Summer Reading Their Eyes

8/13/2019 Summer Reading Their Eyes

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Summer 2013

Summer Reading for Their Eyes Were Watching God

Journal Entry #1

1) Find a quote that descries the setting in detail! "rite and highlight the quote!

2) "hat is the setting of the noel$

3) %escrie the &lace and the timeframe of the noel! E'&lain ho( oth e'em&lifyodernism and *merica during the +arlem Renaissance!

,) -redict ho( time and &lace are im&ortant to the story that is unfolding! -resenteidence from the &lot of the noel to su&&ort your analysis!

.ora /eale +urstons noel Their Eyes Were Watching God is aout a (omans

ourney of selfdiscoery through three marriages! 42) 5he story ta6es &lace in Florida in

the early 1700s! 41) 8ne of the &laces Janie lies in is descried on &age 123 95o

Janies strange eyes eerything in the Eerglades (as ig and ne(! :ig ;a6e

86echoee ig eans ig cane ig (eeds ig eerything! "eeds that did (ell to gro(

(aist high u& the state (ere eight and often ten feet tall do(n there! ed a ?ansas (heat field! "ild cane on either side

of the road hiding the rest of the (orld! -eo&le (ild too!@ 43) Janie Ara(ford the

&rotagonist lies in &laces that are mainly &o&ulated and controlled y *frican

*mericans! Bet the story is set in a time (hen &reudice against *frican *mericans runs

ram&ant across the nation! 5he lac6 of (hite &reudice that (ould usually e a huge &art

of the noel e'em&lifies the +arlem Renaissance ideas of &ride in the *frican *merican

culture! 4,) For e'am&le Janies


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you! *h ra6ed and scra&ed and ought dis lil &iece of land so you (ouldnt hae to stay

in de (hite fol6s yard and tuc6 yo head efo other chillun at school!@ "ithout the

influence of (hite &reudice eating her do(n Janie (ill e ale truly discoer herself as

a &erson!

Journal Entry #2

1) Find t(o quotes one for the mood and one for the tone!

2) %escrie the mood!

3) %escrie the tone!

,) -resent and &redict ho( oth the mood and tone are deelo&ing the message andtheme! a6e sure to differentiate the role of oth mood and tone and the sutlenuances of each one! -resent eidence from the &lot to su&&ort your analysis!

41) 8n &age 31 95he morning road air (as li6e a ne( dress! 5hat made her feel

the a&ron tied around her (aist! She untied it and flung it on a lo( ush eside the road

and (al6ed on &ic6ing flo(ers and ma6ing a ouquet! *fter that she came to (here Joe

Star6s (as (aiting for her (ith a hired rig! +e (as ery solemn and hel&ed her to the

seat eside him! "ith him on it it sat li6e a high ruling chair! From no( on until death

she (as going to hae flo(er dust and s&ringtime s&rin6led oer eerything! * ee for

her loom! +er old thoughts (ere going to come in handy no( ut ne( (ords (ould

hae to e made and said to fit them 4+urston 31)!@ 42) 5he mood that is eing

coneyed seems to e a ho&eful right one! 4,) 5he mood hel&s to e'&ress the theme

that one can al(ays start oer! Janie untying and flinging her a&ron a(ay re&resents

Janie casting her old life ehind! 8n &age 31 9Flo(er dust and s&ringtime s&rin6led

oer eerything@ re&resents a right future ahead!


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41) *n admiring tone can e found on &age C3 95he young girl (as gone ut a

handsome (oman had ta6en her &lace! She tore off the 6erchief from her head and let

do(n her &lentiful hair! 5he (eight the length the glory (as there!@ +urston seems to

e admiring Janie through her choice of diction of 9glory@ and 9handsome (oman!@ 4,)

5his admiring tone hel&s su&&ort the (riters message of ne( eginnings! 5hough the

9young girl (as gone@ there is still a chance to start oer ecause 9a handsome (oman

had ta6en her &lace!@

Journal #3

1) Find a quote that descries the &oint of ie( in detail! "rite and highlight the quote!

2) %escrie the &oint of ie( and ho( it enhances the &lot and theme! Df the &oint ofie( changes ta6e note and add more to this entry later e'&laining ho( these changesin &oint of ie( are im&ortant to the authors message! -resent eidence from the &lot tosu&&ort your analysis!

42) 5he &oint of ie( in the story is usually a limited third &oint of ie( ut it

sometimes changes to an omniscient third &oint of ie(! 41) 5he reader usually sees

into the mind and feelings of Janie as seen on &age ,1 9She had neer thought of

ma6ing a s&eech and didnt 6no( if she cared to ma6e one at all! Dt must hae een the

(ay Joe s&o6e out (ithout giing her a chance to say anything one (ay or another that

too6 the loom off of things!@ +o(eer at times +urston deles into the minds of those

around Janie such as Jody on &age 9*fter that night Jody moed his things and

sle&t in a room do(nstairs! +e didnt really hate Janie ut he (anted her to thin6 so! +e

had cra(led off to lic6 his (ounds!@ 42) Dn order to enhance the conflict +urston

s(itches the &oint of ie( from Janie to (hoeer is a conflict to her! +urston is


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reminding the reader that eeryone is human and ma6es mista6es no matter (ho

seems to e at fault! "hat Jody is feeling and thin6ing is reealed after his and Janies

fight! 5he reader cannot solely sym&athi>e (ith one character ecause +urston ma6es

an effort to let oth sides e understood! 5hough Jody is at fault +urston sho(s his

ulneraility to the reader thus effectiely deliering her message!

Journal Entry #,

1) "hat is the rising action 4com&lication) that is deelo&ing the conflict in the &lot

et(een the characters or et(een the characters and a force$

2) +o( does the rising action deelo& the &lot so far$ -resent eidence to su&&ort youranalysis!

41) Jodys ignoring (ho Janie is as a &erson is the rising action that deelo&s into

a conflict et(een the t(o! 5he more Jody ignores and tries to dominate Janie the

more Janie retreats into herself and hides her true &ersonality! "hat could hae een a

lissful and ha&&y marriage turns cold and sour as found on &age 2 9She got nothing

from Jody e'ce&t (hat money could uy and she (as giing a(ay (hat she didnt

alue!@ 42) 5his &rolongs the &lot! *s +urston descries on the same &age 9/o matter

(hat Jody did she said nothing! She had learned ho( to tal6 some and leae some!

She (as a rut in the road! -lenty of life eneath the surface ut it (as 6e&t eaten do(n

y the (heels!@ Jodys negligence creates a huge hindrance in the &lot Janies ourney

to discoer herself! Janie cant hae a chance to find herself if the real her is constantly

eing &ushed a(ay and hidden! Dn order to continue do(n her ourney Janie has to

sto& &retending to e someone shes not!


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Journal Entry #

1) "ho is the main &rotagonist of the noel$

2) %escrie the characters main conflict!

3) Gsing adecties descrie the qualities of the main characters &ersonality and (hatactions demonstrate these character traits!

,) "hat dries the character$

) "hat other characters are &iotal to the main characters deelo&ment$

41 2) Janie Ara(ford (ho struggles to discoer her true self in s&ite of all the

arriers she faces is the main &rotagonist of the noel! 43) She is oth resilient &atient

and understanding! *s&ects of these traits are eident on &age 13 95ea Aa6e youse

sic6! Bouse ta6in eerything in de (ay *h dont mean it! *h couldnt neer e tired uh

(aitin on you! *hm ust s6eered youse too sic6 fuh me tuh handle! *h (ants yuh tuh

git (ell honey! %ats all!@ Dn this scene 5ea Aa6e has een maliciously accusing Janie

of her eing tired of ta6ing care of him! Dnstead of arguing ac6 Janie understands that

it is really 5ea Aa6es illness that is tal6ing as seen on &age 12 9Janie sa( a changing

loo6 come in his face! 5ea Aa6e (as gone!@ Janie understands that 5ea Aa6e isnt the

same &erson she fell in loe (ith anymore yet she still has the &atience to deal (ith his

un&redictale anger and the resilience to stay y his side (hen most others (ould

leae! 4,) 5his resilient &atient and understanding (oman is motiated only y the

sheer fact that she 6no(s things (ill get etter for her! For e'am&le her marriage (ith

Jody turns sour and she retreats inside herself! +o(eer instead of giing u& on finding

true loe on &age HC she decides to (ait for the right o&&ortunity 9She (as saing u&


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feelings for some man she had neer seen!@ Dn this (ay all three of her marriages

change Janie &rofoundly! +er first husand ;ogan ?illic6s is the reason Janie matures

into a (oman as seen on &age 2, 9She 6ne( no( that marriage did not ma6e loe!

Janies first dream (as dead so she ecame a (oman!@ +er second husand Joe

Star6s confines Janie to the &oint (here as seen on &age 2 95he years too6 all the

fight from Janies face!@ Joes dominant attitude to(ards Janie causes her to ecome

almost lifeless as she hides her true self a(ay! ;astly her third husand 5ea Aa6e or

=ergile "oods is the reason (hy Janie finally lies her life! 5ea Aa6e truly loes and

a&&reciates Janie as she is! *s Janie says on &age 122 9+e drifted off into slee& and

Janie loo6ed do(n on him and felt a selfcrushing loe! So her soul cra(led out from its

hiding &lace!@ :ecause of 5ea Aa6es unconditional loe Janie is finally ale to

e'&erience the loe she al(ays dreamed of and discoer herself in the &rocess!

Journal Entry #H

1) "ho or (hat force is the main antagonist of the noel$

2) %escrie the antagonists actions (ords or thoughts and feelings 4or qualities if theantagonist is not a &erson)! Gsing adecties descrie the qualities and actions of theantagonists &ersonality and (hat actions demonstrate these character traits orqualities!

3) "hy is the antagonist im&ortant to the rising action and the authors message so far$

1) Joe Star6s Janies second husand is the main antagonist of the noel! 2)

Joe is an amitious dominant and se'ist man! Een from the ery eginning such as

on &age 2 9+e meant to git dere (hilst de to(n (u> yet a ay! +e meant to uy in

ig! Dt had al(ays een his (ish and desire to e a ig oice and he had to lie nearly


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thirty years to find a chance@ his amitious attitude is eident! Star6s amition for &o(er

causes him to e dominant! 5his dominance s&ills oer into his marriage as seen on

&age H 9+e (anted her sumission and hed 6ee& on fighting until he felt he had it!@

Joe fights to control Janie sim&ly ecause he eliees (omen are inferior! 8n &age HH

and H Joe tells Janie 9%ats Icause you need tellin@ he reoined hotly! 9Dt (ould e

&itiful if *h didnt! Someody got to thin6 for (omen and chillum and chic6ens and co(s!

D god they sho dont thin6 none theirseles!@ Dn this scene Joe equates (omen to

chic6ens and co(s sho(ing his latant disres&ect for them! 3) Such an ignorant and

hateful antagonist is necessary to the story ecause Joe is the reason (hy Janie

retreats inside of herself! 5his is im&ortant to the authors message ecause the author

is trying to sho( that no matter (hat ostacle may come in Janies case Jody there is

al(ays a chance to start oer and egin ane(!

Journal Entry #

1) ;ist the 6ey symols the author is using to hel& deelo& the theme!

2) %escrie these symols and e'&lain ho( they are deelo&ing the &lot and theme ofthe noel!

41) +urston often uses agriculture as symols in the noel! 42) For e'am&le

Janie first starts to question herself (hen the &ear tree in her ac6yard starts

lossoming! Janies thoughts are found on &age 11 9She (as see6ing confirmation of

the oice and ision and eery(here she found and ac6no(ledged ans(ers! *

&ersonal ans(er for all other creations e'ce&t herself! She felt an ans(er see6ing her

ut (here$ "hen$ +o($@ 5o Janie a &lant or tree that has lossomed symoli>es a


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&erson (ho has discoered (ho they are 98h to e a &ear tree anytree in loom@ *t

this &oint in the noel Janie is only si'teen and has 9glossy leaes and ursting uds!@

"hen Janie is older and more mature +urston uses agriculture to symoli>e the

&rogress Janie has made on her quest to find her true self! :y this time Janie has

retreated into herself ecause of Jodys dominant attitude! 8n &age HC Janie 9had no

more lossomy o&enings dusting &ollen oer her man neither any glistening young fruit

(here the &etals used to e!@ Janies 9&etals@ did not lossom into 9glistening young

fruit@ symoli>ing that Janie has not found the ans(ers to the questions she as6ed

herself (hen she (as si'teen years old! ;astly after 5ea Aa6e has &assed a(ay the

author uses agriculture as a symol once again! Janie leaes the Eerglades and only

ta6es a &ac6age of garden seed that 5ea Aa6e had meant to &lant! 5he garden seed

symoli>es the theme itselfK there is al(ays a chance to start oer and egin ane(! 8n

&age 1C2 9She had noticed them on the 6itchen shelf (hen she came home from the

funeral and &ut them in her reast &oc6et! /o( that she (as home she meant to &lant

them for rememrance!@ -lanting the garden seeds means ne( &lants (ill lossom and

a ne( ourney for Janie to emar6 on! 5ea Aa6e may e gone ut the &lanting the

garden seeds leads to ne( &lants that (ill lossom and thus a ne( ourney for Janie to

emar6 on!

Journal Entry #C

1) "hat meta&hors or imagery does the author em&loy to deelo& characters issues&lot or the main idea of the noel$ Find quotes that re&resent these literary techniquesand sho( ho( they are used effectiely!


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41) +urston uses imagery to deelo& characters and meta&hors to deelo& the

main idea of the noel! Dmagery is used to deelo& an im&osing and &o(erful image of

Jody! 8n &age ,, Jody is 9no fist fighter@ yet he is ale to control the to(n ecause he

has a 9o( do(n command in his face!@ *lso on &age ,H one of the to(ns&eo&le say

that 9Bou 6in feel a s(itch in his hand (hen hes tal6in to yuh@ re&resenting Jody as a

stern authoritatie figure! eta&hors are another literary deice that +urston uses this

time to hel& deelo& the main idea of the noel! +urston uses the gro(th of &lants as a

mar6er of ho( much Janie has discoered her true self! 8n &age H Janie 9(asnt

&etalo&en anymore (ith him!@ 5hrough this meta&hor +urston is sho(ing that Janie

has sto&&ed deelo&ing as a &erson! +urston is trying to deelo& the main idea that

though there may e ostacles in life such as not eing 9&etalo&en anymore@ one can

still start oer!

Journal #7

1) "hat is the theme of the noel$ "hat 6ey message is the author trying to coney toyou$

2) "hat is its relation to the *merican %ream in odernism as relates to the +arlemRenaissance$ Find a quote that re&resents this theme L e'&lain (ith eidence from thenoel that su&&orts your analysis aout the theme!

3) +o( does the title relate to the theme$

41) 5he theme of this noel that +urston is trying to coney is that one can

al(ays start oer in life and achiee their dreams if they (or6 hard enough! 42) *s Janie

says on &age 1C3 9Dts uh 6no(n fact -heoy you got tuh gothere tuh knowthere! Bo

&a&a and yo mama and noody else cant tell uh and sho( yuh! 5(o things


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eeryodys got tuh do fuh theyseles! 5hey got tuh go tuh


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5his quote foreshado(s the danger to come in the clima'! 43) 5he clima' occurs (hen

5ea Aa6e has finally lost his mind and goes after Janie (ith his &istol! 5he scene is full

of sus&ense as the reader (aits to see the outcome of the death attle et(een the t(o

loers! *s seen on &age 1 95he fiend in him must 6ill and Janie (as the only liing

thing he sa(! 5he &istol and the rifle rang out almost together! 5he &istol ust enough

after the rifle to seem its echo! 5ea Aa6e crum&led as his ullet uried itself in the oist

oer Janies head! Janie sa( the loo6 on his face and lea&ed for(ard as he crashed

for(ard in her arms! She (as trying to hoer him as he closed his teeth in the flesh of

her forearm! 5hey came do(n heaily li6e that!@ 4,) ;astly the resolution of the story

ha&&ens (hen Janie moes ac6 to Eatonille after 5ea Aa6es death! *s seen on &age

1C, 9+ere (as &eace! She &ulled in her hori>on li6e a great fishnet! -ulled it from

around the (aist of the (orld and dra&ed it oer her shoulder! So much of life in its

meshes She called in her soul to come and see!@ *fter such a turulent ourney Janie

has finally loomed!

Journal Entry #11

1) %iscuss the theme and noel through the lens of feminism and the changing roles of(omen during odernism and the +arlem Renaissance!

2) "hat feminist issues do you thin6 the author is addressing through the story$%escrie these issues and e'&lain ho( different characters e'hiit different attitudesaout (omens roles!

3) +o( do these ie(s affect the outcome and therefore theme of noel$

41) %uring the 1720s in the midst of the +arlem Renaissance and odernism

the roles of (omen are slo(ly changing as they fight to e on equal standing as men!


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5hroughout the noel Janie is trying to discoer herself as a &erson and e a (oman

equal to any man! 42) Bet she faces constant discrimination from the men around her

an issue that +urston is trying to address! For e'am&le on &age H Joe says

9Someody got to thin6 for (omen and chillun and chic6ens and co(s! D god they sho

dont thin6 none theirseles@ and 9"hen *h see one thing *h understands ten! Bou see

ten things and dont understand one!@ Dn another scene Janie (or6s u& the nere to

utt into the conersation of Joe and the to(ns&eo&le in defense for (omen ut is only

met (ith a cold re&ly from Joe on &age 1 9Bou getting too moufy Janie@ Star6s told

her! 9


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to the &oint (here as she says on &age 10 9de (alls cree&in u& on me and squee>in

all de life outa me!@ For e'am&le Joe forces Janie to (ear a headrag ecause he is

ealous of the men (ho are attracted to her! +e also confines her to u&hold a certain

image! Dnstead of letting Janie e herself Joe forces her to act high class as he says on

&age 0 and 1 9Bouse rs! ayor Star6s Janie! D god *h cant see (hat uh (oman

uh yo staility (ould (ant tuh e treasurin all dat gumgrease from fol6s dat dont een

o(n de house dey slee& in! I5aint no earthly use! 5heys us some &uny humans

&layin round de toes uh 5ime!@ Joes &sychological issues confine Janie to a mold she

doesnt fit and thus harms their marriage and een harms Janie herself!

Journal Entry #13

1) %iscuss the theme through the lens of racism and history! %iscuss and descrie theie(s of race &resented through the characters and &lot that are re&resentatie ofodernism and the +arlem Renaissance!

41) 5he timeframe of the noel is around the time of the +arlem Renaissance a

time (hen racism (as ery &rominent eery(here! 5here is &reudice and

discrimination against races that arent (hite! 8ne such occurrence occurs in the scene

in the courthouse (here Janie is eing tried for the death of 5ea Aa6e! 8ne of *frican

*merican ystanders (ants to s&ea6 in court ut he is met (ith a cold and harsh


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res&onse from the &rosecutor r! -rescott as seen on &age 1C 9"e are handling this

case! *nother (ord out of you out of any of you niggers ac6 there and Dll ind you

oer to the ig court!@ /ot only is there harsh racism against *frican *mericans ut

Dndians as (ell! Dnterestingly enough the racism seems to come from the ie( &oint of

*frican *mericans! 8n &age 1, the narration is s&ea6ing from the thoughts and

sentiments of the *frican *merican &eo&le in the cam& 9Bou couldnt hae a hurricane

(hen youre ma6ing seen and eight dollars a day &ic6ing eans! Dndians are dum

anyho( al(ays (ere!@ 5he same (ay (hite &eo&le found a sca&egoat in *frican

*mericans *frican *mericans seemed to hae found a sca&egoat in /atie *mericans!

Journal #1,

1) %iscuss the theme and noel through the lens of sociology and &olitics! %iscuss anddescrie the socioeconomic issues &resented in the noel and the sutle racistim&lications of the times!

41) 5he +arlem Renaissance gae *frican *mericans the o&&ortunity to once

again hae &ride in their culture! "ith this rene(ed &ride came the ho&e that they too

could &arta6e in the *merican dream of achieing success if they (or6 hard enough a

theme that +urston tries to coney through the noel! +urston realistically &ortrays most

of the *frican *merican characters in the story as &oorK (hich isnt sur&rising

considering that they (ere ery much discriminated against! 5his issue of &oerty

amongst *frican *mericans is (hat ma6es the idea of Jody uying land so asurd!

Dnstead of su&&orting Jody the men in the community thin6 he is a o6e as seen on

&age 3 95he idea (as funny to them and they (anted to laugh! 5hey tried hard to hold


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it in ut enough incredulous laughter urst out of their eyes and lea6ed from the

corners of their mouths to inform anyone of their thoughts!@ 5he idea of a man uying

land is nothing out of the norm! Bet (hen a colored man (ants to uy land een other

*frican *mericans (ill laugh in his face! +o(eer Jody is ale to delier +urstons

message! 5hough it too6 as he said on &age 2 9nearly thirty years to find a chance@

Jody starts oer in life and &ractically creates the to(n from the ground u& achieing the

*merican dream!

Journal #1

1) Study the life of .ora /eale +urston and discuss the autoiogra&hical as&ects of herlife re&resented in the characters &lot and theme!

41) -arts of .ora /eale +urston can e found in the setting and een in the

&rotagonist Janie! *s seen on &age 201 +urston (as orn in Eatonille Florida! 5his

same to(n is (here Janie s&ends her life (ith Joe! :oth the Eatonille in real life and

the Eatonille in the story are the first to(ns in *merica to e com&letely &o&ulated and

run y *frican *mericans! *nother as&ect of +urston is seen in Janie! :oth Janie and

+urston hae een married more than once! +urstons first t(o marriages li6e Janies

are short! Janie ho(eer finds true loe in her third marriage to 5ea Aa6e (hereas

+urston unfortunately neer does!

Documents

Summer Reading Their Eyes