Journal #7

Disguise and deceit is a common theme throughout all of the three plays. In Oedipus The King the disguise is what the prophet knows and what Oedipus doesn’t know. In The Wild Duck it is what Gina knows that Hjalmar doesn’t know, and in Blood Wedding it seems to be what the Bride knows that the Bridegroom doesn’t know. This repeated theme involves relationships and lies. The lies demonstrated in these books are not so much lies as they are deceits. The characters who are hiding something don’t flat out lie, but they do avoid the truth.

In Oedipus the King, Oedipus doesn’t know that he did anything wrong. He never knew that his wife was his mother. Sophocles explores a different kind of disguise in Oedipus’ story because no one in particular is lying to Oedipus. However his life was a lie. The prophet who talked to Oedipus didn’t lie to him he just didn’t tell him the truth.

In the Wild Duck, Ibsen presents us with a whole family with a bunch of secrets. They all pretend that everything is alright. When Gregers tries to uncover the truth to Hjalmar, everything goes wrong. In this play there are a few actual liars, Old Werle and Gina. This contrasts with Oedipus The King because a few people who actually caused the mess are the people who are avoiding the truth.

In Blood Wedding, Lorca is very ambiguous. In the beginning it seems that the Bride is having a lot of doubts and the antagonist seems to be Leonardo. I don’t know what is going to happen next but I don’t think that the Bride ran away with Leonardo. I feel like he took her away. So in that case I think Leonardo is the liar. For example his wife wanted him to ride on the cart to the wedding but he refused and rode his horse instead. Later he and the Bride ran away on that horse. I have a feeling he planned to escape. He never told a lie though. He was never asked directly if he was doing anything like that. He deceived everyone to make it seem like they ran off together. However, if the bride was in on it then she was the one who deceived her family and the Bridegroom.

Comments!

Matt "The Wild Duck Journal #2"

I think you should add that imagery plays a big part in that theme. "depths of the water" and what you mentioned. Maybe even describe the Flying Dutchman and how he could be symbolic of something.

Omar "The Wild Duck: Journal 6"

Thats deep. Good job. You should ellaborate more on the affair and the lies though.

Anthony N. "Wild Duck Journal #2"

I thought it was cool how you talked about the differences between books and plays. That could be an essay topic. You would have to have a book example though. So you could contrast the boring and exciting parts. Please explain more about the way the author took the boring parts out of the play

Journal #6

In "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles, Sophocles creates an underlying question in the play. Is the prophecy true? Did Oedipus really kill his dad and sleep with his mom? To answer this question Sophocles uses the metaphor of blindness, both literally and metaphorically. This is also used in "The Wild Duck" by Ibsen. But the question in Ibsen's play is what is the big secret that Gina is hiding and who is Hedvig's real dad? Both of the authors use characterization to answer these questions.

In "Oedipus the King", the prophet is the character that helps open Oedipus' eyes. In "The Wild Duck", Gregers is the character that opens the eyes of the family. Both stories have families that are built on lies causes by the father figure (who often loves power, and is blind to the lies in the family). Both Sophocles and Ibsen answer these questions with characters that expose the truth to the fathers.

The connection between the two plays is the blindness of the fathers and the two characters that try to give them vision. In "Oedipus the King", the chorus says, "How can I say you've chosen for the best? Better to die than be alive and blind". This quote shows how the characters in both books seek the truth even if it brings them unhappiness. Like that saying goes, ignorance is bliss. That would have been the other option if it wasn't for the prophet and Gregers.

Journal #5

"Although doubt is not a pleasant condition, certainty is an absurd one."

There is doubt and uncertaity in both Ibsen and Sophocles' plays. The doubt comes from Hjalmer in Ibsen's play and in Oedipus in Sophocles' play. The doubt is created by the situations they are in. They are both in unstable social conditions. They both doubt there marriages and the truth. There knowledge is tested and they become curious. Since they are both assertive and powerful, they pursue this knowledge. Yet they are uncertain because they don't want the truth to hurt them. Even if it sets them free of doubt.

Oedipus doubts the fact that his wife is not his mom and that the man he killed was not his dad. He is so curious to know the truth but he is also uncertain about what that truth might bring his future. No one would want to find out that their wife was there mom, or that they had killed there dad. Especially if that person thought of himself as a great and amazing leader. Oedipus proves that he is uncertain when he says, "Always, terrified Apollo's oracle might come true-" (217). This quote also illustrates how he doubted his marriage all of the time. He was constantly trying to find something to prove that his wife was not his mom. He talks about how he ran away from his parents so that that could never happen.

Gregers doubts the happiness of the Ekdal family. He wanted to reveal the truth about Werle to Hjalmer so he doesn't have to endure what his dad went through. "[...] Hjalmar I can free from all the lies and evasions that are smothering him here" (176). Gregers is trying to make up for what has been done wrong in this family. Gina also seems to be uncertain about a lot of things. She is always hesitant to let people hear things or do things. She seems to be worried about appearances and keeping things from people.

Journal #4

THE WILD DUCK:

I think the setting in act 1 is a big deal because it is only in the house and there are a lot of people in the house.The stage directions create a very good picture of the house. The setting in this play is definitely a lot more modern that "Oedipus the King". "A richly and comfortably furnished study, with bookcases and upholstered furniture," This stage direction shows that the house is a very nice one. There are also servants and waiters.
The culture of this time seems to be very conscious of appearances. I can tell this because the stage directions in the beginning make it seem like the hosts are trying to hard to impress. "In from the dining room come laughter and the hum of many voices in conversation; a knife clinks upon a glass; silence; a toast is made; cries of 'Bravo'", The clinking of the glass shows that they are trying to act very upper class. They are clearly trying to impress there guests. Also later the guests seem uppity when they notice that the number of people there is one more than it usually is.
I have also noticed a lot of ambiguity in the characters speech. "Oh, Gregers, lets not talk about that." They are very good at avoiding subjects.

Journal #3

Dear Ismene,
Life as we know it has changed so dramaticaly. I don't understand how one seconed we are perfectly normal women and the next we are dirty and bad. Mothers death was tragic, but don't worry. Look on the bright side of the situation, sister, if mother was still alive, life would be harder to bear than it is already. I dispise how we are always looked at like animals now. We were forced to leave our palace! Where will we live now Ismene! I hope we go somewhere far away. Our reputations were ruined! How will anyone not know about Oedipus by the time we reach there. Where did they take daddy! How could he not know that mom was his mom! I think this is really unfair Ismene!

Antigone

Journal #2

The plot in this play moves along very smoothly because there is a lot of ironic foreshadowing that is somewhat humorous and enjoyable for the reader. When Jocasta says, “I come with prayers and offerings … I beg you, cleanse us, set us free of defilement!”. She uses the word ‘cleanse’, which has connotations of cleaning something dirty or riding it from sin. This foreshadows the fact the she is Oedipus’ mom.

The chorus in this play serves as a control in the situation because it knows the truth. The chorus is sort of like a conscience that the characters can’t quiet grasp onto. The chorus trusts that the prophecies will come true, and they do. It also helps the plot move along because it has a neutral position in this controversy. It sees the truth clearly because of this neutrality. “Destiny guide me always/Destiny find me filled with reverence/pure in word and deed” (209). This quote proves that the chorus trusts the Gods and respects them. This also contrasts with Oedipus because throughout the whole play he is questioning the prophecies and treating them like he is beyond them and more important than them. He juxtaposes with the chorus because he trusts what the chorus says but he doesn’t actually listen until the end. Oedipus tried to change his destiny and it didn’t work. So the chorus was correct in the end.

Journal #1

Dear Diary,

I am torn. I accused Creon of killing Laius but I really killed him! What if Laius was my father? Would that not mean that Jocasta is my mom. No way. She isn’t my mom. I would never be so dumb. I am awesome.

I vividly remember the day that I killed those travelers. I was running away from my foster parents after they told me the truth. I couldn’t stand to be with them anymore. I thought that there was no way the prophecy would come true if I ran away. I was hiking through the hills when a bunch of travelers started harassing me. I had to kill them in self defense. I had no choice. How could that so called prophet call me blind and corrupt. I am perfect.

If the prophecy did come true my whole life would be cursed. I don’t believe that the Gods would want this for me! I can’t imagine that. No free will. I would be destined to live that awful corrupt life of brutality.

Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda by hotdogccm on Polyvore.com

Journal #3

This novel criticizes and warns people about anti-feminism. The society in this book is very controlling of women. They make it seem like it is fair and good but they are just taking away women’s freedoms to give them safety. This book warns people about the reversal of women’s rights. The citizens of this new country are placed in different categories. The women are either Handmaids, Wives, Prostitutes, Aunts, Daughters, or Econo-Wives. The men are Commanders, Guardians, Eyes, or Angles. There are strict rules placed on the women of this society more than the men. For instance the men are commanders and policemen while the women are just wives and prostitutes. The women aren’t even aloud to read. This is a form of mind control and suppresses the women in this society a lot. The author, Margaret Atwood, creates a powerful message towards women of this reversal of women’s rights. She really shows us that we shouldn’t take things for granted and that women have to keep fighting to make sure their new found rights are kept. This society seems almost like a science fiction society because of the infertility. But overall the book sends a very powerful message of suppression to the extreme. Atwood uses flashbacks a lot in this book to give her reader a constant reminder of how things used to be for Offred. It is a juxtaposition of past and present and how much women’s freedoms have changed. Readers are hopeful for Offred when they find out about the resistance groups and that the Commander, Nick, Ofglen, and even Serena help Offred along the way.

Journal #2

I am currently on page 218 in The Handmaid’s Tale.

Offred doesn’t like the Republic but she is very passive. She is victimized by the Republic because she is forced to be a Handmaid. She had a choice to either become a Handmaid, become a prostitute or be sent to the colonies where people die from the conditions. Offred, being the passive person that she is, chose to stay a Handmaid. She lives in a house with a Commander and his wife. Her job is to make babies for the couple. She resists the rules by breaking little ones. For instance she uses butter as lotion every night. The Handmaids aren’t aloud to have lotion because the only thing they need to take care of is their uterus. She also steals small things from the living room and hides them in her bedroom. This makes her feel like she has power over her life. This resistance is only successful on a internal level. By breaking the little rules she isn’t changing the society, but she is making it easier on herself. Offred also resists by having sex with the Commander’s chauffeur to better her chances of getting pregnant. This is a very big deal because if she doesn’t get pregnant then she will be considered useless and forced to become a prostitute or be sent to a colony. Also, if she gets caught with this man she will be in big trouble. The worst punishment would be hanging her on the Wall. If she is successful and she becomes pregnant, she will be able to stay a Handmaid.

IMAGE: http://media.photobucket.com/image/Handmaid's%20Tale%20Martha/jolly_kraken/Handmaids%2520Tale/all_flatBLUR.jpg

Journal #1

THE SOCIETY: The Handmaid’s Tale

“These men, we’ve been told, are like war criminals. It’s no excuse that what they did was legal at the time: their crimes are retroactive. They have committed atrocities and must be made into examples, for the rest.Though this is hardly needed. No woman in her right mind, these days, would seek to prevent a birth,should she be so lucky as to conceive.

What we are supposed to feel towards these bodies is hatred and scorn. This isn’t what I feel. These bodies hanging on the Wall are time travelers, anachronisms. They’ve come here from the past.

What I feel toward them is blankness. What I feel is that I must not feel. What I feel is partly relief, because none of these men is Luke. Luke wasn’t a doctor. Isn’t” (33)

This society is called The Republic of Gilead. It is located where America used to be. There are Commanders who have a Wife, Marthas, Guardians and a Handmaid. Angles are soldiers and Eyes are the people who find out who is breaking laws. Handmaids are fertile women who are supposed to provide the Commander with babies. Aunts train the Handmaids.

It seems that the primary goal of this community is to make babies and follow the rules.People are closely watched in this society. There are Eyes, Guardians, and Angles who help enforce rules and laws. This society blames infertility on women only. They won’t believe that men can be infertile. Women are not allowed to read. At the market the signs on the booths are pictures. They are allowed to have two walks a day. Each walk has two different ways you can go. The churches were turned into museums, but they still use the bible. They have to go through fertilizing ceremonies. The Wife and the Handmaid have to hold hands during this. The punishment for breaking any law is to be hung on the Wall. There seem to be 3 to 5 people hanging on the Wall a day. Offred tries not to feel anything when she sees them. She usually sees doctors, scientists, and priests/pastors.

The Handmaids Tale Art!

I plan on drawing something too.

Journal #9

FINAL THESIS:

Camus uses mostly simple descriptions of setting and characters to reference the unemotional, selfish mental state of an isolated person.

Journal #8

 
I enjoyed The Stranger a lot because Camus does a great job of illustrating the inner thoughts and feelings of a person with a strange philosophy on life. Camus creates an insight into this philosophy and forces the reader to sympathize with people like Meursault.

Journal #7

THESIS: Camus uses mostly simple descriptions to reference the mental state of an isolated person.

1. "It's dirty. Lots of pigeons and dark courtyard. Everybody's pale" (42)
2. "The noise was getting painful" (75)
3. "A few minutes later, it got dark" (72)
4. "It was nice and he agreed" (51)
5. "[...] and we felt a closeness as we moved in unison and were happy" (50)
6. "She was staring right at me" (86)
7. "It was very hot" (3)
8. "She sniffled a lot" (11)
9. "The boss was nice" (25) 

During the trial Meursault remembers his life vividly. This contrasts the way Meursault described things before the murder.

1. "[...] the big fans were still churning the thick air in the courtroom and the jorors' brightly colored fans were all moving in unison" (103)
2. "My head was spinning with heat and astonishment" (102)
3. "[...] what rose to meet me was the silence in the courtroom, silence and the strange feeling I had when I noticed that the young reporter had turned his eyes away" (106)
4. "He was very talkative and spoke to me more confidently and cordially than he ever had before" (106)
5. "But all the long speeches , and the interminable days and hours that people had spent talking about my soul, had left me with the impression of a colorless swirling river that was making me dizzy" (104)
6. "In the end all I remember is that while my lawyer went on talking, I could hear through the expanse of chambers and courtrooms an ice cream vendor blowing his tin trumpet out in the street" (104)
7. "I was assailed by memories of a life that wasn't mine anymore" (104)

He still had troubles with his emotions

1. "I wasn't thinking about anything anymore" (107)
2. "But my heart felt nothing, and I couldn't even return her smile" (105)

Journal #6

1. Does Camus show a change in Meursault’s philosophy by having him think about less physical things during the trial?
2. Is Camus showing the reader that Meursault has a mental condition by using indifferent words when describing the shooting?
3. Why does Camus use a depressing tone in the court room?
4. Is Camus trying to show a change in Meursault when he suddenly tries to defend himself? “I blurted out that it was because of the sun. People laughed” (103)
5. Is Camus showing Meursault as an absurdist by using a short sentence structure and limited adjectives?

Journal #5

 I think Camus split the novel into two parts to show a change in Meursault. He becomes more emotional in part II.

Journal #4

1. Why does the translator use the word "indifference" when he is explaining the Arabs' faces?
2. Why does Camus have Meursault talk about Marie so much?
3. Why doesn't Meursault feel happy on the beach with Marie? He only feels a little happier.
4. Does the sun bother Meursault a lot because he doesn't like being warm?
5. Does Marie put up with Meursault because he is fascinating? Why does she stay with him?
6. Why does Camus make the Arabs seem completely innocent? It makes Meursault look like an antagonist.

Journal #3

Intellectuistic

1. There is a God and he gives us choices. Those choices put us on specific paths.
   
2. The theory of evolution is accurate.
   
3. Happiness is more important than wealth.
   
4. There are five parts of life that have to be balanced. Health is the most important.
   • Health
     
   • Friends
     
   • Family
     
   • Work
     
   • and Education
5. Never become close minded. Always be pragmatic and make the right decision.
   
6. Beauty isn’t everything.
   
7. People should educate themselves and become active members in society because everyone can contribute in different ways.
   
8. There is more bad than good in the world but having beauty in life covers most of the bad.
   
9. Hard work now and happiness will come later.
   
10. Not everybody had to believe the same things. It is important that everyone is unique.

These ideals developed in my childhood and from my education. I grew up in a wide variety of surroundings with very liberal parents. I got to see poor people and rich people, bad places and good places, and a wide variety of religions. In my free time I read books about philosophy and religion. Kierkegaard  had a lot of influence on my philosophy. I would say that I am pragmatic and liberal. I am not afraid to change my mind or defend my philosophies. I enjoy finding myself in my art. It is my way of expressing my self and I have learned so much about myself through my research of art. The study of architecture also changed my look on life because art and beauty have a huge impact on everyone whether they know it or not. Your surroundings can effect who you are because you see them everyday. Everything has an idea behind it and it reminds you of that idea everyday. This can be inspiring to some people or boring to others. Everyone sees things differently and that is ok.

Journal #2

Part one: According to your work today in class, which translator would you argue has the most literary value and why? I liked Ward’s translation better because it was written in a simpler way. This added to the books theme. Diction and syntax were simple and short.

Part two: The Indifferent. I chose this word because Meursault says, “[…] my nature was such that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings” (Camus 65). Meursault thinks that he would have feelings if he didn’t have physical needs. He is indifferent, emotionally, to the world around him. Especially when Marie asks him to marry her.

Journal #1

TABBING METHODS (for the strangers):

Motifs, Symbols and other techniques that stand out: outside of my book with technique labeled

Important quotes for themes: Top of the book with theme noted on tab

 

I only have one color of tab but I can label the outside edge accordingly.

Journal #10

THESIS:

People change intellectually along with their close relationships and experiences in life.

Quotes to back it up:

“That night he ordered Janie to tie up her hair around the store. That was all. She was there in the store for him…” (87)

“All dis bowin’ down, all dis obedience under yo’ voice-dat ain’t whut Ah rushed off down de road tuh find out about you.” (134)

After Joe dies: “The young girl was gone, but a handsome woman had taken her place. She tore off the kerchief from her head and let down her plentiful hair.” (135)

“She sent her face to Joe’s funeral, and herself went rollicking with the springtime across the world.” (137)

• Joe’s death was an event in Janie’s life that influenced her to free herself from the restrictions he put on her. She changed her mind about submission to males after Joe’s death. She decided that she would wear her hair down.
• This shows, through Janie’s relationship with Joe, that Hurston believes that Janie became quiet and submissive because of Joe but then because of the event of his death she changed.

Possible changes:

The word ‘along’ could change to a word that fits better like ‘with’.

I could try to rephrase how I say ‘their close relationships and experiences in life.”

‘close relationships’ does it have to be close relationships?

Find more proof in the text, and re-word until accurate to what Hurston would think.

Journal #9

Brooklyn. Her note to her dad said Brooklyn. She was going to move to Brooklyn to study design at the Pratt Institute. Her dad couldn’t tell Halley to wait. Pack her luggage right away she was planning on leaving as soon as she got home. Slow down and stay awhile because he was going to miss Halley. Come here, pumpkin, daddy is going to miss you more than ever and the farm will too.

Halley left way before the farm did, the only people that saw her leave weren’t enough awake to remember. They could remember she looked very happy. She looked like she was chasing something that was so big it wouldn’t fit were she was now so she had to go find it. The plane gliding through the air, and to many things for her to thing about.

And there was the city looking down over Halley. Intimidation, the dark old storm that is looming in the distance. It lives far away but when one wonders by it can suck them in and shake them up a few. Halley was ready to face the storm. So she thought. Daddy back at home tending the garden. How she make life here the same is unknown to her.

Halley wasn’t liking the big city as much as she once thought she had. Called her Daddy saying, “I love it here! The food is great, the people here are beautiful and great artists, but it’s just not the same as home.”

“You don’t sound right. You have been liking it huh?”

“Yeah Daddy I like everything except I can’t decide how to make me stop feeling homesick.”

“Oh Halley, I remember telling you to slow down and stay home a while.”

“I would have if I only knew how strange Brooklyn is after a while. It’s been a few months and I don’t feel the same as I used to at home.”

“You change a lot in strange places Halley. You feeling ok though?”

“Yeah I been doing great, like I said food is great, things are great but I don’t know why I don’t feel great.”

“You homesick that’s why!”

Halley remembered that time in middle school when she had sprained her ankle at a basketball game. Remembering her mom fixing her up a wrap and her Daddy talking about how great she’d done. Somehow she remembered being happier than ever. Now, she thought, why do I care about how I been doing. I don’t know how I am.

I used the theme, the emotional and intellectual state is more important than the physical condition. I used Hurston’s 3rd person limited narration, I tried to match the way she writes her narrations. The other element I copied from Hurston was the way she makes dialogues without tags and how the narration is before and after every dialogue. The way I described words is similar to Hurston’s. I also characterized Halley similar to the way Hurston characterized Janie by showing inner conflict and growth and conclusion through experiences in their lives.

Journal #8

No dialogue tags:
"It makes uh whole heap uh difference wid most folks, Tea Cake."
"Things lak dat got tuh do wid conveniences, but in ain't got nothin' tuh do wid love." (160)

This happens when Tea Cake and Janie are talking outside of the store when they first meet. Hurston doesn't use dialogue tags when her characters talk but instead she uses their names a lot in their dialogue to show who is talking. She does this to make the story sound smoother.

3rd person limited narration:
In the cool of the afternoon the fiend from hell specially sent to lovers arrived at Janie's ear. Doubt. All the fears that circumstance could provide and the heart fell, attacked her on every side.

This happens after Tea Cake leaves for work after the first night they spend together.
Hurston uses 3rd person limited narration to remind the reader that most of the book is Janie telling the story. So she is the only person that you can see the thoughts of. Hurston also did this to show the changes that Janie is going through more dramatically, from her point of view.

Motif of hair:
"It's mine too. Ah ain't been sleepin' so good for more'n a week cause Ah been wishin' so bad tuh git mah hands in yo' hair. It's so pretty. It feels jus' lak underneath uh dove's wing next to mah face.

This happens when Tea Cake is at Janie's house late at night talking.
Hurston uses this motif to show Janie's relationships from her point of view. Janie's hair is very beautiful and the men in this book all like it. Hurston shoes the different characteristics of Janie's husbands by showing the reader hoe they treat Janie's hair. It is a way of contrasting the different personalities.

Journal #7

Jordan thought about Dreams. Dreams are abstract artists that live in an invisible world that is only visible through sleep. They come in all shapes and sizes and wander around looking for something impossible. What do Dreams do with time, time is intangible to the Painter. The Artist makes ideas and creates itself into something beautiful. Recreating and searching all day for something intangible, the painter fights with other artists for a chance to grasp it. Searching ever since the idea was first created. Jordan helped the artist search hoping he could find the end any day now. She was nervous but excited. Oh Kendall! Jordan struggled to help her search. Jordan wondered if she could help the artist grasp it, but only Kendall had the power to find the end. Kendall’s reality got in the way of the abstract artist confusing it and forcing the intangible object away from its reaches, but she wouldn’t give up. She would be fine as long as they didn’t destroy the painters ideas. She could protect the ideas. That’s what she thought. Reality was stronger than she thought. If the painter never finds time then the painting will never get finished, Jordan would know when it is possible, because time would slow down enough for the painter to grasp it. Other artists with similar ideas could only see time they couldn’t catch it. People watched and hoped that time would slow all the way down for them. Hope, that the artist could find time for itself, was all that people had.

I wanted to describe how it can be fun to chase a dream but since Herston was discribing a struggle, I changed it to fit her style more.

Journal #6

Death, that strange being with the huge square toes who lived way in the West. The great one who lived in the straight house like a platform without sides to it, and without a roof. What need has Death for a cover, and what winds can blow against him? He stands in his high house that overlooks the world. Stands watchful and motionless all day with his sword drawn back, waiting for the messenger to bid him come. Been standing there before there was a where or a when or a then. She was liable to find a feather from his wings lying in her yard any day now. She was sad and afraid too. Poor Jody! He ought not to have to wrassle in there by himself. She sent Sam in to suggest a visit, but Jody said No. These medical doctors wuz all right with the Godly sick, but they didn't know a thing about a case like his. He'd be all right just as soon as the two-headed man found what had been buried against him. He wasn't going to die at all. That was what he thought. But Sam told her different, so she knew. And then if he hadn't, the next morning she was bound to know, for people began to gather in the big yard under the palm and china-berry trees. People who would not have dared to foot the place before crept in and did not come to the house. Just squatted under the trees and waited. Rumor, the wingless bird, had shadowed over the town.

• Personification: Death is described as a bird because birds travel through the air and are free to go where they want. It lives in the west because that is an unfamiliar place to Janie. It lives in a house with no protection because since it is death then it has nothing to fear. It has been around forever.
• Dialect: This is the only word in this passage that is in Janie’s dialect. Perhaps to remind the reader that she was the one that was thinking about death.
• Motif of trees: The tree motif is there because they represent how Janie is changing and in this part of the book the trees are creating a shadow of death in her life.
• Jody’s name: Throughout the book Jody is called either Jody or Joe maybe this could show how he changed after he got married to Janie. Jody is the governor who bosses his wife around and Joe is the well of man that Julie fell in love with. Two-headed man could also describe his two personalities.
• Foreshadowing: Later in this chapter Janie finally tells him what she thinks about him and then he dies. So he finds out what “had been buried against him” then the bird comes with his sword drawn. This foreshadows his death and what Janie says to him before he dies.

Journal #5

Zora Neale Hurston in Their Eyes Were Watching God uses control and sexism as motifs to show the struggles that a black woman in the early 1900’s would have.

Journal #4

Patterns in chapters 5 and 6
1.Controlling others: Pg. 87. Joe tells Janie to pull her hair back because he was jealous of other men staring at it. Pg. 115. Mrs. Tony asks Joe to cut her a piece of meat for her and her kids but he purposely cuts a much smaller piece. Also Janie's Grandma was controlling  because she made Janie marry Mr. Killicks.
2.Silence:Pg. 69 Joe is giving his governor speach and they ask Janie to speak and Joe tells everyone that she wont. This forced Janie to be silent for the first time in with Joe. This also shows control. Pg.90 Janie says that saying something would just cause 'disagreement and confusion' after she sees the men from the porch tease the mule. Before that she had said something out loud about how she dissaproved and Joe overheard and hated that she said it. This to shows controlling behavior. Janie learns to be silent.
3.Pride:Pg.75 Joe became the governor of the town and people respected him because he was literate and he had this pride that made people want to 'bow-down'. For example his new house was larger than everything else in town almost like a royal castle. He was very pridefull. Pg. 98 Janie wasn't happy and Joe was mad because he thought that she should be because she was mrs governer. He thought that he was doing her good by being governor and giving her fancy things. This shows pride because he is so proud about what he has he doesn't notice why she isn't happy.

Journal #3

 

1. Jacob Lawrence

Jacob Lawrence was an African American artist during the Harlem Renaissance. He was a cubist painter. Cubism is a French style of painting where the painter uses bright colors and shapes. Lawrence was born on September 7, 1917 and died on June 9, 2000. The collection of art that made him famous was called the “Migration Series”. This series depicted African Americans moving from the rural south to the cities in the north. Lawrence was one of the most famous African American painters in the 20th century.

2. The Seglabesque Dialect – The Nazalie Pooohzartan’z come from a floating island above Germany. The fathers on this island usually move to Germany after the first child is born which makes the mothers extremely protective of their kids. The only school sanctioned sport they have there is competitive ballet. Nazalie Pooohzartan’z are generally peaceful people but they are dangerously competitive. If a Pooohzartan wants the main role in a ballet they will often go crazy and become a little masochistic to get the role.

Pronunciation:

• ‘r’ = ‘zar’ (Cara = Cazara)
• ‘o’ = ‘oooh’ (Corn = Cooohrn)
• ‘ce’ = ‘zzz’ ( Dance = Danzzz)
• ‘t’ = ‘z’ (Wanted = Wanzed

Grammar:

• Pooohzartan’z use ‘z’ instead of ‘s’ to make words plural.
• They usually talk without taking breaths, so they don’t have commas or periods.
• When they want something they scream it.
• When they introduce themselves they say “Ehe is ….” then they bow.

Vocabulary:

• I = ‘ehe’
• Studio = Meescooohwnia
• Black Swan = Seglabesque
• Mother/Mom = Mazza
• My = Mehezer

3. Dialogue between a dancer from Portland, Oregon named Cara and a Natalie Pooohzartan named Mila Kuniz.

One day Cara was walking into the Body Vox studio when she saw a strange girl with scratches on her back and huge black wings. “Hi, my name is Cara what is your name?” Cara asked curiously. The strange girl turned around really fast and said, “Ehe is Mila Kuniz,” then she bowed gracefully and said, “Ehe came hezare because mehezer mazza wanzed me zoooh have mozare danz zzaraining”. Cara was a bit startled by her accent so she asked, “Wow, where did you develop that beautiful accent?”. “Ehe am a Nazalie Pooohzartan we develooohped this dialecz fzarom soooohme alienz a looohng zime agooooh Ehe can’z remembezar the szozary vezary well,” she said. “How did you end up in here in Portland?” Cara asked awkwardly. “Ehe zooohk the zzarain,” she sounded annoyed. Frustrated, Cara rephrased her question, “Oh, I meant why did you come here out of all places?” Mila started screaming and it started Cara, “EHE WANZED ZOOOH GOOOH ZOOOH THIS MEESCOOOHWNIA AND BE THE LEAD IN THE SEGLABESQUE!”. Cara was a little startled by this so she responded by saying, “Aaah ok,” then she giggled a little. “I can get the director for you, he’ll probably have you audition,” Cara said nicely. “EHE WANT TOOOH BE THE SEGLABESQUE EHE DOOOHN’T WANT TOOOH TZARY OUT EHE WILL BE THE SEGLSBESQUE,” Mila said a little out of breath, “Mehezer mazza wants me zoooh be a winnezar at evezarything Ehe have zoooh be the best danzer ever Ehe wont even need to audizioooohn fozar the lead.” Cara was a little tired of talking to Mila so she said, “Ok well good luck then Mila, break a leg.” Mila freaked out and started scratching her back. Then she said, “Ehe wont be pezarfecz if Ehe break mehezer leg!” Cara was becoming a little scared so she quickly ran away.

Journal #2

Journal #2 (Analytic): Pick a passage from your reading (between one paragraph and half a page). Copy the passage onto your blog and make a list of the decisions that Hurston made in writing that passage. What techniques, what patterns, what questions, what tone, what word choice, etc.

"It was a spring afternoon in West Florida. Jamie had spent most of the day under a blossoming pear tree in the backyard. She had been spending every minute that she could steal from her chores under that tree for the last three days. That was to say, ever since the first tiny bloom had opened. It had called her to came and gaze on a mystery. From barren brown stems to glistening leaf-buds; from the leaf-buds to snowy virginity of bloom. It stirred her tremendously. How? Why? It was like a flute song forgotten in another existence and remembered again. What? How? Why? This singing she heard that had nothing to do with her ears. The rose of the world was breathing out smell. It followed her through all her waking moments and caressed her in her sleep. It connected itself with other vaguely felt matters that had struck her outside observation and hurried themselves in her flesh. Now they emerged and questioned about her consciousness."

This passage is written in third omniscient because the narator is talking about Janie and her inner feelings. I think the blossoming pear tree relates to Janie because she to is blossoming. Maybe the pear tree also symbolises God or a higher being because she is so captivated by it, it is almost like it is trying to talk to her or tell her something important. The blossoming leaves foreshadow the rest of the book because Janie is also growing throughout the book. The singing she heard that had nothing to do with her ears could also maybe be God. The rose of the world that was breathing out smell: this is a cool sentence because it uses verbs that you wouldn't think of using to describe smell. It is a personification of the roses and again referencing the higher being. The last sentence, Now they emerged and quested about her consciousness, could mean that the blossoming tree is what caused her to start thinking about herself and what she wants to do, pulling her out of an unconscious way of life that a lot of people live in. The pear tree caused her to question life in ways she hadn't before.

Journal #1

Journal #1 (Reflective): If you could tell your life story to one person, to whom would it be? Where would you begin (moment that changed your world view)?
If I had had one person to tell my life story to it would be the admissions director at the Yale architecture school because education means a lot to me and that is where I want to end up someday. If I told them my life story maybe they would be inspired and accept me into their college. I would start my story when I first decided to be an architect in fourth grade. Then I would describe changes in my life before that event then after all the way up until present day. I would describe it this way to show the significance of that moment in fourth grade and how it changed my life. This way I could also grab their attention by making them question why this happened.

Final - The Stranger Cover - Society6

 

Look what I found!

 

Final - The Stranger Cover - Society6