Rant

I know we don't have a journal topic for this week, but Native Son, written by Richard Wright, is driving me nuts and I need to get some things off my chest about this wonderful, but gut-wrenching novel.

First off, this may just be because I was born in a time away from segregation and lynching and the white on black racism, but I do not understand it. I was raised up in a Christian household, so I believe that we were all made of the dust of the earth, like it says in Genesis. So someone has a different skin color than me, big woody-doo! If God decided to make me out of dust near White Sands, New Mexico and the guy sitting next to me was made from mud, or red, Texas dirt, or what ever color, why does it matter? You can't change the way you were born, and if we want to get extremely technical, none of us are the exact same color because nothing is a perfect match in this world. Even identical twins have differences.

Now on to my frustrations with the book. I have such conflicting emotions! Bigger is a horrible, horrible, terribly awful human being. I am no professional, but from the article I read on http://bipolar.about.com/od/glossarys/g/gl_sociopath.htm, I would say that Bigger is a sociopath. He has no remorse for the first woman he murdered, he lacks empathy for when he rapes his girlfriend, keeping him from having a functional relationship. Despite the anger and resentment I feel toward Bigger and his crimes, I don't want him to receive the death penalty, because it isn't for the right reason. Bigger is being executed because they want to make an example of him to the black community. Bigger should be executed because he has two counts of murder and one count of rape. They don't care about Bigger's raped and murdered girlfriend until they realize that it could help them in their case. This frustrates me beyond no end! If he is going to be tried, I want him to be tried properly and fairly, not because he is black. That is not what justice is meant to be. Lady Justice is blindfolded because she is supposed to be unbiased to race, gender, and anything else that sets us apart. Yet Bigger is not even given a chance, because he is black. I know different times hold different beliefs, values, and norms, but this...this just flips my lid. Being fair and civil to one another should not change due to the time and place.

Thank you for listening. My apologies for being angry and demanding justice from fictional characters. 

Oh Where is my Hair Brush!

The symbol I want to talk about today is Janie's hair. Now I imagine everyone is thinking, "What? The only time hair is important is in Rapunzel," but I beg to differ.

In many cultures, hair length is related to power; for example, in the Old Testament the Nazirites would go lengthy periods of time before cutting their hair to show their devotion to God. One Nazirite, named Samson received a special gift of strength as long as he did not cut his hair. Greek Gods such as Zeus, Poseidon, and Apollo, were often sculpted with long hair. In Greece, long hair was considered a symbol of wealth and power. In the Middle Ages, short hair was a sign of peasantry and servitude, while long hair represented the aristocracy, who held a lot of power over not only their servants but also hold a great deal of influence in decisions made for the society.

Even though Janie is placed low on the totem pole by being bi-racial, as well as being a female. The odds are stacked against her from the very beginning. When Janie first appears in town, one of the first things the men notice about her is her hair; "The men noticed her firm buttocks like she had grape fruits in her hip pockets; the great rope of black hair swinging to her waist and unraveling in the wind like a plume;" (pg 2) Since her hair is among the first three things the men first notice, it shows that she has the power to command their attention even though the only words she says are "good evening". She can command their attention whenever she desires.

Jody realizes how much power her hair has and how attractive the men find her hair so he forces her to keep it tied up. "Whut make her keep her head tied up lak some ole 'oman round de store" (pg 49). "Maybe he make her do it. Maybe he skeered some de rest of us mens might touch it round dat store" (pg 50). The previous quotes show that Jody is afraid of the effect Janie's hair has on the people around her. He realizes that she could over power him if she gets the people of Eatonville on her side. To  keep Janie in line, he forces her to keep her hair tied up whenever she is around people, thus killing two birds with one stone. One of the first things men notice earlier in her life is how beautiful her hair is and Jody does his best to keep them from making advances toward her. The second thing is by having Janie hide her hair Jody is taking away her power. Like Samson, Janie receives her special gifts from her hair. When that is gone, so are her gifts.

Janie receives her gift from her hair, and it helps to keep her strong even amongst all of the adversity she faces. It reminds her of who she is, and what she has over come.

Marital Bliss

I have been blinded by the screaming outcry of Janie's plight through her marriages. The stereotypical portrayal of the male-dominance in the book makes me feel that this is an underlying theme; the choices a young black woman (or any woman) had (has?) is a "lesser of two evils" approach.

Her first was an arranged marriage, still practiced today. She had no concept of how the relationship was supposed to work, and was under the misguided impression that marriage preceded the love. She though that love was a by-product of marriage, and was greatly wrong. To add to the strife, Logan wanted a work mule and wife, and was unhappy with Janie for staying in the house.

Her second marriage she was suckered in by pretty talk and gifts a-plenty. Once ensnared, Janie was a trophy wife to expand Starks' power and hold over his little empire.She was a verbal punching bag whenever he felt belittled by his age and condition, and Janie's beauty not fading.

Her last marriage was her best, even through the beatings. She actually had feelings for Tea Cakes, but suffered through the bad parts to hang onto the good.

Each marriage is a stereotype of the farce of relationships and marriage. In each instance Janie was a victim, whether by the hand of another or through her own naivete, or when love feels it can withstand the bumpy road (and bumpy fists). I see this aspect of the book as a stepping stone for women's rights when there were little, and none for the black female.

Nanny is Muh Subject

Janie was raised by her Nanny and the “quality white folks” her Nanny worked with. The grandmother cared for Janie deeply and at one point in the story states that she loved Janie more than she ever did Janie’s mother, her actual daughter. As Janie is becoming more curious about boys Nanny finds Janie kissing Johnny Taylor and immediately tells Janie she will have to get married. Nanny initially had plans for Janie to attend school and choose a man that would better suit Janie but for her own protection from the worthless boys Janie will inevitably encounter Janie will have to get married. “You wants to make me suck de same sorrow yo’ mama did, eh? “Mah ole head ain’t gray enough. Mah back ain’t  bowed enough to suit yuh!” (Hurston, 14) Nanny does not want Janie to end up like her mother and despite Janie’s objections she feels it is in her best interest to marry Mr. Killicks who can provide protection and security.

Nanny explains to Janie that “De nigger woman is de mule uh de world” (Hurston, 14) since woman in general have no say in what goes on but even more so if you are a black woman. The mules are over worked day after day until they eventually die. Nanny was the last of the slaves to endure slavery which causes her to know more about the inequalities that have been in effect since before she was even born. Nanny is only doing the best she knows how for Janie to be able to live the life she never could, for Janie to fulfill her dreams and doing what a woman ought to be able to do.

The Price of Power

Throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God there is a constant struggle to climb the social ladder, but everyone has a different idea about what it means to get to the top. Janie experiences what it is like to be at the top, and comes to the conclusion that it is not what she wants out of life. As she talks to Phoeby about the experience, she says:

          She was borned to slavery time when folks, dat is black folks, didn't sit down anytime dey felt             lak it. So sittin' on porches lak de white madam looked lak uh mighty fine thing tuh her. Dat's             what she wanted for me-don't keer whut it cost.

She knew that a great cost came with sitting on a high chair. It meant that she would have to sacrifice living life to be a part of that porch.

Joe Starks places Janie in the chair that he considers to be above the working class people: "He was very solemn and helped her to the seat beside him. With him on it, it sat like some high ruling chair" (32). The problem with this place is that it is his vision and not her own. He wants to have a "big voice" at the cost of her relinquishing all rights to her own voice.

Jody establishes the plans for the town while standing on the porch of the store. This platform is used to demonstrate his power over the people. The town may use the porch as a place to conduct their mule talk and gossip, but they only say certain things when Joe is not present. When they are talking around him, he still has the power to lead the conversation in the direction he wants it to go. His position forms a wedge between him and the townspeople.

Janie knows that even though this is her husband's dream, he still pays for this position in life: "Dis sittin' in de rulin' chair is been hard on Jody,"she muttered out loud." "She was full of pity for the first time in years. Jody had been hard on her and others, but life had mishandled him too" (87). Jody has a phenomenal dream, but he never anticipates the consequences of such a high position. Janie knows that that her husband is left with the same dilemma as her grandmother, she says: "She didn't have time tuh think whut tuh do after you got up on de stool uh do nothin'" (114). Joe has nothing left once he accomplishes his goal, not even his wife, so dying alone became his price for power.

The Narrators voice in TEWWG

The narrators voice can take on many different forms. The dramatized narrator is hardly ever seen as a narrator. Hurston, in Their Eyes Were Watching God, the story is narrated different ways.  The narration of the woman on the porch allows the reader to see what kind of woman Jennie is, and how we are to view her. “What she doin coming back here in dem overhalls?  Can’t she find no dress to put on?—Where’s dat blue satin dress she left here in?”

From this we learn that she is an independent woman and is not concerned with what others think of her. She is confidant of who she is, but she has not always been that way.

As a girl she has to come to grips with who she is. “So when we looked at de picture and everybody got pointed out there wasn’t nobody left except a real dark little girl with long hair standing by Eleanor. Dat’s where Ah wuz s’posed to be, but Ah couldn’t recognize dat dark chile as me.”  Janie narrates herself as she describes her growing up years with whites, dressing as a white, not knowing she is black.

Then she looks to marriage thinking that it will lead to love and happiness. After being unhappy in one marriage, she movies to another man. He is not much better than the first one.

 We see different narrators telling Jennie’s story; how she is seen by others, and is how the reader will see her. We learn more about Jenie with the people she is round.

Booth says in his rhetoric book. “We should remind ourselves that many dramatized narrators are never explicitly labeled as narrators at all. In a sense, every speech, every gesture, narrates; most works contain disguised narrators who are used to telling the audience what it needs to know, while seeming merely to act out their roles.”