Journal 7

• Desperate
• Miserable
• Carelessness
• Imagine
• Death
• Wished
• Wait
• Sign
• Pleading
• Fear
• Watching
• Looking
• Kindness
• Free
• Grief
• Loved
• Complement
• Remembrance
• Peace

Desperation can cause people to do things by their instinct.
Waiting can offer great things and bad things.
Kindness and love finds everyone someday.

Journal 6

I think the main reason for this passage is to show Janies true feelings toward Tea Cake.

The first paragraph is about how Janie waited for love and how there is doubt in it.

The mood was kind of sad and depressing, and i could see the tone on how she put all of the focus on how Janie felt in the situation with Tea Cake.

The change of dialect was to show more focus on what Janie thought, This added desperation to the tone and mood, as is she was pleading.

There was focus on description when it came to the sun, I believe that the sun represented Tea cake, and without Tea Cake she has no light in her life.

To Cassi
I noticed a lot of words about death and dying as well in the passage. I thought it helped set up the mood and tone. From what i noticed from reading your analysis, i saw a lot of contrast between dark and light in the passage.

To Amy
I liked how you thought about the mood and the tone. It made me understand it better and see different meanings in the passage!

To Katey
I saw the same things for the mood and tone! The thing i liked was how you noticed all of the long pauses she took when Janie was thinking.

Journal 5

They put her to bed and sent for her married daughter from up around Ocala to come see about her.  The daughter came as soon as she could and took Annie Tyler away to die in peace.  She had waited all her life or something, and it had killed her when it found her.
      The thing made itself into pictures and hung around Janie's bedside all night long.  Anyhow, she wasn't going back to Eatonville to be laughed at and pitied.  She had ten dollars in her pocket and twelve hundred in the bank.  But oh God, don't let Tea Cake be off somewhere hurt and Ah not know nothing about it.  And God, please suh, don't let him love nobody else but me.  Maybe Ah'm is uf fool, Lawd, lad dey say, but Lawd, Ah been so lonesome, and Ah been waitin', Jesus.  Ah done waited uh long time.
      Janie dozed off to sleep but she woke up in time to see the sun sending up spies ahead of him to mark out the road through the dark. he peeped up over the door sill of the world and made a little foolishness with red.  but pretty soon, he laid all that aside and went about his business dressed all in white.  But it was always going to be dark to Janie if Tea Cake didn't soon come back.  She got out of the bed but a chair couldn't hold her.  she dwindled down on the floor her head in a rocking chair.

I think it's interesting how in the entire passage there is a lot of reference to sleep, beds, death, the sun, and waking up. There is atleast four or more uses of the word bed or sleep in here.




Alliteration, also a description of the sun and light.

I noticed that Hurtson used dark and light to help us kind of think more of how Janie really feels, for example how she talks about there being no light for janie when Tea cake is gone. Could the light stand for hope or happiness? Could that be what Tea Cake is to Janie?

The "or something" makes me think of a bit of confusion, unsureness, but that is not what it was intended for. i think it's just adding on or taking off years to how long she waited.


I saw a sort of repetition of sounds at the end of the two words.


There was a lot of use of  words that had T sounds in them.


Personification about the sun and also imagery for describing the sun.


The description of her not being able to stay in the chair, but putting her head on the chair added a mood or tone of Janie being sad and worried.




I noticed that she started off a lot of the sentences with the same sounds.

Eyes Journal 4

So Sharon started to speculate homework. Homework, that strange knowledge filled fellow that occupied the deep trenches of a planner. The inevitable task which who perched in the slanted shelter with small pockets to it, and with no zipper. What use has Homework for a zipper, and what organization cant touch him? He stands on his tall throne that watches the students. Stations alert and movement-less all period with his saber pulled back, anticipating for the teacher to bid him chance. Perching here before here was a how or a what or a now. She was susceptible to discover a dot from its hole puncher on her desk any second now. She was tired and scared too. Poor friends! They should not have had to wonder into there by themselves. She sent Cody in to suggest help, but their friends said no. Those helpers were alright with random problems, but they did not know anything about these stranger methods. Her friends would be just fine as soon as the double sided boy found what was put aside. They were not going to spend as many hours on it at all. That is what they predicted at least. But Cody told her different, so she was aware. And then if it did not, the next dawn she was bound to know, for people set their alarms later in the hour and told themselves many more minuets. Friends who did not dare to be late before ran in and did not stop by their lockers. Just pushed the door onward and anticipated. suggestion, that filled circle, had sprinkled all over the recycling bin.  

Eyes Journal 3

I've noticed that Hurtson makes Janie appear as the type that will do what you tell her to do without saying anything in reply. No back talk not even an opinion or a reply of "yes". I feel like Hurtson created her as two points of view. One would be Janie's side, where she does not talk but really wants to get involved with all of the towns peoples conversations and events. She is seen as more of the person who stands by and watches everything happen from the sidelines.  Shes not really taking control of what is happening she is just taking orders. The other side i saw was Janie as almost a thing. She was considered very high class and beautiful, made to stand out of the crowd and not in comparison to any other woman in the entire town. Jody pretty much sets this up himself, making her wear more outstanding and expensive attire than that of the ordinary woman-folk. Why doesn't Janie ever speak up for herself and get involved? Is it because of Jody holding her back?

Eyes Journal 2

My passage is from the bottom paragraph of page 47 that continues onto page 48.

I noticed that in this passage there was a lot of focus on how things felt kind of distant between the people and Jody Starks. The more high and mighty Jody tried to make himself the more people began to just see him that way but not really believe it at all. He was making them seem of lesser value to the comunity almost, like where hurtson explained his house as the "big house" and all of the other houses and buildings around his domain as slave quarters.

Imagery: a gloaty, sparkly White. ( the house)

Simile: The comparison of a girl becoming a gator

Foil: Janie & Jody in comparison to the towns people or Janie to Jody

Mood: I thought that it seemed kind of lonely and the people seemed distant from the mayor, even though they spoke highly of him.

Tone: Hurtson wrote the differences between Jody and the towns people and i could see she added a bit of jealousy behind the people, and a bit of sadness that the people were thinking that Jody was hiding things from them, great things.

The purpose of the passage was to clarify the relationships between Jody and the town, and Janie and the town.

Journal 1 for Eyes

It was a hard thing to think about, the use of living creatures and plants to describe many things. The way a pear tree can stand for much more than it already is. That is can stand for a persons life. the way grows and creates sprouts of life. Janie is described as a tree, "She had glossy leaves and bursting buds and she wanted to struggle with life but it seemed to elude her. Where were the singing bees for her?"(11) I see Janie as a young youthful tree in process of maturing. When she is looking for what is missing in life, trying to struggle to figure things out i could see nothing but a girl who was being forced to marry someone. It looks to me as though she wants to figure things out, could marriage be the answers to her problem? Could marriage be "the singing bees for her?"(11). To me the bees looked as a companion for problems and loneliness. The leaves were a symbol for moments in her life and her dreams.

What exactly did the bees mean? What was the use of the pear tree? What did the bees have to do with her life?


Joe Starks was a "cityfied, Stylish dressed man" as described on page 27. The type of man who looks sophisticated and smart. Just by the description of him i could see that he was going to be a big impact in the future for Janie. Joe Starks wants the riches in life to own things, to rule. "De man dat built things oughta boss it"(28) This applies to Joe wanting to "be a big voice" (28) he wants to take hold of what hes got and get more. Another thing he wants is Janie. Joe Starks is of higher class and by that he will want Janie to be at the same level and never ascend downward from that level. I get the feeling that he wants Janie because of her looks that maybe through that he could be of higher class and taken more seriously in situations in the new town they are heading too. All he wants it power and success, and Janie could be part of his plan.


What is the real importance of Janie to Joe? Why does he want to marry her so quickly? Does he love her or is he taking advantage of her?



Pheoby is Janies best friend, "Pheoby, We been kissin'-friends for twenty years"(7) She is one of the characters who supports the main character. She is what helps start the re-telling of  what happened to Janie. I see her as useful in that way and she helps us understand the views of the people on the porches in the city where Janie use to live. "You know if you pass some people and don't speak tuh suit 'em dey got tuh go way back in yo' life and see whut you ever done...An envious heart makes a treacherous ear"(5)  I think that Hurtson uses this phrase to explain how when people get jealous of you, or really don't like you, they only want to hear the bad things, the gossip and so forth. Janies friend Pheoby helps make this more clear.

Why is gossip so important to the people? Why do they care so much? "what does it involve them?