Thier Eyes Were Watching God 6-12

Janie seems to be a dreamer. Especially in this next section. Joe seemed to keep her down and was probably a perfect husband in the eyes of her grandmother. He was a typical husband of that time - or what he thought he should have been. Janie wanted to be loved and respected. I thought the chapters with Joey and Janie really talked a lot about women's rights and women in marriage and social status. On page 71 Joe says "Somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows. I god, they sho dont think none theirselves". There was also another section that stood out to me (and as a women made me mad) when the men on the steps discussed how one man in the community didnt feel a women should be hit. The other men greatly disagreed. I think the author brings up these points and conversations purposely. Through the narration of the female lead it shows us that the sterotypes were not true because we are obviously knowing Janie's thoughts and she can think for herself. It shows her captivity of what society thinks she should be and so far I love how she rejects that guideline over and over again. She wants to be free and I think that spoke for many women of that time. It made me think a lot about "Passing" and the restrictions that Irene in particular felt about woman/mother hood.

Thier Eyes Were Watching God 1-5

I like the story so far. I do find it kind of confusing though with the dialect being so heavy. I really like the character Janie. I find her similar in spirit to many of Toomer's characters. Shes independent and often the talk of the town. She's beautiful and has an intersting connection with nature. I think Janie is a very deep character and I hope the book discusses her more deeply than it has so far. I also at first liked Joe but had a feeling that Janie wouldn't be happy with him either. I think she'll run from him too, she seems too much of a free spirit to not be satisfied. It seems that nature leads her thoguths and steps. I'm curious as to where the book is going. It doesn't seem to have a steady plot yet other than recapping Janie's life.

Cullen Poems

The first thing that stood out to me in Cullen's poetry was his religious references. In "Black Magdelens" he refers many biblical stories. When he writes "...to write upon the sand" he is referring to God writing on the wall. The line "Inviting him that has not sinned to raise the first rude hand" is referring to Jesus stopping the women from being stoned. The line talking about Christ coming and putting ointment on his feet is referring to Mary Magdeline wiping Jesus's feet with perfumes. "Simon the Cyrenian Speaks" is also an obvious biblical reference of Simon who carried the cross for Jesus when he fell before the crucifixion. I also noticed that like other writers we've seen (Toomer, and McKay) he discuss colored women as being beautiful, like in "A Song of Praise". I really like Cullen's poetry. I think he has a lot of meaning behind what seem to be meaningless phrases. He makes you look deeper into the writing and that's what good poetry is supposed to make you do.