On Olivia's seventeenth birthday, she sat in reminiscence in front of her sister's grave. The crisp autumn wind danced around her, causing her to pull her teal scarf tighter around her face. It had yet to begin to rain, but the flowing clouds overhead signaled its arrival. Still, the weather did not disturb Olivia's presence. She gazed upon the white rose in which she had laid at her arrival. An arrival which was now lost in time's daze, among many thoughts and emotions. Olivia was locked in remembrance as she recalled that fateful day.
Every time Olivia closed her eyes the picture swam through her head as though she was being held under rapids. Cecilia was so young, a brilliant fifteen-year-old. She was unlike any other. The way her long cocoa brown braids would fly high in the air as we laughed taking turns on the swing, the way she would chuckle and her freckled cheeks flush a light pink as she teased me about the boys I like, the way she was always there at night when I needed someone to hold me through the storm. I was her, she was me; intertwined at the heart. So. Why did it have to happen to her? Why was she taken away by the hatred of others? Why, could it not have been me?
Awakening from her trance, Olivia looked up at the sky just in time for a droplet to splash on her glasses. The rain had come, and yet she did not budge from her spot. She had always been tied to her sister in an unimaginable way. Olivia came to visit the grave often, but she never once came during a storm. A steady drizzle poured around her as she stopped to notice her surroundings. It had become a habit. Every time Olivia came to the cemetery she would go directly to where the burial had taken place. She would never forget that sorrow-filled path which lead from the walkway to the place where Cecilia lay at rest. Only this time did Olivia notice how many graves lay in the same cemetery as her sister. Ten, twenty, fifty, eighty. Those were as many as she could count with the stream of water fogging her vision. Slowly, she rose from her spot and step by step she made her way around the outer edge of the field.
Overlooking the ledge, another field lay before Olivia towards the left, and yet another on her right. As a bolt of lightning struck and a gust of wind passed through her hair, for the first time in her life Olivia did not cringe. She stood motionless and took in the awe which lay before her. She was not the only one who had lost someone dear to her. Just in this very cemetery at least one thousand others had left family and friends behind. Mothers, fathers, children. Sisters. Olivia was not alone in the world as she had believed. No, she still had her mother and her father, her aunts and uncles, her cousins and her friends. Although none of them could ever fill the permanent burn in her heart, she could not give up on her hopes and dreams. Cecilia would want me to be happy. She wouldn't want me to choose to end my life when she didn't have a say.
As the rain continued to soak her hair, she made her way back to he sister's grave. With a soft smile, Olivia took a card out of her pocket and rested it gently next to the flower. Standing upright and readjusting her scarf, Olivia set off with high spirits. May both our dreams live on through me. Happy birthday, Cecilia.
Theme: The death of someone who plays an important role in an one's life reveals a new perspective in which they better understand themselves and the world around them.
Techniques:
To portray Hurston's theme, I initiated a motif of the rain and storm which held strong meaning to Olivia. In the beginning the rain demonstrates her fear of storms which she had always turned to her Cecilia for help. As Olivia comes to the realization that there is more to life than her twin, she sees the rain as something not to fear, but as a new challenge in life in which she must take on. The atmosphere also ties into Hurston's theme as the heaviness of reminiscence sets up this pastiche. Much like Janie, Olivia is forced to face the reality in which she could have never imagined. Third person omniscient gives the reader a deeper understanding of Olivia's character. If there was no omniscience to this piece, one might view Olivia as a solemn character instead of one who is truly hurting on the inside, and has the potential to change. Even in the short passage, one is able to see Olivia grow and learn about herself and her life. Rhetorical questions also give emphasis to the confusion in Olivia's life. She feels as though it is her fault that Cecilia died, and by questioning herself she takes the next step further to answering those questions. Although Hurston would probably not use it as a major technique to tie directly to the theme, the use of the simile where Olivia is "underneath the rapids", it allows for a deeper understanding of the traumatic situation Olivia has gone through. The simile gives life to the idea that it is not easy to escape the torturous nightmare Olivia has to live through day after day. Even in Their Eyes Were Watching God, some similes and figurative language strongly emphasize a character or scene which can relate back to Hurston's themes.
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