Their Eyes Were Watching God
Questions for Classroom Discussion
1. What kind of God are the eyes of Hurston's characters watching? What is the nature of that God and of their watching? Do any of them question God?
2. What is the importance of the concept of horizon? How do Janie and each of her men widen her horizons? What is the significance of the novel's final sentences in this regard?
3. How does Janie's journey—from West Florida, to Eatonville, to the Everglades—represent her, and the novel's increasing immersion in black culture and traditions? What elements of individual action and communal life characterize that immersion?
4. To what extent does Janie acquire her own voice and the ability to shape her own life? How are the two related? Does Janie's telling her story to Pheoby in flashback undermine her ability to tell her story directly in her own voice?
5. What are the differences between the language of the men and that of Janie and the other women? How do the differences in language reflect the two groups' approaches to life, power, relationships, and self-realization? How do the novel's first two paragraphs point to these differences?
6. In what ways does Janie conform to or diverge from the assumptions that underlie the men's attitudes toward women? How would you explain Hurston's depiction of violence toward women? Does the novel substantiate Janie's statement that "Sometimes God gits familiar wid us womenfolks too and talks His inside business"?
7. What is the importance in the novel of the "signifyin'" and "playin' de dozens" on the front porch of Joe's store and elsewhere? What purpose do these stories, traded insults, exaggerations, and boasts have in the lives of these people? How does Janie counter them with her conjuring?
8. Why is adherence to tradition so important to nearly all the people in Janie's world? How does the community deal with those who are "different"?
9. After Joe Starks's funeral, Janie realizes that "She had been getting ready for her great journey to the horizons in search of people; it was important to all the world that she should find them and they find her." Why is this important "to all the world"? In what ways does Janie's self-awareness depend on her increased awareness of others?
10. How important is Hurston's use of vernacular dialect to our understanding of Janie and the other characters and their way of life? What do speech patterns reveal about the quality of these lives and the nature of these communities? In what ways are "their tongues cocked and loaded,” their “only real weapon”?
posted by dconlay @ 1:41 PM
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17 Comments:
1. The characters in Hurston’s novel are watching a God that hasn’t always seemed to be there for them. The time period that the novel takes place in isn’t too long after the Civil War and all of the main characters in the story are African American. For the majority of their lives, they have been treated unfairly and even believe themselves to be less valuable than a white person. I think that a lot of African Americans went either way with their opinions of God. Some African Americans depended a lot on God because having faith in the idea that someone is there watching out for them even when things get really bad was comforting and allowed them to continue living with such prejudice and hatred around them. Others may have lost their faith entirely or question it, because after all, what kind of God would make his people suffer such atrocities as slavery? I think that the characters in this novel are a mixture of the two. For example, Nanny was a slave and had a strong faith in God. “And den de Good Lawd seen to it dat Ah wasn’t taken…but nothin’ never hurt me ‘cause de Lawd knowed how it was,” (p.18).
2. Horizons represent the hope that comes with the future and change. When you look at the horizon, you see endless possibilities: the world seems so large and it makes you and your problems feel smaller. With each new man that Janie was with, she was able to become more and more happy and satisfied. Along with this, Janie gained experience and “broadened her horizons” with each man. In this novel, the horizon is linked with life experiences and in Janie’s case, this is the men that she is with and the things she does and learns with them. In the final words of the novel, this idea comes together. “She pulled in her horizon like a great fish net. Pulled it from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder. So much of life in its meshes! She called in her soul to come and see,” (p.193). As Janie’s life is winding down, she is reminiscing about the past and “brings in her horizons”. This means that she is done experiencing new things in life and she is ready to teach what she has learned to the rest of the world. She knows that she has learned and accomplished a lot, and now it is her time to rest.
3. Janie’s journey shows how much she changes as a person throughout the novel. She begins with Mr. Logan in West Florida where she is expected to follow the standard for black women at the time. “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…Lawd have mussy!” (p.23).When she runs off with Joe Starks, she runs to a town that has not developed yet. Her relationship and her new home in Eatonville go together because both are not well-planned. This is the part in the story where Janie’s character starts to emerge and she does what she wants to do, not what everyone else tells her to. Finally when she travels out to the Everglades with Tea Cake, she goes to the least settled place of all, and is with the least proper man. While Tea Cake is Janie’s one true love, he is much younger than her, which is not approved of by the people that she knows. As Janie finds more unconventional relationships, she moves to more unconventional places.
4. Janie was able to acquire her own voice and the ability to shape her life during the course of the novel by acting against the standard that everyone else sets for her. When she leaves her first husband, everyone thinks she is crazy because she left a home with a man that supported her and had wealth, which was the main purpose of marriage at that point. Janie makes it clear that she wants love in her life when she talks to her Nanny. “But Nanny, Ah wants to want him sometimes. Ah don’t want him to do all the wantin’,” (p.23) She proves that she isn’t afraid to go against the societal standard of the time when she leaves Logan with John Starks with a feeling of love. Janie telling her story in flashback might actually have made it more detailed in the long run. While it may have caused her to digress and add some unnecessary details, a more personal story is delivered. This is because she is reliving her experiences while telling them.
5. The language of the different people in the novel differ depending on their intellectual and social stature. The dialect of the men from Eatonville who are like the “porch sitters” there speak in a rough southern dialect. When their speech is compared to the dialect of Jody Sparks, we are able to see that his language is more educated. This helps to emphasize that he is of a higher class than most of the men in Eatonville because he is wealthy and successful. Tea Cake has the worst dialect of all. His language is much harder to read and butchers the English language. “Us liable tuh git tuh our necks…” (p.160). Tea Cake is of a lower class in the story, and the author tells us this by having him be the only character that says “us” instead of we. Janie and her Nanny also speak in southern dialects, however, Nanny’s dialect was much stronger and harder to understand because she was raised on a plantation and had no opportunity for schooling. Janie was raised by her Nanny, so her way of speaking is similar, but there is a hint of evidence that she has had some schooling. The language in the story helps to represent the social standing each character has.
6. During the novel, Janie uses men’s attitudes toward women to her advantage. When she is married to Logan and he wants her to help him with the farmwork, she talks about how her place, as a woman, was right there in the kitchen. “You don’t need mah help out dere Logan. Youse in yo’ place and Ah’m in mine,” (p.32). In this case, being stuck in the kitchen was what Janie wanted. However, later in the story, when she moves to Eatonville with Jody, she begins to be bothered by the idea that she shouldn’t be able to do things just because she was a woman. “She had never thought of making a speech, and didn’t know if she cared to make one at all. It must have been the way Joe spoke out without giving her a chance to say anything one way or another that took the bloom off of things,” (p.43). As Janie gained her new freedom by running off with Jody, she didn’t like the idea of still having restrictions. Hurston depicts violence toward women as something that is common, but not acceptable. When Nanny asks Janie if that is what was wrong in her new marriage, she quickly assumes it, but doesn’t condone it. I think that the novel shows the struggles of women, especially African American women, and Janie’s statement shows that women didn’t want to accept the lower treatment.
7. The people that sit on the porches in the small towns and play games, and gossip about other people in the town have no real substance to their lives. They are indeed free, but they still have to live with all of the racism in the world, and economically they are not outstanding. The games that they play with each other, and the stories that they exchange keep them going and make them happy. When Janie returns to town after disappearing for a year and a half, she shows that she doesn’t want to put up with all of their judging and gossiping. “Her speech was pleasant enough, but she kept walking straight onto her gate,” (p.2). She is above it all because she actually went out and lived her life; she doesn’t have to live life vicariously through other people’s scandalous situations.
8. Tradition is all that most of the characters in the story have. Their family members in generations not too long ago, had been slaves, and their culture stuck with them. Change for these people was scary and anybody who tried to “shake things up” was not accepted easily. When Janie and Joe arrive in Eatonville, Joe wants to make tons of changes and develop the town. While some people are willing to accept these changes because they are for the better, some men don’t like the change. “He was the average mortal. It troubled him to get used to the world one way, and then suddenly have it turn different. He wasn’t ready to think of colored people in post offices yet,” (p.39). Here Hicks shows how much the people in Janie’s world were not very open to change, or different people.
9. This is important to the world for the entire world to know because Janie wants to make her mark in the world. In order for her to get all of the experience that she wants to, she has to have everything in the world open to her. She also realizes more about herself at this point and this increases her awareness of others. This is true because she realizes that the more men she has been with, and the more people she has known have helped her discover more about herself and what she wants in life.
10. The Southern dialects that the characters speak in helps show how culture plays such a vital role in the lives of African Americans during that time period. Their speech patterns are fairly lazy and relaxed, which show how uneventful most of their lives were. Their “tongues cocked” were their only weapons, because their words were their only way to try and make a difference in the world with all of the racism all around them.
1. The God that is mentioned in the title is not God in the tradtional sense. Instead, the God which the eyes' of Hurston's characters are watching are that of any sort of spiritual divinity which aid in the achievement of an inward aspiration. Nature, such as in the sky, sea, and horizon, is the focal point of this God.
2. The horizon plays a very significant role in the story. It is meant to suggest the extent to which efforts and sacrifices must be made in order to attain one's highest aspirations. Toward the end of the novel, Janie "pulls in her horizon", signifying her usage of several outside resources to reach her deepest inward desire.
3. Janie's journey from West Florida to Eatonville to the Everglades is meant to represent her increasing immersion in black culture and traditions in that she is in a sense experiencing the plight of the black slave. That is, she undergoes her several journeys somewhat as a chase of her inward aspirations, hoping that each new loaction could bring her some form of self-content. This is strikingly similar to the constant movement of the African slave, jumping from plantation to plantation with the yearn of attaining freedom.
4. Hurston implies within her novel that humans have created a lifestyle which is entirely determined by the manner in which an individual voices himself/herself. Thus, Janie's acquisition of her own voice and her ability to shape her own life are virtually equivalent qualities. Janie;s telling her story to Phoeby in flashback does not undermine her ability to tell her story directly in her own voice in that there is no other means of relaying the events which occurred.
5. Women in the novel, such as Janie, speak in a more passive voice, one which clearly pertains to their fervent future and ultimate desires and aspirations. The men, however, speak aggressively and are only concerned about their current position and status, such as Jody. The two groups' approaches to life, power, relationships, and self-realization are thus defined accordingly. The novel's first two paragraphs help illustrate this message.
6. Hurston is attempting to show through Janie that America is beginning to grant well-earned mobility and power to women. Janie reveals her unique charactersitics, separating her from the average women, as she ventures alone through various destinations with several men with hopes of achieving piece of mind and happiness. Violence toward women is depicted by Hurston as the negligence of their freedom and capability to lead their own lives. The novel does substantiate Janie's quote in taht God acknowledges women as well as men.
7. These stories, traded insults, exaggerations, and boasts represent common aspects of society. It is in human nature to divurge truth and mold it into the individual's will.
8. Adherence to tradition is vital in the people in Janie's community because it is a community censored from foreign traditions. They are forced to live by one tradition as blacks were oppressed during this time, and any individual who veered from comon actions was looked downly upon.
9. It is often thought that one's perception of oneself is formed by others' perceptions. Hurston seems to portray this through Janie, who demands the entire world's recognition of her decision to begin her plight.
10. Hurston utilizes the vernacular to present a more accurate description of the goings-on within the novel. "Their tongues cocked and loaded" being their "only real weapon" refers to the negative gossip spoken very frequently in Janie's community.
- Enrique Vivar
1.) The title of this novel mentions the word “God.” It is sure that the readers jump into conclusion of the word, with its multiple definitions. Hurston’s intentions of God weren’t to use it as a specific God of any sort, but as universal. She makes the characters see God as strength and determination to fulfill their desired journeys. “They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin' fuh theyselves (183)."
2.) The first image in the novel, the horizon, plays a crucial role in the development of Janie as a person throughout the novel. It is almost as if it builds a base for the initiation of her journey. The horizon has a significance of the limit of possibilities, such as independence for Janie. Also, she looks at the horizon in search of power to define herself as a woman. The men widen the horizon by giving Janie experience and make her realize the life that is out there.
3.) The immersion in black culture and traditions is seen in Janie’s journey from West Florida, to Eatonville, and to the Everglades. The correlation to the black culture was their movement in slavery. Her individual movement characterized this immersion by her seeking a better life. In this movement, she found joy with Tea Cake, where he gives her freedom and encourages her growth to independence from the limitations Nanny imposed. “Nanny had taken the biggest thing God ever made, the horizon.” This clearly shows the strength of the African American Woman.
4.) Janie acquires her own voice and the ability to shape her own life. Although she was an African American, who had a small voice to be something in society, she was distinct with her attractive looks and middle class. I believe that by Janie telling her story to Pheoby does not undermine her ability to tell her story directly in her own voice. She felt she had the need to do it, while there was no other way to.
5.) There is some difference in the language of men and women. For example, story telling, by the African Americans like Janie, is used to preserve their culture. In contrast, the men speak with intentions of maintaining their social status in society. The first two paragraphs show the two group’s approaches to life, power, relationships, etc. “Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men.”
6.) Men’s attitudes towards women are in a disrespectful manner. They are still seen as low in society, and men will always be the dominant force. This is evidently seen with the actions of Jody towards Janie. He becomes successful in society, gaining wealth, etc., but he doesn’t allow her to be a part of it. Janie is seen as an ornament to his power, therefore showing the disrespect in women. Her statement of "Sometimes God gits familiar wid us womenfolks too and talks His inside business"? is shown in the novel with the attitudes towards them.
7.) “Playin de dozens” was only played in the fronch porch and not elsewhere. This had reference to Tea Cake giving her freedom and also helping her with learning skills such as checkers, in which she “"just ain't never learnt how". The stories, traded insults, exaggerations, and boasts serve the purpose to change someone as a person and his/her self confidence.
8.First, the society in which they lived in sort of didn’t receive other’s cultures. Therefore, adherence to tradition was important because it gave a sense of power by keeping it theirs. The community in response makes them feel down, just like the black townspeople gossiping.
9.)Janie realized that "she had been getting ready for her great journey to the horizons in search of people.” It was important for the world to know because she wanted everyone to see that the quest for self-realization and independence is possible. Her increased awareness of others allows her to develop a better understanding of hers.
10) Hurston clearly uses vernacular dialect in her novel. By this usage, it gives us a better understanding of Janie and the other characters and their way of life. Their dialect isn’t formal and intellect and this reveals that they haven’t been a part of education. “Their tongues cocked and loaded” is there “only real weapon”, mainly by the gossip spread by the community.
- Enrique Vivar
Kyle Jones
1) In the title of the novel the God mentioned is not the one first thought of when first brought up, a catholic god. Instead the God that Hurston’s characters and watching through their eyes’ in a generic God, a higher being that helps in accomplishing an inward goal. This god is more of nature, the sea, the sky, the horizon, are all points fo this god.
2) The importance of the concept of “horizon” in the novel is a great one. “Horizon” refers to the lengths you would go to accomplish your highest goals and dreams. At the end of the novel , Janie “pulls in her horizon”, this shows her use of several other resources to reach her highest wants.
3) Janie’s journey from West Florida to Eatonville to the Everglades represents her, and the novels increasing immersion in black culture and traditions in that she is going though some kind of a reflection of the unfortunate black slave. She goes off chasing dreams hoping that each new setting might bring her the inner peace she’s looking for. Like the black slave, who moved from owner to owner, plantation to plantation, hoping for sweet freedom.
4) Hurston shows in her novel that people have made a style of life that is entirely determined by how an individual voices herself. The two are related in that they are virtually the same. Janie telling her story to Phoeby in flashback does not undermine her ability to tell her story directly in her own voice because it is HER flashback that she is relaying it in. We see a flashback but behind the picture Janie is still VOICING the story.
5) The differences between the language of the men and that of Janie and the other woman are that, the women speak with passion and a long standing outlook, while the men deal with their position here and now and speak aggressively, such as Jody. The first two paragraphs of the novel help to illustrate this message.
6) The men’s attitude toward women, as shown by Hurston through Janie, is beginning to start up some deserved respect to women in America. The violence toward women is depicted by Hurston as the disregard of their freedom and individuality. The novel does support the quote, in that god sees women as well as men.
7) These stories, traded insults, exaggerations and boasts have purpose in the lives of these people because they are a way for them to “compete” of sorts. They make things out to be bigger than they are to seem greater themselves; it is the nature of humans.
8) Adherence and tradition are so important to most all of the people in Janie’s world because it is a community derived from tradition. Anyone who did not follow the traditions of the times was frowned upon and given “the cold shoulder.”
9) The image of yourself is never truly your own, it is shaped by the demands of society and your peers. Thus, Janie’s self-awareness depends on her increased awareness of others.
10) Hurston’s use of vernacular dialect is very important to our understanding of Janie and the other characters. This is so because without the dialect the sense of the novel and its characters are skewed, and the point is not clearly stated. “Their tongues cocked and loaded,” are their “only real weapons”, because their tongues can fly and all of a sudden all your skeletons are known to the community. =P
-TSchow-
1. I think that Hurston’s characters eyes are watching the ups and downs, trials and errors of life. They are watching with a spiritual intensity. All of them question God except for one who believes with her whole body and soul and her best friend who believes her.
2. The concept of horizon is very important;she thinks of it as the entire span of her life. Each men in her life widens her horizon meaning her memory and each had a different impact on her life and impacted her in different ways. The novel’s final sentence, “…pulls in her horizon” signifying her closing of her mind and going to bed for the night.
3. Janie’s journey represents her in the way that she had grown up with white people and was not familiar with black culture and traditions, even though those were her people; so her journey from West Florida to Eatonville shows that she wants to get to know her own people and immerse herself in the community. She marries Judy, who becomes a very important figure in the town, and that leads to her hidden aspirations and big dreams. Eatonville was an all-black community, and it really brought out the independent leader in her, even though her husband did not like it.
4. Her move to Eatonville from Florida was almost a way of showing that she could shape her own life by immersing herself in the black culture. It helped her acquire her own voice, even if it took 20 years to come out, around the time of Jody’s death. She was seeking self-content, but never really got it. This was like the black slave, hopping from plantation to plantation, hoping the next one was better than the last.
5. Women in the novel speak in a more passive voice;they talk more about the future and don’t care about power as much as the men do in the novel. The men speak more aggressively and are all about wealth and power and their current position, such as Jody. The novel’s first two paragraphs show this.
6. Janie conforms from the assumptions that underlie the men’s attitudes toward women by showing that women were gaining power and showing that they had dreams and aspirations like men. They were gaining confidence in power day by day. Hurston’s depiction of violence toward women showed that women were able to get up and dust off the hits and fight back for the first time ever. Janie’s statement is substantiated because it is showing that God cares about women just as much as men.
7. These stories traded insults, exaggerations, and boasts which are common aspects of society. It is human nature to divulge truth and make it into what you want to hear.
8. Adherence to tradition is so important to nearly all the people in Janie’s world because they do no take change well and have no big aspirations of their own. The community deals with those who are “different” by gossiping or making fun of them behind their backs. The do not really know how to deal with those who are “different” because they are so used to one way of life, one way you are supposed to live.
9. It is important to all the world because it has a deeper meaning;it means that her ideas need to reach every person in the world because then hopefully someone would hear her plea. Women had no rights, neither did African-Americans and to be an African-American woman during this time was very tough. Her self-awareness depends on her increased awareness of others because she needs to know how others around her act to her actions. Being aware is usually helpful all the time.
10. The vernacular dialect helps the readers see how they talked at that time and get a feel of the characters. The characters seemed more real and had that southern tone. It also gets you aquainted with the area in which the story takes place.
1. The God that was watching Hurtson’s characters was the horizon. “Here Nanny had taken the biggest thing God ever made, the horizon….” (Chapter 9) The nature of God in the novel to give the characters hopes for a better life. In Janie’s case, God gave your horizon to meet people and explore to different places. For Nanny, the horizon was something she gave to Janie because she wanted Janie to have a better life than Nanny. “And, Janie, maybe it wasn’t much, but Ah done de best Ah kin by you.” (Chapter 2) The horizon that Nanny had was to have Janie to be treated well by her husband.
2. The importance of the horizon was to have Janie look and meet different people to support her. Horizon was the world for her and she needed to look for other people. “… for no matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you…” (Chapter 9) Each man widened her horizon by making her realize that there are other people she needs to encounter in order to be pleased with her life. Also, Janie learns that there are different kinds of men who can trick Janie to think that person is right for her. The significant of the final sentence in the novel is that her soul was in different places because she loved different men, which she met because there was the horizon. “She called in her soul to come and see.” (Chapter 20) Her soul was not just in one place, but in different places because she moved to different areas and loved different men.
3. Janie’s journey to different places represents her because she is trying to find a husband who can support her and be happy at the same time. Janie travels to different places and learn new cultures and tradition from people she encounters. The elements that characterize the immersion is the stories that are told to different people. People talk about stories that are true and that are just rumors. The culture and traditions are passed down, but people modified to make it look new for the people, like Janie, who are new to the town.
4. Janie talks in conversation, but to defend herself. When she was with Jody, she was unable to talk back to her husband because women had not right to defend herself. The men were superior to the women. Her life was the same until she was able to talk back at Jody before he died. It gave her more confidence to talk back, but her life did not change dramatically. The two are related because defending herself can change people’s, including her, life. It is hard ti tell Janie her personal story to Pheoby, but Janie wants t let Phoeby know the truth than the rumors that were spread around the town.
5. The difference between the language of the men and women is that the men travel to different places and find what they need while the women wait for something to come to them. “…it was important to all the world that she should find them and they find her." (Chapter 9) The women wait for her chance to go to different places, but until then, they wait. The first two paragraphs show the differences between the men and the women. “For some they come in with tide.” “Then they act and do things accordingly.” The men are allowed o go to different places and come back while the women wait for the arrival of the men. After the men come for them, the women have to follow everything the men orders because they are more superior than the women. The different language between the men and the women tells the reader how powerful they are. After Jody insults Janie, she tries to talk back at him. “‘Talkin’ any such language as dat.’” (Chapter 7) Jody thinks women, such as Janie, should be quiet and accept the insults. This shows that Jody is powerful and manly, but it doesn’t show a strong relationship towards Janie.
6. Janie meets with different men and therefore learns their attitudes towards women, like her. Jody use violence to keep her in track while Tea Cake treats her nicely to get her affection. Hurston thinks it is wrong to use violence on women because she shows karma in the men who use it, but Hurston tells the reader that violence all around. No matter how wrong it is, there is going to be violence somewhere. The quote means that God lets violence happen, but he helps the women at different times. When God does help the women, he takes it seriously.
7. The importance of the conversation on the front porch of Joe’s store and elsewhere is how people think about other people. Rumors and stories start to spread around and people start to believe the rumors and stories. The purpose of the stories is to entertain and give status to people. Many status is false, but people believe the,. Janie counters the rumors and stories by hearing it around her, but she let other people talk about it. She doesn’t care what other people think because she knows the truth. This is why she tells Phoeby about her story.
8. Adherence to tradition is important to Janie’s world because they don’t want to lose their tradition. People will get married to different race and they forget about their own cultures. In each generation, people start to forget more and more about their native culture. Soon, everybody will forget their culture and the tradition will disappear. For African Americans, they start to forget their tradition because they live in America for a long time and they start to learn about new traditions. The community isolates the ones who are different from their community. The community doesn’t want to forget and have any interference with other people with their different tradition.
9. It is important “to all the world” because there people who need someone to support one another. For Janie, she realizes that she needs to look around other places than just looking around where she is. Janie needs to explore and see new aces and new people. “… for no matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you…” (Chapter 9) The horizon represents other places such as countries. There many new places that Janie hasn’t explored or traveled to, which Janie needs to take the chance to go and find someone she can be satisfied with. Janie’s self-awareness depends on her increased awareness of others because she can see how things can effects people. For example, Janie was not aware old age and death until she saw Jody getting older. “The young girl was gone, but a handsome woman had taken her place.” (Chapter 8) She realizes her age after she saw Jody gets older and dies.
10. The importance of Hurston’s use of vernacular is that Janie and the other characters didn’t have much education during the time. The characters’ lives were simple. The pattern in their speech makes it more lifelike and it lets the reader see how simple their lives are. They’re only real weapon is by talking because some people couldn’t afford real weapons. They would try to trick people to get things or to protect themselves.
1. The characters of Hurston look at their god as a god with a controlling nature. They view him as the one that created nature. Therefore, they view him with deep respect as the master of the their lives. This view can be seen greatly within the main character, Janie. In a sense, she treats her husbands like gods since she maintains such a high respect for her them especially Jody, the most oppressive husband. Janie continually remained silent when Jody oppressed her. She did not go against his will for a very long time. Though, out of all Hurston’s characters, Janie is on of the few who questions her god by eventually standing up to her first two husbands.
2. The concept of Horizons express Janie’s growth in her life. Janie’s husbands widen her horizons by allowing her to experience new feelings, traveling to new places, and seeing new sights that she would have never imagined. The final sentences sum up that the main character has finally reached these horizons and proved that in order to reach this happiness it took pain to reach happiness.
3. Janie’s journey represents her and the immersion of the black culture by focusing on Janie’s marriages. Through the marriages, the story shows Janie’s evolving life, which focuses greatly on how she lives with her lovers, and the black culture since Janie is African American. The actions that specifically show the immersion would be Janie’s continual escape to new regions since it represents the African American’s escape for freedom.
4. Janie is given her own voice and her ability to shape her life to the extent of her three husbands. Since she learned greatly from her experiences with her husbands, she now has her own voice in those types of situations and the ability to shape her life in similar situations. Her voice and her new ability are related since they give her the power to determine her life’s direction. When she retells her story to Phoeby, she does not undermine her voice since she is still telling Phoeby the story regardless of her voice.
5. The men have a more controlling way of speech while the women have a more passive form a speech. These specific styles show how the two sexes approach what they want to achieve. Like their speech patterns, men try to overtly gain control of the situation to achieve their goals while women patiently and subtly advance for their goals. The first two paragraphs point the differences since the first paragraph states that men continually fight for their goals overtly unless time stops them from achieving their dream. The second paragraph indicates how women do not take such an outward approach and instead take quiet and shrewd approaches.
6. Janie diverges the assumptions that underlie men’s attitude towards women since men believe that women are mostly subtle, however Janie goes away from this view since she fights outwardly against her husband. Hurston’s depiction of violence towards women is seen through Janie’s marriages. They try to control her with abuses until she either fights or leaves. The novel does substantiate Janie’s statement that "Sometimes God gits familiar wid us womenfolks too and talks His inside business" through Tea Cake since he got close to Janie who had some experience with men by the time she met him.
7. The “signifyin” and “playin’ de dozens” indicates the closeness of the community around Joe’s store since the people fool around with each other jokefully or are very cruel to each other. Janie counters it by either ignoring them or fighting back as she did with two men who were insulting a woman for trying to get some meat from Jody for her family.
8. Tradition is important to people in Janie’s world since their pasts created these traditions because the people who created could benefit from these traditions in their past. Since they could not have these traditions within their past, they tried to extend them to the future and graft them into the social fabric of the community for future generations. The community spreads terrible rumors about those who are “different” since the traditions are so strong within the community.
9. Janie’s dream to reach the horizons are important in order to prove that she has grown, though in order to truly believe that she has grown, she must have the people in her world also acknowledge that she has seen the horizon. If the people believe she has grown, it will justify to herself that she has grown.
The speech patterns define these people. They are what make those people who they are. It gives them the uniqueness that separates them from society but makes them human.
1. God is not mentioned as a being of great power. He is mentioned and viewed as a source, an idea that gives them the power to keep going. When they think of God it gives them the strength to go on when events get tough. It is the well where they draw their determination and will to go on.
2. The horizon represents Janie’s idealized views of nature. The horizon represents the far-off mystery of the natural world, with which she longs to connect. The horizon has a significance of the limit of possibilities. Janie’s hauling in of her horizon “like a great fish-net” at the end of the novel indicates that she has achieved the harmony with nature that she has sought since the moment under the pear tree.
3. The connection to the black culture was their progress in slavery. Her traveling characterized this as her seeking a better life. A life where she can be herself and not be put down for being a woman or because of the color of skin. In her traveling, she found joy with Tea Cake, who he gives her freedom and encourages her growth to independence from the restrictions that her mother put on her. “Nanny had taken the biggest thing God ever made, the horizon.” It shows the determination of the African American women that sought equality.
4.
Janie acquires her own voice and the ability to shape her own life despite all her obstacles. Although she was an African American, who’s voice was often ignored in society, she was different then the rest. She was an attractive woman with mixed blood characteristics. She felt she had the need to do it, while there was no other way to. She had to tell Pheoby her story, tell her hardships.
5. There are some variations in the language of men and women. For example, story telling, by the African Americans like Janie, is used to preserve their culture. In contrast, the men speak with intentions of maintaining their social status in society. The women do not care much for keeping up appearances like men. Men to not want to be looked down on. The first two paragraphs show the two group’s approaches to life, power, relationships, etc. “Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men.” Men are more careful in what they say. They do not want to be viewed as incompetent.
6.
Men do not respect women. They see women as weak and low in society and as people that need to follow rules. Men see themselves as the alpha of their house, as the dominant force. This is evidently seen with the actions of Jody towards Janie. He becomes successful in society, gaining wealth, and so on, but he doesn’t allow her to be a part of it. Janie is seen as an ornament to his power, therefore showing the disrespect in women. He sees her as a possession not a human being. As something to be owned and just looked at with indifference.
7. “Playin de dozens” was only played in the front porch. Had reference to Tea Cake giving her freedom and also helping her with learning skills such as checkers, in which she “"just ain't never learnt how". The stories, traded insults, exaggerations, and boasts serve the purpose to their self confidence. It was a place to come together and open their minds and share opinions.
8. First, the society in which they lived in sort of didn’t receive other’s cultures. They did not like those different from them. They had strict rules they went by and anyone that endangered it was disliked. They wanted to conserve their traditions and did not accept new ideas and traditions. They liked their own ways and no one else’s.
9. Janie realized that "she had been getting ready for her great journey to the horizons in search of people.” It was important for the world to know because she wanted everyone to see that the quest for self-realization and independence is possible. She wanted others to know she was not going to remain silenced and oppressed by others. She wanted to show people she could rise above that and give her life meaning. Her increased awareness of others allows her to develop a better understanding of hers.
10. Hurston clearly uses vernacular dialect throughout the novel. By using it, it gives us a better understanding of Janie and the other characters and their way of life. It helps us see what they are like and what part of society they come from. Their dialect isn’t formal and intellect and this reveals that they haven’t been a part of education. They most likely grew up in farms or as servants and had no formal education. “Their tongues cocked and loaded” is there “only real weapon”, mainly by the gossip spread by the community. Their voice is the only thing they have with power. They can get things done with it.
QUESTION ANALYSIS
I read and commented on T. Schow's Answers
1. In a general sense, I agree with her answer, but some of it is a bit broad. I agree that most people question God. “…it was one of those statements that everybody says but nobody actually believes like ‘God is Everywhere’,” (p.48). This statement fully proves that the people didn’t believe that God was always there helping them. The only part of this answer that I didn’t understand as well was the part where she mentions Janie’s best friend. I am not sure if she means that Janie put her trust in Pheoby in place of God, or something like that. Overall, I qualify her answer.
2. I completely agree with her answer to number two. I also believe that horizons play a huge role in the story and that they represent her entire life’s experience. I used the same quote as she did to answer this question, but I thought that it meant that she felt that her entire life’s experiences were coming to a close, rather than just for the night.
3. Her answer to this question had some valid points that I had not considered when I answered this question, such as the idea that she wanted to get in touch with a successful black community. However, I think that she forgot to mention some details that help us understand her motives for traveling to those different places, and how this might make her traveling represent something different.
4. Once again, her main idea for Janie’s travels focuses on her motive to be more involved with black culture. I can see this in a way, but I don’t think that this was her entire motive. I do agree with her statements about Janie moving around trying to find true happiness as well as her place in the world, and I also found it interesting how she compared Janie’s sense of emptiness concerning life, with that of the lives of slaves.
5. I disagree with her statement regarding women’s concerns in the novel. She says that women don’t care about power in the story, but I feel that Janie was craving some kind of power in her life. For example, when her second husband silences her when she is asked to give a speech because it “isn’t her place”, she feels oppressed. “It must have been the way Joe spoke out without giving her a chance to say anything one way or another that took the bloom off of things,” (p.43). This statement describes how Janie felt insulted and resentful toward her husband by just assuming that she shouldn’t be able to speak.
6. In this response, she contradicts herself. She says that in the novel, Janie conforms to the way that men think of women, but then goes on to say that the women were gaining power and fighting the men. This would mean that the women were diverging from the men’s ideas of women at the time. However, her support where she talks about God caring about women too is valid because Janie says that at one point in the novel when she says “Sometimes God gits familiar wid us womenfolks too and talks His inside business”. Despite the contradiction, I do agree with Taylor’s point, which is that throughout the novel, Janie discovers that just because she is a woman, it doesn’t mean that she should be considered less of a person.
7. Taylor brings up the importance of small talk within a small community. While most of the “porch talk” is meaningless gossip, it still gives the members of each town an opportunity to bond and relate to one another. The only thing that she didn’t address in her response was how Janie countered them with her conjuring.
8. I agree with Taylor’s response for this question because I also thought that the people in Janie’s town were very attached to their customs and traditions and that they feared change. For example, when Joe Starks wants to improve the small town of Eatonville, many of the men respond negatively because they are not comfortable with change. I also agreed with what Taylor said about the community dealing with people were different because Janie had never really fit in with the standard black woman of the times and all of the people in her town gossiped about her nonstop. I think that the question was well addressed.
9. I agree with Taylor’s perspective about “the world” in this case being women, especially African American women. Janie was breaking the standards for black women in every town she went to, and with every new man she married. As she continued on her journey through life, or “to the horizons”, she was helping other women break free from the oppression of society.
10. I agree that the dialect helped make the characters, the culture, and the area that they lived in more real to the reader. It was a constant reminder of the kind of people that the novel was about. The only part that Taylor didn’t fully talk about was how their words were their only weapons. I think that this meant that the words of these people were their only way to speak out their feelings and troubles because they lived in a racist society. This meant that if they wanted to be heard, they had to speak long and loud.
Response to cpedroza's answers
1. I agree with this statement. I believe that God give the characters strength to be stronger through the events they are going through. I would like to add that God gives those dreams to the characters. “Here Nanny had taken the biggest thing God ever made, the horizon….” (Chapter 9) The God gives “horizon,” which symbolizes dreams in the novel, to the characters and the characters go towards the horizon.
2. This statement can be one way of looking at the horizon, but I agree and disagree with it. I think Janie’s goal was harmony with nature, but she needs someone to help her to find the harmony. Janie tries to get to the horizon, but she stops after few steps thinking she found the right person. “… for no matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you…” (Chapter 9) She stops and thinks the person is the right person for her. When something goes wrong with the relationship, she goes back on the trail to reach to the horizon, but the horizon seems far away, which widens the horizon for her. I agree with the part about the significant. She found harmony because she had to believe in herself. “But the muck meant Tea Cake and Tea Cake wasn’t there.” (Chapter 20) She was depended on men she married so much that she forgot how to find things for herself. When Tea Cake was out of presents, she realized that she could get harmony and be independent without being dependent on men. This was why she had to call her soul because her hearts were still with her loved ones. She was depended on her loved ones and gave her soul to have them take care of her. At the end of her book, her realization of her independence made Janie want to get her soul back.
3. I agree with this answer about Janie’s traveling to different places represents the progress on slavery. In the beginning, Nanny forced Janie to marry Logan Killicks. “‘’Tain’t Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have, baby, it’s protection.’” (Chapter 2) Janie refuses to marry Logan, but Nanny has control of Janie so she married Logan. Later on, she meets Joe Starks and Janie goes with him instead of staying with Logan. She had two choices: to be safe and stay with Logan or take the chance and go with Joe. She wanted to get more affection from people and she decides to take the chance and go with Joe. This is a big step for African Americans because when slavery was allowed in the United States, many slaves took the chance to run to one of the free states. It was a chance because they can be caught and brought back to their “owners.” It is the same concept with Janie. As she goes travels to different places, she gets freedom and independence.
4. I agree with the idea of the response, but there are few important details that were not included in her response. Since Janie is a woman and an African American in the novel, her voice is ignored in the society. She can try to shape up her own life, but it won’t change dramatically in what she has now. The two are related because in order to shape of her life, she needs to speak up for what she believes in. Her voice is not enough for the society to recognize and help her goal. She had an advantage because her blood was mixed and she was able to use it to change little things in her life. It did undermine her ability to tell her story because of her gender and race, but it still had an effect on Phoeby to hear the obstacle Janie went through to be the person she is now.
5. I agree with most of the things in the answer. I do think that men are scared of being looked down upon by other people. “For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men.” (Chapter 1) The men are trying to be careful not to make a mistake because they are afraid to be insulted on of his mistake. I don’t agree with the answer on the women. I think women do care about what other people think about them, but they can’t do anything about it. Even if they try to make a change to become someone better than the others, they will never be superior than the men. The women will not try to be better than a man, but they will try to avoid the mistakes and humiliation from people. Also, women are useless when they try to approach to the situation; therefore they will wait for the change to occur or someone to guide them through to a better life. “Then they act and do things accordingly.” (Chapter 1)
6. It is true that men do disrespect women, but not all men take this action. For Jody, to be the superior of the house he had to use force to keep Janie in track and in his control. He did not have respect for Janie and looked at her as an possession than a person. In contrast to Tea Cake, he used kindness to get the respect and affection her needed from Janie. His kindness was enough to get Janie’s attention to do the things he wanted to do. In the quote "Sometimes God gits familiar wid us womenfolks too and talks His inside business" it means that there are violence when God is not watching, but when he is watching, he will take things seriously.
7. I agree with the answer, but it missing few details. The stories were told to boost their confidence, but it is also trying to ruin someone’s reputation or making themselves look better. People would talk about rumors about Janie because they didn’t want to admit that she was better and stronger than them. They wanted to make her look bad to make them look good. For Janie, she encountered many of these rumors and she doesn’t like them. Instead of arguing about the rumors, she tells her story to someone who is willing to listen and accept her story, which was Phoeby.
8. I agree with the answer, but details were missing. Adherence to tradition was so important because people didn’t want to forget their tradition. In each new generation appears, they forget their tradition and culture of their ancestors. The people want to keep the tradition alive so the other generation will get the chance to see what their ancestor did when they were young. To keep their tradition, they isolate those who are different. They don’t want anybody who has different tradition to interfere with their tradition. The interference will increase the chance their tradition will be forgotten.
9. I somewhat agree with this statement. I do think she wanted “to all the world” to see that her goal is possible to obtain, but “to all the world” can be taken to have people realize that she is there. Therefore, people will accept her or to have her as a wife. Janie’s self-awareness was increased by others’ awareness in many ways. “The young girl was gone, but a handsome woman had taken her place.” (Chapter 8) She does not get alarmed about her old age until she saw Jody’s appearance. Sometimes, when people see others’ mistake, they learn from it. This is what Janie was doing. She is looking at others’ flaws and see if their flaws are similar to hers. If it is similar, she learns to make it better or prevent from taking the same action.
10. I agree with the response. The importance of vernacular dialect to show how educated the characters were. Like the answer said, readers can tell which society the characters are from. People were in farms so many of them could not afford to receive education. “Their tongues cocked and loaded” is there “only real weapon” were rumors and shows how powerful words can be in each person. People can talk to hurt someone’s heart to trick them to get something they want.
Critique of Kfopma’s Work:
1. I agree with this statement since the book does speak of a “horizon” or somewhere to belong. Janie symbolizes the people who are searching for their natural place in the world since she continually travels to the “horizon.”
2. I agree with this statement since the “horizon” signifies the place that we are searching for. The “horizon” is where our wishes come true, and we discover true happiness. Janie continually searches for this land, which she finds in the end of the novel.
3. I disagree with this statement since Janie was in Eatonville, which was a town that was mostly composed of black men and women. Therefore, she would have to experience a great deal of black culture since the majority of the people are black. In such a situation, how could she avoid any black culture?
4. I agree with how Janie is on a search to find an individual identity. In fact, as she goes through her relationships, she gains new experiences that add on to her knowledge and shape her persona, however I do not believe that shooting Tea Cake establishes her identity. She made the decision out of a survival instinct, which many people who are not very independent would probably have done.
5. I agree with Kyle’s statement on how men talk of finding a place for themselves, and how they assert power over their peers while the women prefer to gossip and talk about what they find important. The novel states, “Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men. Now, women forget all those things they don’t want to remember, and remember everything they don’t want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly,” validating Fompa’s claims. That statement is analyzing how men continually aim for a goal and do not stop focusing on it until they accomplish it, which is similar to the men who are talking and fighting for what they want while women are content with what they have.
6. This passage is correct since in the first two relationships Janie had no personality and was the quiet companion proving how men look down upon women with personality. Her personality does grow when she marries Tea Cake, but her personality is scorned.
7. I agree since power is one of the themes within in the novel. Power is also explored through Janie’s first two relationships. In a sense, “playin de dozen” balances the community by allowing the people to contend in power struggles with each other while not harming anyone.
8. This claim is correct since people within the novel and in reality are touchy about breaking tradition. The people within the novel do frown upon Janie for leaving. People in reality also frown upon those who break traditions such as political ideals.
9. I agree with this passage since personal growth is gained from the experiences with others. We grow from our own experiences with people along with Janie.
10. Distinct language can give a deeper insight within people since we understand their origins. We get a view of their culture and their own personality.
jKasper A’s
1. I agree because the God mentioned in the novel is not a God in the usual biblical sense. It's more of an idea that gets people through hard times.
2. I think the horizon symbolizes her successes. It shows the many possibilities just like it shows many colors. The horizon is never ending as well as her success if she decides to pursue it.
3. I agree because I believe her traveling is a way for her to get to know for about who she is. She is trying to find out who she is as a person in the world around her. Janie is seeking to know herself better.
4. I agree because the novel does imply that someone’s voice is what shapes someone’s lifestyle. Depending on how loud she makes herself heard will be the measure of her success.
5. I agree. For they do have distinct ways of speaking that give insight to the way of their life. The women more passive and the men more aggressive.
6. I agree for the novel in some way does depict the America where women are free to move around. They may not have equal rights but they are getting there in life.
7. The novel shows how people use creative language to hide what really happen and their feelings. It’s part of human characteristics to lie to not feel vulnerable.
8. The people in the book did not look too kindly on those that were different. They looked at them with distain and with hostility at times. People are so wrapped up in their lives that they do not care to listen to a different way of doing things.
9. I agree for Hurston is making it clear about one’s self perception.
10. I agree for he wants to show more about who the person is and the way they speak says a lot.
1. I agree with some of the things that she says. I agree that the God is one who cares for them, but I disagree with her “God is an okay person” statement; I think that the characters in the novel really looked up to God and had faith in him to make things better, but I do think that one person questioned God unknowingly and that is Janie. Janie always questioned things; she never left them the way they were. In her eyes, God was not the one who had to take action the people had to do that.
2. I disagree; I really don’t think the question was understood here because the way I interpreted it was that the horizon was the only thing in the novel that brought changes in Janie’s life. It sounds as if she’s trying to say that the horizon is God and is the thing that points her in the right direction every time she goes astray. I disagree. I saw the horizon as a symbol for her memory, always there, always stretching and getting bigger and bigger until you could not see it anymore.
3. I disagree; I don’t think that her journey symbolizes the different feelings she went through with her husbands. I think it’s more like, with each of her husband she became more immersed in black culture and traditions. Her first husband was trying to be like the white man because he was a farmer and planted food to grow just like all the other white men in the nearby area. Her second husband really showed her her roots when he became the governor of an all black community. That was a very quick wake up call to her that black people were being suppressed, and they were poor! Then her third husband was the one who showed her the most. She became very involved in the community, and I think with all of that exposure she became more traditional.
4. I agree that Janie finally got her voice when she married Tea Cake. Before, all the ideas and thoughts had been in her head but she had never expressed them in any way for fear of being laughed at, scorned, made fun of, etc.
5. I agree that men think they have control over women (when really they have none). I think that the men’s language in this novel was a lot harsher than the women’s. I agree that Janie is more independent than all the other black women of that time and I think that was because of her upbringing. Being able to feel free and play with white children because she didn’t know she was black was one of the things that set her on that independent track. Her childhood was different than all the other children, and she was lucky. I believe that’s what set her apart from all the other African-Americans in this novel.
6. I disagree. I think that Janie conforms from the assumptions that underlie the men’s attitudes toward women by showing that women were gaining power and showing that they had dreams and aspirations like men. They were gaining confidence in power day by day. Hurston’s depiction of violence toward women showed that women were able to get up and dust off the hits and fight back for the first time ever. Janie’s statement is substantiated because it is showing that God cares about women just as much as men.
7. I agree that it is important in the novel to show the attitude that the men had, especially towards women. They did think they had all the “power”. These stories traded insults, exaggerations, and boasts which are common aspects of society. It is human nature to divulge truth and make it into what you want to hear.
8. I agree that adherence to tradition is so important to nearly all the people in Janie’s world because they do no take change well and have no big aspirations of their own. I agree that the community does not treat wrong-doers very nicely. The community deals with those who are “different” by gossiping or making fun of them behind their backs. I think that they do not really know how to deal with those who are “different” because they are so used to one way of life, one way you are supposed to live.
9. I agree completely with what she is saying here. It is very deep. She DOES have to understand and learn about herself before she can do the same with others. It is important to the entire world because it has a deeper meaning; it means that her ideas need to reach every person in the world because then hopefully someone would hear her plea. Women had no rights, neither did African-Americans and to be an African-American woman during this time was very tough. Being aware is usually helpful all the time.
10. I agree that the vernacular dialect helped the readers see how they talked at that time and get a feel of the characters. The characters seemed more real and had that southern tone. It also gets you acquainted with the area in which the story takes place.
I responded to Kyle Fopmas answers.
1. I agree with Kyle in the sense that the characters are not watching the typical kind of God, but instead feeling a very spiritual connection with the world. They have a very spiritual ideal, which is also seen in Janie’s grandmother’s prayer to this God when she asks for his watchful eye over Janie. I agree with his thought that they turn towards God to find their place in the world.
2. I agree with Kyle on number two as well. I stated that the ideas of horizons are vital to expanding your views and those horizons are the guide to the future. I also thought that horizons help people to become aware of what they want or what they aim for, and then they go for it. She grows with each man because each one allows her to open herself up and ask herself what she really wants in her life.
3. I felt Janie’s journey do immerse her deeper and deeper into black culture. Kyle also stated that with each move, she became more and more aware of the black cultures around her.
4. I, like Kyle also felt that the novel was about Janie finally being able to find herself and make her own choices. Determine her life. I did not this that her silence mirrors the lack of decision making because she was forced to not speak and had she been able to speak, she would have expressed her feelings. I felt that her voice was maybe not necessarily one she has found but one she developed over the years of experience.
5. Kyle said that the men seemed to talk for control and talk in a manner that gave them the upper hand, whereas the women hardly said anything, and when they did discuss together, it was mainly silly gossip. I felt the men often spoke in a power hungry way and in a very controlling manner. He felt that men often talked about finding a better place, but I think Janie often talked about finding a better life for herself as well, and did not just gossip.
6. I agreed that Janie being her own individual and person was what let other scorn her. Almost as if they were jealous of her ability to be herself around men. I agreed with Kyle in his thoughts that men expected women to bow down to them
7. I agree that the idea of playin de dozens and trading insults, exaggerations, and boasts were ways of allowing power to be seen.
8. I agreed with Kyle that adherence to tradition is extremely important and that a break in tradition is uncomfortable and looked down on upon by many people. I also agreed with him that people who break traditions are seen as rebels and are criticized.
9. I felt that Janie’s awareness of others wasn’t necessarily important to the whole world, but maybe her own world from Eatonville to the Everglades. I agree that as she starts to learn about others, she continues to learn about herself.
10. I also agree that the language is representative of individual’s personalities and that it gives an idea of the time period back then. It really helps for the visualization.
1. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, the characters look to God for guidance and help. It’s not just that it’s a specific God that gives it to them. They’re looking for any higher being or help from someone with a higher power.
2. The horizon represents hope and future. Janie looks to the horizon as a chance for a better life. She wants better things in life and in men. It also shows that there is always more. She can keep going and moving on.
3. Throughout the novel Janie is continually moving. Each time she gets a new man she moves somewhere different. She constantly moves to try and escape the gossip that the people in her community take in. She doesn’t like how everyone judges her and other people.
4. Janie gains her own voice when Joe dies. Throughout their marriage he suppresses her and tells her she can’t do things because she is a woman and he doesn’t want her to embarrass him. When he dies, however, she takes charge or her own life. She starts wearing her hair out and doing and talking to whoever she likes. I think it’s better to tell the story in flashbacks, because it doesn’t need her voice. The flashbacks tell how she was able to find her own voice.
5. In the novel it is common of the women to gossip with each other and get fixed on judging other people. The men think of life outside the community. They want to better themselves. Janie starts to think like the men, rather than gossip with the women in her communities.
6. It seems that throughout the novel Janie is trying to escape the oppression the men in her life put on her. She grows as a person with each man that enters and leaves her life. She seems to get away form the assumptions of the men. The men in the novel often beat the women, including Janie’s spouses. I think this is to try and prove that they still have control. They don’t want their women to be able to escape or think for themselves, as Janie does.
7. The story of the people playing in front of the store and other places gives insight into the lives of the people in Janie’s communities. They want to show how people get along in the community and how close they are. Also they want to show the competition that people have. With the insults and things that show how people in small towns are able to still want a better life.
8. In Janie’s community tradition is very important. People in the towns have certain ways of doing things, and they don’t like to change. When people are different the people often outcast the person. They often gossip and make the person feel unwelcome.
9. After Joe’s death Janie is able to go out and live her life. While married to Joe he always told her what to do and what not to do. She is able to listen and talk to peoples stories and see other people live. By doing this she learns how other people live and she can compare her life to theirs. She can learn what she wants, not what other people tell her to want.
10. Because they way the novel is written you are able to see how the people talk. This gives you an insight into their lives and their class. You can see that not all these people are well educated and this adds to their characters.
Dion D.
1. What kind of God are the eyes of Hurston's characters watching? What is the nature of that God and of their watching? Do any of them question God?
In my opinion, it’s not necessarily God, but a divine idea in which observes them.
2. What is the importance of the concept of horizon? How do Janie and each of her men widen her horizons? What is the significance of the novel's final sentences in this regard?
The horizon indicates new hope and a chance to start over. Throughout each of her relationships, she grows and learns from the last. Through all the obstacles Janie overcame and lessons well-learned, she can look back upon all the things that occurred.
3. How does Janie's journey—from West Florida, to Eatonville, to the Everglades—represent her, and the novel's increasing immersion in black culture and traditions? What elements of individual action and communal life characterize that immersion?
Janie’s journey represents the African movement from slavery to freedom. Janie stars off as an adolescent learning and growing, then transitioning to Eatonville where she feels oppressed and dismal. The following, Janie is in Everglades, happy and free.
4. To what extent does Janie acquire her own voice and the ability to shape her own life? How are the two related? Does Janie's telling her story to Pheoby in flashback undermine her ability to tell her story directly in her own voice?
Janie, having already experience everything she has said, makes her somewhat wiser and mature. The story comes out completely different since the reader knows that Janie in the end has made it through ok.
5. What are the differences between the language of the men and that of Janie and the other women? How do the differences in language reflect the two groups' approaches to life, power, relationships, and self-realization? How do the novel's first two paragraphs point to these differences?
The men’s language is making the change in their lives, doing things in order to accomplish their goals. Also, the men are too blinded by their attempt to accomplish their goals they end up missing out. The women’s language is more of letting things happen and just going with the flow.
6. In what ways does Janie conform to or diverge from the assumptions that underlie the men's attitudes toward women? How would you explain Hurston's depiction of violence toward women? Does the novel substantiate Janie's statement that "Sometimes God gits familiar wid us womenfolks too and talks His inside business"?
The novel depicts that women are on the rise. Though men expected women to stand by his side and be a house wife. Janie is a prime example of having no voice, to actually becoming something much more. It would appear that the men made decisions in relationships, which crushed wives identities.
7. What is the importance in the novel of the "signifyin'" and "playin' de dozens" on the front porch of Joe's store and elsewhere? What purpose do these stories, traded insults, exaggerations, and boasts have in the lives of these people? How does Janie counter them with her conjuring?
These games drew the people in the town together. The stories, traded insults, exaggerations, and boasts generated a feeling of closeness of one another and also created something to do. Janie counters them by staying out of it.
8. Why is adherence to tradition so important to nearly all the people in Janie's world? How does the community deal with those who are "different"?
Adherence to tradition is essential since African Americans are oppressed they are forced to conform, though the try to hold onto their original traditions.
9. After Joe Starks's funeral, Janie realizes that "She had been getting ready for her great journey to the horizons in search of people; it was important to all the world that she should find them and they find her." Why is this important "to all the world"? In what ways does Janie's self-awareness depend on her increased awareness of others?
After the death of Joe Starks, Janie feels like another face, therefore she wants to put herself on the map and make something of herself. As she watches other around her, she learns and adjusts herself to which seems fit.
10. How important is Hurston's use of vernacular dialect to our understanding of Janie and the other characters and their way of life? What do speech patterns reveal about the quality of these lives and the nature of these communities? In what ways are "their tongues cocked and loaded,” their “only real weapon”?
Without the use of vernacular dialect, Hurstons novel would seem unreal and destroy the books message of identity. The speech pattern about the quality of lives and the nature of it’s communities is poor. It’s not that the community is stupid, it would appear that the community has a lack of education and poverty. As said by Ingrid Bengis, “Words are a form of action, capable of influencing change.” This quote states that the most powerful weapon is words.
in response to Ibrahim Muradians answers:
1. I agree with the part in his answer that says “God which the eyes' of Hurston's characters are watching are that of any sort of spiritual divinity.” I think the characters are just looking for any type of spiritual guidance but also hold true to a traditional sense of god as well.
2. I disagree with this because the horizon represents a sense of boundless opportunities and chance while not bounded to simply a conventional idea of an obtainable dream such as getting married and having kids.
3. I agree that each new location is her trying to become more self-content. But I also think that Janie is moving from location to location in order to get away from the judgment that follows her as she is breaking away from the norm and following her own path.
4. I agree that the flashback form is a better way to portray the story because in this form Janie is able to give full perspective on each event in her life and is able to analyze what is going on, whereas she would be unable to do this if it happened in real time.
5. I agree completely with what he says, the women speak in more passive voices whereas the men speak more aggressively. The men tend to speak down toward women being the oppressors and the women are passive yet gossip as well.
6. I agree fully with this statement seeing as the whole book is based on the adventure of Janie and her breaking the mold. The novel shows the perseverance of women as well as them coming up in the eyes of society.
7. I agree with the common aspects of society but I also think it gives insight into Janie’s society and sets the scene of the novel and adds character to the community.
8. I agree that the people in Janie’s community are censored from outside traditions which is why their traditions are so important to them but I disagree that it’s because they are being oppressed in the novel, I believe that it is because they are such a close community.
9. I agree with the statement that your perception of yourself is formed by the perceptions of others and because she is able to travel and witness new cultures her own perception of herself is not limited to one type of society or community but she is able to form her own sense of self.
10. I agree that it gives an accurate description of the people of the community but it also gives insight to the class and education of the people in the community. It is a form of expression that adds to the character, attitude and overall impression of each character and the society as a whole.
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