Zora Neale Hurston: Their Eyes Were Watching God

Zora Neale Hurston was one of the many forerunners in the Harlem Renaissance movement. She was born humbly in Alabama, and, as she grew, so did her writing skills. Over the course of her life, she wrote and published seven books, in addition to many short stories, magazine articles, and even plays. One of her most famous books was Their Eyes Were Watching God, a story about a woman named Janie, from her first steps to her last marriage and the tragic end that followed. Janie has had a hard life, but with the help of her friends and people who are like family to her, she gets through it. As readers, we will get to see just how hard she had to work to obtain her dreams in the end, and even how her dreams changed through the years. Though not popular when it was first published, Zora Neale Hurston's novel spoke to many people, and even today it was popular enough to be made into a movie. Just by us reading this novel in English class, we are demonstrating that words really did make Zora Neale Hurtson immortal.

Sources: http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/hurston_z.htm

Picture from: http://www.ci.longmont.co.us/Library/adult/images/their_eyes_were_watching_god.jpg

25 Spectacular Facts!

1. I want to be an English teacher when I grow up

2. If I could be any animal, I would be an owl

3. My favorite color is blue

4. My birthday is February 21, 1995

5. I have been out of the country before, to Mexico and Jamaica

6. I play piano

7. My favorite pet was my Neon Tetra fish. I named him Crazy Joe, because he had a lazy eye and I thought it was funny. He lived for over 2 years, which is unusually long for that type of fish. I was devastated when he died.

8. I like juice a little too much, especially cranberry juice

9. My immediate family consists of my dad, Chris, my mom, Diane, and my 12 year old sister Lauren

10. I love reading and writing

11. I take Spanish as my foreign language, and it is definitely one of my favorite classes. I want to minor in it in college

12. My favorite Disney movie is Mulan, because I never liked the traditional ball-gown princesses

13. My favorite music right now is the soundtrack from the production Les Miserables

14. I volunteer at the Aberdeen Library every summer, because it's very close to my house and it's a good place to chill

15. I ride my bike around my neighborhood almost every afternoon in the springtime (weather permitting)

16. I would not be able to live without my iPod, even for a day

17. I'm actually a really picky eater; I don't like many foods

18. When I grow up, I think it would be great to live in Massachusetts or the United Kingdom

19. My most visited websites are: Facebook, Google, MSN, YouTube, Wikipedia, PowerSchool, Harford County Public Library Home Page, and My Life is Average

20. My favorite flavor of ice cream is mint chocolate chip

21. I love cooking things. My specialties are: Pancakes, lemon soufflé, cinnamon cake, and chocolate cake in a mug (all from scratch!)

22. Through the years, I have played soccer, tennis, softball, and swimming

23. My favorite TV shows are Glee, 30 Rock, and The Office

24. I'm in set crew, and I love doing the plays at school

25. My full name is Brianna Nicole Glase

Imagery in Their Eyes Were Watching God

1. pg. 11 “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 meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight;” Janie is reclining underneath of a blooming pear tree, meant to symbolize her own blossoming womanhood at the age of 16.

2. pg. 14 “She slapped the girl’s face violently, and forced her head back so that their eyes met in struggle. With her hand uplifted for the second blow she saw the huge tear that welled up from Janie’s heart and stood in each eye;” Nanny, being angry with Janie and their conflicting opinions, slaps her, and instantly regrets it.

3. pg. 41 “Jody told her to dress up and stand in the store all that evening. Everybody was coming sort of fixed up, and he didn’t mean for nobody else’s wife to rank with her. She must look on herself as the bell-cow, the other women were the gang. So the put on one of her bought dresses and went up the new-cut road all dressed in wine-colored red. Her silken ruffles rustled and muttered about her;” Joe, being the mayor of Eatonville, wants Janie to be ranked higher than the other women of the town.

4. pg. 24/25 “And when she gained the privacy of her own little shack she stayed on her knees so long she forgot she was there herself. There is a basin in the mind where words float around on though and thought on sound and sight. Then there is a depth of thought untouched by words, and deeper still a gulf of formless feelings untouched by though. Nanny entered this infinity of conscious pain again on her old knees;” Nanny is old, and everyone eventually dies at some point. This is her time, but at least she accomplished raising Janie the way she wanted her to be raised.

5. pg. 12 “Through pollinated air she saw a glorious being coming up the road. In her former blindness she had known him as shiftless Johnny Taylor, tall and lean. That was before the golden dust of pollen had beglamored his rags and her eyes;” Janie, after her realization of the similarities between her and the pear tree, spies Johnny Taylor strolling up the road: the perfect man to suit her romantic desires.

6. pg. 32 “The morning road air was like a new dress. That made her feel the apron tied around her waist. She untied it and flung it on a low bush beside the road and walked on, picking flowers and making a bouquet;” Janie has a feeling of unlimited freedom as she leaves Logan Killicks and embraces a future with Joe Starks.

7. pg. 17 “Nigger, whut’s yo’ baby doin’ wid gray eyes and yaller hair? She begin tuh slap mah jaws ever which a’way. Ah never felt the fust ones ‘cause Ah wuz too busy gittin’ de kivver back over mah chile. But dem last lick burnt me lak fire;” The plantation owner’s wife notices the similarities between Nanny’s baby and her husband, and grows suspicious.

8. pg. 47 “Take for instance that new house of his. It had two stories with porches, with banisters and such things. The rest of the town looked like servants’ quarters surrounding the ‘big house.’ And different from everybody else in the town he put off moving in until it had been painted, in and out. And look at the way he painted it – a gloaty, sparkly white. The kind of promenading white that the houses of Bishop Whipple, W.B. Jackson and the Vanderpool’s wore;” Joe Starks, being a very wealthy man and the mayor, can afford very prestigious items.

9. pg. 9 “Ah didn’t know Ah wuzn’t white till Ah was round six years old. Wouldn’t have found it out then, but a man come long takin’ pictures and without askin’ anybody, Shelby, dat was de oldest boy, he told him to take us. Round a week later de man brought de picture for Mis’ Washburn to see and pay him which she did, then give us all a good lickin’. So when we looked at de picture and everybody got pointed out there wasn’t nobody left except a real dark little girl with long hair standing by Eleanor. Dat’s where Ah wuz s’posed to be, but Ah couldn’t recognize dat dark chile as me. So Ah ast, ‘where is me? Ah don’t see me.’ Everybody laughed, even Mr. Washburn. Miss Nellie, de Mama of de chillum who come back home after her husband dead, she pointed to dark one and said, ‘Dat’s you, Alphabet, don’t you know yo’ ownself?’” Janie, growing up in an all white environment, never had any reason to think she wasn’t white, and it came as quite a shock when she finally found out.

10. pg. 27 “It was a citified, stylish dressed man with his hat set at an angle that didn’t belong in these parts. His coat was over his arm, but he didn’t need it to represent his clothes. The shirt with the silk sleeveholders was dazzling enough for the world. He whistled, mopped his face and walked like he knew where he was going. He was a seal-brown color but he acted like Mr. Washburn or somebody like that to Janie;” Just as Janie is feeling that she will never love Logan, the man of her dreams comes into view, Joe Starks.

Picture from: http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/Thornhill/3ThornhillOld.jpg

Symbolism in Their Eyes Were Watching God

Janie’s hair - It represents freedom and womanhood

Pear tree - It represents Janie’s entrance into womanhood and instills in her deep thoughts of love and marriage.

Gate - The gate represents holding Janie back from her future and what she wants.

Horizon - It symbolizes Janie’s dreams for the future that she may never reach.

Mule - It represents the lowest of the society which is, in this case, black women.

Head Rag - Represents Joe’s oppression of Janie’s freedom and his control over his wife

Joe’s house - This represents Joe’s power and wealth, and his apparent similarities to a white plantation owner.

Tobacco Spittoon - It represents Joe’s opinion of himself, and how he think he and his wife are much better than the other townsfolk

High Chair - This represents the metaphorical pedestal that Joe puts Janie on, and this is how people begin to view her.

Lamp-Lighting - It represents the changes Joe is trying to make for the good of the town, so that the townspeople will appreciate him and his wealth.

Picture from: http://www.greenhousebed.com/images/Garden/pear%20tree.jpg

Every Brianna Has a Story

Every winter, as we put up our Christmas tree, I always get to hang my own heart-shaped ornament with "Brianna" on it. Underneath, it says "Strong One," which is the Gaelic/Celtic root of the name Brianna. I myself am half Irish, so it fits. It could also be traced to mean noble, virtuous, and honorable. One day, I was curious, and I asked my mom why she chose this name for me. She told me that she read it in a mystery novel before I was born, and she liked it. I felt special because my name didn't come from a generic baby names book, but an actual story. Unfortunately, my mom could not remember what book it was from, so I will probably never read about the fictional woman that I was named after. If I had been born a boy, my name would have been Nick. My middle name, Nicole, comes from this; I was clearly not a boy, but they liked the name so much they wanted to incorporate part of it into my real name. The only other name my parents were considering was Lauren, which, about 2 years later, became my sister's name. Personally, I love my name, and I couldn't imagine having a different one, or even just going by Nicole. After 15 years of being called Brianna, or Bri by very few people, I can't even imagine changing. The main reaction I get when I tell people my name is them asking whether it's pronounced Bri-a-nna or Bri-ah-nna. In truth, it doesn't matter to me at all. I'm proud of my name, and I wouldn't ask for any other.