Interesting Things

CH 1

Thus in the midst of the mud and at the heart of the fog, sits the Lord High Chancellor in his High Court of Chancery. – Narrator (PG 7)

The entire English justice system is insulted in this one sentence and a major theme throughout the book is also solidified.

            For the first few pages, the narrator describes London porper and the pollution, mud, and general chaos that it is. Then the narrator literally and metaphorically places the High Court of of Chencery at the center of the problem. Why the author chose the Justice system, instead of the police force or parliament, is curious.

            The reason for this selection lies in the nature of the court. Judges are subject to follow the law, no matter what it details. The Court really has no power in creation of new laws or regulations, they are the recievers and execute the orders given. This makes them a by product of the government and a representative of it as its creation. As the Court system is corrupt, it could be said the government is as well. This is what the narrator is getting at and it is a very bold statement that is followed through the book.

CH 2

Sir Leicester has no objection to an interminable Chancery suit.  – Narrator (PG 14)

Sir Leicester, the fashionable Lady Deadlock’s husband, is a quintisential upperclass idiot. Because of his vast funds, he cares little how most of it is spent. Because of his position in the nobility he only wants to remain there and ensure the lower classes are kept down. He respects the Courts, as to do otherwise would go against social norms and British society. He does all of this without thinking much about it. In fact, it is easy to recognize that Sir Leicester considers little.

The ignorance of problems that Leicester’s wife, or the general population, encounters is very selfish. He is focused only on little things for his own good. He practically an archtype for the selfish rich man.

CH 3

…the resolution I had made on my birthday, to try to be industrious, contente, and true-hearted, and to do some good to some one, and win some love if I could… - Esther (PG 26)

            Esther is so unassuming and kind that she is practically a saint. Despite the poor circumstances she was raised in, her outlook is crazily-positive. Although it is applaudable in marytrs, the amount of herself that she gives to others could eventually end up putting her in a truly bad position. Duty and honor are strongly embedded in her.

CH 4

”What?” asked Ada, with her pretty smile. –Esther(PG 43)

            Bashful and modest are Esther’s middle names, but in this passage the audience gets a hint that she is at least moderately clear-sighted. Esther realizes something is amiss in the Jellyby household, but doesn’t wish to assume anything.  Ada realizes this as well, but her comprehension of root of the source is much worse. In short, Ada is a well-intentioned girl, but less intelligent or willed than Esther. She follows Esther’s lead in helping the children and even in going places.

CH 5

They die in prision though. Their lives, poor silly things, are so short in comparison with the Chancery proceedings, that, one bu one, the whole collection has died over and over again. I doubt, do you know, whether one of these, though they are all young, will live to be free! Ve-ry mortifying, id it not? – Miss Flite (PG 56)

            The crazy old lady is prophetic and accurate. She is unknowingly, or possibly knowingly, warning the young trio (Esther, Ada, Richard) what happens to anything young or hopeful when under the influence of the Jarndyce and Jarndyce case. The author is using Miss Flite to compare the birds to the trio. It is a clear warning, though none of them recognize it.

CH 6

I must have a promise all around theat nothing of this sort shall ever be done anymore. – Mr. Jarndyce (PG 81)

Mr. Jarndyce is eccentric, but recognizes the scam Skimpole pulled on Esther and Richard. However, he forgives and forgets immediately. This back and forth in his personality is something worth noting. He appears conflicted but genuinely interested in everyone’s wellbeing from the ophans to Skimpole’s selves. This sense of responsibility is clear throughout the chapter and emphasizes just how good he has been to others.

CH 7

At the Dedlock’s manor, an old story is brought out into the air. The legend is that the Dedlock’s name will one day be ruined because of their past indiscretions and betrayals. Combined with a very sharp eye Tulkinghorn has turned on the Lady Dedlock, these events do not bode well for the Dedlock household. Although it is unknown what role the Dedlock’s play in this novel, it seems they are going to become more important characters.

CH 8

Little old woman, and whither so high?

To sweep the cobwebs out of the sky

You will sweep them so neatly out of our sky, in the course of your housekeeping, Esther, that one of these days, we shall have to abandon the Growlery, and nail up the door. – Mr. Jarndyce to Esther (PG 98)

This seems to be an omen and a compliment rolled into one. Jarndyce is very complimentary towards Esther. He calls her little old woman and more in a teasing way, but there is the impression of something more behind his words. More as in he posses a liking beyond sponser. The nicknames are almost a subtle form of flirting, but it is difficult to discern whether they are attempts to flirt or just make Esther feel welcome.

CH 9

To hear Mr. Boythorn  presently expressing the most implacable and passionate sentiments, with this fragile mite of a creature quietly perched on his forehead, was to have a good illustration of his character, I thought. -Esther (PG 117)

Mr. Boythorn is a passionate man, vocal and physical. Despite his imposing stature and personality, he seems to be a force of good. Esther immediately recognizes him as a good guy, gentle to those who need it. The power of Esther’s perception is once again highlight. Boythorn represents a simple, direct force of organization and anti-pretense. He scorns nere-do-wellers and boring places while favoring adventures and honorable friends. He is one of the few all-good people that have been introduced as of yet in the book.

CH 10

…sold himself to The Enemy; but you and I know better – he don’t buy. – Mr. Krook to Tulkinghorn (PG 136)

            This ominous exchange is very interesting because a mutual acquaintance of Krook and Tulkinghorn is unlikely. The Enemy is a very broad description of something, perhaps evil, that both fight against. However, knowing Krook’s rather psychotic tendencies and Tulkinghorn’s snoopy ones, it is probably nothing normal people consider the enemy. That begs the question of what could possibly be a mutual enemy. It throws Tulkinghorn into a very suspicious light knowing that Krook is crazy.

TBTHR

1) This story is arguable about WWI. How so? (Hint: Think about the title, the landscape, the tone, and the main characters actions in the story). Pick out some devices and discuss how they reinforce this WWI idea.

-Although it is dufficulty to make direct connections, there are some possible refernces. The man thinks of people not ‘here’ with very unhappy connotations. The man could be remembering people (comrades) who have died. His lack of ease could spawn from a post-war slump. Many who return from war are effected negatively by their experiences.

2) Why would this story be a good introduction to The Sun Also Rises?

-Because Hemmingway is the author of both, there are certain cimilaitities between TBTHR and TSAR. The shortness of sentences is evident in both and serves to emphasize different elements in the respective series. In TBTHR the man’s solitary life compliments the lack of personal detail and desolate mood. In TSAR, the people are all described, but aside from Jake their emotions and inner thoughts are not explored.

3) What is the theme of this story? 

-The theme of TBTHR is redemption and healing. The man in the story appears to have had bad experiences in the past, possibly as a soldier, but comes to the river for quiet and peace. First he passes through the barren blackened land, but in the second part he comes to a place of calm and happiness.

4) Discuss tone in part 1 and part II.  What is it?  How is it different?   How did you determine it?

            Part one is filled with a sense of desolation. From being kicked off the train to the sooty, charred landscape, the scenery is grim. The man watches all of his surroundings with a distance and observers eye. His personality and opinions don’t show through.

            In the second part, the man blossoms. He interacts with the environment by fishing. The awe when watching the silver trout swim through the stream is clear. The man becomes more open to the reader and to his environment. This clarity makes for a seemingly less gloomy story.

TEWWG Dialectical Journals #51-55

DJ-51

…uh white man and uh nigger woman is de freest thing on earth.’ Dey do as dey please. – Anonymous black man PG 189

This sentence uttered by an unnamed black man is the exact opposite of what Nanny told Janie when she was young. It is also contrary to theme of black women trying to gain freedom present in the book. This serves as an opposing opinion and view to Janie’s thoughts and goals. It exhibits how different people, and those in power, can see a situation so differently.

DJ-52

…because they wanted to think well of themselves, they wanted their hostile attitude forgotten. So they blamed it on Mrs. Turner’s brother… - Narrator

Embarrassment causes many people to attempt to place the blame for whatever incident on others. A faux pau usually occurs for embarrassment to follow. The people publicly doubted Janie, a perfect wife, and realized they were incorrect about her involvement in TC’s untimely death. This also is a reflection of the black community in Eatonville, who accused Janie of witchcraft when her husband died of natural causes. This repetition emphasizes the fact that people wish to put their own welfare first and by making others look bad, they further their own position by default.

DJ-53

Anyway their anger against Janie had lasted two whole days and that was too long to keep remembering anything. Too much of a strain. – Narrator PG 191

The black folks are the same mob-herd animals as the white people. Glades = Eatonville

The complete lack of motivation or memory pervades in the herd-like people. The people have no strong emotion behind their persecution of Janie, so they drop it quickly. They appear as empty people, just following the herd. It is a depressing view of society because it lacks any real intelligence or thought process.

DJ-54

The seeds reminded Janie of Tea Cake more than anything else because he was always planting things. – Narrator PG 191

Although TC did plant seeds in the ground in Eatonville and again in the Everglades, his true value lay in the metaphorical seeds he planted in Janie’s life and mind. Because of him, she was able to feel love, fun, and hope again. He introduced her to a life of freedom and happiness, something she did not have before. TC was a catalyst for Janie in her quest for self-fulfillment in life.

DJ-55

…they got tuh find out about livin’ fuh theyselves. – Janie PG 192

On the very last page, Janie explains that individuals cannot use others to learn about life. Different experiences happen to everyone, and each is unique to that person. It is impossible to perfectly redo any moment in life. To find self actualization, Janie had to go out into the unknown. She took a risk with TC and it worked out for her, not everyone is so lucky, but that is a part of living. Janie has come full circle, from being the one listening to others and wondering, to being the person sharing her experiences and wisdom as the teller.

TEWWG Dialectical Journals #41-50

DJ-41

Dey laughs to much and dey laughs too loud. – Ms. Turner PG 141

Mrs. Turner is Janie’s antithesis. As Janie and TC lead an uncertain but ultimately happy life, Mrs. Turner is bitter and glum. Although there are moments in the novel where white people are clearly put in a negative light, Janie doesn’t really hold much resentment or dislike for them or anyone due to their skin color. Mrs. Turner’s intense dislike of African-American’s dominates her life causing, in her mind, a division between black and white that is impassible. Janie accepts African-Americans and Caucasian-Americans equally in the Everglades.

DJ-42

He was a vanished-looking kind of man as if there used to be parts about him that stuck out individually but now he hadn’t a thing about him that wasn’t dwindled and blurred. – Narrator PG 143

As this man’s personality and life got sucked out of him by his bitter wife, so too did his physical impression. He appears beaten down and shadow-like. Like Janie was a ghost of herself towards the end with Jody, so too is Mrs. Turner’s husband.

DJ-43

 You couldn’t have a hurricane when you’re making seven and eight dollars a day picking beans. – Narrator PG 155

This line is verbal irony by the narrator, though it doesn’t appear that way at first. It is also a comment on how money causes foolishness. TC doesn’t want to leave the Muck because the pay is good and he thinks he knows best. TC learns the painful lesson to heed others’ advice after the couple are forced to flee the Everglades. Money, and the greed to get it, was the root of TC and Janie staying in the Everglades despite many warnings to leave. The whole situation shows how quickly everything good can be wiped away and emphasizes the negatives of greed.

DJ-44

The people felt uncomfortable but safe because there were the seawalls to chain the senseless monster in his bed. – Narrator PG 158

This line highlights the reliance of humans on their inventions and tools. They make tools for everything from cleaning their teeth to shooting their enemies. Delusion is a defensive mechanism for humans. It allows them to remain calm and ignore the often scary outside world. This monster is symbolism for how a men-led society encourages the perception of women as unreliable. Women are kept in subservient positions and scorned if they attempt to escape that path. Janie is a perfect example of that.  

DJ-45

He stood once more and again in his high flat house without sides to it and without a roof with his soulless sword standing upright in his hand. – Narrator PG 169

Waiting with patience for more victims

Death is a fearful thing for most humans. The fact that death is possible every single day in practically every moment  is nervwracking. Humans ignore death because otherwise they would only think of it and be unable to live their lives. Death as a person is described as a silent and war like being, needing no human comforts like water or shelter. Words could be seen in the same manner. They live upon every tongue and the majority of humans communicate with others every day. However, they can be deadly and unpredictable weapons upon the spirit.

DJ-46

De ones de white man know is nice colored folks. De ones he don’t know is bad niggers. – Janie PG 172

Familiarity breeds comfort. Although Janie is putting down white people in this sentence, she makes a very valid point regarding the correlation between comfort and knowledge. Knowledge, or even perceived knowledge, about a subject instant gives confidence to its beholder.

DJ-47

But the demon was there before him, strangling, killing him quickly. – Narrator PG 175

Hydrophobia and rabies is described as a demon strangling the life out of TC. Although neither TC nor Janie were aware of it at the time, he died for her. The dog was wild as was his life. He gambled, he drifted, and his ending happiness came from marrying someone wanted the same life-style. However, the dog is a representation of both chance and a thing turning against it’s controller. Dogs are servants to humans, or at least below them in the heirarachy. For a dog to attack a person, it means a loss of control. Ironically, TC was killed by an abnormal phenomena as he led an abnormal life.

DJ-48

Well, she thought, that big old dawg with the hatred in his eyes had killed her after all. – Janie/Narrator PG 178

Life got her down afterall.

The dog is a symbol of society. Usually dogs are perceived as loyal, good animals. However, when the society senses a person different or abnormal, they are a threat. That is why people are often teased or excluded when they are different. Society went after Janie; first it crushed her dreams of marrying for love, then it ruined her ruined her reputation by proclaiming her affair with TC wrong. Janie went against society and society (Eatonville) shamed her. She escaped from that with TC.

DJ-49

God made it so you spent yo’ ole age first wid somebody else, and saved up yo’ young girl days to spend wid me. – Tea Cake PG 181

Janie spent everywhere from sixteen to about fourty being married and mainly unhappy. Forced to be solemn and proper by Jody, she acted the part of an older dignified lady. With TC, she could let her self relax and enjoy life like young people generally do. Her spirit was revived with the chance at freedom and happiness with TC.

DJ-50

They were there with their tongues cocked and loaded, the only real weapon left to weak folks. The only killing tool they are allowed to use in the presence of white folks. – Narrator PG 186

Words are the most basic and easily accessible weapon. They cost no money and no difficulty to the owners. They can be unleashed like a bomb all at once, or they can be deployed a few at a time to slowly kill the enemy. They are effective by targeting not the physical world, but the mental and emotional one. However, for people their emotions and mind control their actions, psychological weapons can be the most effective of all.

Critical Essay On TEWWG

Patrick S. Bernard, "The Cognitive Construction of the Self in Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God" is the essay I chose. Here is a link to it: The Cognitive Construction of the Self in Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

TEWWG Dialectical Journals #31-40

DJ-31

Yuh can’t beat uh woman. Dey jes won’t stand fuh it. – Tea Cake PG 96

From the beginning Tea Cake is glaringly different than Jody. Where Tea Cake asks and respects women, Jody didn’t. Janie finds companionship in Tea Cake by being in his company and just having fun. Jody made Janie his trophy, not his companion. After being abused by Jody, this must come as a refreshing change to her life.

DJ-32

You’se got de world in uh jug and make out you don’t know it – Tea Cake PG 104

Everything in this book has to do with potential. There was potential in the first boring marriage to live an average but comfortable life. She rejected it. The was a chance at greatness through marriage to Jody, it didn’t satisfy her. Janie has the potential to be happy, she just doesn’t recognize it, Tea Cake does. Her beauty, wit, and charm all make her attractive to other characters once she is given a chance to shine.

DJ-33

…youngness don’t satisfy me lak yo’ presence do…Things lak dat got uh whole lot tuh do wid convenience, but it ain’t got nothin’ to do wid love. – Tea Cake PG 105

Convenience is what Nanny wanted for Janie, convenience is proper in society because it mean stability. Janie has been there and done it twice over. With Tea Cake, her normal shell is broken. She was crammed into a perfect Ms. Mayor Wife position and not allowed to do anything for her desires. Tea Cake is the bee to her tree, he allows her to blossom into confidence.

DJ-34

Somebody done tole ‘em what to set down for. – Janie PG 112

Janie speaks of the educated women as being told things to consider as they sit patiently. For herself, Janie has nothing to consider because she has done nothing by her account. She was educated, but her interests were outside the schoolroom by the trees and nature. To sit in a room just thinking not doing goes against her grain. Especially as a represented by nature. Nature is always moving and shifting, for good or bad. It also doesn’t take advice from others, Janie dislikes that others told the woman what to think about.

DJ-35

Git up on uh high chair and sit dere…So Ah got up on de high stool lak she tole me, but Pheoby, Ah done nearly languished tuh heath up dere. – Janie PG 114

Victory was in Janie’s possession. However, when she got it, she realized it wasn’t as great as made out to be. Nanny wanted Janie to have a ‘grand’ life as a perfectly kept wife. Janie wasn’t sure what she wanted but she followed her grandmother’s wishes. Sitting up in the spotlight wasn’t as pleasant because there was no one to share it with and no place to take it. Thrones and castles aren’t meant to move or change much, but Janie as a human is.

DJ-36

…he talked and acted out the story. – Narrator PG 122

This is what Tea Cake is all about. He is enthusiastic, charming, and has a huge joie-de-vivre.  Janie has been lacking this in her life due to unsuitable matches and circumstances. TC is an embodiment of freedom, including its risks and rewards. He enjoys a life in the fast lane, with gambling and odd jobs always looking for something new. However, he knows the uncertainty of his next job as well. This bit of wildness attracts Janie as it is in huge contrast to everything she has ever known and parallel to her own inner desires.

DJ-37

Tea Cake: So you aims tuh partake wid everything, hunh

Janie: Yeah.       -PG 124

With these two lines, they become partners. Partners are equal, but can preform different duties within the relationship. Although Janie still is the classical stay-at-home wife, she gets a say in where they go and what they do. TC encourages this, the opposite of Janie’s other husbands opinions on women speaking.

They are partners now.

DJ-38

You done married one uh de best gamblers God ever made. – Tea Cake PG 125

Despite his many good characteristics, TC does have bad qualities. Gambling, a dangerous and often risky business, is one of his favorite pastimes and moneymakers. This past time helps develop TC as a character because it gives him diversity and the black-and-white present in every person.

DJ-39

From now on, you gointuh eat whatever mah money can buy yuh and wear de same. When Ah ain’t got nothin’ you don’t git nothin’. – Tea Cake PG 128

Although TC means this in a good and honest way, only wanting to provide for Janie and make her happy, the quotes also has a dark side. TC is going to be the provider and Janie will have to abide by him financially in order for him to be happy. She couldn’t get a job she likes or do work she believes in valuable. Overall though, this snippet shows TC’s devotion to Janie and the relationship, not to her money or other assets.

DJ-40

…the way Janie caught on… She got to be a better shot than Tea Cake. – Narrator PG 131

This page of the story is a part of Janie’s blossoming. She becomes an accurate shooter and can outshoot even her husband. This not only shows her physical ability and capability, but is very symbolic. Guns are valuable killing weapons, for food or defense, they can be used many things. That Janie is in control of such a powerful tool expresses her growth in power and self-actualization.

TEWWG Dialectical Journals #21-30

DJ-21

So he picked out the eyes in the ceremonial way and the feast went on. – Narrator PG 62

The head vulture is a satire of Jody’s pompous leadership. The heade honcho takes the most juicy cut of meat, but the vast majority of the body is left to those under him. They will never reach the pinnacle of fulfillment, but they will never want for anything either. This keeps them in a sort of limbo. It also shows how everything is reduced to dead matter over time.

DJ-22

Then Jody ruined it for her. – Narrator PG 69

Ruining other people’s happiness is a trait of someone who is unhappy with their own selves. This also seems to be a summerazation of Jody’s role in Janie’s life. He ruins her joy, her self-confidence, really her desire for anything.

DJ-23

Dat’s cause you need tellin’ – Jody PG 71

Despite what Jody incorrectly states, Janie has plenty of ideas and thoughts to share. She also has her own way to do things, but because that would mean a certain level of independence, Jody fears it. He fears her intelligence and beauty because it casts a shadow on his own person, so he tries to shame her. The continuation of people putting down others continues. The whites put the blacks down and they tear themselves apart from within, trying to climb to the top.

DJ-24

She got so she received all things with the stolidness of the earth which soaks up urine and perfume with the same indifference. – Narrator PG 77

Humans are not supposed to be immovable rocks, they are born with life. That comes with emotions, but Janie puts on a hard shell to ignore her own emotions regarding Jody. It is a defense mechanism, but it also can crack. Eventually Janie will come out of the shell swinging because she’s intelligent and unhappy with her life. It also composes a part of the Janie-as-earth-mother theme in the book. In her natural state, she is a beautiful fertile tree, in her tense form, she is an unshakable and inanimate stone.

DJ-25

For the first time she could see a man’s head naked of its skull. – Narrator PG 77

Janie is beginning to come into her own. She realizes Jody’s ploy to keep her down and submissive. She now has the first key to reversing her fortune. Knowing her enemy allows her an insight into his pathetic mind.

DJ-26

…for people began to gather in the big yard under the palm and china-berry trees. – Narrator PG 84

This flocking of people brings to mind the earlier vulture parable. All of them sense death and the potential for weakness. The perceived vunrability due to the looming death of her husband is a place for people to try and dig their claws in. Most just want her money or patronage. Janie isn’t really fooled though, she recognizes the vultures for what they are. It is a testament to her intelligence and determination that she essentially ignores the crowding people.

DJ-27

…so busy worshippin’ de works of yo’ own hands… - Janie PG 86

This is at least the third time Janie mentions self-praise in a negative light. This is the kind of confidence that leads to excessive pride and downfall. Janie realizes Jody was victim to this and wants him to understand it as well. As a sort of revenge on him, she unloads all her feelings from the past twenty years of marriage. His neglect to her feelings has left a very bitter taste, but she still goes on. Despite troubles, Janie is left intact and with a sense of honor and dignity.

DJ-28

She tore off the kerchief from her head and let down her plentiful hair. – Narrator PG 87

The return of Janie to her natural state is celebrated in this line. She is full of life and letting down her hair symbolically releases her of constraints. With this she returns to a pear tree, escaping life as a cold rock. It also marks the beginning of her defiance of society. Kerchiefs were her obedience to Jody (man) now she is burning them along with her submission and unhappiness.

DJ-29

Weeping and wailing outside. Inside the expensive black folds were resurrection and life. – Narrator PG 88

The outside can be dramatically different from the inside. For most of Janie’s marriage with Jody, people thought she has happy with him, but in reality Janie resented Jody deeply for his treatment of her. The description of Janie’s soul coming into the world refreshed is similar to that of a new baby coming into the world.

DJ-30

…mourning oughtn’t tuh last no longer’n grief. – Janie PG 93

Janie really hates the idea of false pretense and is tells her best friend about her true feelings with no remorse. Her morality and frankness contrast with the townspeople, who secretly poke and prod and pry at everything. This puts Janie in a very honest and seemingly righteous light.

TEWWG Dialectical Journals #11-20

DJ-11

Janie had spent most of the day under a blossoming pear tree in the back-yard…It stirred her tremendously. – Narrator PG 10

It seems as if Janie is drawn to a symbol of her own blossoming life. She is technically coming into her own as an adult and the pear tree is a reflection of that stage in her life. As she looks into the mystery of the tree, she looks inward to herself. This is also a transition period in her life, between girlhood and adulthood.

DJ-12

De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see. – Nanny PG 14

This is a huge foreshadow. Janie experiences this firsthand in her second relationship by her forced store job. It also appears with Logan Killicks when he asks her to help in the yard more and more. This is a reoccurring theme in the book and Janie has to overcome it in order to find self-fufilment. As long as a person allows themselves to be stepped on, they won’t be in a place to rise in the world.

DJ-13

You know, honey, us colored folks is branches without roots and that makes things come round in queer ways. – Nanny PG 16

Nanny is an example of a woman whose been beat down and is still struggling to survive. Her life has been difficult, fist as a slave, then as a single mother, then as a single mother but to a grandchild. Slavery left her without roots and she doesn’t wish the same for Janie. However, what Nanny doesn’t realize is that Janie already has roots, new as they may be. Janie’s life with a loving grandmother gave her roots in the town and a happiness to look back on as she gets older.

DJ-14

Ah don’t want yo’ feathers always crumpled by folks throwin’ up things in yo’ face. – Nanny PG 20

Janie doesn’t really understand Nanny at this point in the story. She hasn’t yet experienced the troubles of adulthood or real hardship. This is a Nanny Life Lesson. Nanny understands that people are cruel and bring others down to make themselves feel better, but Janie doesn’t understand yet. This is normal and Nanny realizes Janie will face it in her life, but hopes to curb the worst of it. It also goes back to the idea that black women have it worse in life than most others.

DJ-15

Dis Love! Dat’s just whut got us pullin’ and uh haulin’ and sweatin’ and doin’ from can’t see in de mornin’ till can’t see at night. – Nanny PG 23

The average person views love as the ultimate happiness, and occasional heart break. Nanny has a more cynicle view of love. To her, love is wielded as a tool for binding others to their will. Nanny picks out one huge flaw of love and that is its ability to be cause great harm. By following love, people especially women, are enslaved. This correlates with a theme of woman empowerment. Love is a blockade to success.

DJ-16

They sat on the boarding house porch and saw the sun plunge into the same crack in the earth from which the night emerged. – Narrator PG 33

This sounds like a huge foreshadow. Janie thinks she leaving a life of unhappiness with one man for an easier, more loving marriage with another. However, it doesn’t seem that she realizes the irony in wanting more freedom and trying to achieve that by marrying another. For her, they are shackles. It also brings up the idea of nature. Pear trees (Janie) thrive in the sunshine and warmth, not in the darkness. Lack of light will wilt plants. Humans are the same, without happiness they also become dour.

DJ-17

Us keeps our own selves down. – Coker PG 39

Although the man who speaks this is talking specifically about white people keeping black people down, it doesn’t just mean one people’s sorrow. People often keep themselves down by thinking they can’t do something or it isn’t their place or a multitude of other excuses. Janie also does this to herself by marrying one man and escaping that marriage by wedding another. She also feels trapped in her position as wife of a mayor to do what is proper. Jody may encourage that sort of thinking, but ultimately it’s Janie who makes herself follow the submissive propriety when she wants more.

DJ-18

…but none had the termerity to challenge him. They bowed down to him rather, because he was all of these things, and then again he was all of these things because the town bowed down. – Narrator PG 50

Jody is a representation of a greater system. People want security and they see him as a certain security. He is smart, a savvy politician, commanding, and confident. These traits are all necessary for a good leader who can keep their position at the head.  However, it also means for the little people that they will never be in charge and will have to follow the leaders dictations. Jody is safety for both Janie and the townspeople, but he is also a prison. For Janie, he is the master of the house and controls her every move, but brings the assurance of food, shelter, and a comfortable lifestyle. The townspeople, have roads, a post office, lights, and other creature comforts in exchange for occasionally being bossed around.

DJ-20

They’s jus some puny humans playin’ round de toes uh Time. – Jody PG 54

While belittling others Jody unwittingly tells Janie a nugget of truth. He meant others were just little things, but being that all humans are very similar, he was speaking about himself as well. Time is much greater than Jody or Janie, as their lives quickly pass. Janie is wasting her time with Jody being miserable in her current situation. Janie’s life-tree may be growing and will eventually die, but for the moment she can still grow bigger instead of dry in Jody’s endless scorn.

TEWWG Dialectical Journals #1-10

DJ-1

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. – Narrator PG 1

In Z. Hurston’s novel the idea that it isn’t how long life is, but how a person chooses to use the time allotted. This is brought up in the opening paragraph of the book. Two examples are given to illustrate it, one of a person who gives up on their dreams after a life of chasing the other of a person whose wishes are fulfilled easily. Chance’s role in life is exceedingly obvious, but it is the person’s own goals that can get in the way of their happiness regardless of luck or outside factors.

DJ-2

…skins felt powerful and human. They became lords of sounds and lesser things…They sat in judgment. - Narrator PG 1

The transformation of average people to something more symbolic is presented strongly in page one.  At first these people just chatting away on their porches in the evening light seem like a happy normality, but by changing the words accorded to them, Hurston alters the scene significantly. She uses the people in a syndoche to show a society of judgment spawned from envy and boredom. They had worked hard but thoughtlessly all day and now their minds are switched on. This repetition and lack of mental stimulation gives way to envy and fear of anything new and challenging.

DJ-3

Pearl Stone opened her mouth and laughed real hard because she didn’t know what else to do. - Narrator PG 3

Uncertainty creates anxiety and distrust. It can be a weakness as well because uncertainty is a lack of knowledge. One defense against seeming weak is a counter attack. In page three, Pearl Stone attacks the protagonist by mocking her. This outside character illustrates how oftentimes society opposes an individuals wishes or desires, no matter the cause. Her name is also a contrast to her inner personality which seems to be lacking in both beauty and steadfastness.

DJ-4

De booger man might ketch yuh. – Mrs. Sumpkins PG 4

Mrs. Sumpkins is an embodiment of the nosy, uselss people in TEWWG. She has so little in her own life that is fulfilling, that she has to resort to threats and hints to make a point. She tells Phoebey about the boggie man, but the deeper meaning is Janie might not be so nice or her story not that enjoyable. This relates back to her own fear that Janie has lead a more fulfilling and interesting life than herself.

DJ-5

Gal, you sho looks good. You looks like youse yo’ own daughter. – Phoebe PG 4

The years have been kind to the free-wheeling Janie. Most people associate youth with wildness and a certain freedom, and the characters in TEWWG are no different. Janie, for the times, is wild. Her outer youthfulness is reflective of her inner spirit. This comment on her physical appearance shows how noticeable her character is. Others envy her both her appearance and interesting life.

DJ -6

…still sittin’ in the same place. – Janie PG 5

Although there is security in home and roots, which is mentioned many times in TEWWG, there is freedom in the opposite. Janie’s life is patches of different scenery and people, but she comes back to the place she was from. Janie expresses a certain disgust regarding her watchers. Her life has opened her eyes to many different people, place, and things, while the stuck folks are in the same place. To someone that has traveled, these people seem mundane and boring.

DJ-7

…they liable to hurry theyself to Judgment to find out about you if  they don’t know soon. – Phoebey PG 6

Phoebey is very astute when describing the townspeople. Her description of them as being so curious they would bring everything to an end just to get information is astute. Through this hyperbole, Phoebey describes their viciousness. They seem willing to do anything, moral or not, to get what they want. Their lack of morals is disheartening, especially in comparison with Janie, who has a solid base of virtues.

DJ-8

So ‘tain’t no use in me telling you somethin’ unless Ah give you de understandin’ to go ‘long wid it. – Janie PG 7

Janie shows her wisdom and thoughtfulness in this quote. She explains that there is information in everything, but most can’t understand it until a key is given. The key could be a hint, or a book, or a friend’s explanation. It also describes many situations where people know only a part of the thing/situation and miss an essential part thereby misinterpreting the whole point. This is what happened to the townspeople in regards to Janie.

DJ-9

Time makes everything old… - Narrator PG 7

This description by the unknown narrator is ominous. The quote fits many of the chapters in Janie’s life. He relationship with Logan got old and rotted, her relationship with Jody got so old and unhappy, Janie felt like the earth, old and solid, but unfeeling. This line also emphasizes how even Janie’s vibrant life can become old and reflects her coming back to her first town.

DJ-10

Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the branches. – Narrator PG 8

At this point in the story, Janie has done and gone thorugh many stages of her life. A tree is a beautiful creation and to have Janie’s life compared to it is very flattering. This also relates back to one of the themes, Janie’s life as a living, evolving thing. Her being is compared with nature and fertility.

The Wasteland Sec. 5

he wasteland section five opens with a certain trepidation. The first stanza appears to be a time before anything significant or hopeful, “He who was living is now dead / We who were living are now dying”. “He” represents a higher power, perhaps suggesting Jesus, a savior who died then rose again. “With a little patience”, the next line, indicates something more will happen, maybe the rise of the savior.
The second stanza reinforces the atrocity that is the wasteland. It emphasizes how uncomfortable the place is. No matter how the people turn, they cannot escape the listless agony.
The third stanza is very distressing because it is a fantasy. A dream born out of the torture, a pool of water is envisioned. Water is seen as the greatest possible joy. Even the sound of water, representing freedom, is a cause for excitement.
The following stanza is also a form of hallucination packed with meaning. This time, the speaker spots a person in his line of sight. This brown cloak-wrapped being could literally be the speaker's companion's shadow, but more realistically it is death. Death has often been described as a constant companion, invisible until a person is dying. Then they go with death to wherever. The speaker spotting death is an ill omen for them, hinting that death may not be far off.
As the speaker looks into the distance, an old abandoned city comes into view. At the same time, swarms of hooded beings descend unto the city. The hooded figures being lost souls looking for peace or rest. The text also compares this city to apparently fallen, but once great places, such as Athens and interestingly modern London. This failure is more of a mental than physical destruction, as in the real world, London is a thriving urban center.
In the sixth stanza, the scene takes on an even darker light. A woman and horrible creatures are pictured in a twisted and upside-down world that corresponds with the fallen city in the previous stanza. They are invading the eerily empty wells and ringing church bells. The idea that a church can be controlled by these evil-seeming monsters is both social commentary on how everything is corruptible and a gross distortion of what most religions claim to support.
Now the hidden city appears quiet and abandoned, not plagued or inhabited. The only creature remaining is a lone rooster, who crows. Rooster's crowing brings to mind the prophecy Jesus spoke to Judas, that Judas would betray him before rooster cried three times in the morning. Then rain falls and hope is restored in the world. The sacrifice of Jesus is what Christianity believes allowed sinners to be let into heaven, essentially.
Now that it has began to rain, the Ganges river is described. Surrounding jungle is waiting to hear an unknown speaker. The speaker is revealed to be Thunder, a divine being. The thunder then goes on to issue both commands and ask questions of the world and humanity. First, it asks about generosity. The answer comes that “we” have given nothing to others, only securing our own lives. Next the thunder inquires about compassion. It answers itself by saying humans are too locked up in their own cares to even have the capacity for compassion. The final command is about self-control. It describes the happiness of a sailboat at the hands of it's master. Both are content and neither try and become each other, exercising their own control.
Finally the poem closes with the previously hinted at savior making the decision to try and save his “lands” - humanity. The route for this salvation is presented as the ideas of generosity, compassion, and self-control. It also rings as a sort of fable – story with moral lessons at it's heart.

The Wasteland Sec. 4 Explication

            Humans are composed of a number of elements. Oxygen is the number one ingredient, but carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen also help compose a body. All of these items can be purchased easily and for less than $200 for an 80 kilogram body. All the physical somehow comes together to create the mental aspect. The secret to that process is unknown, but has been a curiosity to humans for centuries, from alchemist in the sixteenth century to modern-day scientists. The flip side of that question is, what happens to the person after death?

            In section four, Death by Water, of The Wasteland by TS Eliot the ten lines describe a scene where a body decomposes. As the man disintegrates, the parallels between his life and death process become clear. The section depicts the loss of any real personality or meaning, not in death, but during life. It is a warning against hoarding inconsequential material because it will only be lost eventually. Eliot uses the image of the Phoenician and perfectly flowing lines to cement his point.

            The Phoenician is a classical image of wealth, sophistication, and power. They were sea merchants, their wealth made by trading. “Forgot…Profit and loss” is an allusion to the Phoenician culture. It also illustrates the rise and fall of events in this person’s life. Most try to save money, then often loose it by purchasing a house, investing, or by a number of different scenarios.  Everyone looses their youth “passed the stages of his age and youth”, but many try to retain it. If people were less ensconced with money, appearance, and things and more interested in ideas and morality, it would be tougher to take that away from them. Ideas cannot be destroyed if they are shared.

            Despite the terrible event being described in this section. The passage is smooth and very lyrical. There is little to no enjambment. The last two lines are even a sort of conclusion. “O you who turn the wheel and look to windward, / Consider Plebes, who was once handsome and tall as you.” The speaker is issuing a warning to not emulate Plebes, to focus on gain that isn’t easily had or squandered.

           

Wasteland Sec. 2 Explication

Most people at one point or the next follow Lady Gaga’s lead by playing a love game. It is one of oldest games and contains different elements for everyone. Part Two of the Wasteland by TS Eliot is called “A Game of Chess”. It then proceeds to describe a series of lovers, amorous situations and ultimately pitfalls of the great game. This section is ultimately comment on the social situations of woman, from wealthy to dirt poor. By going through different mediums such as form, starkly contrasting of scenes, and ultimately the parallel situation of the women.

            The form of the poem goes through stages. In the beginning a room is illuminated by a mystical fire of driftwood and copper. All manner of precious items like jewels, perfumes, ivory, and carvings are described in dazzling detail. Amongst the flowery descriptions there is a hint of uneasiness. Words like “strange”, “troubled”, “sad” emphasize a darker picture behind this opulent scene. The closest Eliot comes to explicitly stating that the room is a prison of sorts resides in lines twenty-one to twenty seven. The painting on the wall describes a legend in which a woman is raped by her brother in law. He cuts out her tongue to prevent Philomela from speaking the truth to her family. The next few lines expand upon the idea that the woman is in a jail, but not a physical one.

            Her speech, and the poem, becomes slightly erratic. As the woman with fiery hair converses with a counter part, it becomes clear the she is unwell. Her mania extends to her sense, claiming she hears things under the door, the wind preforming unusual acts, and worrying senselessly over her hair and the next day. The disturbed woman continues to ramble, leading the poem into the next and final segment.

            The last of this section carries on with the dialog, but evolves to a gossip session. Two women sit in a pub in England; one is explaining to other how a mutual acquaintance is losing her plot in life. This Lil in question is described as raggedy in appearance and is scorned by the woman describing her. She is entrapped by her social standing as an old, unattractive wife. Lil may have borne five children, been a model wife and mother while her husband Albert was away in WWI, but because she is no longer pretty, her status is in major question. This social jail is based on appearance; Lil is trapped by society and her uncontrollable own body.

            The two lives the protagonists lead in “The Game of Chess” are decidedly dissimilar – on the surface. The gaudiness of the first woman’s life is outwardly proclaimed by her decadent bedchambers.  Everything in the poem indicates her wealth, beauty, and power. The second woman is lower class, unattractive, and in a position of unimportance. However, besides a general feeling of entrapment, they also share another tragic aspect. The first woman is meant to represent Cleopatra, as the line, “The Chair she sat in, like a burnished throne,” is taken from Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. The second woman is random, but she a too is a representation of doomed love. Cleopatra’s legend of suicide due to love has been retold since the act. Although not as dramatic as Cleopatra’s love story, Lil too stars in a tragedy. She married a man for love and he has turned against her body decayed, there love withered away.

The Wasteland: Section 1 Summary

The preface for The Wasteland by TS Eliot features a rather ominous character. Sybil, a woman granted immortality and oracle powers by Apollo on her own wish, says she wishes to die. The backstory to her death wish is the immortality came without youth. Although this was a rather nasty trick on Apollo’s part, the moral of the story is to always ensure you have thought of all aspects of an action before you take it. The woman Sybil was carless and paid dearly for it.

The first part of the first section, The Burial of the Dead, is narrated though an unknown person. They speak of spring not as time of joy, but as an awakening of things left frozen in the winter. This suggests that there are things that are better left buried and the future uncertain. This is in stark contrast to the second half of the poem where spring is a fond remembrance. A dead woman reviewing earlier, happier times is the speaker for the second half of first stanza. Countess Marie, a close friend of the Empress of Austria, remembers a time before WWI, in the beginning of her life.  She describes a place of idle chatter and coffee houses. However, the very end of the stanza ends of an ambiguous note. “I was frightened… you feel free” the woman describes the feeling of fear as transforming into a freedom of sorts. The fear described in the beginning of the stanza is changed into an old fear, not a fresh one – so less intimidating, but still present.

Again a stanza opens with a depressing, but this time barren and waterless scene. The unknown narrator receives doomsday information from another unknown being. The prophet emphasis a lack of “water”, a reference to the idea of water as life. Very little life can survive without water, this is the epitome of a wasteland; this is a place without life physical, spiritual, or otherwise. The unknown thing continues with a promise to show the speaker his pasta or his future, “Your shadow at morning striding behind you/ Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;/ I will show you fear in a handful of dust.” This parting line solidifies the theme that any future is desolate and reminds us of Sybil who was granted the immortality for the years equal the grains of sand she held in her hand.

            The second half of the stanza presents a narrator in the presence of a young woman. This hyacinth girl seems to be a projection of beauty. However amazing the narrator once found her, the passion appears to have faded. As he views her in this stanza, the speaker glimpses nothing. The light of her soul has become empty of all meaning to him. The stanza finishes with a German line describing an empty, desolate sea, a reflection of his inner self upon viewing the hyacinth girl.

The third stanza continues the prophetic theme, with a psychic as the main feature. A woman is named to be a very famous European clairvoyant, tells the narrator’s supposed destiny.  She goes though an unusual tarot deck, including a drowned Phoenician Sailor, Belladonna, the wheel of life, a merchant, and another mysterious card. One of the cards picked up by this so-called psychic, she claims to be unable to understand. This gives lie to her ‘powers’. The narrator departs with a warning to “be so careful these days.” This stanza seems to be a continuation of an unfortunate fate theme. None of the cards are particularly pleasant and the outlook remains rather bleak.

The final stanza of section one is the most unsettling of all. London, England is described as a ghost town. Men shuffle, groan, and drag their feet along the pathways. The narrator sees a man he once knew, hinting he was an old war buddy. The speaker accuses the other man of having buries a corpse buried in his backyard, a disturbing notion. The corpse is not a physical one, but the humanity that all the blank people of London (and perhaps the world) has lost.

Elegy & Pastoral Lit. Terms

Elegy

·      Definition: a poem of serious reflection, often a lament for the dead.

·      Example: “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson

·      Explanation: “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” is serious underneath its humorous veneer. The author in this poem is talking about their own death and how it was inescapable. This is an elegy because of it’s serious discussion about the death of a person.

Pastoral

·      Definition: of, relating to, or being a literary or other artistic work that portrays or evokes rural life, usually in an idealized way.

·      Example: “Fern Hill” by Dylan Thomas

·      Explanation: A scene of glowing perfect pastures is evoked in “Fern Hill”. He describes the remembered scenes of his childhood with a great and fervent passion. There seems to be nothing wrong with the farm, it is a place of perfection. The reality of farms is they are often smelly, dirty, and often dangerous, but in this pastoral portrayal, it appears pristine.