Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Power and Love
This book explores different types of love and power in several ways, through a variety of characters and relationships. Consider what you've read/heard so far (which must be 3 hours, almost halfway through, by Friday) and write about the questions Hurston raised and the messages she sent through the characters and their choices and dreams.
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`I think Hurston has a very negative view towards love. The way he writes about there is a large about of passion at first but then the passion dies and hate begins to build. Jaine at first is head over heals in love with Jody and leaves everything behind for him. She thinks that her new life exhilarating and full of new surprises. Yet after some time she realizes how boring her new life becomes and she quickly starts to despise her new husband. I think Hurston has a very cynical view of love. That its only real when people are trying and doing new things, but when things start to get harder, start to settle down is when people show their true colors. That most people, like Jaine, are never truly in love, just with the fun ride that comes at the beginning.
ReplyDeleteHurston also puts a lot of page space towards the idea of not marrying for love but for security. Jaine first marriage is all about this idea, that it is important to make sure you have a stable husband that can provide for you and your children. Love is just an afterthought, a cherry on top. Janie's grandmother truly believe in this whereas Janie hated everyday of her marriage. Hurston clearly has his own thought on the whole thing whether he is for it or against is unclear, but I do see both sides of the argument.
Hurston shows that love does not have one definition and that everybody sees love in a different way. For Jaine, being in love with her husband's personally is a big part of a relationship, as it should be in any. She was not fully in love with her first husband, Logan. Being that she is married to a man she is not even in love with makes her feel dishonest and her moral views kick in. Logan and Janie eventually end up splitting. It is clear that Jaine does not think about her lifestyle as much at her grandmother. Logan had a stable lifestyle and could provide Jaine financially–Jaine's grandmother was aware of this and that is why she pressured Jaine into marrying him. This shows Jaine's grandmother's point of view on love and relationships. She values lifestyle as much as personality. Being that she wanted Jaine to be in a secure situation, before she passes, you would first assume that her grandmothers love and dedication for Jaine is strong and admirable. But what confuses me is that if she really loves Jaine and wants the best for her, setting aside her unfortunate past with racism, wouldn't she want Jaine to marry somebody who she really does love and is happy with?
ReplyDeleteHurston shows that people feel like the need love more than they think. In the book thus far Jaine has look for love in multiple people. Even in the begging of the story she was caught with a boy when she was younger. This shows that she loves to love. Starting from a young age Jaine liked exploring the option, yet when her grandmother told her it was time for her to get married she was scared of what her life would be like. Her first husband Logan, set up by her grandmother, was not a relationship that had any love at all; and eventually the marriage ended and she went right into a new one with Jody. Jaine likes meeting new people and starting a new lifestyle with them. Furthermore, is it the love that Jaine likes so much or simply the idea of starting over?
ReplyDeleteJanie is on a quest to find what love really means. In the beginning of the book, she does not know what the concept of love is at all, and she marries Logan because she thought that she would eventually love him. Simply because they would be married, but that was proven to be a fallacy. Janie realizes the mistake she made, and sets out on the road in hope of finding true love. She runs into Joe/Jody Starks, who unlike her first husband, seems more adventurous and interesting. She is intrigued by Joe/Jody and she wonders if her feelings towards him are love. Yet again Janie finds herself trapped in a loveless marriage, and Starks is revealed not be the man she thought she knew. Janie is still searching for the answer to her question, what is love? The other characters do not care or even express their opinions on love. Janie’s grandmother justs wants Janie to get married for protection, and is confused when Janie tells her about the issues in her marriage. Logan does not view marriage as something fueled by love, and does not understand why Janie is upset as well. Joe/Jody views Janie as a possession rather than a companion. Janie seems to be the only one who really cares about love.
ReplyDeleteHurston’s view on love is not as much pessimistic as it is realistic. She does make love out to be a simple journey, and Janie is a perfect example of this. You do simply not find the perfect person immediately, and Janie surely did not. Hurston does not want to make the journey for love to be too simple or without any bumps in the road. If it was easy then there would be nothing to write about.
From the start of the book Janie is often times the center of everyone's attention. People notice her because of her looks and that she tries to be noticed. I think one of the main reasons she tries to be noticed is that she has not found true love. She did not truly love her first husband, Logan. Instead she loved the idea of being in love and happily married Being stuck in a marriage that she didn't even really want to be in in the first place distorted her image of love. Janie and Logan's marriage was arranged for them by Janie’s grandmother. That just goes to show man of the people from that era and area’s views on love back then. Hurston definitely writes about distorted love on purpose because love can shape people. Some people live their whole lives searching for love while others don't even believe in it, and this is why writing about love can be so powerful as it can help develop the characters a lot more.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the story Janie is a naive young girl who just wants to experience the world for herself. Her grandmother has a fierce and protective love for her granddaughter. She doesn’t want Janie to be a repeat of her mother. Janie doesn’t understands her grandmother’s love, she sees it as overprotectiveness and not as love. Hurston views familial love as fierce and undying. Her view on romantic love is not as pretty. When Janie has her first kiss under a tree, it is described as a trivial and somewhat meaningless experience. Her first marriage was not out of love, but out of the idea of protection and security. Janie has limited power in most of her relationships. Her grandmother has her on a tight leash and her husband keeps her at a distance. When Janie meets Jody she thinks she is in love and that she has found the one, but Jody to has his faults. Hurston views romantic love as flawed and commonplace. Hurston clearly views familial love as the best kind of love.
ReplyDeleteJanie begins her love life, as a young girl, in the position of weakness. She has the bravery to escape her first marriage, but only with the knowledge that there would be a more comfertable better life in her second marriage.
ReplyDeleteJanie and Joe pose as the timeless sinerio of the dashing powerful older man, wooing the young naive beauty. As the marriage blossoms, the glossy shine of Joe’s powerful and benevolent facade fades away to reveal him for the bitter selfish being that he is. Joedy's image melts away in two forms, throughout the years that Joe and Janie coexist as one unit. Once Joedy has Janie in his control and dependent on him, he doesn’t bother to see her as an equal. The charming man who caught her heart soon becomes the irritable dictator that micromanages her every breath. Jodies illusion is further decimated as he reaches old age, and becomes a sickly old man. This speedy decline decimates not only his manhood and desirablilty but also his integrity. We see the power pendulum finally swing to Janie, as he wastes away and she ages gracefully. Even when Jody finds himself in weakness he still cannot see the error of his ways in regards to Janie. When he dies we still resent him for keeping Janie beneath his thumb for so many years, but we also pity how blatantly pathetic he is.
As Jody reaches the end of his life, Janie reaches for a flimsy twisted sort of courage that was pent up for eons. She is still in the mind of the young girl she was years ago, and cannot take the actions of a women. With all of the yearning Janie does throughout the book, one would have assumed she would plot Jodie’s death years before he dies. Janie accepts her situation, and mopes about it. She never ponders as solution, or alternative but rather dwells on the unfairness of her wasted girlhood. If Joedy had lived on, Janie would have never escaped his watch.
Janie is a creature full of wanting, but no actions. Of frustration for things she does not understand, and yet no will to learn. Janie is caught in a tug of war between her reality as a middle aged women and her self image as a carefree girl.
Its clear Janie has a sort of midlife crisis, when Joedy dies. But I wouldn’t say she mourns him. Can one really discuss power and love in a relationship such as this, if there was no love in the first place? Janie and Jodie had a financial and social agreement, sure. But did they love each other? I think not.
And if they did love each other. How vastly different this would have all been. For when emotions are involved. There is fear of loss. Of mistakes. Jodie and Janie were focused on looking happy to the village. But within the walls of their own home, there was a stubborn emptiness that could not be covered with wealth or cordiality.