Journal Prompt #8: Find quotations for three different stylistic attributes of Hurston's writing. Explain the context of the passage (where does it occur in the book, what is happening, who is involved). Identify and describe the literary technique used in the the passage, and explain how you think it affects the text and how you read it.
"It was so crazy digging worms by lamp light and setting out for Lake Sabelia after midnight that she felt like a child breaking rules. That's what made Janie like it. They caught two or three and got home just before day. Then she had to smuggle Tea Cake out by the back gate and that made it seem like some great secret she was keeping from the town." (Hurston, pg. 102)
* In this passage Tea Cake takes Janie to go out in the middle of the night to go fishing. Janie begins to feel youthful through Tea Cake's young and care-free nature.
* Hurston once again brings in the motif of youth and age. In this passage Janie is overcome with the feeling or excitement as she recalls how it is to feel young. The need to not worry about responsibility gives Janie a sense of freedom from the life she has been restricted to. Although her community continues to judge her based on her age, she does not let it get in the way of the ecstatic feeling she encounters. This reoccurring youth in which Janie finds when embracing Tea Cake's lifestyle helps her escape the idea that her character is defined by her age.
"Then Tea Cake went to the piano without so much as asking and began playing blues and singing, and throwing grins over his shoulder. The sounds lulled Janie to soft slumber and she woke up with Tea Cake combing her hair and scratching the dandruff from her scalp. It made her more comfortable and drowsy." (Hurston, pg. 103)
* This passage includes an exhausted Janie and Tea Cake as they conclude their adventures for the day. Tea Cake finds a way to relax Janie and she finally finds an exit for the stress of the town which she has been dealing with.
* Hurston accentuates a shift in the story by manipulating the atmosphere in this passage. After the spirited day Janie has, Hurston shifts an upbeat atmosphere to a calmer one. Tea Cake begins to play music which relaxes Janie, as seen through her the phrases "soft slumber" and "comfortable". This atmosphere makes the reader slow down from the more recent fast-paced scenes.
"At the newel post Janie whirled around and for the space of a thought she was lit up like a transfiguration. Her next thought brought her crashing down. He's just saying anything for the time being, feeling he's got me so I'll b'lieve him. The next thought buried her under tons of cold futility. He's trading on being younger than me. Getting ready to laugh at me for an old fool. But oh, what wouldn't I give to be twelve years younger so I could b'lieve him!" (Hurston, pg. 105)
* In the passage above Janie begins to ponder on the age difference between her and Tea Cake. She second guesses his feelings for her as she forgets the youthfulness she encounters early, and instead sees herself as an older woman.
* Hurston uses third person omniscient view to emphasize the internal conflict Janie faces about who she is and how she views herself. By looking into the thoughts of Janie, one can see how she is torn between her love for Tea Cake and the realization of her age. Janie's dialect comes out through the text as if she is speaking to herself. The comparison between the ages shows how strongly Janie is impacted by the community. Janie is torn between her independence and who she wants to be, alongside the definition of her person in which she is given.
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