Jeana+watching+god

March 16- chapters 1 + 2:
I dove into this novel thinking I was going to dislike it it, but to my surprise ended up smiling throughout the whole reading. From the very beginning, i loved the opening paragraphs and continued loving the authors literary elements. "Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed things done and undone." (pg. 8). The metaphor of a tree may be one of my favorite rhetorical devices i have encountered so far. I love how this creates Janie's character, how she follows her own heart, and her voice in the novel. "It had called her to come and gaze on a mystery... How? Why?"(10). I couldn't get over how great the repetition of a few short words could be, and how powerful the impact would become. And then when i thought i couldn't have been more wrong about the novel, Hurston hit me with this. "She searched as much of the world as she cold from the top of the front steps and then went on down to the front gate and learned over to gaze up and down the road. Looking, waiting breathing short with impatience. Waiting for the world to be made." (11). I think it's safe to say never judge a book by its cover.

I didn't like the dialect at first, but then i thought about it and i couldn't see the novel being as effective in any other way. That's how it was during the time period, and so that is how the author wanted to write. On a personal level, i loved the relationship between Janie and Nanny, since it reminded me of my own with my grandmother. Their unspoken closeness and the way she sat on her lap is exactly the kind of relationship i have with my gram, and she frequently tells me to do the same when I'm sad even if i don't say so. I know I'll never forget their relationship.

Where the Wild Things are has always been one of my favorite books, and then became one of my favorite movies. The opening paragraph reminded me of the struggle to find hope and dreams in every ones life, which is something Max fights for on his journey to where the wild things are. Even though he isn't part of a class that's overlooked like women in the novel, he thinks he is under appreciated by his mother and is left feeling ostracized. He decides to leave his home, and at a distance this seems like the best wish he could ask for. He want's to be understood and feel safe, just like human kind in the novel. When he finally stops searching, his dreams come true with the realization that he was already at home before he ran away. Like the women in the novel, Max then sees his dream as the truth that was there all along.
 * connection:**

media type="file" key="Where the Wild Things Are --TRAILER--.flv" width="360" height="270" align="center"

"There are years that ask questions and years that answer." (21). It's safe to say i'm in love with this book. Janie's initiative to spread her branches the way she wishes and bury her roots in the ground she walks on continues to leave me in admiration. Even though she compromised her dreams to marry Logan Killicks, she couldn't bring herself to let go of them for Nanny, Logan, or anyone else. "At de same time Ah ain't takin' dat ole land tuh heart neither. Ah could throw ten acres of it over de fence every day and never look back to see where it fell." (24). Her heart, the only true thing that matters to her, will always be more important than any object, image, or show.

When we first met Joe Starks, i immediately wanted something to happen between them. His sense of pride, purpose, and power seemed as easy as the coat that hung over his shoulder. He could be a possibility for a new beginning, a new place for Janie to grow. "Leave de s'posin' and everything else to me. Ah'll be down dis reoad uh little after sunup tomorrow mornin' to wait for you. You come go wid me. Den all de rest of yo' natural life you kin live like you oughta." (30). With a promising command, Joe turns out to be a new dream that just may stop Janie's roots short. His dreams may not match up to her own, but either way it doesn't stop her from trying to go back to her first aspiration- of finding love.

Leap year, a movie about a woman who has been controlled by her boyfriend, decides to follow him to Dublin to propose to him on leap year. On the way, she finds a man unlike her boyfriend completely. Like Janie, Anna ends up marrying the first boyfriend out of show, instead of out of love. They both dream of a marriage full of happiness, but end up being a prize to win instead of a partner. Anna's boyfriend proposed to her to impress his business partners, and once Anna finds out she knows that like Janie, she has to make her own dreams and happiness. She knows she needs to make her dream her truth, and act and do things according to how her heart really feels. So she leaves the boyfriend, like Janie leaves Logan, to pursue her dream of love with the man who waltzed into her life so effortlessly.
 * connection:**

leap year trailer



= March 22- chapter 5: =

I knew I would not be a fan of Joe! While he's building the town for the people, he's becoming a sort of ruler that no one wanted for but follows without question. "Ain't never seen no sich uh colored man befo' ..." (38). But what was the most puzzling to me was the quote, "Us talks about de white man keepin' us down! Shucks! He don't have tuh. Us keeps our own selves down." (39). In a time where all you had was each other, but separated yourselves anyways according to jealousy keeps me baffled. Outside of the novel, this is quite eminent. Most times, whats stopping us from achieving something is ourselves. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from The Perks of Being a Wallflower, "The problem with things is that everyone is always comparing everyone with everyone and because of that, it discredits people." You compare yourself to others, and never seem to measure up in your head. Hurston never fails at making me question human motives.

**connection:** media type="file" key="Adele - Turning Tables (With Lyrics).flv" align="right" width="360" height="270"

Not only do I love Adele, but this song completely reminds me of the control Joe has over Janie. In the beginning of the novel, Janie was a strong, independent woman who did exactly what she wanted. She overlooked what people thought about her, and thought for herself. All of the sudden, an ideal man came into her life promising love, but with his "turning tables" changed Janie for the worse. She no longer has her long hair, beauty, voice, or identity under his "thumb". "Where loveis lost, your ghost is found, I braved a hundred storms to leave you, as hard as you try, no, I will never be knocked down", Janie looked for love in Joe, went through a battle to get to him, and had the strength to keep "standing on her own two feet". I hope like Adele's lyrics, that Janie thinks "next time I'll be braver, I'll be my own savior", to stand up to Joe for her personal jurisdiction.

= March 24- chapter 6: =

I don't know about anyone else, but i found this chapter so long and hard to read until the very end. Janie's life is becoming so drawn out and controlled, i didn't even want to keep reading. The only thing that kept me going was Hurston's amazing figurative language, as usual putting me in disbelief. More and more, Janie is just becoming an item to Joe, especially seen through her hair. It just makes me sad- the way he has possession of her to the point she can't even show case a part of her identity. Oh and then when Joe buys the mule, maybe for overhearing Janie speak out about it on the porch, she tells him what a great man he is! Please tell me you're joking, Janie. Rewarding someone for one nice thing they do since you get so accustomed to the bad is something i will never understand. One of my biggest pet peeves is overlooking those who are always doing a great job at something, since it is expected, while rewarding another who chooses to do what is right once in a blue moon.

After the buzzard scene, the chapter grew on me. I don't know what it was about that, but the symbolism Hurston used to characterize Joe is oddly magnificent. A rock, buzzard, and mule never seemed so significant. The nature vs. caution battle kind of threw me off. I understand the fear/love battle of power but this was completely outside of the path i thought the chapter was going. Still, i loved it.

With the climax of the chapter, i can't say it came as a surprise that Joe hit Janie. It was bound to happen with the way he controlled her, but what i found most puzzling was the lapse of time that flew by. The whole chapter was so long and drawn out, and all of the sudden it was seven years later. It kind of made you do a double take (or think?). Despite the low blow, Janie finally started to wake up. Which brings me to my connection :).

The Glass Menagerie, a play about a young girl who is living in a fragile world, finds hope in a collection of glass animals. Her favorite is a unicorn, set apart with the others by the distinction of a horn. Like Janie, she is lost in translation of the reality she is living, or choosing not to live. They have similar dreams of love, with Laura reflecting the images of her dreams in the glass and Janie through the shelter of a tree. When a man Laura liked since high school comes over and breaks her prized unicorn, her dreams are instantly shattered on the floor with her bits of exposed reality. He never was who she thought he could be, lying about being able to court her. The quote, "Glass breaks so easily. No matter how careful you are. The traffic jars the shelves and things fall off them." instantly reminded me of Janie. "She stood there until something fell off the shelf insider her. Then she went inside there to see what it was. It was her image of Jody tumbled down and shattered." (72). Like Laura, Janie is forced to pick back up the broken pieces of a life they dreamed of, but could never obtain. Now they are both left to pick up the pieces, shattered and alone.
 * connection:**

= March 25- chapters 7-10: =

What a complete change from the previous chapters. Janie seemed so lost, almost withering away. She brought up questions she hasn't thought about in years, "to where? to what? (76), and i loved it. Finally she was looking insider herself and realizing how much change really had come. She even grew into two people- a shadow of herself and the idealized version of what she wished she could become. I loved it. Joe literally seems to be decaying, and i can't say that i felt bad for him. I was even a little mad that Janie did. He's ridiculously egocentric, to the point he wouldn't even let his own life come in and visit him on his death bed. He still wished to have power over her while he was withering away, perhaps to make himself gain the power he was loosing over his own self. I was getting so annoyed that Janie just let her life waste away, with so much time lost. Finally she stood up to him, and challenged his masculinity. She even told him exactly how she felt all these years before he took his last selfish breath, and seemed to finally be free.

I love how Janie seemed to go full cycle, making an orbit back to her old self- but renewed. She is now wise, thankful and strong, but still cautious. She can see the world for what it is again, and can stand on her own. When she met Tea Cakes, I was sort of mad that she may lose her independence once again, but he seems to be the complete antithesis. Joe was the sun that ironically took all the shine from her life, while Tea Cakes is the moon that illuminates a renewal of hope after her storm.

The Tide by The Spill Canvas media type="file" key="The Tide-The Spill Canvas.flv" align="left" width="360" height="270" This song brings me back to the opening of the novel. With Janie making a cycle back to looking at her girl self to waiting for her new self, I couldn't help but be reminded of this song. She had a dream of love, and asked the world so many questions up until this point. What gets me the most is the line "heaven's not a place that you go when you die its the moment in life that you actually feel alive, so live for the moment." Its so true to Janie's situation, where she is looking for a sanctuary out of her relationship with her life and the relationship she is in. So much time went by where she didn't live for the moment, and questioned what true love was. The relationship between the mother and the children in the song reminded me of Nanny and Janie. Janie openly admits she hates Nanny for getting her into this point of love in her life, and like the mother in the song let their loved ones be overtaken by a wave. At the end of the song, when "love is completely real so forget everything that you have heard", it reminds me of the new hope that Janie gets from her husbands death and the freedom that comes with meeting a person she actually felt close to for the first time in years.
 * connection:**

= March 28- chapters 11-14 =

I loved chapter 11 so much! Definitely my favorite chapter so far. Janie and Tea Cake's relationship seems so natural, like they are in tune with each other. Finally she found her dream of love, even if she has cold feet from her last failed attempt. One of my favorite parts was the part about mirrors, and Tea Cakes wanting Janie to take a good look at herself since she isn't taking any enjoyment for herself. With her happiness, she got to look at her "mouth, eyes and hair" which is something she never would have been able to do with Joe. Compared to Joe who had a big voice and knew exactly where he was going, Tea Cake "seemed to be crushing sent out of the world with his footsteps."(106) He is natural, free, and easy going- exactly what Janie needs. The transformation from going to denial to happiness couldn't have been more beautiful "after a long time of passive happiness, she got up and opened the window and let Tea Cake leap forth and mount to the sky on a wind. That was the beginning of things." (107). Janie's feelings poured out of her, allowed her to let a beautiful relationship fill the holes she had in her heart for so long. I loved it.

I also enjoyed the rest of the chapters, with a little scare that Janie "lost the keys to de kingdom." At first I was sure he left her, but wanted to believe he would come back. I think Janie couldn't be more sure of him after that than ever, knowing she finally found something real. Despite her battles against her own thoughts and stories of ordinary people, their love is anything but ordinary but works all the while- even better. Which leads me to my connection :).


 * connection:** [[image:twice_as_nice2.JPG align="left"]] The way Janie feels about Joe reminds me of a quirky song i love called twice as nice by pomplamoose. When she left to get on the train to marry him, I immediately was reminded of the lines "the doors will soon be closing and you'll wonder whats behind them, who is watching you through tinted windows pointed at your funny shoes", with the people all laughing at Janie for taking a gamble with Tea Cake, disapproving of her new attire of freedom. But Janie ignores all the odds that they could be right about the relationship, thinking he is "twice as nice as anybody else". The lines "so please don't loose your mind because it doesn't belong to anybody else" take me back to Joe, with Janie loosing her mind and identity to his suppression. Tea Cake, on the other hand, is promising and "hasn't lost his smile", but made Janie shine through her own.

link to video

= March 31- chapters 15-17: =

Although chapter 15 was short, it made my head swirl in thoughts from the opening two paragraphs. The way Hurston described jealousy was so interesting to me- and the interaction between genders. "She'd hit Tea Cake playfully and the minute he so much as tapped her finger she'd fall against him or fall on the ground and have to be picked up. She'd be almost helpless." This is a perfect example of how some people love to get attention; they pretend to be helpless or lower their intelligence to be noticed by the opposite sex. I never could understand it, or why we even respond to it. I guess the other person starts to feel a natural sense of power over the other, and in turn feels like he/she can have purpose by presiding over the other. Either way Hurston scribed both subjects flawlessly... "A little seed of fear was growing into a tree." (136). Isn't this completely how we all react to jealousy! We amplify our envious thoughts to magnitudes they should never reach, but all the while can't help it because its such a strong emotion. Don't expect to ever forget it if other people notice your fear, too- like in Janie's case.

"The sight of the fields and the other happy people was too much for her that day." (137) I love this quote so much. Yet again, another perfectly real quote Hurston manages to scribe. It reminds me of one of my very favorite quotes from the perks of being a wallflower, "It's like when you are excited and you see a couple holding hands, and you feel so happy for them. And other times you see the same couple, and they make you so mad. And all you want is to always feel happy for them because you know that if you do, then it means that you're happy, too." It's so true that when we experience pain, we don't want anyone else to feel happiness. And it makes me very, very troubled to say so.

Tea Cake let me down a lot in this chapter. The way he hit Janie reminded me of Joe all over again, but for different reasons. Which brings me to my connection: media type="file" key="Mumford And Sons- Sigh No More (Lyrics).flv" align="left" width="360" height="270"

This song reminds me of Janie's situation so much- with Janie loving Tea Cake so much she can "sigh no more" but he is "a giddy thing" and uses their love to have possession over her. "Love that will not betray you, dismay or enslave you, it will set you free", their love was a natural out pour of happiness, companionship, and understanding in the beginning, and now its leaving them to say "i'm sorry". According to Tea Cake, she hasn't "done nothin'" (148) but he beat her to prove his dominance as a male. Now all he can do is "be more like the man [he] was made to be" and hope their love stays strong despite his arrogance.

= April 4- chapter 18: =

This chapter seemed to come out of nowhere... and left me very confused. I can't seem to figure out why Hurston threw a hurricane into the novel, or wrap my head around it. I could clearly see that Janie and Tea Cake should have left when they had the chance, and was so mad they stayed because they were making money. Is that more important than their lives? I thought it was interesting how she chose to relay that a storm was coming, with Indians creating a continuous march fleeing town. I also liked the story about "John de Conquer" and his quitar in heaven in hell... which brought out more of the religious side of the novel. Up until now, i've been wondering about the title and when it was going to come into play. In this chapter, many references were made to god. "Six eyes were questioning God." (159), was probably my favorite reference.

What I most enjoyed, however, was Hurston's choice to personify the storm. I loved the figurative language she implemented, "it woke up old Okechobee and the monster began to roll in his bed" (158). The vivid picture of a monster emerging from the sea reminded me of James and the Giant Peach (this may be completely weird), in the beginning scene when they're on the beach and a violent storm comes in the form of a rhinoceros. It destroys everything in sight, even his parents, and haunts him for much of the movie. The personification of the storm made me think of how awful the beast of a cloud was, and how detrimental the effects were.

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April 6- chapters 19-20: =

So did anyone else see that coming? In the back of my mind I had completely forgotten about the beginning, with the fact that Janie came right out sand said "Tea Cake is gone" (7). My thoughts were caught up in the middle, but protected from the beginning. I didn't want to accept that Tea Cake was dying, let alone almost killed Janie in the process. I'm almost surprised she shot him, but at the same time I believe she did it out of their love. She knew it was no longer him, and that he needed the beast out of him if he was going to be free. The only way to do that was to die... so he was gone but left behind their love. I was happy with the verdict of the trial, but what I found most chilling was the juxtaposition of races. The white men freed Janie while the black towns people turned up their noses to her. I don't understand the point of this... I just can't wrap my head around it. Is Hurston saying the white men cared so little about Janie that it did not matter if she killed a black man, while the people of her own race frowned upon her because they care? Either way, I found the racial issues fascinatingly wrong.

I loved the end of Janie's tale. With Tea Cakes death he proved to never be gone, but to always embrace her with their love. The garden seed would be planted as a commencement to their bond, to grow and flourish as a new beginning for Janie, with Tea Cake as a lesson she would always keep with her. He planted hope, faith, and most importantly love in Janie's heart, and now she could return the gift by letting his spirit flourish with her as she continues to grow.

media type="file" key="You Be the Anchor That Keeps My Feet on the Ground - Mayday Parade lyrics.flv" align="left"I've been waiting to make this connection, hoping that at the end of the book it would all make sense. **You Be The Anchor That Keeps My Feet On The Ground, I'll Be The Wings That Keep Your Heart In The Clouds** by Mayday Parade always reminded me of Janie and Tea Cake, and I finally get to make the parallel. On page 178, when Janie was feeling lost and full of grief and nonacceptance, she turned to God. Why must he take the one person she loves? He must be playing a trick on her, teaching her a lesson of some sorts to come back and say it was all a joke. But Tea Cakes illness is real, and she knew it was so. She could not change it but with it came an infinite amount of questions, with little answers to be given in the moment. She wasn't exactly pleading, but asking questions (178). This song reminds me so much of the situation Janie is going throw, with her arms going up in a desperate supplication for a minute. She wants answers like the character in the song is yearning for, but can only get them from God and Tea Cake. Shes looking for reassurance, just like the character by the ocean. She wants the love from Tea Cake to be set in stone, with "this much you must know we'll meet again and I'll have you know I'm scared to death" as a parallel to her thoughts. With the doubt and fear that comes from his death, "God would do less than He had in His heart" (178), and all she can do is search for an answer that she will receive from Tea Cakes anchor, and she will be the wings he flies with off to heaven.