly shaped ball in to little squares on opposite sides of the field." While that may be pretty accurate in a litteral sense, it's an understatement because football means more to a great number of people than that. Not only that, but it's common knowledge that a statement like that is completely absurd.

1st Post

So yeah, I didn't read all the books. Not because I didn't have time, I just honestly got stuck on Their Eyes Were Watching God. The dialect, I honestly hated it. It slowed me down and made it very hard to get through the book. The Stranger was a breeze. Unfortunately my plan was to read The Stranger, then move on to Their Eyes Were Watching God, then move to 1984. So yeah, didn't get to 1984. But that sounds like a good thing since I heard so many other people were signed up for that, I'll be interested to read something else instead!
Favorite: My favorite was going to be 1984 purely because the book was written about a very interesting topic. Without reading it I can't pick it. I choose The Stranger by default. It was odd from what I can remember.
Least Favorite: I hated Their Eyes Were Watching God. Story was pretty good, but the dialect hurt my eyes. I wish there was another reason, but there just isn't.
If I were to write an essay on the third one I'd focus on the author's style, word choice, and message he/she may be trying to send through whatever literary techniques they throw in.