Chapter 18-20

 Throughout these last few chapters, Janie notices many Native Americans leaving for the east along with animals and other people from the town because of the threat of a hurricane. Janie tries to convince Tea Cake to leave but he is confident in his gambling game and wants to stay. Soon enough the hurricane does come and Tea Cake, Janie, and Motor Boat are all left. We first see a significant mention of the title when all three of them are watching the walls waiting to see what will arrive. Hurston writes, "They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God" (160). Multiple instances in this chapter discuss how their eyes were watching God in wondering what would happen next. The hurricane continues to spread which forces Tea Cake and Janie to keep moving while leaving Motor Boat behind because he wants to sleep. In an attempt to get Tea Cake a piece of the roof to cover him, Janie falls into the water and has to grab a hold of a cow that has an angry dog on it. Tea Cake comes to help her but is bitten in the face by the dog while trying.  

    Tea Cake and Janie find a house to stay in but Tea Cake wanders around and ends up being called to work burying people by two white men. The white people who died will get coffins while the black people are thrown into a hole. The guards make it clear that they can not try to mix the people up. A man next to Tea Cake says, "Look lak dey think God don't know nothin' 'bout de Jim Crow law" (171). The theme of racism is very apparent throughout this chapter because there is a clear segregation of the difference of treatment between black and white people. Even though everyone is supposed to be equal, black people are treated significantly worse. 

    Later in chapter 19, we learn that a mad dog bit Tea Cake and there is a small chance of his survival. Tea Cake progressively becomes more aggressive. He starts to sleep with a loaded gun under his pillow and when Janie went off to find the doctor, Tea Cake thinks she is going out to see another man which sets him off. She suggests they go to the hospital but Tea Cake is very sick in the mind which causes him to think Janie is too lazy to take care of him. He then points the pistol at Janie which snapped. Janie knowing that there are only three empty barrels left causes her to use her rifle to shoot Tea Cake after he pulls the trigger two more times. This act of self-protection shows that Janie has become an individual. She has the strength to kill the one person she truly loved out of self-defense. Janie is taken to court where she explains the story and her love for Tea Cake. She is found innocent but there is a shift in the people who support her. She is applauded by the white women while the black folks resent her. It is seen that color does not always define peoples' wants but the humanity inside of them and the cultural concepts they live by. 

    The novel ends with her finishing her story to Phoebe and finding peace within herself and the memory she has of Tea Cake. Hurston writes, "She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net. Pulled it from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder" (193). Janie has found her horizon and even though she no longer has Tea Cake with her, she has blossomed into a strong, independent woman.

Chapter 13-17

 

Throughout these chapters, I noticed a lot of foreshadowing of the scene in the first chapter. On page 116, we learn that Janie leaves town in a blue dress, which was referenced on page 2: "Can't she find no dress to put on?- Where's dat blue satin dress she left here in?" We see it again at the end of chapter 14 (you're welcome Rebecca) when Janie is thinking about Eatonville and how the town would react if they saw her in overalls. As we know, she comes back in overalls, so we know how they respond. 

These chapters are a rollercoaster when it comes to emotions about Tea Cake. Janie seems happy with him but sometimes makes TC seem like a questionable guy (or as Mrs. Meltesen would put it, sus). For one, he steals Janie's money and spends it without asking her. Then, he didn't come back for a while and Janie understandably spun out. Then less than a page later, he tells her how much he loves her and how he never looks at another girl. TC then opens up about his gambling "abilities" or addiction, whichever way you see it. He wins a lot of money, but he also gets stabbed. I'd rather not see my husband get stabbed, so I'm sure Janie is going through a lot of emotions. Janie then talks about self-crushing love, which does not sound good. Janie also mentions some jealousy in these chapters and some interesting stuff seems to happen. TC is an odd dude and I don't know how to feel about him. 

Then, we meet Mrs. Turner. Boy oh boy is she a character. She is obsessed with whiteness to an unhealthy level. Because of it and the things she says about TC, TC wants her to move out of town. So he and his friends create a fight, and she ends up leaving town. I'm glad she is gone. She was quite toxic and believes strongly in colorism. It was hard to read about how mean she was to her fellow humans. I can understand why she feels the way she does, but I think her actions are unjustified. I am in no way saying that colorism is ok, I am noting that it exists. She is not the type of person I would be friends with. While she idolizes Janie, she also brings her down. She talks badly about people and does not seem like a pleasant person to be around.

 As I mentioned earlier, these chapters felt like a true rollercoaster, and I came out having no idea what is going to happen next and having no idea of what to think. The only thing we can do is read on. 

Chapters 8-12

  Chapter 8-12 mark the beginning of Janie’s self-love journey. In chapter 8, Joe’s life begins to dwindle. As he ages, he refuses to let Janie see him, so he has people in the town observe her and report back to him (very toxic). There is a lot of sword imagery in this chapter, an example being Joe’s death: “The icy sword of the square-toed one had cut off his breath and left his hands in a pose of agonizing protest” (87). After his death, Janie instantly began to find herself: “The young girl was gone, but a handsome woman had taken her place” (87). 

The true start of her self discovery is after the death of Jody (good riddance). Chapter 9 opens with the town of Eatonville attending Joe’s funeral, grieving his death. On the other hand, Janie is described as being without much emotion: “Janie starched and ironed her face and came set in the funeral behind her veil. It was like a wall of stone and steel” (88). Hurston describes Janie as being fairly apathetic amidst the death of her late husband and I don’t blame her! A significant moment happens after she returns home from the funeral that is Janie’s first step to finding herself: she burns all of her head rags and lets her hair down. This is a very symbolic moment for janie, for Joe constantly barked at her to keep her hair out of the sight of other men. I believe that the release of her hair from the head rag is her release from Joe- the metaphor of freedom. Janie describes her self-love revelation after discussing her detest for her grandmother’s “love” on page 90: “She had found a jewel down inside herself and she had wanted to walk where people could see her and gleam it around… Like all the other tumbling mud-balls, Janie had tried to show her shine.” This evoked much confidence within Janie, and after being terrorized by several men trying to gain her hand in marriage, her dear friend Pheoby begged her not to say anything that would make people think Janie wasn’t sorry Joe is gone:“let ‘em say whut dey wants tuh, Pheoby. To my thinkin’ mourning oughtn’t tuh last no longer’n grief” (93).

Chapter 10 is where Janie meets Tea Cake (Vergible Woods)! After he meets her in her shop, Janie describes herself as “glowing inside” after he asks to play checkers with her (96). Tea Cake and Janie get along very well, laughing and flirting with each other. At the end of chapter 10, Janie sits on her porch and describes the horizon: “So she sat on the porch and watched the moon rise. Soon its amber fluid was drenching the earth, and quenching the thirst of the day” (99). This is the last sentence of chapter 10, and I think that it is a beautiful example of horizon imagery. I believe that it is using this horizon metaphor to foreshadow the beginning of Janie’s self-love journey with Tea Cake by her side- because of tea cake, Janie is finally free to chase her own horizon.

In chapter 11, Tea Cake and Janie go on several adventures together such as fishing, the movies, and picnics. Janie tries to hide her activities with Tea Cake, for she is 12 years older than him and he doesn’t have much money to his name and she knows that the town would talk. Tea Cake and Janie share a tender moment where he is combing her hair after having an intimate conversation. Janie asks why he does that for her and responds, “It’s mine too. Ah ain’t been sleepin’ so good for more’n uh week cause Ah been wishin’ so bad tuh git mah hands in yo’ hair. It’s so pretty. It feels jus’ lak underneath uh dove’s wing next to mah face” (103). Although this is a little creepy, we can see that Tea Cake really wants to take care of Janie! This is a significant moment, for her freedom is her hair and he is tending to it.

In chapter 12, the town begins to share their concerns about Tea Cake and Janie, even though they don’t really have a say in the matter. They comment on how she is wearing colors like blue and not black and white. They are gossiping about how she is no longer grieving Joe and how he deserves better. Janie expresses to her friend Pheoby how she used to “sit wid folded hands and sit dere” when she was with Joe, but now when she’s with Tea Cake, she can truly live life (112). 

Chapters 6-7

 In Chapters 6 and 7, Janie starts to realize how much she dislikes working in the store and being bossed around by Joe. She is desperate to be allowed to sit on the porch and listen to the town gossip, but she notes that Joe looked like "he took pleasure in" sending her back inside to work (54). She starts to believe that working in the store is "such a waste of life and time" (54). We get insight into Joe's mind in these chapters as well - we discover that he gets very jealous of men who admire Janie's hair in the store, which is why he forces her to wear it tied back. We realize that he is very insecure about his increasing age as well, and everything Janie does and is seems to make his insecurities more prevalent. Furthermore, there seems to be a lot of competition amongst the men of the town, especially when they sit on the porch and gang up on Matt Bonner. They appear to find joy in making Matt really angry by making fun of his skinny, overworked mule. Joe also refers to the men as "trashy people" to Janie, but Janie notes that he enjoys taking part of the mockery on the porch. The mule becomes the star of the chapter, with Joe buying it from Matt for five dollars, claiming he deserves rest before it gets worked to death. It is a bit ironic because Janie is similar to the mule in the sense that they are angry about being forced to work, yet Joe keeps Janie in the store and gets praised for allowing the mule to rest. She also begins to stand up to Joe, but Joe does not appreciate it and starts to hit her in a couple of scenes. Their marriage deteriorates and Janie begins to question her place and her purpose. We realize that there is a lot of male insecurity and pride within these chapters, and Janie begins to realize she wants something greater out of her life.

Chapters 1-3

     Each chapter opens with a different metaphor. This sets the tone for each chapter as to what it was going to be about. In the first chapter, we are in the present. Hurston helps us understand the town that Janie lives in. Through figurative language, we can understand that the ladies from the town love to gossip. They appear to be bored and insecure. So, they consistently shame others for their life choices. However, Pheoby remains loyal to Janie and proceeds to go to her house to check on her and begin the story. Throughout chapters two and three, we learn more about Janie's childhood. The pear tree is used to symbolize Janie's sexual awakening. It is even used to express her dislike for Logan Killicks. I think that it will be used in the future to show Janie's fulfillment in love. During chapter two, we really see a fantastic use of language. We see Hurston write in a more formal sense and in a relaxed sense. She switches between these two forms of language in a beautiful way. We also start to see Janie's desire for love and a "happily ever after." She learns that loves does not come with marriage and that she will have to learn to live without it. Also, her Grandmother is seen as a very influential figure in Janie's life. We learn more about her story and I am interested to see the impact she has on Janie as the book continues. I can tell that the Grandmother does not want to see what happened to her, happen to Janie. Overall, I think that the opening to this book was incredibly emotional and powerful. It communicated emotions so well that is was easy to feel empathetic towards the characters. I really enjoy the language used in the book and can't wait to read more. 

Chapter X

So much that happens and there is a lot to unpack in chapter 10. During this chapter, I began to see this overarching theme of hope. At the beginning of the chapter, Douglass loses his hope when he goes to stay with Mr.Covey who I think was Douglass’s most violent and cruel master. During the first six month of staying with Mr. Covey, Douglass reaches one of his lowest points. Douglass writes, “The cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died” (Douglass 38). Douglass no longer desires independence and he has lost his hope. On Douglass’s way back to Mr.Covey after a failed attempt to get help from his master, Sandy Jerkins, a fellow slave, tells him about a root that can prevent a white man from whipping him. Douglass finds this root and it seems to work until the second day of his return when Mr.Covey grabs him and attempts to tie Douglass up. However, this time Douglass decides to fight back and he resists Mr.Covey’s attempt to beat him. I wonder what exactly made Douglass finally stand up for himself and fight back against Mr.Covey. I also thought it was really interesting how this violent incident between Douglass and Mr.Covey serves as a major turning point for Douglass and ultimately helps him regain his hope and freedom seeking spirit. Douglass states, “My long-crushed spirit rose, cowardice departed, bold defiance took its place” (43). After his year with Mr.Covey, Douglass goes to live with Mr.Freedman who is a much more benevolent master in comparison to Mr.Covey. During this time, Douglass builds strong relationships with some of the fellow slaves and his desire for freedom grows. Douglass tried to teach some of the fellow slaves how to read and he and some of the other slaves even plan an escape. The plan ultimately fails and Douglass is separated from his peers and sent back to Baltimore to work for Master Hugh. During this time Douglass starts to earn wages, however he is forced to turn it all over to Master Hugh. Douglass is extremely bothered by how he has to give his rightly earned money to Master Hugh and he starts to become more aware of the injustices of slavery. I thought it was really interesting how every improvement in Douglass’s condition would increase his desire for freedom rather than making him feel more content. Also, whenever Douglass's condition worsened, his desire for freedom decreased.

Chapters VI-IX

     Just like the last group of chapters, tonight's reading sparked various emotions; sadness, anger, and guilt. Hearing these first-hand accounts of the cruel nature of slavery feels more eye-opening than anything else. It is a completely different feeling reading what occurred in a textbook versus reading a specific man's story. There were two topics specifically that stood out to me in these chapters, one of which being the power of education, and the other being hope. 

Preventing slaves from being able to read and write is another very calculated way that slaveowners used to make slaves feel inferior and preserve the institution of slavery. His master Mr. Auld telling his wife that, "it was unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read," (20) stuck with me. The lack of knowledge the slaves had made them subservient to their masters and even the idea of an educated slave threatened the master's superiority. It also hurt me when he talked about how being educated almost felt like a curse instead of a blessing. It is horrible that being exposed to the reality of his situation because of his new ability to read made life even more hopeless for Douglass. 

The presence of hope and the lack thereof is another idea that struck me during the reading. It seems as though every time he gets a sense of hope, it is then crushed. Specifically, when reading about his fondness for his new mistress, I was hopeful that she would be an ally for him. Instead, his sense of hope was crushed as she became even crueler than her husband. This trend continues throughout the reading as every time things seemed to be looking up for Douglass, that hope was eventually shattered. But despite his hope continuously being shattered, he manages to hold on to the hope of one day escaping. He knows the likelihood hood is very low but refuses to be a "slave for life". I am interested in knowing how his road to escaping unfolds as the story continues.

His first-hand accounts show just how bleak the life of a slave was. As I read I keep thinking back to that point made in the preface that his story shows the life of just the average slave and does not even compare to the majority of slaves' stories. I am so shocked and mortified hearing Douglass's accounts. I can't even imagine what other's stories are like and what the cruelest masters must have done to their slaves.