The Stranger Journal #1 Tabbing

Blue: anything that could be taken multiple ways/ambiguity
Yellow: Symobols/motifs as they arise
Purple: syntax/word choice/unusual sentence structure
Green: possible quotes to support theme
Pink: any misc thing that catches my attention

If I find anymore to be necessary I will add them...

Journal #10 Theme & Quotes

Theme: As long as you allow others to control your actions, your goals are unachievable.

This could use some clarification...but the idea is Janie knows what she wants from marriage very early in life, but by allowing her grandmother, Logan, and Jody to control her actions, she cannot achieve her goal until she meets Tea Cake who does not control 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. So this was marriage!" (pg. 11)
[this sets up Jaine's goal]

"I wants things sweet wid mah marriage lak when you sit under a pear tree and think." (pg. 24)
[again, setting up her goal]


"Ah wants to see you married right away[...]Brother Logan Killicks. He's a good man, too." (pg. 13) [nanny is controlling Janie's actions]

"The vision of Logan Killicks was desecrating the pear tree..." (pg. 14)
[Nanny's control of Janie is destroying her goal.]

"She knew that marriage did not make love. Janie's first dream was dead, so she became a woman" (pg. 25)
[her goal of a loving marriage is destroyed by Nanny forcing her to marry Logan...]


"Ah never married her for nothin' lak dat. She's uh woman and her place is in de home" (pg. 44)
[Jody controlling her...]

"It must have been the way Joe spoke out without giving her a chance to say anything one way or another that took the bloom off of things" (pg. 43)
[joes first time controlling her has disrupted her goal of happy marriage, but not destroyed it]

"But you ain't goin' off in all dat mess uh comminuted." (pg. 60)
"'...why don't you go on and see what Mrs. Bogle want? Whut you waitin' on?'. Janie wanted to hear the rest of the play-acting and how it ended, but she got up sullenly and went inside." (pg. 70)
"he wanted her submission and he'd keep on fighting until he felt he had it " (pg. 71)
[Jody controlling what Janie can and can't do...]

"It was her image of Jody tumbled and shattered. But looking at it she saw that it never was the flesh and blood figure of her dreams. Just something she had grabbed up to drape her dreams over.[...]She had no more blossomy openings dusting pollen over her man, neither any glistening young fruit where the petals used to be. [...] She was saving up feelings for some man she had never seen." (pg. 72)
[Janie realizes that her goal of a happy marriage has not been reached because he insists on controlling her so. She realizes her goal will have to wait for another man.]

"He could bee the bee to her blossom-a pear tree blossom in the spring."(pg. 106)
[Janie realizing that Tea Cake could finally fulfill her goal because he wants her to be herself]

"...Tea Cake ain't draggin' me nowhere Ah don't want tuh go. Ah always did want tuh git round uh whole heap, but Jody wouldnt 'low me tuh." (pg. 112)
[tea cake allows Janie to be herself and do what she wants]

"'Cause Tea Cake ain't no Jody Starks[...]dis is uh love game. Ah done lived Grandmas way, now Ah means tuh live mine." (pg. 114)
[Janies goal has been reached. She knows that she will have a happy marriage with Tea Cake because she is allowed to make her own decisions]

Journal #9 Pastiche

Abby slumped onto her bed, the muscles in her body relaxing for the first time since dawn. With some struggle she tugged off her worn boots and peeled of her wool socks. Laying down, she took a moment to enjoy the soft threadbare blankets. The washed out colors from years of use were familiar and comforting, but eyeing the small heart sewn into the corner, a familiar pain worked its way into her heart.

It was a pain that had dulled over the years, but it was pain none the less. "Miss you mama" she murmured, stroking the heart with her fingertip. The blanket was made for her by her mother when she was born, the heart a reminder that the family always loved her.

It'd been a few years now since the accident that took Mama away, but the heart always reminded her to love family above all else. Abby pulled out a paper from under her pillow. It was crinkled, but "Northeastern College for Girls" still stood bold against the white paper. Mama always wanted her to go to college, told Abby she had a gift for writing and if that's what she wanted to do, then she should go after it.

She just had to find a way to get Papa to agree. It'd be difficult, convincing him that Mattie was old enough to help him milk the cows, and feed the hogs, and plow the ground, and collect the crops and...The list went on, but she would make him see. She would be famous, she would make enough money so none of them would ever have to see a plow ever again. It would just take a few years...

The clomp of boots entered the room and she shoved the paper into pocket and she flung herself up, beginning to clean up Mattie's side of the room.

"Abby, I should tan yer hide ten times over!" the bellow came. The hulking frame came through the door and fixed it's firey gaze on her. "What? I-"

"I jest wasted the last bit o daylight herdin those heifers back inter the barn bicause you was so anxious tu git back in hur tu relax you left the barn door undone! I bust my ass the whole day and then i hav tu go and bust it some more cause uh your idiocy!"

"Pa, I didn-"

"oh, of course you didn do it! Don't lie tu me cause it don't get you no where but inta more trouble! You need tu stop thinkin so much about yirself and start thinking about your family more!"

"uhm...Papa?" Mattie's voice broke in just when he took a breath.

"What?!"

"Papa, Abby didn leave the barn door open. You left it undone cause you was gonna get some hay to throw the cows, and you tripped on dat gopher hole so you decided to go get a shovel and fill it in first. Then you went to do somethin else and the cows decided to come out cause they was hungry..."

Papa blinked a few times before flushing redder than he already was. He muttered some semblance of an apology and tramped back down the hall.

After giving her sister a quick hug of thanks, Abby hurried downstairs and into the kitchen. If dinner wasnt ready soon there was sure to be a repeat.

Once the dinner of cornbread and meat had been finished, Mattie headed up to bed and Abby set about cleaning the dishes. Papa sipped his coffee for a while before finally saying,

"Abby, I'm sorry bout earlier. I just, there's been a lot of work tu do this year nd...well I'm sorry I'll try to keep my temper in better control."

"it's ok Papa, I know you have a lot tu do and I'm the only one who can help with the big stuff for a few more years"

There was another pause of sipping coffee and scrubbing dishes.

"Well we may have some more help on the farm soon..."

Abby stopped to look at her Pa, puzzled. "Pa we don't have enough to hire on a farm hand"

"He's not lookin tu be hired..."

"He? You gunna tell me who 'he' is?"

"You know that neighbor boy?"

"Ryan? I've met him a few times, he seems like a good worker...We tradin them somethin for his help?"

"Yeah Ryan...he's been comin over n helpin me work the fields while you've been repairing the harness...And he's lookin to marry you"

It was all she had to not drop the stack of plates she was putting away.

"Marry?! But Papa! I haven't met him but a few times! And..and..I'm only sixteen! And...". She was choking on the suddenness of it all, trying to hold back tears as she saw her future self, the famous writer that wouldn't have to see a plow ever again, torn to pieces and scattered.

"I know, I'm sorry I shoulda told you earlier, but I've been strugglin with it myself. I still feel like we lost your mama yesterday, and now I feel like I'm losen you." He got up from the table and took her in his arms. "Abby, I know you didn't want this so soon, but we need this. Were bout to lose the farm, and this will save it. And us. If we lost it, we'd be on the streets starving. And I can't stand tu see my babies hungry. Abby I love you more than you can imagine, but this is something we have to do..."

He gave her one final squeeze, then left her alone to absorb the news.

For the longest time she sat and sobbed quietly in front of the fire. At first she was angry. She cursed her father for making her do this and she cursed her mother for leaving them and putting her in this position. That made her cry even harder. After some time the tears slowed and she drew the slip of paper out of her pocket and threw it in the fire. She watched stoically until all traces of it were gone. She then put out the fire and made her way up to bed.

After collapsing into her bed, she could no long see the sewn heart, but she knew it was there and she felt a wave of responsibility consume her. Tomorrow she would get up smiling, and help feed, plow and fix. It was silly to think that she could've ever gone to college. Her family needed her here, and she would play whatever role required of her as long as it helped them.



so, I'm not so good at the pastiches, but my attempted theme was: When you let go of your own wants, other's plans for you will become your own.


I used dialect to emphasize the fact that the family is a poor farming family. Hurston uses dialect throughout the entire book tp reemphasize where the characters are located...

The slip of paper for the college was a symbol of Abby's want to leave the farm and go to college, and once Abby let's go of this want her family's plan for her to take care of her family becomes her own. Hurston uses several symbols throughout the book.

I tried to create a circular feeling by starting and ending with her on her bed, but I don't think that I was that successful...Hurston creates circular feeling in her book in small chunks and in the entire book...

Journal #8

"He could be a bee to a blossom-a pear tree blossom in the spring" (pg. 106)

Janie has this thought while thinking of Tea Cake after he left her house. This motif of the bee, blossom, and tree appear constantly throughout the book. It creates a circular feeling to the beginning of the book back when all Janie wanted was a happy, balanced love. This motif used in reference to Tea Cake gives the reader a feeling that Tea Cake is the happy marriage that Janie has always wanted...(possibly a bit of foreshadowing?)


"in the cool of the afternoon the fiend from hell specifically sent to lovers arrived at Janie's ear. Doubt." (pg. 108)

This quote occurs just after Tea Cake has left Janie's house after spending the night. This personification of doubt makes it much more relatable to the reader (because when you start to doubt someone you love, it truly does feel like a fiend from hell). Also, the fact that it "arrived" at Janie's ear gives the impression that it was unexpected, that she had totally trusted Tea Cake until this very moment...


"Tea Cake and Janie gone hunting. Tea Cake and Janie gone fishing[...]Day after day and week after week." (pg. 110)

In this quote, the narrator is expressing the towns unspoken feelings about Janie and Tea Cakes outings with each other. The rhythm of the sentences is repetitive, short and rather abrupt. This rhythm creates dissaproving, almost exasperated feeling. This effectively demonstrates the towns disapproving feelings toasted the couple without having to go into any dialogue or explanation...

Journal #7 Mini Pastiche

So Katherine started to ponder envy.  Envy, that tiny spider with the knack for appearing when it was least wanted.  That sneaky thing that crept around on it's spindly legs, keeping out of sight.  Who can say that Envy has never poisened them, and who can keep him out of their hearts forever?  He crawls into your heart and manipulates your world.  Crawling so slowly with his fangs ready for the bite, waiting for a host to let him in.  Been crawling into hearts since the first man out performed another.  She was likely to see blood run green with him venom any day now.  She was upset, but compassionate as well.  Poor Annie!  The girl could not smote the passions inside her for the lad Tim.  She tried to go and talk with her, but Annie refused.  Her heart held an enormous pain, and she did not want to eye the reciever of her thoughts.  She'd rekindle the friendship soon as she had time to get over her feelings for Tim.  It would be just like old times.  That's what she told herself.  But Annie would never let go of her feelings, and Katherine knew this.  And if she hadn't, the next day she would've found out, for the icy glances from across the hall would never let her forget.  The friend that never left her side before now felt miles away.  The ice kept them seperated though they were a few feet apart.  Hate, that green snake, had begun to constrict Annie's mind.


So...not that great, but I gave it a go...

I tried to create a feeling of distance between them with the "cold" and "ice" which Hurston has done earlier in the book.  I also really tried to give the spider/envy a sense that it crawled in slowly, and that people wanted to deny it was there until it was blatantly obvious.  I'm not sure I was very successful in this though.

Journal #6 Stylistic choices in Death passage

In this passage, Hurston personifies Death, saying "He stands in his high house that over looks the world". Death is personified as a ruler (possibly even God?) that sees everything. I think this is done to show that no matter how powerful you are in your own life (Joe) you cannot defy Death because he is the ultimate decision maker.

By saying that Death lived in a "straight house like a platform without sides to it, and with out a roof", Hurston is again saying that Death does not need protection from anything, because it is all powerful and nothing can stop it

I believe Hurston uses the southern dialect to describe the doctors because it again reminds the reader that they are human and not even the best doctors can stop Death once it has made it's decision to come.

"people who would have not dared to foot the place before crept in...". The line references that the people of Eatonvilke were slaves, and Joe there master. By "creeping in" they are acknowledging that there master (Joe) has been humbled by an even larger power that they also will answer to someday...

There is a line a few pages before the passage that says "stillness is the sleeping of swords", I think that line is referanced in the passage when it says "stands watchful and motionless all day with his sword drawn back". I think the two lines together give the idea that when death us still, so is the sword that kills. However once he moves, the sword "comes alive" and the life is ended.

The fact that Jainie still calls Joe by his nickname "Jody" shows the reader that Jainie still cares very much for Joe, even though he has rejected her.

Journal #5 Thesis

Hurston uses Janie's feelings toward the store in Eatonville as a parallel to her feelings toward Joe in order to give the reader a sense that Joe's influence/presence is engrained of every aspect of Jainie's life. This enhances Joe's characteristics of being all powerful.

Journal #4 patterns

One pattern I noticed was that Hurston switches to third-person objective narration when describing some minor characters.

Example: pg. 52 "Matt realizes that they have tricked him again and the laughter makes him mad and when he gets mad he stammers".

Pg. 68 "She is parading and blushing at the same time"



Another pattern in chapters 5 & 6 was that Joe Starks is compared to a slave owner/driver by the townspeople a few times.

Example: pg 49. "You kin feel a switch in his hand when he's talkin' to yuh,".
Pg. 47. "take that house of his for instance...the rest of the town looked like servants' quarters surrounding the 'big house.'"


The last pattern I noticed was that the stage that the tree or bloom was in seemed to founded with how Janie felt about her marriage.

Pg 35 & 40 the tree is described as a "huge/big live oak tree" so the marriage is thriving
Pg 43 describes Joe degrading her for the first time as "that took the bloom off things". So this degrading of Janie as taken away some of the beauty of her marriage, but not destroyed ir
Pg 72 after Joe slaps her she describes it as "she had no more blossomy openings dusting pollen over her man". This is used to show that her perfect marriage is gone, so she has no more pollen for her bee...

Journal #3 Renaissance Figure and Dialect

Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (aka Jelly Roll Morton). His true birthdate is unknown, but he thinks he was born on September 20, 1885 in Louisiana. He grew to become a pivotal figure in jazz music, known as the first arranger of jazz music. Known for his arrogance (claimed to have invented jazz in 1902 and claimed the only piano player better than himself was his brother).



Dialect:

Pronunciation:

"th" replaced with "z"
"w" replaced with "v"
Soft "I" replaced with hard e ("ee")


Grammar:

Remove "a" & "an"
Current tense ("ing") is nonexistent
No contractions


Vocabulary:

The phrase "a lot" is eliminated, only use "many" or "much"
"djyes" instead of "yes"
Occasionally double words up "nono" instead of just "no"


At a restaurant Morton is performing in...


Nicholi: "ze playing zat you do on zees piano ees very good"
Morton: "thanks, I know I'm the best in the world"
Nicholi: "ze best een ze vorld?"
Morton: "well, besides my brother. I draw a lot of inspiration from him. But I'm the best besides him"
Nicholi: "Eet has been long time seence I have played. Do you mind eef I try?"
Morton: "be my guest"

*Nicholi proceeds to pull out Morton's most difficult piece. Morton braces himself for some terrible music, but instead he hears Nicholi playing the piece perfectly. Once he has finished, Nicholi gets up and pats Morton on the shoulder*

"zird in zee world ees not too bad eizer my friend"

Journal #2 (Analytic)

Pg. 5

"Hand me dat wash-rag on dat chair by you, honey.  Lemme scrub mah feet."  She took the cloth and rubbed vigorously.  Laughter came to her from the big road.

"Well, Ah see Mouth-Almighty is still sittin' in de same place. And Ah reckon they got me up in they mouth now."

"Yes indeed. You know if you pass some people and don't speak tuh suit 'em dey got tuh go way back in yo' life and see whut you ever done.  They know mo' 'bout yuh than you do yo' self. An envious heart makes a treacherous ear.  They done 'heard' 'bout you just what they hope done happened."

"If God don't think no mo' 'bout 'em then Ah do, they's a lost ball in de high grass."

• The line "An envious heart makes a treacherous ear." is not written in the style of the rest of the speaking.  While the rest of the speaking the written in a "southern" style, this particular line is written in straight english.  I think this is to bring attention to the line and to apply it to all people, not just the characters in the story.
• The above quote could also be foreshadowing for Tea Cake's jealous rage that ended up killing him
• "Mouth-Almighty" is a religious allusion to give the sense that the gossipers are above average people, or godly.
• The scrubbing of feet portion of the passage is to make Janie seem very human, which serves as a foil to the gossipers that are referenced as being godly
• The feet scrubbing I believe is also to set a relaxed scene between Janie and her friend by showing that even personal things are not refrained from one or the other, they are 100% open
• When Janie states that she is "up in their mouths", this is similar to the first page of the book where they say that "nations" pass through their mouths.  This sets up that Janie is "big" gossip, and that there is a story that the reader has yet to learn.
• While the earlier lines seem to humanize Janie, the final line seems to make her more "godly" since the gossipers are nothing as long as God and her don't care about them.
• Most of the passage being in the southern dialect makes the passage feel like there is no pretense, and that everything that is said is truly her thoughts.  (This could just be me though...)
• The line that "the laughter came to her" i find interesting because the author did not say that she heard the laughter.  I think this could be a way to show that Janie was not listening for the laughter or gossip, but that the gossipers wanted her to hear it so she would think of them...

Journal #1 (Reflective)

If I could tell my life story to anyone it would probably be my friend best friend Lizzy.  I would start at the transition into middle school, so sixth grade.  Elementary school is about the same old story of innocence and such, and then middle school was the first (serious) experience with social pressure which stays with you for the rest of your life.