Blood Wedding: Journal One

"Visual action can be as important on the stage as speech." How far do you agree with this claim? In your answer you should refer to two or three plays you have studied.

I agree visual action is a very important aspect to the interpretation of these tragic plays because of the contrast of the stage directions. In the "Wild Duck" the stage directions were very descriptive down to the last item on the set, all placed a certain way and a certain color. Every single page has some description of the emotions and movements the actors are portraying which means to Ibsen the direction were symbolic and important. This importance in the stage directions brings symbols and further complements what the characters are doing in that scene. For example when Hjalmar is confronting Gina after having a long walk with Gregers Gina "(putting the shade on the lamp)" which is symbolic for her putting a filter on the truth so it would not blind someone (Ibsen 182). This portrays  there is a reason Ibsen wanted everything to look a certain way on stage and not changed to something else because it is all symbolic. The setting and the physicality of the characters in the "Wild Duck" is just as important as the speech because of the lengthy directions Ibsen uses and the descriptions of every movement a character makes. The visuals of this play are very descriptive as opposed to the "Blood Wedding" which has very vague stage directions and places importance on the dialogue. However due to this lack of description it is hard to follow what is going on and gives the reader room for imagination. "Blood Wedding" does not lead the reader step by step like Ibsen does. Ibsen creates a picture for his audience which is not as present in the "Blood Wedding" which makes the stage directions there are in the play significant because without them one would not be able to understand or make sense of the play. An example of these vague directions is "(the bride throw down the flowers)" if Ibsen had written this play he would have described these flowers as orange and told the reader they were made of wax however since Lorca is a different style of writer he left out these details to be figured out later through the dialogue (Lorca 41). Both the vagueness of the stage directions which create the visual action and the descriptiveness of them makes them just as important as the speech. Without the stage directions when the description is vague there is a necessity for them in order not to get lost, and with the abundance of detail one finds symbolism that complements what is said in the dialogue. Therefore I agree "Visual action can be as important on the stage as speech".

Comments from the Tragic Unit!

The ideas/motifs you have here are really great. I think it is interesting. I'm wondering how you interpreted the conclusion of the play because you say the sea brings hope and freedom (Ben Webster Wild Duck journal entry #3).

I agree visual action is extremely important. I enjoyed that you put specific instances to support your ideas. The only thing I am wondering is do you think the setting is more important to the play than the dialogue? I think you did a terrific job arguing that the visual action is important however I feel you could compare it to the importance of the dialogue (Kylee Rosette Wild Duck journal entry #4).

Isabel! Your journal entry has good insights! Your connection of "Oedipus the King" to religion is interesting and I hadn't thought about it that way.

When you say in Oedipus the play doesn't focus on the waiting parts I do agree to an extent, there were several times that Oedipus had to wait for something he wished to be brought like the Shepherd he did wait for him to come however to keep the action up he had conversed with the Messenger while he was waiting. I don't understand what you mean by the puzzling part Sophocles leaves out of Oedipus. Maybe clarify a little.

I agree with your analysis of the "Wild Duck" there does seem to be everyday conversation mixed in with the play (Isabel Harger Wild Duck journal entry #5).

The Wild Duck: Journal #3

Themes and Ideas in the Wild Duck

 The metaphor of the wild duck and its story to how it ended up in Hjalmar's household compares the reputation and relationships between characters. In the beginning of the play Gregers states how he wishes he could be a dog, and in this third act Gregers compares Hjalmar to the wild duck. In Gregers point of view Hjalmar has lost everything because of his father and now Gregers wants to be the dog to help bring Hjalmar back up to the surface because it was Mr. Werle who had caused him to be in that situation in the first place. The comparison of Gregers to the dog however gives us the impression that there is going to be some hardship/pain endured by Hjalmar because of the bite the dog takes to bring the duck to the surface. Through Gregers point of view Hjalmar's reputation has been hurt by Gregers father and Gregers wishes to redeem his reputation in his own eyes because of this injustice done to Hjalmar by his father Mr. Werle. However the question remains does Gregers do this out of his own personal wishes to make his reputation look better or does Gregers do this to redeem his old friend Hjalmar's reputation. It seems that Gregers does this out of his own personal commitment to restore his family name he believes has fallen because of his father's lack of supporting Edkel during the trial.

Another interesting idea is Hedvig refers to Gina as "mother" and Hjalmar as "Daddy". The formality in which Hedvig addresses Gina shows that she is not a little girl she does work when she is around her mother. In choosing this diction to refer to her mother as give the impression that Gina has the authority in the household as opposed to her daddy. In Act 3 when Hedvig convinces Hjalmar to give her the brush to touch up the photograph Hjalmar says " But don't ruin your eyes! Hear me? I won't take the blame; you can take the blame yourself-you hear me?" which shows there is blaming happening because she is participating in an activity that could affect her eyesight (Ibsen 161). The blame is coming from her mother not her father which shows Gina has more of a concern for Hedvig's health and she is the head of the household as opposed to Hjalmar. Hjalmar has a more informal title which is "daddy". This informal title show he is less of a power compared to Gina even though he is the male of the household. The only time she does refer to Hjalmar as "father is when Gregers arrives early for dinner and says ""You seem to have workmen in the house." Hedvig: "No, that's only Father and Grandfather."" and in this case she has reason to be formal because she is talking to someone who is not from her family which means she has to have formality around them to maintain the family reputation (Ibsen 161).

The Wild Duck: Journal # 2

"Defiance becomes our duty in the face of injustice." Referring to at least two works you have studied, explore the ways in which writers have attempted to persuade us to accept or challenge this view.


In the Wild Duck the idea of rebelling against ones family is described in the following quote, "Defiance becomes our duty in the face of injustice" (writing prompt). Ibsen wishes us to accept this view that it is our duty to stand up for what is wrong. This idea in Act One and Two is shown through the relationship between Gregers and his father Mr. Werle. The relationship between father and son is one of external conflict because of the actions his father has done. Gregers has found out his father has taken advantage of Hjalmar's family for protecting his own reputation about having a child out of wedlock. Mr. Werle has his former house keeper Gina marry Hjalmar to protect himself from suspicion. With this in mind and the fact his father only protects himself (ie he gets acquitted when Ekdal gets convicted) Gregers rebels against his father's wishes of him moving back into his father's house. Instead he "left [...]the family home" to show his father he would not tolerate the crimes he has gotten away with in the past and is defying him. This conflict is prevalent throughout these two acts from when Gregers confronts his father and when he is at Hjalmar's house. There is a connotation in this act which Hedvig (Hjalmar and Gina's daughter) seems to pick up on however she doesn't understand. This connotation is used to convey the message from Gregers to Gina, he knows that Hedvig really is not Hjalmar's daughter.

Similarly Sophocles has a similar view on the idea "Defiance becomes our duty in the face of injustice". He portrays this view through Creon who is accused of treachery against Oedipus in telling lies. The confrontation between Creon and Oedipus, in rage and furious tone that Oedipus displays and Creon's defiance refusal to say that he indeed did plot to kill Oedipus shows he is fighting against injustice. In this case the injustice is Oedipus' judgment and Creon is defying Oedipus. Sophocles therefore is persuading us to accept this view that one must stand up for what is right through the conflict between Creon and Oedipus. He also does this through the conflict of Oedipus versus the truth. When Oedipus is told the prophecy he refuses to believe that he killed Laius because of the injustice against him. He believed he had never met Laius in his life.

The Wild Duck: Journal #1

In both Oedipus the King and the Wild Duck private versus public remains an issue. It is portrays this as extreme as having no private setting. The images portray this as well. Both of these plays use this conflict to prove two different points, Oedipus proves there is no value in private life, and Wild Duck proves that private matters must be separate from the public.

In Oedipus the King there was a private versus public issue. When Oedipus and Creon were fighting in public Jocasta scolds them for talking of private manners in public which shows Sophocles does not believe there is a private life when one is king or of some other high station, and since there is no privacy why not do private things in public if it will all come out eventually. This issue is touched on through the public setting of the play. There is no scene the audience sees without being in public, all the audience witnesses is in public which gives us a sense that Oedipus has no private life.

Much like Socrates, Ibsen addresses the same conflict of private versus public life. For example when Gregers and Hjalmar are talking in private Gregers says "Yes you do. The outer man hasn't suffered." then Hjalmar replies "Ah, but the inner man. Believe me he has a different look" portraying this concept. The outer man represents Hjalmar's physical appearance as well as his public life, the thing the people see in life. In contrast the inner man represents the feelings and the private life. Hjalmar's life has changed a lot since his father was convicted guilty on trial for crime changing his family life because Hjalmar's father can no longer acquire a profitable job thus he relies on his son for care. Hjalmar also sees his father at Gregers’ party and denies that he knows him which portrays that the private life and public life are very much a big effect of how people act in this setting. The effect of this public v private life shows that as much as one will do anything to keep matters private if it brings one shame or blood guilt.

Oedipus the King: Journal #3

The gap between the knowledge of the audience and the knowledge of the characters create situational irony. The effect of this gap gives the audience more knowledge of the fate of the character or the scheming of one character towards another.

In Oedipus the King, Socrates uses prophesies as well as the general public's outside knowledge to provide a way for the audience to obtain knowledge of the true birth of Oedipus. In the beginning of the text Oedipus declares he suffers more than his people because he has to suffer for them and for himself as well. Which is ironic because in the end he does indeed suffer more than they do because Tiresias' prophesy comes true. The entire book leading up to when Oedipus finds out that he has killed his father and slept with his mother, Oedipus digs himself deeper and deeper condemning the murderer of Laius, "He is the plague, the heart of our corruption" and in the end this is said about Oedipus himself "I'd never have never come to this my father's murderer". Oedipus first criticizes the murderer and then finds he is the murderer himself which is ironic because he threatens the murderer with exile or death if he found them. The effect of dramatic irony is to express the lack of knowledge is power if one does something for no reason or for the wrong reasons using assumptions they will pay for this terrible deed they have done on a whim.

Othello is another tragic play that has situational irony however it is conveyed in a different way. Iago is scheming to make Othello look terrible because he supposedly slept with his wife. Iago does this in the form of Apostrophes talking to the audience and scheming with other characters who fall to their ruin because of this fatal friend. The audience knows that Iago is scheming but Othello does not. Othello listens to Iago and believes Desdemona is being unfaithful to him by having an affair with Cassio because she thinks it was wrong of her husband to have stripped him of his rank. In the end he kills innocent Desdemona to find that she was indeed innocent then kills himself. The effect of using dramatic irony is to create a sense that what Othello is doing is wrong but see him as a misguided character and not as a hero or a villain.

Oedipus the King: Journal #2

Setting: Outside the Royal house of Thebes

The setting of the play Oedipus the King takes place in Thebes a Greek city in 430 BC. The entire setting of the book takes place outside the castle in Thebes which is significant because this gives the audience no way to see Oedipus' private life, and everything we see that Oedipus does is done the chorus or the people of Thebes.

The effect of having only one scenery in the entire play gives the audience no way to sympathize with Oedipus because he is always in the public. We never see him in a place he is more comfortable and more secluded from the people, we only see him in the public. This makes the audience have a more harsh opinion towards Oedipus because of his arrogance and his inability to trust anyone that could be wrong, and always has to get a second opinion. This setting in addition give the audience the illusion that he does not care what the public thinks about him because he has meeting of business such as conversing with the seers, Creon and the shepherds outside where everyone can see him. Thus the setting of the play outside the royal house of Thebes tempers with the way the audience views Oedipus as a character.

Since there is only one location the play has a narrow view point as opposed to being able to see what happens in other locations at the same time. This gives the reader no way to see Oedipus outside of the public or the way he runs his family household. This also narrows the way information is conveyed to the audience. Since during this time period in the style of Greek theater there was a Chorus the information that cannot be conveyed to the audience through other means. For example the Chorus gives the audience background information on the condition the city of Thebes is in which is dirty and dieing figuratively.

Since Oedipus the King takes place during ancient Greece there is a frequent number of  references to the Greek gods. There is also a frequent reference to branches of wound wool introduced to us on the first page and continues to resurface throughout the play. The branches of wound wool refer to offerings made to these gods because the people have lost hope and need their prayers to be answered which is exactly what Jocasta does towards the end of the play.

Oedipus the King: Journal #1

King of Assumption


What fear and rage one must feel when faced with the truth,
The light shinning in the sky behind the dark clouds of rain,
What Rage, Accusation, Murder lurks behind this curtain of time,
Stone-hearted blind seers, lying profits, condemned brothers are all brought to justice,
The one who caused this storm of hatred, doubt, skepticism fell
in the midst of this shattered land.


Seeking power for the benevolence he bestowed upon our beloved city-Thebes,
Carefully placing his trust in none but himself,
Doubting the word of all surrounding the palace walls,
Speculating an uprising as the rain becomes a drizzle
The clouds translucent as his rage escalates,
Time grows short,
His pride now desires to blind him, protect him from this terrible truth.


However the word is out,
Roaming the cross roads,
Blood guilt convicts all,
Prophecies become clear as the bright blue sky on a horrid summers day
Apollo scorching the earth with flames of rage and discontent,
Forever to be condemned in ignorance and shame.

By Isabella Lewis

(This poem about Oedipus the King, and is found not written by him.) 

Brave New World: Journal Entry #3

Topic A

““Because our world is not the same as Othello's world. You can't make flivvers without steel–and you can't make tragedies without social instability. The world's stable now. People are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can't get. They're well off; they're safe; they're never ill; they're not afraid of death; they're blissfully ignorant of passion and old age; they're plagued with no mothers or fathers; they've got no wives, or children, or lovers to feel strongly about; they're so conditioned that they practically can't help behaving as they ought to behave. And if anything should go wrong, there's soma. Which you go and chuck out of the window in the name of liberty, Mr. Savage. Liberty!" He laughed. "Expecting Deltas to know what liberty is! And now expecting them to understand Othello! My good boy!"

The Savage was silent for a little. "All the same," he insisted obstinately, "Othello's good, Othello's better than those feelies."

"Of course it is," the Controller agreed. "But that's the price we have to pay for stability. You've got to choose between happiness and what people used to call high art. We've sacrificed the high art. We have the feelies and the scent organ instead."” (Huxley 220)

This passage reveals that the controllers are only concerned about the world’s stability as a whole. Since this society is conditioned to be the way they are, they have everything they want fulfilled thus creating harmony. If one were to put things such as tragedies in the world they would bring social instability and since social stability is the goal of society they are outlawed. The people in the novel can do whatever they want without being unhappy because of their conditioning of their particular class (alpha, beta, gamma, delta, elipson). This happiness comes from the ignorance of greater things such as freedom which they have been conditioned to not pursue. The lack of knowledge of the people is why they are cooperating in society. Even if they are unhappy they can make themselves forget by consuming soma the perfect drug in this society which controls the behavior of the people when they get out of control. Previous to this scene John is tossing the soma out the window creating violence among the Deltas and the police come and spray soma in the air which changes everyone’s behavior to love, and happiness as opposed to violence.

Brave New World: Journal Entry #2

Topic C

The author’s vision into the future from 1931 when it was written to portray that technology is going to take over society. This is very believable because technology makes people in general lazy and act like they don't have to do anything. Since this society begins when the Model-T was invented and Ford is their God like figure it makes since the road they went down to get to where they are in the novel. In the novel human beings are made through machines and it is considered a foreign idea if someone were to create humans naturally. This society is also addicted to Soma the "perfect drug" that was created to make people forget about their worries. This puts people in a situation where they can't complain about society. Since the society conditions humans to act the way they act emotionally Huxley is portraying the idea that technology will overpower humans in the future through the creation of human beings and the entire living of the human life. I the second section of the book Lenina goes to the New Mexico Reservation and freaks out because none of these things from society exist in there and she gets depressed. She is so dependent on technology she is affected emotionally. Humans in this society are also shown as not as important as the machines.

The author gives us hope through Bernard. Even though he is brought up in the technological society. Bernard sees the world differently because he is short for his status in society and therefore is secluded. The author gives us hope that through Bernard he can make society much better than it is now by revolting against society. This is why he travels to the New Mexican Reservation to figure out what they do differently than they do in society.

Brave New World: Journal Entry #1

Topic B

Bernard Marx is seen as an outsider in this society. He is victimized by being a short alpha plus. This is due to everyone in society's conditioning to respecting people in higher intelligence and physical appearance. Bernard has an alpha status however he has a gamma physical appearance. Which makes him less powerful than other alphas in this society, in consequence he has to repeat himself to make the lower cast listen to him. 

In this society no one is supposed to have a relationship with just one person. This makes some men talk about women as if they are "a bit of meat" (Huxley 45). This makes Bernard angry because he is in love with Lenina however he doesn't want to be like everyone else having multiple relationships. 

Since Bernard is a specialist in hypnopaedia he thinks everyone who believes the propaganda is an "idiot". Bernard's struggle isn't really rebelling it is more of he doesn't have a place in his society and in consequence is struggling to fit in which causes him to be against his society. 

Bernard is unusually quiet and shy due to his lack of the height of as an alpha and physical appearance which causes him to not be as sound as others in the higher caste and in consequence gives out his authority to others such as Lenina.

He is resisting society when he refuses to take soma when he is offered it twice because of his lack of happiness. He reacts by becoming angry and walking away.

                                                                                                                                   

The Stranger: Journal Entry # 8

Personal Response

The first time I read The Stranger I absolutely did not like it at all. I thought Meursault had no meaning to life, he had no feeling, and he took everything for granted. I believe I thought this because I couldn't see him in any other perspective and I was reading the book fast to get over with it because it disgusted me. However now that I have read the book a second time I feel I understand Meursault better than I did before. I think there are mainly two mind sets you can have for this book. You can either sympathize with Meursault or be disgusted by everything he does. Before we started reading the book in class I was preparing myself to not like the book, and I think because of this I found that I liked the book the second time. I found reasons to make excuses for Meursault’s repressed emotions in the text through the literary techniques Camus uses. I looked for reasons that Meursault is that way he is. I can relate to the way he feels (not that I have ever felt that way), however I can understand where he comes from because I can understand the way some people feel even if I have never experienced it the way they are. If I had never read the book as a literary work and analyzed it, I believe I would have kept on disliking the book. But because of reading The Stranger and analyzing it I have found a new appreciation for the book that I didn't have before. The only thing that bugged me during the process of analyzing it is that we couldn't pick certain topics for the essay and in effect at the beginning of the book I never established what the sun really means. I still don't really know what the sun means because I never went to analyze it because we were told not to. The only thing I would change is to not limit the essay topics at the beginning of the book because that may lead to the misunderstanding of some key themes in this novel. Another thing I really liked about the Stranger was I bought my own book. I don't think it is wise to rent books from the library because you cannot mark up the book. Marking up the book helped me further understand the novel. The Stranger the second time reading it is very interesting. Because I knew what was going to happen I could look for specific things that I knew were going to be significant in the text later. The Stranger seemed to upset a lot of people and I can understand why because I went through that, however I am wondering why they didn't see the things that I saw the second time in the book. Sometimes I would read a certain part of the book out to my mom and tell her the significance of it. She wouldn't understand why Meursault felt the way he did, where I felt I had proved that Meursault had feelings.   

What makes a literary work great cannot be defined. If anything it would be defined as it has deep insightful meaning.  Each book is unique in it's own way. If each book had a criteria to go by in order to be a great literary novel, that would be what every writer is striving for and the criteria would be changed.  I believe what make The Stranger a great book is the deeper meanings it has. I enjoyed the different literary techniques Camus used in order to make this novel a great literary work.



Thesis: Final

To portray the struggle for power Camus uses the submission of inferior characers to boost the dominant characters pride and justifye the actions of the inferior character.

Do I have a "So what"? I think I do however I am not sure.

The Stranger: Journal Entry # 7

Topic: Power v Powerless

Thesis A: Camus uses external conflict to demonstrate the power struggle between characters to portray a sense of inferiorty and dominance.

Thesis B: Camus uses internal conflict to demonstrate the power struggle of Meursault physical desires and societies rules to portray Meursault as an inferior being.

1. "Nevertheless I answered that I had pretty much lost the habit of analyzing myself and that it was hard for me to tell him what he wanted to know" (Camus 65)
2. "He left, looking angry. I wished I could have made him stay to explain that I wanted things to be good, not so that he defend me but, if I can put it this way, good in a natural way" (Camus 65-66).
3. "As always whenever I want to get rid of someone I'm not really listening to, I made it appear as if I agreed. To my surprise, he acted Triumphant. "You see, you see!" he said. "You do believe don't you and you're going to place your trust in Him, aren't you?" Obviously I again said no" (Camus 69).
4. "But he wasn't too happy about it. I even said, "It's not my fault." He didn't say anything then I thought I shouldn't have said that"(Camus 3).
5. "...some of them weren't any older than he was. But of course it wasn't the same. He was the caretaker, and to a certain extent he had authority over them" (Camus 8).
6. "I wished I didn't have to listen to her any more. But I didn't dare say anything" (Camus 10).
7. "She said, "If you go slowly, you risk getting sunstroke. But if you go to fast, you work up a sweat and then catch a chill inside the church." She was right. There was no way out" (Camus 17).
8. "in the first place it isn't my fault if they buried Maman yesterday instead of today and second, I would have had Saturday and Sunday off anyway obviously, that still doesn't keep me from understanding my bosses point of view" (Camus 19).
9. "Then he beats the dog and swears at it. The dog cowers and trails behind. Then it's the old man who pulls the dog. Once the dog has forgotten, it starts dragging its master again, and again gets beaten and sworn at. They both stand there on the side walk and stare at each other, the dog in terror and the man in hatred" (Camus 27).
10. "...I ran into him on the stairs, Salamano was swearing at the dog...so I asked him what the dog had done. He didn't answer" (Camus 27).
11. "He wanted my advice about the whole business because I was a man, I knew about things. I could help him out, and then we'd be pals. I didn't say anything" (Camus 29).
12. ""but she couldn't get by on what I was giving her""(Camus 30).
13. ""...don't realize that everybody's jealous of how good you have it with me. Someday you'll know just how good it was"" (Camus 31). 
14. "...he wanted to know what I though of the whole thing. I said I didn't think anything but that it was interesting." (Camus 32)
15. "I didn't mind being his pal, and he seemed set on it" (Camus 33).
16. " She asked me to go find a police man, but I told her I didn't like cops" (Camus 36).
17. ""...I never thought the bastard would take of like that"" (Camus 38).
18. "I explained to her that it didn't really matter and that if she wanted to, we could get married" (Camus 41).
19. ""You see you understand these things. The rest of them don't."" (Camus 78).
20. "I wasn't thinking about anything anymore. But the presiding judge asked me if I had anything to say. I thought about it. I said, "No." That's when they took me away." (Camus 107)

The Stranger: Journal Entry # 6

5 Analytical Questions

1. Is Meursault really insensitive or does he have emotions?
2. Why does Camus have a newspaper artical about Czechoslovakian? What is it's significance?
3. Why does Camus say that life has "come to a stand still" when Meursault was first in his jail cell and when Meursault killed the Arab?
4. Why is Camus surrounding Meursault by Arabs in jail? Is he doing this to portray discrimination or is it something different?
5. Why does Meursault seem to not fit in to society?

   (6. Is there a power struggle thoughout the novel? )

Posts

1. Camus makes Mersault's emotions dependent on the environment because Mersault doesn't know how to distinguish between his emotions and therefore must rely on his surroundings to express emotions (Tanner Bean's 1st question).

2. Camus expresses that if one’s emotions are repressed they will display irritation when others show emotion due to one’s envies for the others ability to show emotion (Megan Davis' 2nd question).

3. Albert Camus uses the title "the Arabs" to stereotype that all Arabs look for trouble or do not like other people messing with them and will go to extremes to do defend what is right to them. I base this off that the Arabs followed Raymond to the beach, and there were only Arabs at the jail (Tate Bankston's 4th question).

4.Camus shows that Meursault indulgence and pointless life style is due to the fact that Meursault cannot tell his emotions apart from one another and therefore he doesn't care about anything. He is incapable of distiguishing his emotions (Anthony Nguyen's 3rd question).

5. Camus ties both the events together to show that during both events Meursault is experiencing the same emotion. Since Meursault's surrondings are how he experiences his emotion the harsh sun means he is experiencing anger (Shannon Graham's 4th question). I am assuming during both event's Meursault was experiencing anger because of the sun being portrayed as harsh.

The Stranger: Journal Entry #5

Part One and Part Two

Why?

Camus created a part one and a part two to show that death changes ones life either for the better or worse. In part one Camus introduces us with the death of Maman and the funeral, where in part two he introduces us with Mersault in prison for killing an Arab. In both the funeral day of Maman and the Arab's murder Mersault says he experience the same scorching sun, meaning he is feeling the same emotions on both of those days (Camus 58).

Camus created a part one and part two to also convey the plot in a normal bell curve of expressing Mersault's philosophies. At the beginning Mersault seems to be absurd because he does not care about anything starting with the death of Maman. Then as the novel progresses Mersault becomes less absurd till he comes to the point of thinking "for the very first time I thought I was going to get married" (Camus 50). This is the climax of the plot where Mersault is almost existentialist, he has almost escaped the absurd. However then he kills an Arab which like the death of Maman is a life changing event, which is expressed by the sun being the same as the sun when he was at Maman's funeral (Camus 58). Therefore he starts turning absurd again by the confinement in prison. He only believes facts are facts and nothing more which to an extent upsets everyone around him leading to his execution. We know he is absurd in the end because he states "throughout my whole absurd life I'd lived..." (Camus 121). This is important to part one and part two because it shows that similar events can have completely different outcomes, and the parts are both the complete opposite of each other.

Camus may also have created a part one and part two to show a contrast in the setting. Throughout part 1 the setting takes place in Algiers and other surrounding areas, where part two takes place in prison. Camus did this to show that even after being put in prison Mersault still thinks the same way with his  absurd thoughts, even though the settings are completely different. He thought about his "whole absurd life" (Camus 121). Mersault recognizes that nothing meant anything, and he believed that prison was just another place to be in life and doesn't complain because of his absurdest beliefs.

The Stranger: Journal Entry # 4

6 Discussion Questions

1. Why does Camus use commas when he should use periods and periods when he should use commas?

ex: "Once out in the street, because I was so tired and also because we hadn't opened the blinds, the day, already bright with sun, hit me like a slap in the face" (Camus 47).

ex: "The beach wasn't far from the bus stop. But we had to cross a small plateau which overlooks the sea and then drops steeply down to the beach" (Camus 49)

The conjunction make it seem like there should not be a sentence break.

2. Why does Camus describe the physical surroundings on the way to some place and once they get to the destination not go in to as much detail?

ex: "We got off in the outskirts of Algiers. The beach wasn't far from the bus stop. But we had to cross a small plateau which overlooks the sea and then drops steeply down to the beach. I was covered with yellowish rocks..." (Camus 49)

3.What is the significance of using silence in this chapter, and why is it used like a paradox?

ex: "They were staring at us in silence, but in that way of theirs, as if we were nothing but stones or dead trees." (Camus 48).

ex: "The whole time there was nothing but the sun and the silence, with the low gurgling from the spring and the three notes." (Camus 55)

ex: "...and the double silence of the flute and water..." (Camus 56)
4. Why does Camus repeatedly use the word face? What does it signify?

ex: "...and the sun on my upturned face was drying the last of the water trickling into my mouth." (Camus 50)

ex: "...and put my face on the sand. "(Camus 51)

5. Why does Mersault have arbitrary physical emotions he cannot control?

ex: He said he was not hungry, and then proceeded to say that he was starving and ate allot of the lunch(Camus 51).

6. What is the effect that Camus gives by using the alliteration of s?

ex: "...and everything came to a stop there between the sea, the sand and the sun, and the double silence of the flute and water." (Camus 56)

7. What is the significance of this day being like Maman's funeral?

ex: "The sun was the same as it had been the day I'd buried Maman..." (Camus 58)

The Stranger: Journal Entry # 3

Universalism: My Personal Philosophy

 (I know that I wrote more then 10 however I could not get rid of any of them.)

• I believe in a greater power out there in the universe that has to do with using our mind. If we choose to then you can become in tune with the universe. The universe has its own living power that is around us all the time. This is important to me because this is how I see the world. I have been training in Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido, and without this principle it would be impossible to do this type of Aikido.
•  Look at things positively. If you look at something negatively then it will come back to haunt you later. I find this important because this is how I see the world. If I focus on all the terrible things then I feel down and depressed. However since I view the world positively then I can be happier. This doesn't mean, I don't face the facts of what really happens all around the world just find a way to help the people positively instead of having an endless cycle of negativity.
• Others can only control you if you let them lead your mind. This is true for me. If I let others who are around me take control of my mind then I go crazy and get stressed out because usually this happens when I am under some sort of pressure.
•  Do not complain just do what you have to do, and it will be done faster than you previously believed. I don't have to go to sleep at 1 am, I usually go to sleep around 9:30 pm and still have time to eat dinner and do other things important to me on a night that a project is due. This is what I always do. I do not obsess on how much homework I have for 30 minutes (like freshmen year) I just do it and I get it done.
• Believe in yourself. Do everything with confidence. I find that when I don't believe in myself and I don't have confidence, then I have a harder time doing the same thing that I previously did.
• There is no try there is only do and do not. Only you can make the decision to do or not do. I know this sounds like Yoda but it is true. What point is there to try? That just means you failed at something and didn't accomplish it. This is also what my sensei's in Aikido say frequently. You can either do it, or you can't. There is no in between.
• Have an open mind. Be open to new things. If I didn't do this then I would not like traveling and I would be complaining about classes all the time. This is important to me because if something doesn't make sense to me then I try to have an open mind then I can try to understand why a person wants me to do this or that.
• Don't start complaining till you know the complete details. I notice that people frequently obsess over assignments that seem so difficult but later end up being so easy. For example the Spanish IA was not as difficult as I thought it was, but I complained about it before I got the assignment.
• Be kind to others even when you do not like them. In the end these people might end up being your friend. This is how I made some friends that I thought I would never be friends with. Since I was never mean to them they still respected me enough so when I became more of their friend we became very good friends. This is additionally important because not being kind to people sends off a negative energy which is not good in the end, and probably just creates more drama.
• Do your absolute best. Do not expect more or less. I always do my absolute best or attempt to at every instant in time. This is important to me because when I don't do my absolute best then I belittle myself and make myself feel very small. I don't understand why I thought that not doing my best at that particular instant in time makes me any better or for what reason I didn't do my best.
• Listen to your body. Don't push yourself to far. Relax. I have had injuries because I don't listen or I push myself to hard. Last year I badly sprained my toe right before a big event and still did the event and I still gives me trouble sometimes. I don't think I ever completely healed, however it's too late to do anything about it now.
• Control your mind, it's hard than it looks. Have a calm mind.  (Your mind reflects your body.) I learned this principle in Aikido and this is why I am so disciplined, this is why I do good in school and time management. It is because I control my mind.
• Distinguish when something is right and something is wrong then do the right thing. This is important to me because if I do the wrong thing I have a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. Typically if I know something is wrong then I do not do it.
• Do not procrastinate. (Shows you have a weak mind) I am still working on this part of my philosophy. One of my sensei's said that procrastinating shows you have a weak mind. This is important to me because it makes me strive for a better me.
• Your goal for school should be to learn, not to get an "A". If that is your goal, change it. I do not go for the "A" like it seems a lot of people think. When teachers ask me if I'm going for the "A" I tell them yes but that is not my ultimate goal. My ultimate goal is to learn. If I don't learn anything then I feel that I am just wasting time. If end up getting an "A" in the process of learning then that is great, however if I don't that is okay too. Just as long as I did my best.

The Stranger: Journal Entry #2

Part One 

I believe Gilbert has more literary value because he distances the reader though the setting as opposed to the characters thoughts. The distancing the narrator from the setting instead of thoughts gives a more not obvious themes. Even though we believe that Wards edition is more close to the text, I am going against this. How can we know for sure without reading and analyzing the book in french what Camus is really saying and which book is actually closer to the meaning that Camus originally stated. I am valuing the word choice, and the characters, and the way he portrays the symbols. For example he says something about the dark waters in the sea and this is more distant for the reader which gives more meaning then Wards edition because we can naturally assume what he means by the symbols he uses. The flat characters in Gilbert's edition seem to play more of a role (this is an assumption from what I have seen so far) giving Mersault a more distant feeling from them.

Part Two: The Outsider

The current version of the book we are reading (the Ward translation) I would call the Outsider. This is because although Mersault knows what is currently happening he is not really part of the society and is powerless. This lack of being able to emotionally connect to society makes him an outsider therefore that is what the book should be named.

The Stranger: Journal Entry 1

Plan of Attack for Tabbing

With the turquoise sticky notes I am marking every time Meursault comes up with an excuse for something. I noticed he seems to frequently come up with excuses for things.

The light pink tabs represent society and the clash of different societies. This seems to be important because of the shock Maman went though when she moved to the home.

Light green sticky notes represents the selfish impulses and id like nature of Meursault in his life. In contrast they also represent when he seems to have feelings for things due to his selfish impulses.

With the orange sticky notes I am marking the change of various characters like Meursault throughout the novel.

Symbols are represented on orange sticky notes with gray on the ends. This show different symbols throughout the novel that are or seem to be significant.

 Light yellow sticky notes represent the amount of power held between the people in the book. In the first chapter it seem Meursault and the director.

The pink with gray at the end sticky notes represent the judgement of the people in the book.

Journal Entry #10

Theme

Opportunities are found in dreams. If one waits they will find opportunities. To make dreams reality one will fight for it and it will cause conflict between ones dreams and another's.

• Opportunities is very vague.
• Do people only find opportunities when they wait?
• What type of conflict?

Quotes:

1.  "Got a house bought and paid for and sixty acres uh land right on de big road and..." (Hurston 23)

2."But when the pollen again gilded the sun and sifted down on the world she began to stand around the gate and was gusty and short. She know things that nobody had ever told her... The familiar people and things had failed her so she hung over the gate and looked up the road towards way off. She knew now that marriage did not make love. Janies first dream, was dead so she became a woman. (Hurston 25)

3. "But springtime reached her in there so she moved everything to a place in the yard where she could see the road... She had been there a long time when she heard a whistling coming down the road." (Hurston 27)

4."He always wanted to be a big voice..." (Hurston 28)

5. " "... Ah'll be down dis road uh little after sunup tomorrow mornin' to wait for you." (Huston 29)

6. "A feeling of sudden newness and change came over her. Janie hurried out of the front gate and turned south. Even if Joe was not there waiting for her, the change was bound to be good." (Hurston 32)

7."He done called a meetin' on his porch tomorrow." (Hurston 38)

8. "A day was named for roads and they all agreed to bring axes and things like that and chop out two roads running each way." (Hurston 41)

9. ""...Ah thold you in de very first beginnin' dat Ah aimed tuh be uh big voice."" (Hurston 46)

10. "The store itself was a pleasant place if only she didn't have to sell things." (Hurston 50)

11."She was allways in the store for him to look at, not those others." (Hurton 55)

12. ""Yo' wife is uh born orator, Starks. Us never knowed dat befor'..."" (Hurston 58)

13.""...But the mayors wife is somethin' different again... You ain't goin' off in all dat mess uh commonness. Ah'm surprixed at yuh for asking."" (Hurston 60)

14. "Here he was just pouring honor all over her ; building a high chair for her to sit in and overlook the world and she here pouting over it!" (Hurston 62)

15. "Then Jody ruined it all for her." (Hurston 69)

Journal Entry #9

Mini-Pastiche #2

Annette sat tall on the park bench waiting for Benjamin. Time had slipped from him and Annette was becoming impatient. The black birds were scavenging for food stealing from all the other ravens for the food on the other side of the pathway as Benjamin came. He was walking nonchalantly up the side walk as if he had all the Time in the world, as if the world was bowing down to him as their leader.

" Well it took you long enough to get here." Annette murmured as he floated down to take a seat beside her without making any noise. He didn't respond. "Hello??" Annette asked ticked off when she spotted the ear buds in his ears. Annette tried to reason out in her head a way not to be furious with Benjamin because he was not an easy person to be angry at.

She took a deep breath and right when she was about to explode her thoughts, Benjamin took out an ear bud and exclaimed "Guess what? I got the job in Tillamook."

Annette was  absolutely speechless. Her anger was slowly slipping away like the waves of the ocean out in the distance. She stammered "That's great." She tried to sound enthusiastic but she couldn't fake emotions easily, it just didn't come naturally to her. They sat in silence for a minute. It looked like Benjamin was trying hard to think of what to say.

"I saw Peter on the way here," Benjamin began, "he wanted me to give him the money I don't have for his groceries."

"He's broke again? Goodness when is he going to learn to stop waisting in on gum. He's not a teenager anymore."

"He's not broke Annette. He is currently not spending money on groceries to save up for the race on Saturday." Benjamin stood up taking Annette's hand and led her to the nearest building. "Do you think you could spare $5?"

"For Peter? Never. Do you know how much of money he has borrowed from me and never returned? $200. That is a lot of money and I need to pay off my student loans. There is no way I am lending $5 to Peter. It adds up over time."

Peter walked out of the restaurant as Annette and Benjamin were walking in. "Hey Annette!" Peter greeted trying not to sound to needy, "Do you happen to have 10 dollars on you? I'm just a little short on my bill for groceries right now."

"Peter, I..." Annette began, "I just don't have the money anymore. I have my own bills to worry about."

"Annette, you know how much I want to go to this race this weekend more then anyone. Please I have a pay check coming in on Monday." Peter pleaded giving her his desperate look.

"Alright. Here is the 10 dollars. I expect all the money you owe me on Monday though. That's 210 dollars." Annette yelled as Peter ran over to the grocery.

On Monday she never received any money. The time had made no difference.

Theme: Women are inferiority to men's pride and dreams causes internal conflict within them.

Stylistic elements: foreshadowing, symbol, and rhetorical question.

I used foreshadowing with animals like Hurston does. Hurston uses animals as well as other techniques to foreshadow events. In my pastiche I used black birds as the people stealing like Peter, and the ravens as the people being stolen from like Annette. My symbol was time. The time had not made any difference nor had the time changed though out the passage, and time represented the way men take advantage over women, by making them wait and not giving them what they need. My rhetorical question got the readers attention to the reason why no one ever gives Peter money, it temporarily gets the reader on Annette's side.

Journal Entry #8

1. " Me scramble 'round tuh git de money tuh take yuh - been workin' lak uh dawg for two whole weeks-..." (Hurston 109). Janie has just asked Tea Cake if he really wanted to take her to the picnic and this is what he responded. The literary technique used here is foreshadowing. Hurston is foreshadowing the death of Tea Cake by a mad dog trying to save Janie. It affects the text by showing that Tea Cake is willing to work hard for Janie and that will lead to his downfall.
2. " "Less us go fishin'." (Tea Cake) "Fishin'? Dis time uh night?" (Janie) " Unhhunh, fishin'." (Tea Cake)" (Hurston 102). Janie and Tea Cake are staying up very late past 11 on a pretty moon lit night. The literary technique used here is motif. Hurston uses this motif to symbolize power. It affects the text by evolving over the time. When Janie first went to Eatonville she couldn't be won with no fish sandwich and now Tea Cake is willing to show her how to fish which gives her more power. It affects the plot because Janie felt pleasure in going fishin' during the night because she felt it was "breaking the rules" which is not done lightly.
3. "" He ain't never ast de first penny from me yet, and if he love property he ain't no different from all de rest of us. All dese ole men dat's setting' round me is after de same thing. They's three mo' widder women in town, how come dey don't break dey neck after dem? 'Cause dey ain't got nothin' dat's why."" (Hurston 112). Pheoby is trying to convince Janie that goin' with Tea Cake is a bad choice and this is Janie's response to her. The literary technique used in this passage is rhetorical questions or syntax. This affects the text because Janie is trying to get everyone to agree with her that the other widows in town aren't sought after because they don't have no money. This gets the reader to side with Janie by using this rhetorical question.

Journal Entry #7

Mini Pastiche

Then Ginger began to think of Vengeance. Vengeance, that terrible being with huge fiery hair who lived way in the east. The terrible one who lived in the fiery furnace like a container that compresses it, and without a way out. What need does Vengeance have for a vent, and what rain could put him out? He stands in the heart of every soul observing emotion. Stands watchful and waiting all day with his fire kept within, waiting for the emotion to arise telling him to expand. Been waiting there before there was a feeling or an emotion or a thought. She was liable to find a skin from its body lying on her hopes any time now. She was angry and sad too. Destitute Simon! He ought not to have condemned himself with his actions. She tried to persuade him not to do it, but he would not be swayed. The jury wuz all right with the fury of others, but they couldn't understand a case like his. He'd be alright as soon as the deciders had decided what he had done. He wasn't going to get convicted at all. Or so he thought. But the Jury had said different, so she understood. And then if he hadn't, she was bound to know this afternoon, for people of the jury wore grim faces of the lonely mountains. People who normally were stones had a sudden sadness draped upon them. They just slumped in the benches and heard the sentence. Grief, that the venomless snake, had seeped into her conscience. 

I chose Vengence because that is what I was feeling after reading the "hellhounds" reading for history. I portrayed vengence with fiery hair who lived way in the east to show vengence is an anger about something that has happened before, in the past. Vengence lives in a furnace because it is difficult to put out once it has been activated. I chose to make this a dark trial to show that Simon had difficulties with vengence and to connect it to the grief (my second abstract noun) of Ginger.To match Zora Neale Hurston I had to stay within the confinement of the sentence structure which is difficult for me because I have a unique way of writing with my own voice. To maintain her way of speaking I had to compress some ideas and elongate others. To convey the right effect I had to find the appropriate words to send message.

Journal Entry #6

Death Passage

• Decision: Hurston described Death with characteristics of a human.
• Effect: This gives death more of a strange human feeling. Hurston says Death lived in the west giving the effect that there is something beyond Death.
• Decision: Hurston uses the setting of Death's home to compare it to Joe's power over the town as governor.
• Effect: This gives the effect that Joe and Death are similar. Hurston does this to show that in Jody and Janie's marriage, Joe had become all powerful and his pride became more important than their marriage is because Joe had no "winds blow against him..." (Hurston 84). Joe had been standing in "his high house that over looked the" town, where Death looked over the world (Hurston 84).
• Decision: Zora Neil Hurston connects the characterization of Death and Janie. In the novel Janie says she is waiting for Jody to die, which is the exact same thing as Death's job. Death waits for the messenger to come and tell him to go to someone.
• Effect: This gives the effect that Hurston wants the reader to see Janie as a watcher who watches things happen but feels like she can't do anything about them.
• Decision: The symbolism of the feather represents what Death leaves behind.
• Effect: This gives the effect that Death is a materialistic thing 
• Decision: Zora Neil Hurston creates an internal conflict within Joe which is Joe vs his pride.
• Effect: She makes Joe look like a self centered person who is too high for his own wife to come see. This gives the effect Joe needs no help when he really does which leads to his death.
• Decision: Zora Neil Hurston uses external conflict to show why Joe got sick. Joe got "Godly sick". "Godly sick" symbolizes him getting sick because of his job as mayor. This is because God looks over everything as does Joe in his town but unlike God, Joe gets very sick for being a God like figure in his town.
• Effect: Hurston tells us that no one person can have absolute authority.
• Decision: Zora Neil Hurston uses the symbolism of the two-headed man to represent to portray to two sides of Joe.
• Effect: This portrays Joe as a person who leads two lives, the life where he is sick, and the life where he is the mayor hiding that he is sick letting himself get worse. Hurston does this to show that the two-headed people will refuse help themselves, they think they are invincible.
• Decision: Hurston uses the palm and china-berry trees to represent the passing of Joe.
• Effect: This creates a noble effect in the passing of Joe.
• Decision: Hurston uses the location of the setting to show that Joe while he was dying had no more authority over the towns folk, "who would not have dared to foot the place before crept in".
• Effect: This gives the effect that Hurston is saying that when a authoritative figure is gone the authority is gone from the people which is why the towns folk came into the yard.
• Decision: Zora Neil Hurston uses the phrase "shadowed over the town".
• Effect: This gives the effect at the time the town is darkened by the dread of Joe passing.

Journal Entry #5

Thesis statements: Plot

1. Hurston manipulates exposition to introduce ideas that are key to understand the theme and plot of the novel.

2. Hurston uses the internal conflict of Janie to portray through the plot the effect of key events throughout the novel. Hurston does this to express that the beginning of internal conflict can stem from ones self and to resolve it first look to ones self.

3 comments: I commented on Isabel Harger, Kylee Rosette and Anthony Nguyen's blog.

Journal Entry #4

Patterns

1. The first pattern I noticed is the frequent mentioning of the "big road" through out these first six chapters. The big road along with the gate and other similar things are referring to the path to opportunity and to dreams accomplishments. When Janie had lost all hope with Logan Killicks she started to hang out at the fence post, waiting for something with hope of arrival (Huston 23, 25). Before leaving Logan, Jody gives her the opportunity to come with him down the road for a better life and she leaves Logan because of her mistreatment, the hope of a new life and opportunity (Huston 29, 32).  In the town Eatonville they started creating more roads for new opportunities (Huston 40-41).
2. The second pattern is oppression of the women. The women in this book are always dreaming, and are all ways wishing for something better. The women are not properly treated and all ways follow their husbands orders. The women are oppressed and neglected due to their husbands living the dream they have always wanted. Logan was living the dream of Janie doing all the work in the house and the fields (Huston 27). Jody was living the dream of his big voice, he previously had talked about how good he would treat Janie but the life of his dream got in the way (Huston 30). He had her run the store even though she didn't want to (Huston 44, 54). Since she ran the store he made her wear her hair up so other men wouldn't do anything inappropriate and he didn't tell her why making her further oppressed (Huston 49). He didn't want Janie to embarrass him and inconsequence separated her from the towns folk. He didn't let her take part in the porch conversations, and he didn't let her go to the burial of the horse (Huston 53, 56, 60). This created Janie's oppression of her feelings because she was not able to freely express them to her husband because he was the mayor and was busy (Huston 72).
3. After talking about Janie for some reason then fish ends up in the conversation (Huston 38, 39, 75). For example: "You can't git her with no fish sandwich." (Huston 39).

                               "You gettin' to moufy, Janie," Starks told her. "Go fetch me de checker-board and de checkers. Sam Watson, you'se my fish." (Huston 75)

Journal Entry #3

Step 1: Figure from Harlem Renaissance

Eulalie Spence was a black from the West Indies playwright, actress, writer and teacher. Spence had the belief that the theatre was a place to be entertained and not criticized by the current crisis of their society (the views of W.E.B. Du Bois). Du Bois took the prize money she won and used it to pay outstandings from the production however this did not pay her nor the actors. She also believed you can't read a script it has to be acted out.

Step 2: Rules to My Dialect

1. Pronunciation
• Add an "A" to every word that ends in "O".
• "I" changes to "E" when it is the first vowel.
• "C" changes to "QU".
2. Grammar
• No use of the past tense.
• Never uses abbreviations to express anything including contractions.
• Use long sentences.
• Uses way too many adjectives.
3. Vocabulary
• Zummazoom ~ is used constantly through out a conversation like um.
• References nature in conversation.
• Cabbadoo ~ seriously

Step 3: Dialogue

Setting the stage: Eulalie Spence and Elaine Montgomery are sitting next to each other in a theatre before the show is about to start.

"Helloa! E have hear thes es a spectacular, awesome, fantastec, fabulous theater. Would you zummazoom agree?" said Elaine Montgomery.

"I hope the plays are good. I wrote them." remarked Eulalie.

"Cabbadoo?" asked Elaine.

"What's cabbadoo supposed to mean?" asked Eulalie suspiciously.

"Oh sorry E am from out of town en the land of waterfalls... well E zummazoom doa not remember, E thenk et was Plutoa, where cabbadoo means sereously. Have you ever seen the beauteful, gorgeous..." Elaine began.

Enraged Eulalie demanded, "STOP using so many adjectives, as a writer you are driving me insane!"

"I'm so zummazoom sorry! The trees are just soa remarkably beauteful en my home land they are soa beautiful. Not leke the beauteful elegant leaves here."

"How long have you lived there?" inquired Eulalie.

"I well leve there for 15 years. Thes theater es very beauteful, and there are twoa performances toneght I hear. One of them es on the reot that has happened, and the other es suppose to be funny" replied Elaine, "Whech one have you wrete?

"I wrote both." replied Eulalie, "although I wish I only wrote the funny one. I do not like the ones that are propoganda like my boss does."

"These must be very exceptionally good, then are you happy to see these plays?" Elaine asked curiously.

"I am very excited. It's nice to see the actors know how to act, for the past several weeks I have been starting to doubt them. It has been looking like all them have just been reading off the script which drives me crazy."

Elaine told Eulalie, "E thought that was what a play was all about the actors just readeng off lenes leke the revers goeng down the rever bank, that es how the theaters are leke in my quountry of Plutoa."

"Are you cabbadoo?" asked Eulalie. "I am coming to you're home country with you to show them how to act because that is obviously not how people act!"

"AH zummazoom the darkness leke the neght of a moonless sky! Where has the leght gone?" panicked Elaine.

"SHH! The play is now starting please be quiet people don't talk during plays here." whispered Eulalie.

"E know that, E am just as smart as an owl quatcheng ets prey!" whispered Elaine back as W.E.B. Du Bois came on the stage to welcome everyone to the show.

Journal Entry #2

"..."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
"Ah hears what they say 'cause they just will collect round mah proch 'cause it's on de big road. Mah husband git so sick of 'em sometime he makes 'em all git for home"
"Sam is right too. They just wearin' out yo' sittin' chairs."
"Yeah, Sam say most of 'em goes to church so they'll be sure to rise in Judgement. Dat's de day dat every secret is s'posed to be made known. They wants to be there to hear it all."..." (excerpt Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston pgs 5-6)

• The talkers who are in power when God is not watching are talking about Janie. They are referenced as "Mouth-Almighty". These women judge everyone based on all the information they can obtain.
• Hurston characterized these talkers  as people who are jealous and envious and in consequence have treacherous ears. They believe in every thing they hope happened to a person.
• Hurston describes them as "a lost ball in de high grass" by a metaphor. This particular metaphor portrays these women are so caught up in their own beliefs they are lost in what is real and what is not. In the first passage Hurston said women forgot what they wanted to forget and didn't forget what they wanted to remember this relates back to this metaphor because it tells how the women of this time are portrayed by the author.
• These talkers go to places (i.e. Pheoby's porch and church) to find out all they can about others so they can judge them.
• At the church they go so they are seen in Gods better eyes and so they can hear everyones secrets because no one is supposed to keep their secrets from God.
• If one does not speak to these people then they are  judged because they did not stop to talk to them. In consequence the talkers create a background for these people don't stop.
• These women have an internal conflict in themselves because they have to know everything that goes on.
• Big road is repeated in this passage.
• Judgment in this passage is a symbol of God.
• Knowledge is powerful is one of the themes in this passage
• One will do anything for knowledge.
•  The sitters are going to church and wearing out Pheoby's sitting chairs for this knowledge.

Journal Entry #1

If I could tell my life story to one person I would probably tell it to Kendra because she is good at listening to things. My life story would require lots of listening because of the events that have occured in my life. So many things have happened in consequence to other things that no one would understand without listening to the complete story. I would also pick Kendra because she could probably make me feel better. Most of my life story I have not told anyone outside of my family because certain events would be better left unspoken. I would start my story at the family reunion in the summer between 5th and 6th grade because that was the last time my extended family and I have gotten along because my Grandpa died the following november. My world view was changed then because of the lies that can be created by one member of the family and easily believed by others about other people in the same family.