Karl Viamonte-Lyons
“Thank yuh fuh yo’ compliments, but mah wife don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no speech-makin’. Ah never married her for nothin’ lak dat. She’s uh woman and her place is in de home.”
Janie made her face laugh after a short pause, but it wasn’t too easy. She had never thought of making a speech, and didn’t know if she cared to make one at all. It must have been the way Joe spoke out without giving her a chance to say anything one way or another that took the bloom off of things. But anyway, she went down the road behind him that night feeling cold. He strode along invested with his new dignity, thought and planned out loud, unconscious of her thoughts. (43) (11 lines in the book)
Three techniques:
Motif: “the way Joe spoke out without giving her a chance to say anything one way or another that took the bloom out of things.”
Analysis: Even in the fifth chapter, Hurston is using the motif of nature. In the earlier chapters she talked about how Janie’s innocence and childhood referred to a pear tree, and when Janie finally left Logan, there was a great detail in the setting in which she left him. Maybe Hurston chose the word “bloom” in the context of him “taking the bloom out of things” as in, taking away the spark that caused her to leave Logan for Joe. Maybe throughout the book, nature will continue coming up giving hints as to what Janie is really feeling.
Epiphany: The first hint of Janie being spiteful towards Joe.
Analysis: In this paragraph Janie realizes Joe may not be the man she thought he was. She is not mad at him, just merely considering the fact that if she had wanted to give a speech, she couldn’t. “He strode along invested with his new dignity, thought and planned out loud, unconscious of her thoughts.” It seems like Hurston is portraying Joe as not really aware that he had hurt Janie in any sort of way, and that denying her of opportunities was a normal thing to do. The way Hurston says “unconscious of her thoughts.” really pushes the point that Joe has no idea that Janie was affected at all by his denying her of speaking.
Protagonist/Antagonist: The first act of Joe being sexist towards Janie.
Analysis: In the book Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie plays the role of the Protagonist. It seems that Hurston might be foreshadowing Joe becoming a future antagonist, as he seems to be trying to hold Janie back from her full potential. Yes, Janie and Joe are married, but Janie rushed into marrying him, there could be more to him than meets the eye.
Tone: Condescending
Mood: Disappointment/Realization
Purpose: To show Janie’s feeling about Joe’s possible sexist attitude. This paragraph could also foreshadow future conflicts concerning Janie wanting to do something that Joe wants to hold her back from doing.
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