Sunday, November 25, 2007
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.
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9 comments:
I too was getting frustrated reading this section, not just because of the dialect, but because of Joe’s (Jody’s) thoughts about women. Janie was always being degraded by her husband and no matter what she said, she couldn’t get through to him, so she gave up trying. When I read books like these, I have to constantly remind myself that it was written during a different time and that things have changed since then.
I never thought about the novel expressing feminine ideas as you have mentioned, but I like that direction. It makes more sense now that you've discussed it, that Janie's curiousity and eagerness to be a free woman goes against the typical sterotypes of woman during this time period. Very clever!
I like what you pointed out about Janie going against the stereotypes of the time. I was thinking it was more a story of identity crisis as far as being a black, strong, smart, women. It does seem like Janie wants to be free to an extent but still longs to find that deep sense of love. Maybe because she never had her mom and she was conceived out of anything but love.
I was also very angry with many of the comments that the men of the town had to say about women. I think that Hurston did a great job in highlighting the stereotypes and thoughts that men had about women at that time. It really put women's rights into perspective for me. I understand where Hurston was coming from when she wrote this novel and why she created such a strong-willed character like Janie. Hurston obviously felt very strongly about negating many of these stereotypes about weak, unthinking women.
This section of the novel made me angry to read. I don't like reading things about people having control of other people and thats what was happening with her marriage to Joe. She thought it was going to perfect and better then her first marriage, but it was far from that. It's hard to believe that Joe was a typical husband of that time. I couldn't image living that way. Your connection to passing is really good. It was something I hadn't thought about until reading your blog.
I'm not really sure if Janie wants to be entirely free or not. She definitely does not want to be as confined as she feels in her relationship with Jodie, but she longs for partnership and marriage. When she finds this with Tea Cake, she doesn't want to be free from him; rather, she wants to spend time with him and be taught by him. However, I think you're right that the freedom she seeks is from men -- or anyone, for that matter -- having total control over her life.
I too thought that Janie needed to get out of that marriage. Jody treated her horrible and he had the stereotypical view of a wife. I got fre=ustrated with her willingness to accept such treatment but was impressed when she eventually did learn to stand up for herself.
In regards to the store and the porch. I saw the store as symbolizing her captivity and oppression by her husband. The porch seemed to signify freedom. It was so close, but no matter how hard she tried to reach it she was shut out and put back into the store.
I agree. I was rather frustrated by his thoughts about women as well as about the way he treated Janie. But, the more I thought about it - back then I suppose that his views were ok. I'm reading it from a completely diffeerent perspective than it was written from.
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