kaylyn's+watching+god


 * march 16th**

At first i said to myself "oh god another one of these books where they talk funny" but after i kept reading i realized that this story is different and actually not that hard to read. I like how Hurston goes from juxtaposing about the men living life on a ship and "women remembering everything they don't want to forget. the dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly." and immediately go to the town speculating on an innocent lady without knowing her side of the story. "they sat in judgement"(pg. 1) both the men and women talk about her and act like they know her yet they only know things through hearsay. (< woo valley mock trial) I know that there were so many other points that could have been brought forth but i really attached myself to this aspect of the book considering i see this so much in our world. Every person is so quick to judge the book by the cover without ever opening the first page.
 * Reflection:**

In this modern Beauty and the Beast the entire school is driven to please the school's hottie, when in reality underneath his facade he is ugly. After a curse changes him to show his true colors he hides from the world knowing that he would not be accepted. Only after connecting on a deeper level with a young girl and having her fall in love with the real him can he change back to his normal self. This related to the reflection post above showing how quick society classifies someone or something. The world is not all beautiful on the outside or inside but it takes more than a first glance to dissect true character and the world's flaws is what makes it perfect. Taking time to break down the outer layers releases the mind from an unrealistic dream world wiping away residue from the eyes to open a person to the real world.
 * Visual: **

**March 18th**  **Reflection:** These chapters definitely opened my eyes up. In chapter three especially, there is a lot of rhetorical questions that Janie sort of answers for herself like "Did marriage end the cosmic loneliness of the unmated? Did marriage compel love like the sun the day?" pg. 21 Marriage is one of many life lessons that cannot be taught or just answered but has to be learned and experienced first hand. I like that you get to see the growth of Janie and realize that this marriage's roots will never grow. "She knew now that marriage did not make love." pg. 25 This shows the reader how things in life can't always be forced but must be learned and carefully crafted and be turned into something beautiful. The puzzle pieces don't magically fall in the correct spots the very first time.

**Visual:** Love: something that is supposed to be the most beautiful and natural feelings in the world can also be the hardest to come by. While some people have it easy, it can also be one of the most troubling factors in a person's life especially if it is being forced. Janie is being pushed by Nanny to marry Logan, which she does, without getting consent from her own conscious. This common mistake results in unhappiness and madness. Realizing that love will never amount from her wealthy and "responsible" relationship, Janie sets sail on a new one, Jody. In the movie Bend It Like Beckham, Jess is forced away from her love of soccer and coach to her safe Indian culture and hopefully arranged marriage. Knowing that by conforming to her parents beliefs would not satisfy her own, Jess sneaks around playing soccer and wooing her coach. Little does she know, someone is there to watch behind her back.

**March 21** **Reflection**: First of all, i hate Joe. Literally he is the definition of a pig. He treats Janie like she is a rag to wipe up his dirty work with and to make him sandwiches. When Janie talks to him about spending more time with her he says "i ain't even started yet" pg.46. Not only does this make me think that he is going to neglect her even more but will also continue to cause her pain in more than one way. He is just so selfish. Take his house. It is ironic that a man would come in to help this community yet he builds himself a two story, flawless house. Of course this does not fit in with the rest of the town and stands out like a sore thumb. He only wants to flaunt what he has and take charge no matter what the cost. He runs on power. It's gross. However, i really hope that Janie stands up to him, i'm all about the girl power! **Visual:** Going off of the idea that the lamp post symbolizes Joe's power and unsafe intentions, the dark mark is a powerful and engaging sign, yet extremely terrifying. The only difference between the lamp post and the dark mark is that it is already known that the sign is evil while the lamp post has yet be truly discovered. Both light up the night sky, provide a sign on control and power and claim "what is theres". It is the duties of the citizens in Eatonville to stand up against false light and chisels through the broken wall of ignorance. **March 24**  **Reflection:** God, there are so many things that i wish i could act upon in this book. With every flip of the page i hate jody more and more, yet i cannot help but have some negative emotions towards Janie either. She was able to leave Logan almost so easily yet she can barely ever stand up for herself now. Even when she stood up to the men on the porch (pg.56) Jody once again got his way with her and she was just shut back into the shadows. Oh! and when he slapped her, ohhhhh nooooo. I literally threw my book across the room, i'd like to slap Joe until there is ringing in his ears. As you can tell i am a very independent girl, and proud of it. I want to rip up that head rag and make jody wear it. Her hair is something that distinguishes Janie and for her to cover it up steals her identity. "She had an inside and an outside now and suddenly she knew how not to mix them" pg. 72. Janie's life is slowly slipping through the cracks and she is losing herself and if she doesn't do something about that soon she will become invisible. ** Visual: " 'You gettin' too moufy, Janie,' Starks told her. 'Go fetch me de checker-board and de checkers. Sam Watson, you'se mah fish.' " pg. 75 ** __//Relating Joe and Janie's relationship to the song "Love the way you Lie" by Rihanna and Eminem. While it is not implied that Joe really does love Janie, he does have feelings for her, whether it be just as a trophy or if they are some how grossly true. The song talks about how negative the relationship is but in the end they still can't leave each other. Janie has yet to truly stand up to Jody in a sense that she "loves the way he lies". There is a choking hold over Janie that keeps her in Joe's spell and does not permit her to stray away, not even a little.//__ // "Just gonna stand there // // And watch me burn // // But that's alright // // Because I like // // The way it hurts // // Just gonna stand there // // And hear me cry // // But that's alright // // Because I love // // The way you lie // // I love the way you lie" //  ** //March 25// **   //**Reflection:** So much time has passed. I couldn't help but feel happiness knowing that Jody was old and fat and not good looking. He reminds me of the stereotypical bully who takes their anger out on people because they are self conscious. Finally Janie stands up for herself but of course the weak little man that Jody is, he has to still say something to her. After he passed i was so pleased to see Janie take off her head rags. It just showed the release of her true spirit and when she put them back on to show mourning. After she puts it in the long braid she continues to show a sad facade but that is all an act. it really goes to show how much image matters in the real world and how fake everyone is. That's just so disturbing to me. Especially seeing all these new men who know Janie try to court her now that Joe is out of the picture.//  //After seeing the "new man" Tea Cake, i'm really curious to see what happens in the next few chapters. I really hope that he is truly respecting Janie and isn't another mistake.// ** Visual: ** In the movie the skeleton key Kate Hudson is living in a house with an old woman, portraying a nice compassionate woman, who is really a younger black slave seeking revenge and a new body. While their is no witchcraft involved in TEWWG, this does go to support the fact that people are never what they seem. It has always been said that you can't judge a book by it's cover and after seeing Joe's true personality this is completely true. However it also goes to show Janie as well. While she is more than happy that Jody is out of her life she pretends to mourn over him so people believe that she is really unhappy. Does anyone ever wear their true skin, or is it all just a costume?




 * March 28th**

**Reflection:** Now i know that i should be happy for Janie because she is finally living the life that she wants to live however i can't ignore the fact that i still don't fully trust Tea Cake. She talks about not wanting him to be like Jody yet just like her and Joe, she runs off to marry the man. Also, he's always disappearing for days without word as to where he is going. When he stole the $200 i was like "ohhh noo" but then he came back. i mean why take the money without telling Janie and just go off for a few days. I also notice that I feel as though Tea Cake's intention may not be as true as he says. When he is gone and comes back with excuses it is obvious that he has had training in the "excuse" field before. It's almost as if Tea Cake is using his absence to make Janie want to be closer to him. Then when they move to the dumps Janie begins to participate more and more. While she is laughing and learning a lot from him I think it's just a bit fishy. I really hope that she is not just settling for someone who is putting on a show for her. But who knows, maybe he will be good after all. Also i would like to point out the fact that Janie's shooting technique is obviously better than Tea Cake's. Just goes to show how wonderful women are and that they truly can do anything and the fact that Janie finally stood up for herself. The town told her that Tea Cake was not good for a girl like her just because was of lower class yet she still goes off with him anyways.


 * Connection: In the fabulous musical, Wicked, Elphaba or the "wicked" witch falls in love with a high class good looking boy, Fiyero. Due to the fact that Elphie is green and can be harsh everyone tells the characters that they cannot be together and should be in love with people who are in their own level. However the characters go against these demands and do everything in their power to be together, resulting in Fiyero turning into a scarecrow. Janie and Tea Cake knew from the get go that their love would be frowned upon but they did not try to hide it. To hide one's true feelings would be a serious crime. By setting out to make their own life, all four of these characters find what they consider, love. Love comes in all shapes, forms and even colors. While it can be hard to find sometimes it is as easy as a game of checkers. **



**Chapter 15-17** **Reflection:** Well referring to the previous post up there^ i can't say that i am too surprised with these chapters. I just had this feeling that Tea Cake was too good to be true. Even if he did it just to make himself appear a certain way he wasn't being independent, with regards to beating Janie. This really goes into the whole appearance vs. reality motif i think. Also, Nunkie, that little whore (am i allowed to say whore on here?) keeps trying to get in between Tea Cake and Janie's relationship. Even if Tea Cake really does love Janie i mean what if he does cheat on her. ahh Nunkie better back off. But i also enjoy the company of Mrs. Turner. I think it's funny how she is black yet she frowns upon many black people. It reminds me of the conversation that Dom and I had the other day. I told him that i didn't consider him black and he so "no, im just not ghetto, there's ghetto, normal, preppy." White people can act ghetto and black people can act preppy and some just people fall in the middle. By using the stereotype of black people it just shows the actions of a people in that time and i think that is what Mrs. Turner is trying to say frown upon. I really hope that everything just works out for Janie. I can't bare another heart ache, it's not good for a romantic like myself. **Visual:** In the one episode of One Tree Hill, Brooke decides to leave New York and go to her cheerleading competition. However when she arrives at the hotel she walks in on her boyfriend, Lucas, getting dressed while his ex girlfriend is sleeping in the bed behind him. Without even taking a second to talk she walks away and throws attitude at Lucas while he tries to explain himself. He then gets through to her tell her that it was a mix up with the room assignments and nothing happened. Brooke believes him and then they make up. When Janie sees Tea Cake and Nunkie wrestling she automatically thinks the worst, as would anyone. Tea Cake provides an excuse and in the end they make up. Relationships are never easy and most of the time never balanced. However Hurston is clearly showing that trust is not easy to have. There are always going to be thoughts that run through the mind that counteract one another. The only choice a person has is which one to act upon. ** April 4th **  **Reflection:** I have been wondering when we would see the quote "their eyes were watching god". When Tea Cake said that he didn't want to leave and said that he would just stay there throughout the storm it really reminded me of the captain in titanic going down with his ship. I seriously read through this chapter so quick because of the suspense of the storm. As the storm grew i felt myself engaging more and more in the story and i had a hard time putting the book down. When they saw the bodies just flowing and the whole scene where Tea Cake has to jump in and save Janie from the dog i was just shocked and speechless throughout this entire thing. Even now, since i just finished the reading, i find it really hard to put all my feelings in the post because there are these emotions and im just like "ahh" But i guess this reflection would be fitting in its scrambled fashion considering the reading was so emotional as well. Maybe ill have to come back and post more. ** Visual: Going off of the book's namesake "Their Eyes Were Watching God" and considering the horrible, destructive events throughout this chapter the song I Look To You by Whitney Houston comes ato mind automatically. The lyrics take the reader on an adventure with a person's struggle and in the end looking to god for the answer. It shows that no matter what happens, good or bad, there is always someone to look to for guidance and that no one is ever alone in this world, even when no on is standing beside them. After all strength and hope seems lost the best thing to do is to keep moving on and push to find the light in the darkness. **  **As I lay me down**  **Heaven hear me now**  **I’m lost without a cause**  **After giving it my all**

 **Winter storms have come**  **And darkened my sunmedia type="custom" key="8951080" width="468" height="468" align="right"**  **After all that I’ve been through**  **Who on earth can I turn to?**

 **Chorus:**  **I look to you,**  **I look to you**  **After all my strength is gone**  **In you I can be strong**  **I look to you,**  **I look to you**  **And when melodies are gone In you I hear a song** <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **I look to you**

<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **Have to lose my breath** <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **There's no fighting left** <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **Sinking to rise no more** <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **Searching for that open door**

<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **And every road that I've taken** <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **Led to my regret** <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **And I don't know if I'm go'n make it** <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **Nothing to do but lift my head**

<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **Chorus:**

<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **My levees are broken** <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **My walls are coming down on me** <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **My rain is falling** <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **Defeat is calling** <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **I need you to set me free** <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **Take me far away from the battle** <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **I need you** <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **Shine on me!**

<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #f8bae2; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> **Chorus:**


 * <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #1c0202; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> April 6 **

<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #de6363; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">**Reflection:** Honestly, i was not prepared for what happened in this reading. When Tea Cake got sick everything just happened so fast. I was so shocked to the pistol underneath his pillow and when Janie checked to see if it was loaded, it was curious that she did not take the bullets but had it set to go through the three empty slots first. It made me wonder if Janie purposefully did that knowing that she would kill Tea Cake. Whether it be because she did not want him to suffer any longer or just because their horizon had come to its end. Once she was put on trial i for sure thought with pretty much everyone going against her that the jury would find a black woman guilty considering the time period but they proved me wrong. I'm happy that she didn't stay alone in the muck and returned to Eatonville. She is able to carry out her story and her love with the world in the place where it all began. Finally, she can rest in self assurance and happiness.


 * <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #74fbfb; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">Visual: In the movie Remember Me, Robert Pattinson's character, Tyler, establishes a true love with a girl, Ally. Throughout their relationship there are ups, downs and jealousy but in the end their true feelings conquer all. When Rob's character passes away in 9-11 Ally can hardly bare the pain however she knows that deep within she will forever be changed by true love. In the end she even gets on the subway, the place where she watched her mother get murdered, all because of the strength and lessons she was taught by Tyler. Janie was a run down girl lost in the dark just like Ally. Until she met Tea Cake who brushed her cob webs off. After his death Janie knew that no matter what happened from then on out, her life was touched by one man. Sometimes a relationship can fly by and end before you know it but it is the lessons and experiences that happen that change a person for eternity. Janie's return to Eatonville shows how self assured and strong she is now because of the man she loved, just like Ally simply taking the subway instead of a taxi. Everyone has an impact on a life but it is what a person does with that impact that makes it special. "Our fingerprints don't fade from the lives we touch"-remember me **