Blood Wedding-Journal 1

Compare how writers in your study have explored the themes of judgment and punishment, or disguise and deceit, or love and friendship, and with what effect.

            I believe that all three authors, Sophocles, Ibsen, and Lorca, play with the concept of disguise and deceit in their separate plays.  However, these authors do it in different ways and through different situations.  When it comes down to it though, all of the authors explore the theme of disguise and judgment through the concepts of marriage and sexual relationships.

            In Oedipus the King, the true identity of Oedipus’ parents is being disguised.  He is being deceived due to a prophecy.  He lives his life with no doubt when the disguise is kept up, but once it is broken, doubt sets in.  Oedipus doubts what he knows, shown through him doing anything to find out the truth.  He is angry that he has been deceived and remorseful because the disguise caused him to stay away from the people who raised him.  The disguise and deceit keep him from things that he loves.  When he realizes that he was being deceived for years, he harms himself by taking his sight.  Through this harm, Sophocles displays disguise and deceit as a detrimental thing.

            In Wild Duck Hjalmar is the one being deceived.  His wife, Gina, is disguising the true identity of Hedvig’s father.  When Hjalmar receives the letter from Werles, he becomes doubtful that he is Hedvig’s father.  He becomes very angry because he was being deceived.  This anger leads Hedvig to kill herself because she wants her father to be happy with her.  Ibsen is saying that disguise and deceit cannot lead to good things, only bad things.

            I have not finished Blood Wedding, but so far it seems as if BRIDE is deceiving everyone else in the play.  It seems this way because she runs off with Leonardo in the middle of her wedding reception.  She disguised her feelings for him.  I do not know if this disguise and deceit ends in bad things like the other plays, but I am assuming that it does due to the title of the play.

            In all three plays, the women are the ones deceiving the men; Jocasta deceives Oedipus, Gina deceives Hjalmar, and BRIDE deceives BRIDEGROOM.  I find it interesting because in all three plays, the man is portrayed as the “breadwinner” in a way; the men are characterized as being in control of the relationship.

Comments!

Megan Davis: Wild Duck Journal 1
In your journal you keep the plot and style very separate. Are they connected in any way? I think that the style builds and enhances the plot, but overall the plot is the most important aspect of the play.

Matt Merckling: Wild Duck Journal 2
I think you have a good foundation here!  What you are saying is definitely true.  I think that you need to elaborate more and go a little deeper.  Right now, I do not know where "deeper" is, but I think you can get there.  Your evidence backs up your point very well, but you need more.  Overall, I really like what you have here.

Tate Bankston: Wild Duck Journal 1
I completely agree with the point in the first paragraph.  You have good evidence of both authors' style, but you do not connect it back to the plot.  Adding a sentence or two would clarify how the style builds the plot in each play.

Wild Duck-Journal 3

Stylistic techniques (imagery, figurative language, sensory detail)

            After reading Act 3 I picked up on something that I did not in the first two acts.  This could mean that Ibsen starting implementing it in the third act or I just missed it in the first two acts.  I realized that Ibsen uses references to the ocean or water quite a few times.

            On page 164 Gregers and Hedvig are talking about the wild duck and Gregers says, “And actually, she’s been in the depths of the sea” (Ibsen 164).  The depths of the sea are something unknown and mysterious, especially in the time period that this play was written.  This creates a feeling of mystery around the wild duck and what she has been through.  The “depths of the sea” also insinuates something wild, and therefore reinforces the fact that the duck used to live in the wild and is a wild animal.  To be in the depths of the sea requires bravery and once back from the depths, others usually look at you with more respect.  You have seen things that others will never see.  Ibsen said that the wild duck represented Hedvig; therefore she must have seen things that others have not.

            Gregers says to Hjalmar, “You’ve plunged to the bottom and clamped hold of seaweed” (Ibsen 170).  To “plunge to the bottom and clamp hold of seaweed” is something that could be suicidal.  Gregers is hinting that Hjalmar is stupid and what Hjalmar is doing is detrimental.  This idea is further developed when Gregers says to Hjalmar, “[Y]ou’ve gone to the bottom to die in the dark” (Ibsen 170).  This statement just states what Gregers was hinting at in the previous statement.  This flat out statement shows that Gregers is becoming more desperate to get Hjalmar to see the truth of his situation.

            On page 163 Gregers and Hedvig are talking about the “flying Dutchman”.  This old legend is one about the water.  This conversation immediately turns into one about what Hedvig wants to do when she is older and how the things the Dutchman left inspire her.  I think that the water inspires her somehow, but it is also made out to be a bad thing.  I am not exactly sure what Ibsen is doing with the images of and references to water.  I am eager to keep reading and see if the imagery is consistent throughout the play.

Wild Duck-Journal 2

To what extent would you agree that plot should be valued more highly than style in the work?

            I think that plot is more important in all works of writing, including plays.  If the story of the novel or play is not strong then the style will be building upon nothing.  I believe that the style of a work should build the plot and make it stronger and more interesting.  The style needs to enhance the plot, not overshadow it.

            In Oedipus the King the plot is driven by more details of the plot.  The motifs and figurative language that Sophocles uses, like the motif of blindness, helps develop the plot and build on it, but without the foundation of the plot, all of the literary techniques that Sophocles uses would not be significant.  The motif of blindness would not make sense in all plots, but it helps enhance the plot of Sophocles’ play, because it falls into the plot very well.  If it were in a plot that had nothing to do with blindness to situations or other things, then the motif would not make sense.  The style needs to match the plot or it hurts the play instead of helps.  Ibsen also uses the motif of blindness in Wild Duck.  This motif makes sense in this play because the plot has to do with secrets and things like that.  A lot of the reasons that I stated for Oedipus the King also apply to Wild Duck. 

            Style is more valued in novels, but plays are meant to be performed and watched by an audience.  The audience watching the play cares more about the story line and the plot than they do about syntax and sound manipulations.  It is much easier to recognize literary techniques while reading a piece of writing.  An audience may appreciate things like foreshadowing and motifs while watching a play, but many other literary techniques would not be appreciated in a performed play.  The plot is what drives a play that is being performed.

Wild Duck-Journal 1

“Visual action can be as important on the stage as speech.”  How far do you agree with this claim?

            I completely agree that visual action can be as important if not as important on the stage as speech.  The cliché “actions speak louder than words” holds true in theater as well as life.  A look a character gives another character or a hand gesture that a character makes can convey a lot more emotion than whatever the character says.  Actions give the audience a deeper understanding of what is going on in the play and what the characters are feeling by creating a visual to look at.

            In Oedipus the King, Oedipus claws his own eyes out after he finds a dead Jocasta.  This visual is much stronger than him say he is upset or sad about what happened.  The audience sees what Oedipus does to himself and the people watching become capable of understanding Oedipus’ emotions.  This happens because they see an example of what his emotions make him do, rather than just hearing him express his emotions through dialogue.  The visual of the force that Oedipus uses with the shepherd shows how desperate Oedipus was to find out the truth.  His language is forceful, but his actions visually illustrate the idea, making it stronger.

            In Wild Duck there are many different groups conversing amongst themselves.  This is demonstrated through the stage directions and through the dialogue between only two people.  In this play, the separation between characters conveys the idea of secrets and gossip.  While these ideas are expressed through the dialogue, the ideas are further developed through the visual scene.  The audience can see two characters talking together, therefore the audience understands that these characters do not want others to hear what they are talking about.  This makes the people watching the play feel as if they are in on some secret, creating a connection or bond between them and the characters.

            The dialogue in a play generally creates or introduces an idea, but the actions that the audience can see strengthen and build on the idea created by the dialogue.  Without the actions, the idea would be weak and the audience would not believe it, making the play boring and uninteresting.

Oedipus-Journal 3

Readers are attracted to moments of intensity in a writer’s work.  By what means and with what effect have writers in your study offered heightened emotional moments designed to arrest the reader’s attention.

The main moment of intensity came when Oedipus sees Jocasta dead.  “He rips off her brooches, the long gold pins holding her robes and […] he digs them down the socket of his eyes […]” (Sophocles 237).  Oedipus takes pins and gouges his eyes with them.  Sophocles uses imagery of this, “raking them down his eyes.  And at each stroke blood spurts from the roots, splashing his beard, a swirl of it, nerves and clots-black hail of blood pulsing, gushing down” (Sophocles 237).  This imagery creates a moment of intensity because the reader is uncomfortable.  What Sophocles describes is very graphic and causes the stomach of the reader to churn a bit.

Oedipus hurts his eyes with the pins.  Sophocles uses the motif of blindness in this passage as he does throughout the play.  Originally, Oedipus was figuratively blind to his situation, but he did not realize it.  Now that he knows the truth about his situation, he wants to be literally blind to it.  “Blind from this hour on!  Blind in the darkness-blind!” (Sophocles 237).  If he cannot see it, it is not happening.  He does not feel worthy of living with sight because of what he has done.

Another reason that this passage is a moment of intensity is because Oedipus is pretty seriously physically harming himself.  This is not something that a person witnesses everyday so it is different and unknown to the reader.  This causes the reader to pay more attention to it.  It makes the reader question how a person could do something like destroying his/her own eyes and why a person would do that.  When a reader questions something about a passage they are reading, they are automatically spending more time on and paying more attention to that passage.

Oedipus-Journal 2

Diary entries from any of the characters

Pg. 211-234; Oedipus just found out that he was not raised by his real parents and now he is trying to figure out who his real parents are.

Dearest Journal,

            I am so confused.  I do not know what to think anymore.  There is a messenger that is telling me that my parents are not who I thought they were.  But how could that be?  It is crazy talk.  But then again, maybe it is true.  I do not know what to believe.  The shepherd seemed to know what he was talking about.  So maybe the messenger is telling me the truth.

If the messenger is telling me the truth and Polybus and Merope are not my parents, then I will have wasted most of my life trying to stay away from them…for absolutely no reason at all.  I almost do not want to believe the messenger and the shepherd.  If I do believe them, then I do not know how I will live with myself, knowing that I was ignoring the people who raised me when there was no real threat.  But I think I have to believe them.  What they’re saying is making sense.

Why did Jocasta run off when I was talking to the messenger about my real parents?  That did not make sense.  Nothing we found out affects her.  She still has her royal blood.  She should not have become so mad…unless she knows something.  Could she know anything about my past?  Probably not, but what if she does?  Why would she keep something like that from me?  She will not tell me anything though.  She is too mad.

Who else can I ask that would know who my real parents are?  I must know.  I do not want the prophecy to be fulfilled.  I must know who my parents are so I can stay away from them.  Maybe I can torture the shepherd some more and he will start to remember.  That will work.  I need to calm down first.  I cannot let anyone see me like this.  I must look powerful and authoritative.  I must learn the truth about myself.  If nothing else, I must know.

As always,

Oedipus

Oedipus- Journal 1

Point of View/Characters: From whose point of view is the story told? Does this change? How reliable is the narrative voice? How well does the reader get to know the characters? How credible are they? How are they presented? How does the writer persuade us to like/sympathize with some characters and dislike others?

Oedipus the King is a play, so it is written in dialogue.  It is not told from a particular person’s point of view.  Because it is written in a kind of third person limited, the reliability of the narrator does not really come into play.  The audience is feeling the characters’ confusion, anger, frustration, and all of their other emotions.  Another reason the reliability is not a huge factor in this play is because the audience already knows the plot.  This creates a sense of irony because the audience is watching the characters struggle with the situations they are in, but the people watching the play already know what is going to happen.

The reader gets to know the characters fairly well because the characters are expressing their emotions and thoughts through the dialogue.  Through the dialogue though, the reader does not learn anything of where the character came from or how the background of the character influences the actions he/she takes.  This is a downfall of reading a play because it is all dialogue and no filler information.  The reader has to infer why a character is influenced to do what he/she does. 

Oedipus is the protagonist, as indicated by the title of the play.  There are other supporting characters that influence the reader’s opinion of him as well.  The chorus is the “character” that provides inside information to the reader, but it is always in somewhat of a riddle.  The author causes the reader to sympathize with Oedipus by expressing Oedipus’ emotions through the dialogue.

Handmaid's Tale-Journal 3

Topic C

I think that Margaret Atwood creates a society that is not quite believable, but it is very powerful.  I don’t think that it is believable because for it to happen the government would have been taken over by a religious group with no opposition at all, as it says in the book.  I do not think that this could happen because of the diversity of the United States and I find it hard to believe that there was not one person or group who did not take action against this group.  I think that Atwood creates a powerful society because unlike a lot of other dystopian novels Atwood sets the story during the transition period.  Other authors set their dystopian novels after the society has been founded and there is no longer any transition.  Setting the novel in a transition period makes it so the reader can see how the society directly relates to the old society.  This relation occurs because the narrator has been a part of the old and the new society.  The old society was one of rebellion by women.  The author does give us hope that not all people in the society agree with the oppression that is happening and other things that are happening.  Atwood creates this sense of hope through the small acts of rebellion performed by the characters.  These acts show that people can still make a choice and they are still human, not brainwashed members of society.  Atwood paints a picture of two extremes in society, and I think that she is trying to warn us that we may get to close to one of the extremes.  For a society to be balanced and function properly, it needs to be in the middle of the extremes.

Handmaid's Tale-Journal 2

Topic B

Moira, Offred’s friend from before she was a handmaid, is a character involved in a struggle in her society.  Moira is a strong willed woman who does not like to be controlled and oppressed.  Against her will, she ends up at the Red Center, where women are trained to be handmaids.  Moira resists this fate the entire way.  She talks to Offred in the bathroom through a hole in the stall, risking a lot.  There is also an instance when Moira tries to escape.  When the Aunts catch her, they hurt her feet to the point that she cannot walk.  Moira knew that she would be punished, but she tried to regain her freedom anyway.  Later, Moira corners an Aunt and threatens her.  Moira makes the Aunt switch clothes with her and this gives Moira the opportunity to escape.  Moira was the only woman in the Red Center that resisted and she got her freedom somewhat back.  Compared to the alternative life for Moira, being a handmaid, I think that her resistance was not in vain.  Moira ends up working at the place where Commanders bring handmaids to have sex and where they can have sex with prostitutes.  Although this is not an ideal lifestyle and she still has to hide (because places like where she works are illegal) she still has freedoms that Offred does not have.  I think that because Moira resisted, she is able to live life in the best way possible for her considering the circumstances.

Handmaid's Tale-Journal 1

Topic A

“Serena Joy lets go of my hands. ‘You can get up now,’ she says.  ‘Get up and go out.’  She’s supposed to have me rest, for ten minutes, with my feet on a pillow to improve the chances.  This is meant to be a time of silent meditation for her, but she’s not in the mood for that.  There is a loathing in her voice, as if the touch of my flesh sickens and contaminates her.  I untangle myself from her body, stand up; the juice of the Commander runs down my legs.  Before I turn away I see her straighten her blue skirt, clench her legs together; she continues lying on the bed, gazing up at the canopy above her, stiff and straight as an effigy.  Which of us it worse for, her or me?” (Atwood 95).

This passage comes during the Ceremony.  All of the members of the household had to sit through the Ceremony because that is what is required of them by the government.  The government makes people sit through this ceremony because they believe that it is part of the process of having a baby.  The ultimate goal of the government is to have babies be born and this is shown through the mandated rest time that is supposed to happen.  The word “supposed” makes it known that someone is making Serena give Offred that rest time, which further reveals what the government’s goal is.   Serena tells Offred what to do and when to do it and this shows that women in Serena’s position, wives, have control over women in Offred’s position, handmaids.  Earlier in the section there are multiple events showing the restriction put on Offred by the Angels and the Guardians, the “police force” of the government.  The restriction is explained through this passage by showing the lack of control Offred has and why she has that lack of control; to ensure that babies are born.  Serena’s “loathing” shows the lack of peace within the society, specifically between Wives and handmaids.  This lack of peace occurs because the government requires men to have handmaids to ensure that babies are born.  This upsets the traditional standards of marriage.

The Stranger-Thesis

Through the treatment of Salamano's dog compared to events that happen to Meursault, Albert Camus expresses the idea that humans will suppress their emotions in order to make events easier to cope with because the possibility of being emotionally hurt by those events is eliminated.

The Stranger-Journal 8

            I personally did not like “The Stranger”.  It just was not my kind of book.  I found it boring and hard to tab.  “Their Eyes Were Watching God” was much more enjoyable to read.  Although I did not like the book I do think that it has a lot of literary value.  I feel as if literary techniques are not as easy to spot and analyze in this book as they were in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”.  This caused me to have to dig deeper in the book and really think about it.  Maybe this was one of the reasons that I did not like it, but I know that it is making me better at analyzing.  I also think that “The Stranger” has a lot of literary value because it is written in such a unique style.  I have not read anything like it before so it exposed me to a new type of writing, which also helped me learn how to analyze a new style.  I think that “The Stranger” should continue to be taught at high schools because it is different from a lot of other books and it helps students become well-rounded when it comes to analyzing.  It also has literary value because it was originally written in a different language and had to be translated.  This interests me and made me like the book a little bit more because I am so fascinated by other cultures.

The Stranger-Journal 7

I am going to focus on the relationship between Salamano and his dog and how that relates to Meursault.

“It occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over, that Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that, really nothing had changed” (24)

“Twice a day, at eleven and six, the old man takes the dog out for a walk.  They haven’t changed their route in eight years.  You can see in the rue de Lyon, the dog pulling the man along until old Salamano stumbles.  Then he beats the dog and swears at it.  The dog cowers and trails behind” (27).

“Then he left, yanking at the animal, which was letting itself be dragged along, whimpering” (28).

“He asked me didn’t I think it was disgusting and I said no” (28).

“He asked if I thought she was cheating on him, and it seemed to me she was; if I thought she should be punished and what I would do in his place, and I said you can’t ever be sure, but I understood his wanting to punish her” (32).

“I wrote the letter.  I did it just as it came to me, but I tried my best to please Raymond because I didn’t have any reason not to please him” (32).

“Then he explained to me that he’d heard about Maman’s death but that it was one of those things that was bound to happen sooner or later.  I thought so too” (33).

All I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears.  I stood there, motionless.  And in old Salamano’s room, the dog whimpered softly (33).

The woman was still shrieking and Raymond was still hitting her.  Marie said it was terrible and I didn’t say anything.  She asked me to go find a policeman, but I told her I didn’t like cops (36).

“[…]I saw that he didn’t have his dog” (38).

“Sure, I’ve been meaning to get him a smaller collar for a long time.  But I never thought the bastard would take off like that” (38).

“They’re not going to take him away from me, are they, Monsieur Meursault?  They’ll give him back to me.  Otherwise, what’s going to happen to me?” (39).

“[…]I realized he was crying.  For some reason I thought of Maman” (39).

“[…]he told me that his dog was lost[…]maybe it had been run over.  He asked if he could find out at the police station.  They told him they didn’t keep track of things like that because they happened everyday” (44).

“When she died he had been very lonely.  So he asked a shop buddy for a dog and he’d gotten this one very young[…]We’d have a run-in every now and then.  But he was a good dog just the same” (45).

“The trigger gave[…]Then I fired four more times at the motionless body where to bullets lodged without leaving a trace” (59).

“Then the judge stood up[…]He simply asked in the same weary tone, if I was sorry for what I had done.  I thought about it for a minute and said that more than sorry I felt kind of annoyed (70).

Thesis:  Through the relationship between Salamano and his dog in connection to Meursault’s actions Albert Camus expresses the idea that humans will try to suppress their emotions, but once fully suppressed, humans will begin to feel regret and want them back.

The Stranger-Journal 6

1.      Why does Camus describe everyone in detail except the Arabs?  The most he describes the Arabs is that they are wearing blue overalls.  Most everyone else is described in elaborate detail.

2.      What does the dog represent?

3.      Do Meursault’s cigarettes represent something?  If so, what?

4.      On pg. 56, what is the significance of Meursault referencing his mother’s death as he’s about to kill someone?

5.      Why does Camus set the story on the beach so often and why does he make it a place that Meursault desires to go to?

Answers:

Megan #1

Camus uses the dog to represent the relationship between a human and something they love.  This relationship contrasts with the relationships that Meursault has to make them seem superficial and to show that he is not capable of understanding a deeper relationship.

Matt #2

Camus uses short, choppy sentences to show that Meursault is not capable of thinking or comprehending anything more, like emotion. This is why he is not capable of expressing his emotion.

Tate #5

The sun changes the tone to reveal Meursault's physical wants and that he is not capable of expressing anything deeper than his physical desires.

Ivan #4

Having dialogue interspersed throughout the paragraphs creates the feel that it is a human's thoughts, giving the reader a more genuine account of Meursault's story.

Isabella #1

Camus gives Meursault emotions, but he is not capable of expressing them. This is clear through the short, choppy, methodical sentences.

The Stranger-Journal 5

I think that Camus split the book into two parts to emphasize the change in Meursault’s situation.  In Part One it seems as if he is just going through life, but then in Part Two he is jail.  This changes his life, but when looked at carefully there are parallels to his life before he killed the Arab.  Before going to jail Meursault was very methodical about things and lived by a schedule.  […]I’ll take the two o’clock bus and get there in the afternoon.  That way I can be there for the vigil and come back tomorrow night” (3).  After going to jail, Meursault stills lives by a schedule.  “[…]I’ve been sleeping sixteen to eighteen hours a day.  That would leave me with six hours to kill with meals, nature’s call, my memories, and the story of the Czechoslovakian” (79).  Another parallel between the first and second parts of the book is the reference to Maman.  While it does not appear that Meursault cares for his mother or is sad about her death, it is evident that he actually does because he often thinks of her.  In Part One he thinks, “The sun was the same as it had been the day I’d buried Maman[…]” (58).  In Part Two Meursault talks to his lawyer about his mother and says, “The day I buried Maman, I was very tired and sleepy, so much so that I wasn’t really aware of what was going on.  What I can say for certain is that I would rather Maman hadn’t died” (65).  Throughout Part Two Meursault continues to reflect on his mother’s death, therefore it must be significant in some way.

The Stranger-Journal 4

Why did the subject change so quickly after Meursault almost shot the Arabs? (56)
Why does Meursault make a reference to the day of his mom's burial right before he killed the Arab? (58)
Is Meursault implying that killing someone made him unhappy?  If so, then why did he shoot the dead body four more times? (59)
Why did the men continue walking towards the Arabs when they first saw them? (53)
Is Masson put in the story to contrast Meursault and highlight his characteristics?
What is the significance of the flute?

The Stranger-Journal 3

My philosophy, faithism, is based off the belief that everyone has a purpose and everything happens for a reason.  Although people don’t always know what that reason is and they usually don’t understand it or agree with it it’s always there.  I don’t think that people should always try to understand the reason, they need to have faith in it, and that doesn’t always involve an understanding of it.  I know that faithism is a lot like theism, but I think that people need to have faith in other things, as well as God.

·         There is a God who works through the Trinity.

·         People are capable of having a personal relationship with God.

·         People should not expect God to fix all of their problems.  They need to take an active role in following His lead to fix the problems.

·         Relationships with other people are the best way to find happiness in life.  It doesn’t come from material things.

·         People are naturally good, although it is in human nature to want to better yourself and your position.  This is ok, as long as it is not done at the expense of another person.

·         People have free will and they must choose how to guide their lives.

·         Taking pride in your work and following through on a commitment CAN give you satisfaction and is a necessity in life.

·         Work hard now and be devoted to the task you have in front of you, and you will be rewarded with even greater things later.

My parents have been teaching me these things all of my life.  I truly live my life by these principles and I believe in them to the fullest.  I think that these are important because I am very happy living by them and I couldn’t imagine living any other way.  I am so thankful to my parents for teaching me to live this way, because I believe that I have had one of the best lives I could have possibly had and I think that it is because of these principles that I was raised by.

The Stranger-Journal 2

Part One:

I think that Matthew Ward has the most literary value.  He uses short descriptions that are not as dynamic as Gilbert’s and I think that this is how Camus intended the novel to be.  Ward’s descriptions seemed to portray the character of Meursault in a more accurate way than Gilbert’s because Ward’s were much more methodical and blunt.  This means that I place value in the characterization of Meursault and the narrative voice throughout the novel.  I think that Camus intended the reader to see Meursault as distanced from his surroundings.  Ward kept a French influence in his writing by including “Maman” and kilometers so I feel like he is a more reliable translator than Gilbert.  Because Gilbert changed these things it makes me question what else he changed.

Part Two:

When reading through the novel during the summer, I could not figure out why it was titled The Stranger.  I think that The Outsider would be a much better title.  Throughout the entire book it feels as if Meursault is an outsider.  I also think that this could reference the Arab man as well because he was a person of a different ethnicity in France.  One of example of where Meursault takes on the feel of an outsider is at the vigil for his mother.  Meursault feels out of place with all of his mother’s friends and wants the woman to stop crying.  The feeling I got was one that he didn’t want to be there and that made me feel as if he was an outsider among those people.

The Stranger-Journal 1

Pink: Changes in structure/syntax

• I've noticed that descriptions of things or people tend to be in longer sentences than descriptions of events or what someone is doing.

Orange: Justification

• Mearsault justifies things to himself in his mind and sometimes feels as if he has to justify things to others.

Green: Motif of the color white
Yellow: Events where emotion would generally be shown
Blue: motif of smell/smelling

Their Eyes Were Watching God-Journal 10

Theme:  Marriage will first result in submission, but then that will grow into rebellion and resentment if one person has too much power over the other.

“ ‘No’m, he ain’t even talked ‘bout hittin’ me.  He says he never mean to lay de weight uh his hand on me in malice.  He chops all de wood he think Ah wants and den he totes it inside de kitchen for me.  Keeps both water buckets full.’ ” (22-23)

·         Although Janie didn’t directly take power over Logan, she still had a power over him because he didn’t want to lose her and he wanted to make her happy.

“Long before the year was up, Janie noticed that her husband had stopped talking in rhymes to her.  He had ceased to wonder at her long black hair and finger it.  Six months back he had told her, ‘If Ah kin haul de wood heah and chop it fuh yuh, look lak you oughta be able tuh tote it inside.  Mah fust wife never bothered me ‘bout choppin’ wood nohow.  She’d grab dat ax and sling chips lak uh man.  You done been spoiled rotten.’ ” (26)

·         Logan is resentful of Jody and he is trying to make her feel bad.

·         Hurston brings in the motifs of Janie’s hair and judgment. (Logan is judging her compared to his first wife.)

“ ‘Mah mamma didn’t tell me Ah wuz born in no hurry.  So whut business Ah got rushin’ now?  Anyhow dat ain’t whut youse mad about.  Youse mad ‘cause Ah don’t fall down and wash-up dese sixty acres uh ground yuh got.  You ain’t done me no favor by marryin’ me.  And if dat’s what you call yo’self doin’, Ah don’t thank yuh for it.  Youse mad ‘cause Ah’m tellin’ yuh whut you already knowed.’” (31)

·         Janie is starting to rebel because Logan rebelled.

·         When the person that doesn’t have to power rebels, the person in power rebels as well.

“So they were married there before sundown, just like Joe had said.  With new clothes of silk and wool.”

·         Brings in the motif of the sun.

“ ‘Thank yuh fuh yo’ compliments, but mah wife don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no speech-makin’.  Ah never married her for nothin’ lak dat.  She’s uh woman and her place in in de home.’  Janie made her face laugh after a short pause, but it wasn’t too easy.  She had never thought of making a speech, and didn’t know if she cared to make one at all.  It must have been the way Joe spoke out without giving her a chance to say anything one way or another that took the bloom off of things.” (43)

·         Joe shows his power over Janie

·         Resentment is starting to grow in Janie even though she is being submissive.

“Time came when she fought back with her tongue as best she could, but it didn’t do her any good.  It just made Joe do more.  He wanted her submission and he’d keep on fighting until he felt he had it.  So gradually, she pressed her teeth together and learned to hush.” (71)

·         Shows the power Joe has over Janie, but shows the resentment building.

“The years took all the fight out Janie’s face.  For a while she thought it was gone from her soul.  No matter what Jody did, she said nothing.  She learned how to talk some and leave some.  She was a rut in the road.  Plenty of life beneath the surface but it was kept beaten down by the wheels.” (76)

·         Uses the metaphor to create an image for the reader to connect to Janie.

·         The wheels was the power Jody had over her.  The life underneath the surface is her resentment.

“ ‘Naw, Ah ain’t no young gal no mo’ but den Ah ain’t no old woman neither.  Ah reckon Ah looks mah age too.  But Ah’m uh woman every inch of me, and Ah know it.  Dat’s ug whole lot more’n you kin say.  You big-bellies round here and put out a lot of brag, but ‘tain’t nothin’ to it but yo’ big voice.  Humph!  Talkin’ ‘bout me lookin’ old!  When you pull down yo’ britches, you look lak de change uh life.” (79)

·         Janie is letting her resentment show and she is starting to rebel.

“He gave a deep-growling sound like a hog dying down in the swamp and trying to drive off disturbance. ‘Ah come in heah tuh git shet uh you but look lak ‘tain’t doin’ me no good.  G’wan out.  Ah needs tuh rest.’” (85)

·         Because Janie rebelled, resentment is growing in Jody as well.

“She was just basking in freedom for the most part without the need for thought.” (93)

“ ‘Ah reckon you wish now you had of stayed in yo’ big house ‘way from such as dis, don’t yuh?’  ‘Naw.’  ‘Naw?’  ‘Yeah, naw.  People don’t die till dey time come nohow, don’t keer where you at.  Ah’m wid mah husband in uh storm, dat’s all.’” (159)

·         Because the power was pretty equal in Janie’s marriage to Tea Cake, there was not resentment in Janie.

“ ‘But you come ‘long and made somethin’ outa me.  So Ah’m thankful fuh anything we come through together.’” (167)

·         Shows the lack of resentment in Janie.

Their Eyes Were Watching God-Journal 9

Addison walked into the school.  The 13 year old girls standing by the door glanced her way, rolled their eyes, and went back to their conversation.  Addison approached her locker, trying to see down the hallway without anyone noticing.  She was looking for her friend, her only friend, but she wasn’t there, for the fourth day in a row.  Addison decided to just go to her first period class and try to make is seem like she had homework and that’s why she was there so early. 

That Addison is just walking with her head down.  Doesn’t she realize that people can see her?  A mouse must’ve eaten her sweater.  She does this everyday.  That girl doesn’t have any friends.  She’s going to class way early. 

The days went by like this.  When Addison went home she would run to her room, fling herself on the bed and cry for an hour.  Her mother knew she was up there crying, but she didn’t know what to do.  She wanted to help.  One day, she decided to just go for it and she let herself into Addison’s room.

“Honey, what’s the matter?” she asked her daughter.

“Nothing Mom.  Go away!”

“Sweetie, I’m not going away.  I’m going to help you, because it kills me to hear you up here crying everyday.”

Addison lifted her head from her pillow and looked at her mom through teary eyes.  “Why would you want to help me?  I’m a loser,” she said.

Taken aback, her mom wracked her brain for what she could say to that.  “You are not a loser Addison Rose.  Why would you ever think that?”

“I see the way kids look at me mom.  They’re judging me because I have no friends and because I eat lunch alone and go to class way before the bell rings.  They think I’m a loser.”

“Addison, don’t let those kids make you a loser.  That’s what they’re doing.  They’re making you feel like a loser.  You’re not actually a loser,” her mom said.

“Mom, I want to be popular.  That’s all I want.”

“Baby, being popular isn’t everything.”

Addison looked at her with a furious look.  “Yes it is!  Just go away!” she yelled.

            After her mother left, Addison looked into the mirror and all she saw was the bright red, puffy face of a loser.  She thought about what her mom had said.  The idea that stuck in her head the most was that she was whatever the popular kids judged her to be.  Looking at her ceiling she started talking.

            “Is it so much to want to be popular?  It’s not like those popular girls are even that pretty.  They’re actually kind of ugly.  Their hair looks fake and they’re orange from all of the fake tanning.  And those stupid jock boys.  They’re all really dumb.  They don’t deserve to be popular.  Other than being good at sports, they’ve got nothing going for them.  All of those people would be lucky to be my friend.  They’re just too dumb to realize it; like they’re too dumb to pass the 7^th grade.  I’m so much smarter and prettier than all of them.”

            Although her ceiling wasn’t talking back, Addison was feeling better about herself.  She was realizing that she was better than those popular kids and she could be one of them any day she really tried.

            The next day, Addison walked into the middle school, turned to look at the group of popular girls, and walked right up to them.  Feeling better about herself, she began to talk to them as if they weren’t good enough.

Theme:  Judging others by comparing them to oneself gives human a feeling of power and superiority over the judged.

Techniques

Confidant:  Addison’s mother is her confidant.  From her conversation with her mother, we learn that Addison wants to be popular more than anything.  Pheoby is Janie’s confidant and we learn things about Janie and her feelings through the conversation she has with Pheoby, like we learn things about Addison through her conversation with her mother.

Apostrophe: Addison talks to her ceiling and from this “conversation” the tone changes to one of judgment.  Addison is starting to judge the popular kids.  We learn things about Addison’s thoughts and her feelings through her dialogue to her ceiling.  Hurston uses an apostrophe when Janie is talking about Tea Cake and she is trying to be mad at him.  When Janie does this, we learn about her thoughts and feelings towards Tea Cake.

Short Sentences:  In the second paragraph short sentences are used.  This is to convey the tone of judgment.  It is to make it seem as if each sentence is a different person’s thought and they are all judging Addison.  In the first paragraph of chapter 12 Hurston does this as well.  She uses short sentences while talking about Janie and Tea Cake.  This creates the tone of judgment and makes it seem as if different people in the town are judging her.