Welcome - Their Eyes Were Watching God

This blog is following me as I read the book Their Eyes were watching God, and do school assignments for it.

"Their Eyes Were Watching God" is a book about a young black woman in Florida during the early 1900s. Throughout the book she continues to fin out what love is and how to obtain true happiness in life. After several failed marriages she finds out what living for herself really means

Written in 1937 by Zora Neale Hurston, the book is considered to be a great work of African American Literature. when it was written however it was criticized because of the stereotypes it showed and because of the way Hurston wrote the dialogues. She was one of the first writers of her time to use dialect in a novel, making the characters speak how they would in real life.

25 Things You Didn't Know About Me

I don’t like cannolis

My hair was silver when I was born

I used to ride horses

When I was little every time I went to a restaurant I would get steak, baked potato, and a salad

I like to read

My worst area in school is writing

I’ve gone to Catholic school since I was three

I went to the same school for 10 years

I’ve played lacrosse since I was seven

I am a huge procrastinator

My dog is as old as I am

I wear contacts

I want to go to the Coast Guard Academy

I flew a plane once

I have terrible luck

When I was three I was obsessed with cowboys

My favorite drink is Arizona Green Tea

I wear a size 10 ½ shoe

I’m a terrible speller

My name is Irish but I look German

Monty Python is my favorite group and they will someday rule the world

I like things neat and clean but my room is a complete mess

My favorite TV show is NCIS

I've been told I have a slight Baltimore accent

I want to get my SCUBA license

Imagery

“ the pear tree soaking in the alto chant of the visiting bees, the gold sun and the panting breath of the breeze”” p. 11

“from the leaf buds to snowy virginity of bloom” p. 10

“the scant dozen of shame – faced houses in the sand and palmetto root” p. 34

“but enough incredulous laughter burst out of their eyes and leaked from the corners of their mouths “ p. 37

“that fresh new taste about them like young mustard greens in the spring” p. 67

“She’s got those big brown eyes with plenty of shiny white that makes them shine like brand new money” p. 67

“looked like the standing roots of some old tree that had been torn away in a storm” p.12

“through pollinated air she saw a glorious being coming up the road” p11

“The noon sun filtered through the leaves of the fine oak where she sat and made lacy patterns on the ground” p.27

“Went up the new cut road in a wine colored red” p. 41

Symbolism - with Bryan Fidler and Matt Henderson

1. Janie’s Hair – Janie’s hair is the most beautiful part about her. It symbolizes her power and her will to be different. She wore her hair down, which was not proper for women of the time.
2. Gate – the gate is a symbol of a new beginning, she crosses it to go with Joe Starks.
3. Horizon – the distance to the horizon represents the work it takes to get to your goal. This symbol was mentioned several times in the story and talks about your dreams being on the horizon – some come in with the tide, others are always out of reach.
4. Mule – the mule symbolizes how women, especially black women, were treated back then.
5. Head Rag – the head rag symbolizes the power men had over women. Because Joe was jealous of the other men looking at her and flirting with her, he forced Janie to wear the head rag. This made her less attractive and took away her identity.
6. When Janie returns to her hometown wearing overalls it is a symbol of her strong will, independence, and refusal to conform to conventional standards. The women of the town see the overalls as denoting a flaw in Janie, and use it as a way to belittle her, since they are jealous of her.
7. The pear tree is a symbol of Janie’s longing for physical passion and emotional connection. When the bee pollinates the pear tree flowers it symbolizes to Janie, the pure and perfect natural union that she longs to have with a man. It represents her idea of romantic love.
8. When Logan insists on Janie helping shovel the manure pile, it is a sign of his trying to gain control over her. It is a symbol of what has gone wrong in their marriage. Logan is insisting she come out and do man’s work, dirty her hands, and follow his command.
9. The big white house that Jody builds represents Jody’s desire to be a big white man, better than all of the black people in the town. Jody wants to purchase and control the town, and the big house represents that desire to be the best, and to have the best.
10. Jody uses playing checkers to stand for men’s superior intellect as compared to a woman’s. He tells Janie to fetch the board and pieces, but will not invite her to play the game. Jody believes women are inferior to men, and only capable of physical work, not tackling mental challenges.

My Name

In the early months of 1995, before I was born, there was much discussion about what to name the baby that was soon to come. My parents wanted to keep true to my Irish heritage and name me Seamus. Not only was this about as Irish as you can get, it also means James in Gaelic, which is a family name on my mother's side. There was also the possibility of naming me things like Danial (but my mother didn't like the sound of Danny Doherty), Noah, Brendan, or Bryan. Through a process of elimination it was decided that Seamus was to be my middle and _____ was to be my first name. My parents just couldn't make a decision. Should I be Bryan or Brendan.

The final decision was made based off of how people said it. As the story goes, my parents were driving along during the later months of my mothers pregnancy, and my father suddenly yells out, "Brendan Seamus Doherty!!!! .... Bryan Seamus Doherty!!!! Nah, Bryan sounds better." And so my name was decided because Bryan was easier to and sounded better when it was yelled.

Now the meaning of my name is interesting. As said before Seamus, means James in Gaelic which is a family name. My first name Bryan, however, means strong one (which applies perfectly in my opinion). My last name, Doherty, has an interesting meaning. After going through all the base words, i found that Doherty actually means obstruction. (Once again probably fitting) And so in May of 1995, after much discussion Bryan Seamus Doherty came into being.

p.s. Personally I think my name should have been Seamus Bryan Doherty because then I would have been, James The Strong Obstruction.