Journal #8

1. I think Hurston chose the title she did because she wanted to show that in the big picture of life God is the person who has the power over what happens to us. Even though we make our own decisions we still have to wait for God to make the final decisions. This makes me think of all the things that happened to Janie, she could have had a decision against them but they would have turned out that way anyways because god chose to do that.

2. Another title could have been The Choices Being Made. This title would have shown that all people make choices to change for either good or bad, but it's god's final choice that decides what will happen in a persons life. I think Hurston was trying to get across that God is there all the time and he has a say in everything we do.

3. The title of my Pastiche is "The Red Bandanna" I chose this because in my pastiche my character had to overcome a lot of unfair obstacles and by acting out and going against what the authority wanted he obtained a feeling of peace. The bandanna is a symbol for his pride and he uses it empower himself against what the authority wanted.

Journal #7

1. "When the people sat around the porch and passed around the pictures of their thoughts."(51) This passage uses alliteration, because it helps get the mood across that the people would go to the porch to sit and talk and they would share all their thoughts. It shows how important that time is to the people of the town and that it has a big significance.

2. "Pheoby hurried off with a covered bowl in her hands."(4) This is an example from the book where Hurston uses food as a symbol. This has a big impact because it shows that Pheoby could either be using the food as a way to get Janie to tell her about what happened.

Journal #6

       When I made my revisions I decided to redo most of my plot to make it shorter and simpler. That way I can focus on my techniques instead of the whole story line. I focused on making it smoother and easier to read so that others can focus on whats happening in the story and on the techniques and not trying to get whats going on. I also added more dialogue because it kind of ties the story together better.

Journal #5

       And then Danny started to think of Fear. Fear, the mysterious being with a strong grip that lived in the shadows of every corner. The majestic one who hides in everyones minds. What need does Fear have to show itself? He waits in the absent recesses of the darkest places. Waiting silently and motionless with his hands ready to grasp his next victim. He had been standing there waiting for anyone he can scare. Danny was expecting to find the darkness left behind anytime now. He was uneasy and uncertain about the future. Poor James! We should have never cheated on that test. He ask Laura what was going on when she came out of the office, but she just shrugged and shook her head as she passed by. Those girls were all right with good reasons for goin to the priciples office, but they didn't know a thing about the matters of goin to the principles office for da bad things. He would be allright as soon as the chastising was over. His parents wouldn't be called at all. That was what he thought anyways. But Laura told him different, and he knew the truth. Even if he didn't he would soon find out when his parents pulled him aside and lectured him about the outcomes of being a bad child. He could already see them and their disapproving faces. Just waiting motionless and silent. Thinking about the mysterious being who brought apprehension to everyone it grasped.

Journal #4

Page 82

Syntax: The sentences in this passage were very short and to the point. This can be compared to how a person would talk when they are tired out and upset. This shows how Hurston is trying to make Janie seem upset and sad about Joe becoming sick. Later in the passage when they are describing the people from town the sentences become longer and more complex. This shows that the people in town are not as upset as Janie but feel optmistic about Joe getting better.

Word Choice: Hurstons word choice in this passage is used to show how the towns people are more connected to Joe than Janie. She uses the word ostentatiously when describing the way the people watch over Janie while she works. This shows that the town people are a lot more obedient to Joe than Janie because he wants them to watch over her.

Tone: The tone of this passage is very sorrow filled and everyone is upset and worried about Joe getting sick. This is shown through the Syntax by how short and to the point they are. This passage also shows That the towns people are still optimistic about Joe recovering from his illness.

Journal #3

1)when ah touch de match tuh dat lamp wick let de light penetrate inside of yuh, and let it shine."        (pg 45)The lamp is a symbol.
2)"he had de whole United States tuh rule so he freed de Negros. You got uh town so you freed uh mule."(pg 58) Comparison to slavery.
3)"He had seen Death coming and had stood his ground and fought it like natural man."(pg 59)
4)"Every morning the world flung itself over and exposed the town to the sun."(pg 51) Imagery.
5)"Her hair was NOT going to show in the store. It didn't seem sensible at all. That was because Joe never told Janie how Jealous he was."(pg 55) This contains characterisation and the symbol of Janie's Hair.

Analysis

1) The lamp is an important symbol in Their Eyes Were Watching God. The lamp was something that no one wanted, but it was a good thing because it advanced their town to that of a white town. The lamp also represents the blacks ability to rise up and shine when people doubted them and their importance. It also represents god because they mention god as being a light and shining all the time and guiding people.

3) I think that this is foreshadowing to the end of the book when Tea Cake dies, but his death was the complete opposite of this. Instead of seeing death coming Tea Cake died slow and painfully without knowing what had happened. He also wasn't able to face it like a natural man because he slowly went crazy until the day he was killed by his wife after trying to kill her.

Journal #2

Native American Rules on English Dialect:
1) The vowel sounds are drawn out
2) Some sounds are cut short when at the end of sentences like T
3) Words tend to run together
4) When they say Hey it turns to Heeeeey
5) They like to say whatcha doin, the end of doin is drawn out
6) Youknow it is commonly used and spoken very fast
7) Native Americans also call each other skins instead of natives

                                                                   

conversation between two Natives on the Reservation





Thomas: Hey ya whatcha doin?
Thurman: Hey Thomas hows it going man? Youknow theres gonna be a pow wow down by the river today?
Thomas: Ohhh no way man, is there gonna be a frybread there?
Thurman: Geez man theres always frybread when the skins get together dontcha know. Well im gonna go get my frybread power shirt on and head down to the pow wow. You can come if you want ta.
 Thomas and Thurman head down to the river and watch the dancing and eat their frybread. After they finish they look around at the vendors and see whats for sale. Then head back home.
Thomas: Hey man thanks for invitin me to the pow wow. I had a good time.
Thurman: No problem, we gotta hit up the next one.
 Thomas and Thurman head their separate ways thinking about the good day they had at the pow wow and the next one that would be in town.

Journal #1

I see Janie as quiet woman who others  are jealous of " Seeing the woman as she made them remember the envy they had stored up from other times"(pg.2). She stands up for what she believes in even when it goes against the others judgement of her. She stands up for Tea Cake when everyone assumes that he  left her for someone younger "Now they got to look into me loving Tea Cake and see whether it was done right or not!"(pg.6). I think that others tend to judge her more than the other women because they envy her for her beauty and money. She is a woman who could care less about what others think of her she knows what she likes and isn't afraid to attain it.
The Narrator of this book is a Third-person Omniscient narrator. They are able to understand the thoughts and know the actions of the characters. The narrator knows everyone but seems to focus mostly on the thoughts and actions of Janie. The Narrator also seems feminist because in the first paragraph of the book they say a mans life is either completed with all his wishes come true or its just out of reach never being a success. On the other hand when they describe a woman as acting and doing things accordingly.

Post #4

1) "The hills would suddenly become monstrous elephants marching slowly towards
       me"(the Joy Luck Club, pg.8)
2) Fire is a ___in the book Fahrenheit 451
3)O'Brien is the____ the book 1984
4)"My heart felt like crickets scratching to get out of a cage" (the Joy Luck Club, pg. 36)
5)  The_____ of the book the Stranger is fiction.

Post #3

Climax: The Climax in a story is when the major event happens it is when the story will reach its greatest intensity. The climax will resolve the major conflict of the story. The climax is necessary for a story because it resolves the issues and ties up the conflicts. Since the climax is used to tie up the conflict you usually find it towards the end of the story. If you were to imagine a mountain the climax in the story could be compared to the highest peak of the mountain or the place where the most action happens. In the book Their Eyes Were Watching God the climax is when Janie has to confront
Tea Cake after he had gone crazy from being bitten by the mad dog.

Post #2

Flashback: A flashback is when the author takes time in the story and goes over an event that had happened before the story had started. The flashback is usually used to introduce a twist and or information used to help understand the current situation. Most of the time a flashback creates tension by adding new layers to the conflict in the story. Usually a flashback is introduced through dreams and memories or by a narrator.

Post #1

1) The book I enjoyed the most would have to be their eyes were watching god. I liked this book the most because it was very easy to connect to and I found the story very interesting. I also like how the book had a lot of nature it made it easier for me to visualize and connect. The language in this book was very unusual, but I feel that it made the story better and more realistic. I also found the black culture during this era to be very interesting because it is very different from our culture today.

2) The stranger was the book I enjoyed the least. I found it to be very hard to connect with because it was very dull to read and it was also hard to follow. The main character also never showed any emotion and that made it hard to see where he was trying to go with this book. The main character also acted like he just went along and never cared what happened even when it involved his life.

3) If I were to write about 1984 I would focus on how much control there was in the government and how all the control over the way a person lives is bad for a functional society. I also found this book  very long and hard to read it was difficult for me to get into it.