My favorite part of this book thus far, is the beginning, the opening to the story and the opening to the life of Janie Crawford. I think that the first page carries an underlying message that is the theme of her life. She is consumed by this struggle between the barriers that separate women from men. Like so many other pieces of literature that we have come across in class, once again there is this internal and external tension that is building in those who are oppressed by the idea of strict gender roles. She strives to be this person whom her heart desires, only this person is on one of those “ships that will sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by time.”
There is a connection between Janie Crawford and Frederick Douglass that can be seen possibly through the products of slavery. “Ah ain’t never seen mah papa. And Ah didn’t know ‘im if Ah did. Mah mama neither. She was gone from round dere long before Ah wuz big enough tuh know. Mah grandma raised me. Mah grandma and de white folds she worked wid.” Frederick Douglass was also raised by his grandmother, and never knew his mother or his father. I think they are also similar because they each had to struggle with a sense of identity. Neither one knew completely who they were, or where they came from. I think that this influenced their actions and relationships with others.
Another theme that is very familiar is that of interracial friendships. Janie grew up with white children, to the point where she though she was white and couldn’t even identify herself in a photo. Similar to Nannie and the Grandmother in Porter’s stories, there is a strong friendship between them. Janie identifies with these children until she realizes in the photo that she is different. It remains a completely innocent friendship, until the other children at school taint it and discolor it by signifying a difference that to them is important. This ‘tainting’ also occurs in Nannie’s and Grandmother’s friendship by the classification of not only race but social hierarchy.
I was also reminded of “The Grave” while reading this book. “She was seeking confirmation of the voice and vision, and everywhere she found and acknowledged answers. A personal answer for all other creations except herself. She felt an answer seeking her, but where? When? How?” It is a coming of age, learning the information that no one will come out and tell strait out. Just like Miranda, she had to seek and discover this knowledge on her own and put it together in her head, and from then on hold this as a secret. Miranda learned where babies come from by a rabbit her brother had killed in the forest. Janie learns what marriage is by watching the interactions between a bee and a blossomed tree. This striving for knowledge and understanding, is a driving force in their lives, and behind their actions.
2 comments:
I have to agree with you about the internal and external struggle that seems to go on in Janie's Life. She goes through the different relationships and shows how unhappy she was with her first husband, in a bad relationships with her second husband and tragically loses her third man.
In Zora Neale Hurston's two pieces, "How it feels to be colored me" and "Their eyes were watching God" identity plays a major role. In the first piece, Zora herself is searching for her identity. She doesn't see herself as black, but rather a "brown bag of miscellany." To me that symbolizes that she has many different personalities. Her colored skin does not define her. Her actions and her attitudes are what make her unique.
Janie also had to deal with her own identity. Not knowing her mother or father, and feeling resent towards her grandmother have influenced her actions. I think she took her anger out by marrying the men that made her unhappy. Her grandmother wanted her to settle down but Janie couldn't find a man to completely please her. I don't think Janie knows what she wants.
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