Zora Neale Hurston Commemorative stamp
Structure Discussion
Along with the central story-line, Hurston's novel is full of short narratives, some of them amusing, some of them tragic. Sometimes these short narratives seem like tangents, independent free-standing stories which branch out from the plot, but they accomplish much of the novel's work of building up a picture of the world Janie lives in. What is the significance of these short narratives, and what other thoughts do you have about the structure of the novel as a whole?
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Hello everyone! It's Naomi here. I just wanted to start off by saying that I really enjoyed reading the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. One of the major things that I liked about this book, was that it was told through a story. A story that Janie told her friend, Pheoby.
ReplyDeleteThere are many ways to create a novel. Either through a basic format, with both narrative, and dialogue. There is poetry, where the story is told though poems, with metaphors. There is art too. Where the story is drawn out, instead of written. Then there are flashbacks. Where a character in the story (most likely the main character) tells events that have previously happened to him or her. There are many more besides the ones that I have named. What I liked was that out of all the many ways to structure this book, Hurston chose the last one. She chose to tell the story as a big flashback of her childhood, and growing up as a women.
I believe the significance of the short narratives are basically a way to tell Janie’s story. They are a way where people reading the novel can understand it more easily, and then notice how each event mattered, and had some meaning towards the way the novel ended.
I am just going to talk a little bit about the first two pages on chapter 2. (Pages 8-9) These two pages were basically just about Janie as a kid discovering that she is black, and not like the rest of the children who live with Mis’ Washburn. (This was the beginning of the “flashback” that was being told to Pheoby) I think that this was the perfect way to start off the novel, by just hearing what Janie thought of herself as a kid. It sets the tone for the rest of the novel, until the end.
Hi everybody, this is Zoe. So I think that it's interesting that the author is sort of creating a story within a story type of thing because there's the actual story then there's Janie's story inside of that. I think that this is a cool way of narrating because it's not exactly clear who the narrator is. You would think that for most of the book it's Janie because she's telling a story (a sort of flashback like Naomi said) but the narrator doesn't speak with the accent Janie does and the narrator just seems more learned than Janie. Also the narrator talks about Janie in the third person, which make me personally believe that the narrator is not Janie.
ReplyDeleteHi, this is Luke. I haven't read very far in the novel, but storytelling is already an important theme. Some stories are told from the author's omniscient point of view, which is able to see into the minds of all the characters. During the story of when Janie first kissed Johnny Taylor, the author first writes of Janie's thoughts, but from a third person view: "She was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree soaking in the alto chant of the visiting bees, the gold of the sun and the panting breath of the breeze when the inaudible voice of it all came to her. She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to beet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight" (11). This gives the reader a sense that the story is actually told by Janie, and the author is merely retelling it for the reader. Then, later in the same story, the author writes of Nanny's thoughts as she sleeps, which is clearly not from Janie's point of view: "In the last stages of Nanny's sleep, she dreamed of voices. Voices far-off but persistent, and gradually coming nearer. Janie's voice. Janie talking in whispery snatches with a male voice she couldn't quite place" (12). This elevates the story near the level of the main storyline, which is also seen from many perspectives. Seeing into the minds of the characters also emphasizes how real they are, even though Nanny is dead at the time of the main story. We then see deeper into her mind as she tells her own story, showing how much she had struggled in her life, and how much she cares about Janie and her mother.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the multiple posts and deletions thereof. I posted this last night but didn't understand how the blog worked. I think I get it now.
ReplyDeleteAleia Bonet
June, 15, 2011
Zora Neale Hurstons' Their Eyes Were Watching God is considered an important classic to both history and American Literature. Ms. Hurston continues to capture the eyes of millions of people for being an influential black women writer from the twentieth century. The dialogue is fun to read on account of consistently being portrayed in the stereotypical dialect for that time; although it can also be quite obnoxious during long monologues and dialogue sequences. I feel like the talking and exposition scenes tend to be a bit harder because of lacking variation in syntax and not much plot has happened yet so early in the book. It's much easier to read when good grammar and dialect is mixed well. What struck me as impressive was how easy it was to glimpse at the culture through the dialogue and through the dialect itself. She has done a terrific job of describing the characters' personalities and what life was like through that alone. I also feel like there have been a few exceptionally great metaphors and lines in the beginning, and hope the amount increases and happens more frequently. Example: the way she describes the sun setting in chapter four might actually be my one of my favorite quotes and definitely my favorite from the book so far (33).
Something I find rather irritating about this book is how it will often go on tangents about things unrelated to the plot. Usually these tangents are somewhat related to a plot point that the book is trying to progress, but for some reason it decides to come to a complete halt by showing some unnecessary dialogue between side characters. This often irritates me, because I feel that the book has a lot of interesting ways of progressing the plot and describing the story, but has many pointless pauses for irrelevant things.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with what Maria said about many of the tangents being pointless. When many of them begin they feel quite random and out of place, but as the dialogue progresses the reader is often given some keen insights to some of the character's personalities. For example, the different interactions on the store's porch between the towns people and Joe show Joe’s extreme possessiveness over Janie, and act as a catalyst towards the descent of the couple's marriage. These stories and periods of dialogue are also revealing in terms of the how community relates as a whole. In Eatonville with Joe, and the Everglades with Tea Cake, the communities are very close-knit and the stories do a good job of portraying the different relationships to the reader.
ReplyDeleteThis is kind of going off of what Rose and Maria said, I started out feeling the same way as Maria and thinking that the little dialogues between side characters were tangential and annoying but I then realized that those are some of the only times when I feel connected to anyone in the story. I feel as if the story is told from a very distant point of view. Everything is told from a third person perspective and while the narrator does seem to have insights into the characters opinions and thoughts, the way those thoughts are simply stated for the readers seems impersonal to me and almost lacking emotion. However when these little side stories with side characters occur such as the arguments between Lige and Sam I feel like I am closer to the story and not just a distant viewer. There are dialogues with main characters but they always seem so short that they don’t have to same effect as the long ones with random characters that make you feel close to the characters even if they are inconsequential ones.
ReplyDeleteHello everyone, it's Ben. I would like to start off by saying that I loved the book we were assigned to read. At first I was a bit hesitant but the story quickly pulled me in and I enjoyed it greatly. Having the story take the form of a narrative told by the main character to a friend was a very nice touch.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the course of the book the narrative would go off on little, seemingly unrelated tangents. However these tangents always ended up reaffirming something previously suggested by giving it depth and character. These portions also serve to develop characters I previously viewed as unimportant. They were excellent vignettes used to punctuate the story by adding spice and some flavor.
My favorite instance of this was the philosophical discussion between Lige and Sam on the porch of the store in Eatonville (p64).
"Well all right then. Since you own up you ain't smart enough tuh find out what Ah'm talkin' 'bout, Ah'll tell you. Whut is it dat keeps uh man from gettin' bunt on uh red-hot stove---caution or nature?"
...."And then agin, Lige, Ah'm gointuh tell yuh. Ah'm gointuh run dis conversation from a gnat heel to a lice. It's nature dat keeps uh man off uh red-hot stove."
Their discussion is one of my favorite portions of the book. It is a light hearted and humorous approach to a rather complicated question. I believe that this passage's writing was executed superbly. The passage also serves as a small sample of life in the Eatonville community. I appreciate that the author payed this much attention to detail when writing the story.
The way Hurston repeatedly comes back to this structure is a very interesting style of composition. These vignettes are a great change of pace throughout the book. They are used as an interesting way of illustrating the experiences Janie has had.
As a follow up:
ReplyDeleteThese vignettes also illustrate changes in Janies situation. On page 64 Janie is not a part of the discussion, not because she doesn't want to be but because Joe is not allowing her to participate in the socializing on the porch. While on page 134 Janie is an active participant in the conversation and even thinks back to her days in Eatonville and how the people there would view her in this new situation.
"What if Eatonville could see her now in her blue denim overalls and heavy shoes? The crowd of people around her and a dice game on her floor! She was sorry for her friends back there and scornful of the others. The men held big arguments here like they used to do on the store porch. Only here, she could listen and laugh and even talk some herself if she wanted to. She got so she could tell big stories herself from listening to the rest."
That is all, for now.
The relating of Janie's story to Pheoby as a framing device is both unnecessary but also nonsensical. Consider what we find out while reading the story, and what Pheoby would have actually wanted to know. It gets to be ridiculous when we hear past conversations between the two and things Janie shouldn't have known. This means the the narrator and Janie can only be completely separate entities. That's fine by itself, but then it begs the question of why the framing device of Janie telling the story was setup in the first place! Imagine watching a film where it's established that the event of the film is a story being told by one character, but then at the end of the book revealing that the story was ACTUALLY being told by a completely different character. This is kind of like that. It's pointless and confusing.
ReplyDeleteIn this book, Their Eyes are Watching God, the strange split between the overall narration of the actual story and the smaller almost sub plots of various characters mixes to create a strange back and forth that is sometimes interesting and sometimes annoying. It would be simpler, and maybe flow better, to read the story either entirely a distant narration or a collage of interactions between characters, but as it is the back and forth allows the story to progress for a while and then occasionally become more in depth. The bouncing back and forth makes it a bit difficult to get really involved with the characters individually, but then without the narration the story wouldn’t progress as well. As it is, the method seems to work well for this story’s telling, though the verbal dialogue in the exchanges between characters creates an even wider rift between it and the narration, which is more poetic. … Though that’s more of a comment on language then the odd structure.
ReplyDeleteI suppose really the only benefit to the dialogue bits is getting more of a feel for the characters, but that's of significant value to a story, like Erica said. Without that it's not as interesting to read.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Erica’s point of view on the “dialogue deviations”. They are important as they allow the reader to gain a firmer understanding of the culture and world that the characters live in. I believe that the dialogues are the author’s way, as an anthropologist, of exposing us to that extra bit of cultural understanding. They also often, as an added plus, bring a bit of humor into the book, something I enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Erica’s comment that “I feel like I am closer to the story and not just a distant viewer.” The side stories engage the reader with what happens outside of Janie’s frame of consciousness. However, when the smaller tangents spring out, Janie is completely excluded, and her perspective of what is going on where she is, is not revealed. Simply, it seems a little odd how long the side stories are. The main character in the novel is Janie. However, a good percentage of the time, the story does not include her.
ReplyDeleteGoing back a little bit, I also disagree with Maria. Yes, there are a few side plots, but I really don't think they take away from the novel. Like Rose and Erica said, they don’t, in the long run, take away from the story but actually add to it, giving you more insight to characters and relationships. In addition, this doesn’t strike me as the kind of novel that would contain chapters and side stories if they didn’t in some way add to the overall plot.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would like to draw attention to is how these smaller structural aspects build the overall texture and power of the novel as a whole. Although I find the somewhat disjointed style of the book disconcerting at times I think when we stand back from the text as a whole the varied styles of writing contribute to a strong texture in the novel.it gives what is a very powerful and often quite serious novel an almost storybook feel, as the characters are separated from the narration so wholly. The book is not totally narrated by any of its contributing parties, and this lends to a larger and more diverse feeling.
ReplyDeleteI think that Olivia makes a good point about the diverse writing styles in the book, and how their contribution to the story creates a stronger text overall. I find that the short narratives, which are intertwined within the book, are ways for the reader to view different characters in different instances. The “storybook feel” seems to me just as serious as the overall narrative of the book because the mood of the whole novel doesn’t change (at least in my opinion). That being said, I also find that the “diverse feeling” is caused by how the novel offers narratives from its “contributing parties.”
ReplyDeleteIn response/addition to what Brian and Olivia have been saying, I want to point out that storytelling is an enormous theme in the novel, and the very way that the novel is written reflects this. The main strain of the novel starts out as a story being told by Janie to her best friend Pheoby Watson, and the characters of the novel are constantly either telling each other literal stories or playing parts in small stories that happen everywhere. Stories and storytelling are especially evident, or become more so, in the Joe Starks phase of the novel. When Joe establishes the store, it becomes a central meeting place for the townsfolk, who gather to tell each other stories on the porch. Storytelling is so engrained into the culture that the people themselves put on little “stories,” performances meant to entertain their peers; Sam Watson and Lige Moss are a perfect example of this. The two men, known for arguing, only do it under certain circumstances. When “nobody was there to speak of, nothing happened. But if the town was there like on Saturday night, Lige would come up with a very grave air” and incite an argument with Sam, all for the benefit of the audience (63). While the performances put on by actors such as these are not entirely staged and are purely improvisational, they are unquestionably a form of storytelling that brings together storyteller and audience, and an example of the theme of storytelling that persists throughout Hurston’s own story.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Olivia. The structure definitely adds to the overall effectiveness of the novel. Like Brandt said, the entire novel is told in a story to Pheoby, but many characters within the novel also tell their own stories which advance the plot. In this way, although it is technically all narrated by Janie, there's lots of other smaller narratives. Because the story therefore has several viewpoints, there's more of a collective feel. This is important because communities play a large role in the book; Janie never really feels at home with Logan, and although she likes some of the townspeople it isn't really her home, and neither is Joe. It isn't until she meets Tea Cake that she really experiences what it's like to be part of an accepting community. Although within her two previous marriages she was searching for/didn't find true love, she was also searching for a community she could belong to, and she didn't find either of those things until she met and married Tea Cake. The structure of the novel feels more shared and connected rather than one-sided, which relates to the theme of communities, which makes the novel altogether more effective.
ReplyDeleteI, just like the three people before me, agree with Olivia. The side plots are a very important part of the novel. They help flesh out the story and make it seem like a real and in-depth account of Janie’s life. Without the side stories I feel that the novel would feel quite a lot emptier and lack a lot of the meaning that they help give the story.
ReplyDeleteMaria, earlier you expressed an annoyance with the side tangents that occasionally show up in the story. I agree; Even though they do paint a picture of the world we’re immersed in, I find it an annoyance and unnecessary to the main plot. Usually I just read through them waiting to get back to the main storyline.
ReplyDeleteResponse to all posts commenting on the “annoyance of side tangents”.
ReplyDeleteWriting is a form of art, as is painting, photography etc. If a painting of a bird is composed of vertical brushstrokes, and you do or do not like that choice it does not matter. The vertical brush stroke is a decision made by the artist, and it adds to the painting a whole. All the strokes are important to the over all meaning of the painting. If an author writes a novel containing many tangents like side stores, and you do or do not like it, it doesn’t matter. The fact is, what is written is written, and all of it together creates the complete novel, eliminating any part of the writing would be the equivalent of re-painting or erasing a part of a painting. I suppose what I mean by all this is; opinions are irrelevant, for the art piece exists as it was created and all its components (weather they are liked or disliked) are necessary, as decided by the artist. Furthermore a piece of art should be fully viewed, with each aspect given equal time and appreciation, anything less than this would be disrespectful to the artist.
While side tangents may be part of the "art piece", when you're creating a novel, an essay, a story, or any other piece of writing, there is a certain need to stay on the main plotlines and not stray too far from the main idea(s) of the piece. Some people do make this mistake, however, and Hurston does a few times, but, at least in my opinion, she sticks to the central arc of the novel pretty consistently.
ReplyDeleteBaeo,
ReplyDeleteI never thought too much about there kind of being two different narrators and it never bothered or confused me, and although I don't think anything bad of it, I do agree that its not the most sensible way of writing the story. I agree that had they made a movie this way, it wouldn't make much sense and that it would have made the story flow a little easier had Janie been the narrator the entire time. On the other hand, her not being the narrator also gives a different perspective from Janie's and allows the reader to gather opinions about her that might be different had Janie told the story in her words.
I found it interesting that it felt as though things didn't really start happening until the end of the book. Up until the last few chapters, Their Eyes Were Watching God felt very slow. When I was reading it, I thought that all the things Janie was telling Phoebe were kind of pointless. The little side stories didn't seem like they led up to the end, and at the time, they seemed like they didn't add to the plot either. Why would Janie spend all this time telling Phoebe these stories if they weren't important? Maybe the novel is structured how it is and the plot line suddenly gets very busy at the end to make the story more realistic. In reality, exciting things aren't happening every second of your life but that doesn't take away from their importance. Maybe by structuring the novel like that, Hurston was trying to make the story more real and life-like.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ami about how the way the story is written makes it realistic. I also found it very interesting how the rest of the story wasn’t leading up to the climax the way it often does in other novels. In other books you can often see where the plot is headed but in this the ending was completely unexpected. Nothing in the beginning of the book would lead you to expect the storm or the events that occur because of it. It made it feel as though we were going through Janie’s life at the same time as she was even though it is a retelling. I found that it made me forget that Janie was telling this to her friend and looking back it really never seemed like she was because of all the poetic narrations. What we are reading isn’t supposed to be exactly what Janie is saying to Pheoby, is it? I mean Janie isnt actually telling Pheoby all of those little dialogues and side stories is she?
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Brandt was saying about how Hurston makes the mistake of drifting off from the main story line. I think at times, it makes the book harder to understand, but at other times it adds to the story, and makes it better in ways. When she goes into a mini story within the novel I find it interesting how she eventually comes back to the main story, and how she continues it. And then the mini story was just a little detail within the bigger picture.
ReplyDeleteI think that the side stories and all the seemingly pointless detail were meant to give the reader as much of a knowledge of Janie as possible, so that you can really understand her. I do agree that it makes the story slow, but I think it's worth it to know Janie so well.
ReplyDeleteHi again, It’s Kira. Through reading the book, it fluctuated between holding my attention and losing me a little bit. The book kept my attention more when things were going well for Janie, and lost me a little when she was encountering misfortune. Personally, when Janie was happy, the language was prettier, and I liked reading about that more. I think it’s because when you’re writing, you begin to get into the mind of a character, almost feeling what they’re feeling. Because of this, I feel like Hurston was happier when Janie was too, and wrote accordingly. I almost began to feel for Janie, too. So when she was happy, personally, I found the text much more engaging.
ReplyDeleteTo go along with that, when I had to read page after page of Janie being mistreated and not being able to stand up for herself, I found it much harder to read. While the tension from her struggling against loveless marriages, gender roles of the times, and many other trials was a nice change of pace for a little while, ultimately, it just made me want to put the book down.
One thing that Naomi mentioned in the first post of this section was that the structure of the novel is very rounded. What I liked about it was that it opened with Janie coming home from an place unknown to others, to tell her story to Pheoby. What I liked most about the ending was that Janie returns home once again, but it is a new home. By the end of the novel, she returns from the place that was once unfamiliar but by the end is her home. Her first home is now the unfamiliar place; the townspeople see her in a different light and she sees them, as well as her own home, in a different light. I enjoyed the ending because it was a closed loop. It was satisfying to read that she made it home.
ReplyDeleteHey guys, I'd just like to comment on a passage that I felt really gave me a sense of the characters and the world around the Everglades.
ReplyDelete"Ah speck you two last ones tuh come in is gointuh have tuh wait for uh seat. Ah'm all full up now."
"Dat's all right," Sterret objected. "You fry me some fish. Ah kin eat dat standin' up. Cuppa coffee on de side."
"Sling me up uh plate uh dat stew beef wid some coffee too, please ma'm. Sterrett is jus' ez drunk ez Ah is; And if he kin eat standin' up, Ah kin do de same." Coodemay leaned drunkenly against the wall and everybody laughed.(150)
Like Erica and others have said, the tangents make me feel closer to the characters, rather than just in Janie's head. I'm not entirely sure why, but this passage in particular gave me a good sense of Coodemay, Sterrett, and the community around the Everglades as a whole. It's because of passages like this that relatively minor characters such as Coodemay and Sterrett are more than just names. With this particular tangent passage, I got a goofy, happy sense of the community that I didn't have before. The world that Janie lives her life in becomes more alive and real through the tangent stories. So while the tangents may seem boring and unnecessary, I think that they are just as important as the non-tangent passages. I think that the main story line wouldn't be as good without the tangent stories, and the tangent stories wouldn't really be that good at all without the main storyline.
-Gabe
My view of the occasional tangents in the story differs with Maria's and Luke's opinions. These marginal stories aren't pointless, they are a way to illustrate what's going on by the use of comparison (in particular to what's going on emotionally).
ReplyDeleteTake Annie Tyler, for instance. Janie is being compared to Annie several times in the story when Tea Cake and she begin to spend time together. And when Janie and Tea Cake are married and Tea Cake and Janie's money are gone one morning, Janie compares herself to Annie (118-120). She tells Annie Tyler's case to show the reader what she worries might happen to her. I find it more interesting than Janie saying simply what she worries might happen for half a paragraph.
I agree with Omri. I think these tangents or little "acts" involving somewhat irrelevant characters serve as windows into either Janie's mind or into the cultural aspects of the time: I think the storytelling and teasing between characters are a way for the author to throw in an overall feel of the cultural climate of the times. It is true that these tangents have little to do with the story- but I would argue that TEWWG is less about a captivating storyline and more about communicating ideas of gender roles and race.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone. This is Mickey. So I spoke about this a bit in the "language" section, but I think it makes more sense here. I really agree with what Zoe said, and I think that it's really interesting how, although for most of the book Hurston seems to be the narrator, not Janie, she sometimes slips up and speaks in first person about Janie's experiences even when you wouldn't expect Janie to be speaking.
ReplyDeleteI hate to use the same example twice, but I haven't found any other examples of this. Hurston says, "Starks lead off with a great eulogy on our departed citizen," without quotes around it, might I add, "our most distinguished citizen and the grief left behind him..." (60).
Now, the reason that I pointed out the lack of quotation marks is that this means that it should be Hurston speaking, not Janie. However, she uses the word "our" instead of "their," telling me that she is one of those citizens. Now, either this is just a typo (which I hope is not true) or Hurston is really identifying with Janie.
Hurston was self supporting for a time after her mother's death. She earned her bachelor's degree during this time and went on to travel and gain material for her writing. I think that Janie's travels and the things that she learned from them represent Hurston's own similar journeys. I believe that this is why she identifies with the character so much and possibly mixes them up occasionally.
Mickey, because almost the entire story, including the part you just mentioned, is Janie telling her life story to Pheoby, I don't think (although I could be wrong) that you can assume that any of the passages, from when she starts talking to Pheoby to when she stops, are not in her own voice rather than that of the narrator.
ReplyDeleteThe structure of Their Eyes Were Watching God made the book confusing and at times difficult to read. Some of the stories in the book that characters tell derail the story and make you are confused again when it goes back to the main story. This also makes it difficult to know how much time has passed during the plot line. This happens a lot while Joe is the mayor of the town. It happens later in the book as well when Janie is married to Tea Cake. Each of these times you were diverted from the story and it would be confusing for a little bit.
ReplyDeleteI would like to talk about a narrative that I don't think has been talked about yet. After Matt Bonner's mule dies, it's a really big "ceremony", and everyone goes. But after everyone has left, the buzzards circle in. I found it interesting that Zora decided to give them their own society, and let us see.
ReplyDelete"The flock had to wait the white-headed leader, but it was hard. They jostled each other and pecked at heads in hungry irritation... The Parson sat motionless in a dead pine tree about two miles off. He had scented the matter as quickly as any of the rest, but decorum demanded that he sit oblivious until he was notified. Then he took off with ponderous flight and circled and lowered, circled and lowered until the others danced in joy and hunger at his approach.
He finally lit on the ground and walked around the body to see if it were really dead. Peered into its nose and mouth. Examined it well from end to end and leaped upon it and bowed, and the others danced a response. That being over, he balanced and asked;
'What killed this man?'
The chorus answered, 'Bare bare fat.'
'What killed this man?'
'Bare bare fat.'
'What killed this man?'
'Bare bare fat.'
'Who'll stand his funeral?'
'We!!!!!'
'Well all right now.'
So he picked out the eyes in the ceremonial way and the feast went on"(61-62). I find that this whole new perspective of death becoming another persons, or birds, life very interesting. This is the only time I am aware of that Zora tells the perspective of the story through an animal. I am also kind of confused about these narratives is that Janie never saw them, but is able to tell them to Janie.
In response to Jay
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Jay’s point that the subplots are “annoying”. I feel that they give valuable information to the story by giving background details and adding depth. Without them readers would not know about Janie’s past and it would be more difficult to understand her current actions. The switching back and forth between characters helped me know the characters more vividly and did not interrupt the story.
In response to Emma
ReplyDeleteI think Emma makes an interesting point when she argues that the novel is not just about telling a story but more about “communicating ideas of gender roles and race.” I think Janie is used to show the changes taking place in society around the time of the end of slavery. Janie’s individual story also represents a wider group of people.
I have to say that I really disagree with much of the criticism of the seemingly tangent stories included in the novel. They all seem to be both interesting and really valuable as far as understanding the book as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI've actually been impressed throughout the book, by how well Hurston incorporates these segments. I think what really does keep them from being distracting or confusing is that regardless of the fact that the voice of narration changes throughout the novel, there is a third-person narration which explains each of Janie's major adventures.
I totally agree with Aysha (and Olivia, and Brian, and everyone who agreed with them). I found all the short pieces to be amusing, affecting or both. I think, considering how nonlinear Janie's story is, the tangental pieces belong in the novel. To anyone who says that they're distracting from the main story, I'd say that there really is no main story. In reading this book we get to know Janie, the communities that she spends time in, and how she relates to them. We read the meandering tale of Janie's life; there's no reason the text shouldn't reflect the often-scattered way life moves.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what I was thinking. The book is not about any particular plot or story line, it is about Janie. It is just the story of her life, and what she felt was important. Life doesn't usually come in nice, linear, plot-shaped chunks, it's a long series of events which intersect with the lives of everyone else around you. Hurston was just showing Janie's life, and the places where it crossed others' lives.
ReplyDeleteHurston adapts a linguistic style which slips in and out of third and first person perspective, which in correlation with the storytelling style creates a feeling of shared memory. In the following passage, the narrator demonstrates both her transitory role as the main character and an ability to read the thoughts and emotions of secondary characters. "Janie loved the conversation and sometimes she thought up good stories on the mule, but Joe had forbidden her to indulge. He didn't want her talking after such trashy people" (50). Her style contains the collective unconscious of all characters contained within; slipping seamlessly from vernacular to the standard literary voice, as demonstrated in the transition evident from the previous passage to the proceeding. “'When you pull down yo' britches, you look lak de change uh life” (75). The style brings to mind the American Indian tradition of verbal history, an often underrated process which preserved the histories of those tribes with stunning accuracy while subtly adapting over time through the voices of its people. Much like the social construct of verbal history, Hurston’s voice both transcends and influences the story it tells. The storytelling voice gives its subject humanity which startles the reader. "'So Ah'm back home agin and Ah'm satisfied tuh be heah. Ah done been tuh de horizon and back and now Ah kin set heah in mah house and live by comparisons'" (182).
ReplyDeleteWhat Luke and everyone else are saying is a really good point. Writing things outside of the direct storyline contributes greatly to the story itself. I can understand why some people think that the small tales that branch off from the main storyline are simply needless tangents. They are like side dishes that distract from the entree. However these actually help the story move along better. They can provide character depth and explanations to actions that characters may or may not take. If a novel does not have side stories, it can become one dimensional and a lot less interesting to read. A tree without its roots, branches, and foliage is just a boring log in the end.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the past few comments about how the book doesn't have a certain storyline. As I was just starting to read the novel I thought it was only going to be about Janie finding love, from the beginning to the end. But once I finished it, I got to thinking that it wasn't just about her finding love. It was all about her life, and what happened.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Naomi. I think this story has more to do with life in general than just love. Although the books main theme is love, the book finds its way to discovering what happens in order to fall in love. Not only that it also narrates to you, the life of another person. It gives you their thoughts, personalities and many features of the characters.
ReplyDeleteIn many novels there many key symbols that are used again and again to foreshadow a major change in the novel and in Their Eyes Were Watching God there is no difference. A common symbol that is used time and time again is rain. Rain has been used in novels like Frankenstein and The Great Gatsby to symbolize change that is inevitable. In There Eyes Were Watching God we see that rain as a symbol was used again is used to foreshadow the change that was right around the corner. Here the symbol that was used to foreshadow change in the novel was considerably beefed up compared to the rain shower used in Frankenstein and The Great Gatsby and here it was appropriated. The huge storm was proportional to the size and amount of the change that was happening in Janie's life.
ReplyDeleteThe entire structure of the story is like one big circle: the beginning of the story is also where the story ends. The opening scene is Janie returning home and then she proceeds to tell the story of the path that drove her away and eventually led her back. After phoebe leaves, Janie realizes that her memories and her re-telling what happened have given her peace: “She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net” (193). It’s cool that Zora Neale’s circular structure is reflected by talking about bringing in a net of fish at the end.
ReplyDeleteI like the structure of this book. Janie is telling her own story, so the writing is casual, no academic pros or fancy wording, just the way someone would tell a long story. Also the first person narrative allows the reader to gain insight into what Janie thinks. At one point Janie says: “Ah reckon dey never hit us a lick amiss ‘cause dem three boys and us two girls wuz pretty aggravatin’, ah speck.”(8) She says her thoughts so in addition to getting to know different characters you get to see her opinions. Then part way through the narrative changes to third person. You still get to hear what Janie thinks, it’s simply as though we’ve gotten lost in the story. This allows the reader to focus on what’s happening without the distraction of Pheoby’s interjections. This seems to work quite well as a way to get the right information across from the reader.
ReplyDeleteThe tangents seem to be bothering a lot of people, but I agree with Rose that they help give important details about characters and plot.
ReplyDelete“The sun was gone but he had left his footprint in the sky.” (1)
ReplyDelete“When people sat around on the porch and passed around the pictures of their thoughts for the others to look at and see, it was nice. The fact that the thought pictures were always crayon enlargements of life made it even nicer to listen to.” (51)
Zora Neale Hurston utilizes many literary devices to create her story in a way that makes it come alive. In these two passages Hurtson utilizes metaphors and imagery to describe two settings. I enjoy these passages a lot because they paint an image that has more dimensions than if Hurston were to simply describe what one would see. Her use of frames to tell her story also gives her story more dimensions and helps the reader to connect more with the main character, Janie. The third device that Hurtson uses to make Their Eyes Were Watching God a more interesting book to read, many other students have discussed, is the dialect of the characters. This device, like the others, makes the story seem more like reality and the characters more realistic.
Tangents, I believe I liked them much more after the one from the buzzards' point of view. It was an interesting part of the story because they, and the mule that became their dinner, were the only animals somewhat central to the story. Also while people made a personality for the mule, the buzzards were shown to have their own personality already, one somewhat reminiscent of the death metaphors that left an impact on me, as a reader.
ReplyDeleteTo add to what Isaiah said, the circular story telling mechanic is fairly commonly used, and if used well, it can make for a feeling of coming full circle for the reader. This especially effective for coming of age stories and novels like this one, where Janie's events unfolds, as the book chronicles her life.
ReplyDeleteTo add on to what Emma said, I noticed one part in the book in which Hurston used personification to describe the flood. She described the water as though it was a character itself, with purpose and intent. I thought that was a really interesting way of looking at the flood, and it definitely added to the drama of the scene. When the waters were described like people they became much scarier and seemed more threatening, and I thought that was a good example, like Emma's above, of a literary device Hurston used effectively.
ReplyDeleteTo add on to the comments made by Simone and Emma, one of the first things that I noticed about Hurston's writing was a strong sense of personification. I think it is a very strong tool for placing emphasis on the importance of the sun, or the flood. It turns them into a character for her human characters to interact with, which a very cool stylistic device and creates an interesting dynamic between nature and civilization.
ReplyDeleteI noticed almost immediately that the narration changes from first to third person like we are listening from Pheoby's point of view and have gotten lost in the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Luke, that the side-plots where necessary for character development. they tell the reader important things about Jenie and the way she thinks and acts. they give us a door into her mind.
ReplyDeletefor example, earlier in the book, there are Walter, Sam and Lige making fun of Matt's mule. though at first glance this might seem like an unimportant part of the book, it informs the reader about how weak and overworked the mule is. without this part of the book, Joe buying the mule might seem like something completely different from what it is perceived to be by someone with this information.
another example would be when Mrs. Tony is begging Joe for some meat. again, it might seem pointless at first, but it helps develop Joe's character, showing that he takes some pity, and also shows that the group of ramblers on the front porch are almost always on his side (which hurts Joe even more when they laugh at him later).
I'd like to respond/add to the comments by Stacy and Jay regarding the passage with the buzzards on pages 61-62. I too found it very interesting, and if I remember correctly, it's the only time the reader hears an animal "speak". As I recall, outside of the buzzard passage animals are described, but they never speak.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that the buzzard passage describes Janie's perception of the birds. They are not actually talking, and they don't actually have a human-like society; Janie imposes human traits onto them in her perception of them. I'm not entirely sure what meaning this has and why Hurston chose to write it this way, though.
Misha,
ReplyDeleteI agree, and I also think it helps us feel their presence, so that we don't just write them off, as we would with, say, the sun in another piece of literature.