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Once a Wolverine, ALWAYS a Wolverine!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Their Eyes Were Watching God, chs 1-4

The opening paragraph in the book draws a distinction between men and women, and how they view their dreams and desires. Hurston portrays women as being more practical because they build their dreams around the truth, while men wish for things they can never attain. The people on the porch are presented to us as something less than human, but again the difference between the thoughts of the men and the thoughts of the women are made apparent.The men hold on to her image as an object of their fantasy, while the women show their envy. Chapter 1 occurs in the present. Chapter 2 and subsequent chapters occur in the past as Janie tells her life story to Phoeby. We learn that she was raised by her grandmother, and that she was a product of rape, and that the children she went to school with made fun of her because she lived on the white peoples' property. Why were they REALLY making fun of her? Did you find it interesting that Janie said she didn't realize she was black until she was about 6 years old? In ch 3 Janie comes to see Nanny to talk to her about marriage. What is it she wants to know? There is a distinct difference between what Janie wants for herself & what Nanny wants. What does Janie want? What does Nanny want for her? How does Nanny measure happiness? What is the 'bloom time, green time & orange time' that Janie waited? In chapter 4 we meet Joe Starks. What is it about Joe that attracts Janie? Why is she still hesitant to leave with him? What is the 'far horizon' she speaks of?

12 comments:

  1. they were really making fun of her because they were actually JEALOUS of what she had because they DIDNT have it.

    it was interesting that she didnt realize it until she was 6 because she learned alot then..

    janie wants to know what love means..she wants to experience LOVE and to learn about it.. nanny wants her to be a distant wife, meaning she wants her to be with someone who will protect her..

    janie thinks joe is a TOP KNOTCH deal... she thinks he has style and class.. she doesnt want to disobey her nanny...

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  2. They were making fun of Janie because she was wearing wash-burn's children hand-me-downs, That were much nicer than their clothes.

    It was interesting to know that Janie didn't realize her ethnicity until she had reached the age of six because she didn't realize it until she had saw the photo that was taken of her with other kids.

    Janie wants to know what love really means but on the other hand her nanny wants her to be with someone that she knows will protect and take good care of her.

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  3. The real reason children were making fun of Janie is because they were jelous because Janie wass living on the white people land,they were making fun of the color of her skin as much as d fact she was living on their land. She had just as much as they had.
    Janie wants to find love and wants to know how it feels to be loved. Nanny wants her to be what I think is a boring wife,Nanny wants her to be a distant kind of wife. Nanny wants to be the one to choose who Janie will marrie,Nanny wants Janie to marrie a man that she likes instead of someone Janie likes.

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  4. The children was joking on her because of the clothes that she was wearing because they were washburn hand me downs.They was also jealous because she was living on the white's land.
    It was interesting to know that she thought she wasn't black until she saw a picture of herself when she was six. And she also thought that she wasn't black because when she was little she always use to play with the washburn children.Janie wants to know what love is and she wonder will she ever find it so she spends alot of her time under the pear tree trying to understand how marriage might make her feel love.Janie wants sweet things in her marriage like the beauty of sitting under a pear tree. Her nanny wants her to marry Logan because he has sixty acres of land on the main road. In ch. 4 janie like's that joe dress nice and his not like other men she has seen, and she like the way he talks. Janie is scared to leave because she thinks that logan will found out and try to get her for leaving him.

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  5. I think the people joked because they thought janie thought that she was better then them because she lived on white people land. But really they never knew what she really had or what was going on in her life. Janie also wanted to find love she pretended to be married under a pear tree when she was young.She always wanted to be loved and have a perfect marriage but her nanny had other plans.She makes janie marry logan because of his 60 acres and also she thought she knew what was best for janie.
    But when  janie saw joe he was dressed nice and loved the way he talked and made her feel but she was afraid to leave with him because she thought logan would  find her and punish her.

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  8. she was teased because of her nice hand-me-down clothes she got from the washburns . i think it was odd that she didnt know she was black because i mean she did have eyes , didnt she see that her skin was darker ?? she comes to Nanny asking her whats love . she wants o know what love is.Janie wants love and Nanny wants her to be protected. gloom time , organge time ect means love . what attracts her is that he is younger than logan , he has his stuff together , he is well dressed and smart . she hesitates to leave with him because she doesnt want to disobey her Nanny . the far off horizon is Eatonsville.

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  9. She was teased becase of what she was warring thay just didnt understand her so namny wanted her to get some one that was talented and smart.So se went to live in Eatonsville withother blscks with joe

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  10. Nammy wanted her to haves man who at something to offer janie until she met joe and had a fresh start

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  12. The kids at Janie's school are really making fun of her because they're jealous her appearance is better then theirs.

    I've failed to realize how Janie never realized her skin was darker than those around her.

    Janie comes to Nanny about love but their views are completely different.
    Nanny wants Janie to marry someone who can give her nice things but Janie wants someone who will genuinely love her for her.

    Bloom, orange and green time symbolize a love to Janie that she's waiting on.

    When Janie meets Joe Starks she is attracted to his appearance and how it differs from those of the men she's seen around but she's still hesitate to leave with him because she doesn't want to disobey Nanny.

    The far off horizon described is Eatonville where Joe wants to go.

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