Post #2: New Beginnings

Throughout the book, there are many instances of change and one instance that resonates with that the most was when Janie leaves her husband and moves away with Joe Starks (Jody). She becomes quite restless with her situation and meets a man who she feels will allow her to love again. After a long conversation he says, “Janie, if you think Ah aims to tole you off and make you a dog outa you youse wrong. Ah wants to make a wife outa you” (29).  

After leaving her husband, she seems like a different character. She is much happier than she was before and I could tell she wanted to stay with Jody. I do not know if I would necessarily pack up my whole life and leave, but Janie was a very determined woman. When she begins her new life in another town, Jody makes sure that he treats her well. However, he begins to change. His character is very ambitious, and when he takes over the town (as mayor), he starts to treat his wife with less respect. Although they just started their new life, it seemed as though Janie was getting the itch to leave again. 

I think that she constantly wants to begin fresh because she is never content with the people she ends up marrying. It seems like a way for her to avoid her problems, but I do not think that running away is the answer. She is practicing escapism, where instead of facing her true realities, she finds something “delightful” to distract her. In this case, running off with a man she barely even knows.

Ellis-Christensen, Tricia, and O. Wallace. "What Is Escapism?" WiseGeek. Conjecture, 23 Feb. 2012. Web.

19 Mar. 2012.

2nd Response to Teal

I agree that Joe Starks (a.k.a. Jody) works hard and takes initiative. He was the first character in the story that seemed perfect. I agree that the lamp was not just a lamp. The lamp that he installed was a symbol of hope and strength in the town. For someone who had come into town a while back, he was very productive, and that gave Janie a sense of security.

To me, lamp was also symbolic of the newly formed relationship between the community and their leader. Joe sent some men to find the finest piece of cypress post possible, which was one way that he exercised his leadership in the town. Even though Joe brought light to the town, I do not think he is a good guy. 

I think that he did it so that in a way, the town will always remember how “great” he was. I also think that he wants the town to need him so that he can be the one to make things better. I came up with this reasoning because he bought the lamp with his own money so he was basically giving a piece of himself up for the town.

Also, the lighting of the lamp was almost ceremonious. I felt like to the town’s people, it was sort of a religious experience. I think this was because when he lit the lamp he told brother Davis to recite a prayer before the lighting that was about the beautiful light, and that Jesus was the light of their world.

The Mover, and the Lamp

Joe Starks, was a mover and a doer.  He was elected the mayor of the town, from the few people who were in the highest unofficial posts of the new black only town.  As mayor, he got things done.  He had a general store set up in the center of town, and arranged the digging of roads going in all the four cardinal directions.  One of first big thing he did as mayor, was to personally buy with his own money, a lamp for the town center.

This light, was no ordinary light.  It was to be the first light in the town, and be gas lit.  This light represented much more than just a way to see during the night time.  It was a cardinal light, showing the strength of the town.  It was a beacon in the sea of darkness.  It was also a black only town, and this was a big step, which also showed that any other town could have a street lamp if they wished also.  

Joe also decided to put the lamp up on show, for a week before installing it.  This was to show off how strong the town was, and how it was progressing along.  The lamp was his pet child, and he loved and caressed it.  None but the best study trunk would how the lamp up in the middle of the town, and was selected personally by Joe.  This lamp lighting, was also adorned with a feast for everyone.  This was truly Joe's pride.  His extreme pride in the lamp, was also shown very well in him saying "Dis evening' we'se all assembled tuh light uh lamp.  Dis occasion is something for us all tuh remember tuh our dying day." (Hurston 45) This is the epitome of pride, and Joe had much pride as lit the gas lamp in his town, for the first time.

First Reply to Teal

I like how you connected the arranged marriages India and other places around the world. It really puts the situation into perspective. Her grandmother pushed her into this situation so that she could secure her financial future. Your parents or guardians pushing you to marry someone because they are affluent or have money are just as much of an arranged marriage as what goes on in other countries. Oddly enough, we have had a growth in the use of this method of marriage in America, which is implemented by some immigrant families in their communities (DePaul).

I don’t think that Janie necessarily found her purpose. She was looking for a way out of the position that she was in, which prompted her to create feelings for a man she barely knew. I think that it was a bad idea because she did not think the decision out clearly. Essentially, she put herself in a position to fail, and used Jody as an excuse to run away.

I agree, in relationships, there should be an emotional reason why you are with someone. You need to express how you feel with this person, and to get to know them. To know a person you need to spend time with them. Janie barely knew Jody, but she blindly fell for him as fast as she could because she was not being realistic about her life. In a way, her grandmother was right for worrying about Janie’s financial security, however it was wrong to push her into a situation like the one she was stuck in. At the same time, I think that Janie should have thought about the repercussions of her actions when she started to be neglected by Jody.

DePaul, Amy. "The Rise of Arranged Marriage in America." AlterNet. Birocreative.Web. 20 Mar. 2012.arranged_marriage_in_america/>.

Post # 1: Loss of Innocence

In this first section of the story, there is a common theme, which is loss of innocence. The story begins with the persecution of Janie Starks. Janie is returning to her hometown in Florida after living an unsatisfied life in the Everglades with her companion Tea Cake. 

The women of the town look at her dirty overalls and are satisfied with her raggedness. I think that the section of the story is a reflection of the theme (loss of innocence) because as you go further, her life story unravels and we learn that her mother and her grandmother were raped. Essentially, the main character’s family members endured horrible things and they lost their innocence in the process. 

These instances reminded me of Oprah by Kittey Kelly. It is a book about Oprah Winfrey that exposed some of the things that happened in her life (including sexual abuse) that really affected her life. Also, Janie herself losses her innocence when she to faces the harsh realities of life in poverty and unhappiness. The reader can also tell that she changes after the moment under the pear tree when she kisses Johnny Taylor (12). 

In a sense, she was losing her innocence as well and becoming sexually curious in a way. The last way that she losses her innocence is when she is married off to Logan Killick. He was a farmer who was much older than she was, and after marriage, he wanted her to start doing manual labor, and even threatens her life. At this point, her grandmother has passed away so she does not have the comfort she had as a child. I considered this moment another time that she lost her innocence because she was kicked into reality that she was not happy with her life.

Kelley, Kitty. Oprah: A Biography. New York: Crown, 2010. Print.

Planning, and Purposes

Janie Crawford had her life set out for her, by her grandmother.  This was not the life she wanted.  Her grandma had advocated for her to marry Logan Killicks, whom she ended up marrying.  This was not a happy relationship, for she did not love Logan.  Arranged marriages have been happening for centuries, especially in India. (Fish)  These marriages are not always happy, as was the case with the marriage between Logan and Janie.  

Janie found her purpose, and love when the new guy came to town.  Joe Starks, was the suave new guy in town, who was stopping by.  Janie loved talking to him, and ended up loving him and running away to marry him.  She had wanted things "sweet did mah marriage lak when you sit under a pear tree and think." (Hurston 24)  This was what Joe was for her, and she had found a purpose in her convoluted life.

This is how all relationships should be.  A girl and a boy, and man and a women, should all have the chance to fall in love with whomever they wish, not whomever their parents want them to.  Janie had an over ruling grandmother, who only wanted her to marry for statues, and wealth, not for love.  Joe ended up having wealth, but most importantly of all was that Janie loved him.  This is the most important thing about any relationship, is love, not attraction due to statues, money or pure physical attraction.  Janie found her purpose in life, when she met Joe, who had aspirations for becoming mayor of the newly established black only town.  

Fish, Jefferson. "Looking in the Cultural Mirror." Psychology Today. 27 Apr. 2010. Web. 18 Mar. 2012. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/looking-in-the-cultural-mirror/201004/arranged-marriages>.

Reality

In this section of the book, Elie arrives at Birkenau, where he is separated from his mother and younger sister. This occurs because the German officers are splitting those who are fit to work, and those who are not.  Those who are not fit to work, were rid of (cremate). I feel like this was one turning point in Elie’s life. 

He is faced with the horrors of a holocaust camp, and he begins to realize what is actually happening.  He is told to lie about his age (eighteen instead of fourteen) so that he is deemed suitable for labor, and the prisoner who explains all of this tells him that they came to be burned and killed. 

This was very eye opening for Elie and the rest of the arrivals. They now started to understood the full scope of the situation.  What was surprising was when the younger Jews suggested an uprising; the elders told them to have faith.  I would expect the elders to realize what position they were in, instead of immediately turning to blind faith.  

The fact that they were witnessing their own people; men, women, babies and children, being burned did not faze them very much.  I am not going to lie, if I went through the same ordeal, I would have a hard time believing that there was a god.  After making past the “inspection”, they are exposed to the highest degree of dehumanization.  They were shaved bald, disinfected with gasoline, and put in prison uniforms.  

Their individuality was taken from them, and so were their families, and yet their sense of faith remained.  One moment that was very surprising to me was that Elie's father started crying when he saw the people burning in the crematories.  He was the strongest character in the book, and he broke down in front of his son.  I bet that Elie was feeling hopeless in that moment because if his father was that scared and sad, the situation was probably worse than he thought.