Thesis Statement for 'Their Eyes'

The mule symbolizes Janie and her struggles in Eatonville.

That's my thesis.

Scene Response #2

The scene I chose to respond to was the seen where Janie and Vergible Woods, aka Tea Cake, are playing checkers. Tea comes into the store and buys some cigarettes, then asks her why she isn't at the ball game, to which she coolly replies, "Well, Ah see somebody else besides me ain't there." He then challenges her to a game of checkers and says that she looks like she'd be could at it. Janie says that she can't play at all. So they play and converse, until Tea tries to take Janie's king. Janie grabs his hand to stop him because she worked so hard to get it. She tells him to take any other piece, but not her king. They "upset" the board, which I assume means spilled the board. She gets them Cokes and he introduces himself.

This scene is significant because it shows Janie once again falling for another man who could very well ruin her life again, which she promised she wouldn't do. This shows Janie's inability to keep a promise, even if it is to herself. Tea Cake may seem nice enough, but he could be just like Logan, or even worse, like Joe. She fell for this man almost immediately, just like Joe, and seems to be planning to leave with him, just like Joe. Will it end up the same way? Only the book will tell.

TEWWG Response 2

I found the scene where the town was preaching for the dead mule. Joe got this donkeys funeral all hyped up and energized. People were talking about the mule riding people, and the devil using Matt Bonner to plow. They made the mule seem like it was the most important person in town on that day, and gave it a grand ceremony. Janie was left behind by Joe to tend the shop, even though everyone was already at the funeral, which seemed a little sad, but Joe wasn't exactly treating her well to begin with. At the funeral, they preached about the mule, and sang, and did everything that you would do for a human funeral. They even had an obituary.

Their Eyes Were Watching God #1

Quote #1:
"Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men. Now, women forget all those things they don’t want to remember, and remember everything they don’t want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly." (page 1).


This quote talks about how Janie immediately begins the story, or at least chapter 2, by recounting her past. It goes with the part of the quote about the memories of women, and Janie can remember exactly what she wants to. She can recount her story clearly, and tells it to get a point across. In a vague way it could also refer to her being a wish on board a ship for men, like Tea Cake, who gladly take her. It could also refer to men dreaming about the many reasons she could have left, and how those thoughts may always "sail forever on the horizon".

Missing Huck Quote Responses

CURRENTLY UNDER WORK

Pages 35-69:

1. "I was powerful lazy and comfortable- didn't want to get up and cook breakfast."

This quote kind of speaks to the fact that the hard-working Huck, who had just escaped, had a lazy side. Huck usually pushes himself in every possible way to get the job done, but this scene speaks to the fact that Huck does have a side that people can really relate to. Huck says he's feeling lazy after escaping by sawing through a roof and killing a pig, quite contradictory.

2. "Well, I b'lieve you, Huck. I-I run off.
"Jim!"

This is the first sign of Huck questioning Jim's running off, not a second after he found out. If Huck were supportive or just didn't care he might not have reacted as such. Huck continues to struggle with the morality of not turning in Jim, at that time considered the right thing to do. Huck seems to know that if he doesn't tell, he's an accomplice, so he eventually accepts this and accompanies him, still questioning right and wrong along the way.


Pages 71-91
1. "Watchman your grandmother!"

This comes outright and says that Huck knows how to diss someone. This seems to be related to the modern phrase of "your mom," considering he is actually using a female member of a family to ridicule a statement made by someone else. This truly displays Huck's inner rebellious teen, and this comment surely shows his angst.

2. "Pap always said it warn't no harm to borrow things if you was meaning to pay them back some time; but the widow said it warn't anything but a soft name for stealing, and no decent body would do it."

Huck battles here with the opinions of his abusive father and his adoptive widow. Somehow he continues to choose his father's opinions over what seems right, "borrowing" goods withot giving back anything, much less with permission. Huck takes chickens, watermelons, corn, and all kinds of things. However, there is a reason to this, and it is because this food is necessary to keep him and Jim alive, therefore it is wrong in less aspects.


Pages 109-134

1. "He didn't ever have to tell anybody to mind their manners- everybody was good-mannered where he went."

Huck shows respect for high authority figures here, this particular example being Colonel Grangerford. Huck is usually rebellious when it comes to authority figures, but when he meets one that is so high up in the ranks he simply feels inclined to respect him, and it shows in Huck's description of him. Unlike many other people, Huck turns his somewhat bad qualities, like the undeniable anger that he often shows, into good ones.

2. "Well," says he, "dat's all right, den. I doan mine one er two kings, but dat's enough."

I found this Jim quote quite funny, as he says that he doesn't want to meet any more kings because of the already had such an odd experience with them. I'm sure I might react the same way, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't find it funny. Jim seems to have a sense of humor that even he doesn't seem to know of.

Huck Finn Quote Response

1. "I reckoned he beleived in the A-rabs and he elephants, but as for me I think different."

This quote refers to Tom getting his friends together to make a band of robbers, and, more specifically, their greatest heist, stealing diamonds, gold and other valuables. After pulling the heist, which was actually on a group of Sunday School children, Huck tells Tom that he doesn't believe him, and Tom makes a fuss about them only looking like Sunday school kids because wizards made them look like it. This is a clear sign the Huck does not always trust his friend's judgement.


2. "I've seen it in books; and so of course that's what we've got to do."

This quote actually points out that popular culture still influenced people back in the days of Tom Sawyer. He wants to ransom people because they do it in books, whcih can be compared to a modern child wanting to do something because it's in a TV show or movie. It also points out that Tom Sawyer himself, though a leader, can be just as influenced by media as anyone else.

Topic for Essay #2

And The Scott's choice is....:

Essay Topic #3) Look closely at either “Young Goodman Brown” or “The Minister’s Black Veil” and identify the dominant tone (the author’s attitude) of the short story. Then set about answering how Hawthorne goes about achieving this tone. When writing this paper, you may find it helpful to discuss literary devices and techniques such as foreshadowing, irony, figurative language, narrative pace, etc. Please include a number of quotations to back up your answer.