Monday, January 29, 2007
Literary essay
Last semester, one of the Grade 11 classes read the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston while the other read the novel Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko. We came up with a list of essay topics for each novel, and students wrote on one of their choice. Here is Bibi's essay about Their Eyes Were Watching God.
The Desires of Life
The novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston not only portrays the experience of a black woman living in the 1930’s, but it also depicts the way women have been living for decades. This book explains the desires, and thoughts of a black woman, Janie, as she lives her life. Some people say that this book only tells the struggles of a black woman, and if this novel were based on the life of a white woman, it would be very different. I beg to differ. In some way, all women have the same cravings for love, similar desires for respect, and equal ideas about living their lives for themselves.
In the first chapter Janie “was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree soaking the alto chant of the visiting bees … so this was marriage”(11). Janie was full of desire, from the first time she lay underneath the “pear tree,” to the day that “ She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net … and draped it over her shoulder”(143). The “pear tree” was part of her. Throughout Janie’s life, she has many people who try to control, and stop her from fulfilling her desires. It begins with her grandmother, and doesn’t end until her second husband dies.
Janie is forced to marry at the mere age of 16. When she tries to stand up for herself, and tells her grandmother that she doesn’t want to get married, [Her grandmother] “slapped the girl’s face violently, and forced her head back so that their eyes met in a struggle”(14). Her second husband, Jody, forces her to do many things including demanding that “ … her hair was NOT going to show in the store” (55) as well as not allowing Janie to join in with the porch talk: “… Joe had forbidden her to indulge”(53). Both of these things should have been Janie’s choice, not her grandmother’s nor her husband’s. Many people feel like they need to make decisions for women, or protect them from the real world. Something that people just don’t seem to see is that women are just as strong as men. They deserve their freedom of life, liberty, and happiness. It is a right, which everyone deserves.
As Janie grows older, she becomes more aware, and begins to make decisions for herself. The first choice that she makes is leaving her first husband, Logan Killicks. She tells herself that “Yes, she would love Logan after they were married”(21). Janie makes this statement before she was married to Logan Killicks, and she tries to love him the best to her nature. The problem is, Janie has always dreamed of having a love like “a blossoming pear tree,”(10) and she knew that Logan was not that love. Some day she would find a man to fulfill her desires, but not then.
That time came sooner than she expected. Janie met a man by the name of Joe, and knew that this was her ticket out of her unhappy marriage. She was aware that Joe wasn’t her “pear tree” but she saw that he was a man who would take care of her, and maybe lead her to the love that she had been longing for. As women mature they tend to make decisions, which may not be what they want at that time, but they know that in the long run will be beneficial to them. This is what Janie slowly learns to do as the novel progresses. After many years of marriage to Jody, it begins to turn sour. Joe slowly becomes more and more disrespectful to her, and begins to compare her to animals: ‘“Dats cause you need telling … somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows”’(71). Imagine how degrading that must feel, (being compared to a chicken, or a cow.) The thing that is quite surprising to me is that there are still many people who think like that, men as well as women. They believe that they should be stopped from being involved in important things, from women not being able to vote, to women being discriminated against in certain job positions. Why has there never been a female president? It is because society feels like a female won’t be able to do the job, and because this is pounded into every woman’s head, most women feel like they wouldn’t be able to do the job. In the 1930’s woman were being held back, and today woman are still being held back.
This novel is full of dreams, wishes and ideas. Janie’s mind never stops, and she is full of longing. In the beginning of the book, she says, “Ah wants things sweet wid mah marriage lak when you sit under a pear tree and think”(24). This is the perfect example of what Janie desires. I cannot count how many times Janie refers back to the “pear tree.” She yearns for somebody to make her feel how she feels when she sits underneath the pear tree, just enjoying the spring day. This is a very common feeling for a woman. Usually there is something that makes a woman feel so peaceful, so perfect, and so happy. For most it won’t be a pear tree, but it is a feeling that many woman know oh too well. The biggest thing that this novel taught me, had to do with love. It showed me how strong a bond Janie had with Tea Cake, her third husband, and what it meant once she truly found her “pear tree.”
In conclusion, woman share many similar qualities. It doesn’t matter their race, religion, where they come from, or what their interests are. This book showed me how a black woman living in the 1930’s was very much the same as a white woman living in 2006. It all comes down to that there is a correlation between women. Although we may not be aware of the connection between all women, there is a connection, and it brings us all together. I am sure that any woman who is reading this essay has felt one of these feelings, or has had desires that Janie has.
Last semester, one of the Grade 11 classes read the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston while the other read the novel Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko. We came up with a list of essay topics for each novel, and students wrote on one of their choice. Here is Bibi's essay about Their Eyes Were Watching God.
The Desires of Life
The novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston not only portrays the experience of a black woman living in the 1930’s, but it also depicts the way women have been living for decades. This book explains the desires, and thoughts of a black woman, Janie, as she lives her life. Some people say that this book only tells the struggles of a black woman, and if this novel were based on the life of a white woman, it would be very different. I beg to differ. In some way, all women have the same cravings for love, similar desires for respect, and equal ideas about living their lives for themselves.
In the first chapter Janie “was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree soaking the alto chant of the visiting bees … so this was marriage”(11). Janie was full of desire, from the first time she lay underneath the “pear tree,” to the day that “ She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net … and draped it over her shoulder”(143). The “pear tree” was part of her. Throughout Janie’s life, she has many people who try to control, and stop her from fulfilling her desires. It begins with her grandmother, and doesn’t end until her second husband dies.
Janie is forced to marry at the mere age of 16. When she tries to stand up for herself, and tells her grandmother that she doesn’t want to get married, [Her grandmother] “slapped the girl’s face violently, and forced her head back so that their eyes met in a struggle”(14). Her second husband, Jody, forces her to do many things including demanding that “ … her hair was NOT going to show in the store” (55) as well as not allowing Janie to join in with the porch talk: “… Joe had forbidden her to indulge”(53). Both of these things should have been Janie’s choice, not her grandmother’s nor her husband’s. Many people feel like they need to make decisions for women, or protect them from the real world. Something that people just don’t seem to see is that women are just as strong as men. They deserve their freedom of life, liberty, and happiness. It is a right, which everyone deserves.
As Janie grows older, she becomes more aware, and begins to make decisions for herself. The first choice that she makes is leaving her first husband, Logan Killicks. She tells herself that “Yes, she would love Logan after they were married”(21). Janie makes this statement before she was married to Logan Killicks, and she tries to love him the best to her nature. The problem is, Janie has always dreamed of having a love like “a blossoming pear tree,”(10) and she knew that Logan was not that love. Some day she would find a man to fulfill her desires, but not then.
That time came sooner than she expected. Janie met a man by the name of Joe, and knew that this was her ticket out of her unhappy marriage. She was aware that Joe wasn’t her “pear tree” but she saw that he was a man who would take care of her, and maybe lead her to the love that she had been longing for. As women mature they tend to make decisions, which may not be what they want at that time, but they know that in the long run will be beneficial to them. This is what Janie slowly learns to do as the novel progresses. After many years of marriage to Jody, it begins to turn sour. Joe slowly becomes more and more disrespectful to her, and begins to compare her to animals: ‘“Dats cause you need telling … somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows”’(71). Imagine how degrading that must feel, (being compared to a chicken, or a cow.) The thing that is quite surprising to me is that there are still many people who think like that, men as well as women. They believe that they should be stopped from being involved in important things, from women not being able to vote, to women being discriminated against in certain job positions. Why has there never been a female president? It is because society feels like a female won’t be able to do the job, and because this is pounded into every woman’s head, most women feel like they wouldn’t be able to do the job. In the 1930’s woman were being held back, and today woman are still being held back.
This novel is full of dreams, wishes and ideas. Janie’s mind never stops, and she is full of longing. In the beginning of the book, she says, “Ah wants things sweet wid mah marriage lak when you sit under a pear tree and think”(24). This is the perfect example of what Janie desires. I cannot count how many times Janie refers back to the “pear tree.” She yearns for somebody to make her feel how she feels when she sits underneath the pear tree, just enjoying the spring day. This is a very common feeling for a woman. Usually there is something that makes a woman feel so peaceful, so perfect, and so happy. For most it won’t be a pear tree, but it is a feeling that many woman know oh too well. The biggest thing that this novel taught me, had to do with love. It showed me how strong a bond Janie had with Tea Cake, her third husband, and what it meant once she truly found her “pear tree.”
In conclusion, woman share many similar qualities. It doesn’t matter their race, religion, where they come from, or what their interests are. This book showed me how a black woman living in the 1930’s was very much the same as a white woman living in 2006. It all comes down to that there is a correlation between women. Although we may not be aware of the connection between all women, there is a connection, and it brings us all together. I am sure that any woman who is reading this essay has felt one of these feelings, or has had desires that Janie has.
# posted by MPA Student Work @ 4:18 PM 
