Journal 1-Tabbing

Tabbing for The Stranger...
Pink: motif of the color red
Green: Meursault's annoyance at others' feelings (example: he is annoyed with the crying woman at his mother's vigil)
Orange: Motif of coffee/the coffeehouse
Yellow: The symbol of the man and his dog

Journal 10-Theme

Theme: Belief in white superiority affects how black men treat their women.  They feel like they need to exercise power and force over women to demonstrate that they do have some superiority.
Quotes:
1. ""So de white man throw down de load and tell de nigger man tuh pick it up.  He pick it up because he have to, but he don't tote it.  He hand it to his womenfolks.  De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see."" (14)

2. "Been workin' for white folks all his life...He had always wanted to be a big voice, but de white folks had all de sayso where he come from and everywhere else, exceptin' dis place dat colored folks was buildin' theirselves...Let colored folks build things too if dey wants to crow over somethin'." (28)

3. ""Us colored folks is too envious of one 'nother.  Dat's how come us don't git no further than us do.  Us talks about de white man keepin' us down!  Shucks!  He don't have tuh.  Us keeps our own selves down."" (39)

4. ""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."" (43)

5. ""All we can do, if we want any light after de settin' or befo' de risin', is tuh make some light ourselves...De first street lamp in uh colored town...let de light penetrate inside of yuh, and let it shine."" (45)

6. "Take for instance that new house of his...he painted it--a gloaty, sparkly white...It made the village feel funny talking to him--just like he was anybody else." (47)

7. ""Ah'm uh man even if Ah is de Mayor.  But de mayor's wife is somethin' different again."" (60)

8. "She is black and she knows that white clothes look good on her, so she wears them for dress up.  She's got those big black eyes with plenty shiny white in them...It's negro hair, but it's got a kind of white flavor." (67)

9."Time came when she fought back with her tongue as best she could, but it didn't do her any good.  It just made Joe do more.  He wanted her submission and he'd keep on fighting until he felt he had it." (71)

10. ""Jody classed me off...When Ah wasn't in de store he wanted me tuh jes sit wid folded hands and sit dere.  And Ah'd sit dere wid de walls creepin' up on me and squeezin' all de life outa me.  Pheoby, dese educated women got uh heap of things to sit down and consider.  Somebody done told 'em what to set down for."" (112)

11. "It was generally assumed that she thought herself too good to work like the rest of the women and that Tea Cake "pomped her up tuh dat."" (133)

12. "...Tea Cake found her there and tried to talk.  She cut him short with a blow and they fought from one room to the other, Janie trying to beat him, and Tea Cake kept holding her wrists and wherever he could to keep her from going too far." (137)

13. "Janie's coffee-and-cream complexion and her luxurious hair made Mrs. Turner forgive her for wearing overalls like the other women who worked in the fields.  She didn't forgive her for marrying a man as dark as Tea Cake..."It's too many black folks already.  We oughta lighten up de race."" (140)

14. ""Who want any lil ole black baby layin' up in de baby buggy lookin' lak uh fly in buttermilk?  Who wants to be mixed up wid uh rusty black man, and uh black woman goin' down de street in all dem loud colors, and whoopin' and hollerin' and laughin' over nothin'?"" (141)

15. "Anyone who looked more white folkish than herself was better than she was in her criteria, therefore it was right that they should be cruel to her at times, just as she was cruel to those more negroid than herself in direct ratio to their negroness.  Like the pecking order in a chicken yard.  Insensate cruelty to those you can whip, and groveling submission to those you can't." (144)

16. "Before the week was over he had whipped Janie.  Not because her behavior justified his jealousy, but it relieved that awful fear inside him.  Being able to whip her reassured him in possession...It aroused a sort of envy in both men and women." (147)

Journal 9-Pastiche 2

           Joanna pulled herself out of the pool.  Gasping for breath, she stared at the scoreboard.  Next to her name shone a disappointing 2. 
           "YEEES!" came the shout from two lanes over.  Joanna's rival and teammate, Amy, hopped out of the water and performed a little dance.  "Good race, Joanna," she smirked.  Joanna gave her a small smile.  "Congratulations."
           This was the third year in a row that Amy had won the 100-yard freestyle at the state championships, and Joanna was sick of it.  Sick of the trash talk, sick of the losing, but most of all she was sick of the taunts.  Amy thought she could walk all over Joanna just because she was a faster swimmer.  She thought she could steal her towel in the locker room.  She thought she could tease her and psyche her out before every race. 
           "Stop it, Joanna," she scolded herself.  "Don't let her get to you."  Joanna knew that if she didn't let Amy get a rise out of her, she would stop.  But it seemed like every time this happened, Joanna blew up.  Amy thrived on it.  "Not this year," Joanna whispered.
           In the locker room, as predicted, Joanna's towel disappeared while she was in the shower. 
           "Come on, Amy, give it up.  Where did you put my towel?"  Amy grinned, satisfied.  "I don't know."
           So Joanna looked.  She calmly searched the locker room from top to bottom.  And when she was done, she was dry.  "Never mind, Amy.  I don't think I need my towel.  Thanks, though."
           Amy snickered.  "Okay, suit yourself!  I guess you'll never know where I put it."  With that, she sashayed out of the room.  Another job well done.

Theme: Judging others by comparing them to oneself gives humans a feeling of power and superiority over the judged.  I explained/revealed this theme by using three techniques that Hurston does: diction, apostrophe, and simple sentences. 
First, for diction, I chose words like 'smirked', 'snickered', and 'satisfied' to show how Amy views herself while she is judging and 'controlling' Joanna.  The diction I used, like Hurston's, reveals that Amy does feel powerful and superior to Joanna.  These words accurately describe her feelings.
Second, for apostrophe, I made Joanna talk to herself to calm herself down.  This shows her inner thoughts and it makes it obvious that Joanna is the one being judged.  Hurston also uses apostrophe to reveal characters' inner feelings.
Third and finally, I used a lot of simple sentences in this pastiche.  They are in bold, and I mostly used them to make it clear what the theme was. The simple sentences concisely describe how Amy feels when she is judging and teasing Joanna, and this helps to make the theme easier to understand.

Journal 8-Techniques

"This was a new sensation for her, but no less excruciating.  If only Tea Cake would make her certain!" (108)  The narrator is telling us Janie's inner thoughts here.  She is wondering why Tea Cake wasn't coming back to her. I think the diction, or word choice, Hurston uses in this passage is important.  Her use of the word excruciating's connotation makes me think of pain, and the word 'excruciating' is much more interesting and vivid than 'painful'.  I think this choice of diction makes the atmosphere more intense and the reader feels the pain more than if Hurston had just used 'painful' or something equally as bland.  It makes the reader realize how intense Janie's feelings are for Tea Cake.

"So he didn't come that night and she laid in bed and pretended to think scornfully of him.  'Bet he's hangin' round some jook or 'nother.  Glad Ah treated him cold.  Whut do Ah want wid some trashy nigger out de streets?  Bet he's livin' wid some woman or 'nother and takin' me for uh fool.  Glad Ah caught myself in time.'  She tried to console herself that way." (106)  Here, Janie is literally talking to herself and wondering about Tea Cake.  Hurston's use of apostrophe here gives the reader more insight into what Janie is thinking than if she simply told us her thoughts.  By having Janie talk to herself in bed, she shows us what Janie is thinking and what she is saying to herself in the same passage.  It allows the reader more intimacy with the character of Janie.

"Janie wanted to ask Hezekiah about Tea Cake, but she was afraid he might misunderstand her and think she was interested.  In the first place he looked too young for her.  Must be around twenty-five and here she was around forty.  Then again he didn't look like he had too much.  Maybe he was hanging around to get in with her and strip her of all that she had.  Just as well if she never saw him again. He was probably the kind of man who lived with various women but never married.  Fact is, she decided to treat him so cold if he ever did foot the place that he'd be sure not to come hanging around there again." (100)  In this first paragraph of chapter 11, Janie is starting to be more interested in Tea Cake.  Hurston uses simple sentences in this paragraph.  Most of the sentences have the same structure.  They don't have commas and they start with words that aren't subjects or verbs, like 'maybe', 'just', and 'must'.  Her use of simple sentences makes Janie's thoughts seem more concise, like she had been thinking about them for a while, and the reader gets a clearer picture of what is in Janie's mind.

Journal 7-Pastiche

Finally Mary contemplated confidence.  Confidence, that elusive creature with the shifting eyes who lived just out of reach.  The slippery one who briefly lived in the hearts of bold men.  For why would Confidence need a home, when he depends on no one?  He pops in and out of his many dwellings, gracing his hosts with his presence.  Waits calm and patient at the ready, wishing for some brave soul to summon him.  Been lurking there, then leaving and returning and going again.  With luck, she would find a scale from his fin on her skin one day.  She was nervous and worried now.  Shy Robby!  He shouldn't hafta encourage her when he had his own problems.  She wanted Joe to boost Robby's faith, but he said no.  These issues must be worked out alone.  He'd be fine once his courage showed itself.  He wouldn't lose his cool.  At least, that's what he believed.  But Joe said the contrary, so she knew the real outcome.  Even if he hadn't, the next day she would know for sure, because people started to whisper and laugh and the faith fled to the cold, dark waters.  Fears that wouldn't have risked showing themselves in the light darted out into the dim depths.  Just crouched there and mocked.  Doubt, that crippling whisper, had stolen another chance.

To match Hurston's writing style, I used(besides the same sentence structure) alliteration and interesting verbs.  I think the pastiche is kind of vague, too, a lot like how Hurston is vague throughout her whole novel.

Journal 6-Death

"Death, that strange being with the huge square toes who lived way in the West.  The great one who lived in the straight house like a platform without sides to it, and without a roof.  What need has Death for a cover, and what winds can blow against him?  He stands in his high house that overlooks the world.  Stands watchful and motionless all day with his sword drawn back, waiting for the messenger to bid him come.  Been standing there before there was a where or a when or a then.  She was liable to find a feather from his wings lying in her yard any day now.  She was sad and afraid too.  Poor Jody!  He ought not to have to wrassle in there by himself.  She sent Sam in to suggest a visit, but Jody said No.  These medical doctors wuz all right with the Godly sick, but they didn't know a thing about a case like his.  He’d be all right just as soon as the two-headed man found what had been buried against him.  He wasn’t going to die at all.  That was what he thought.  But Sam told her different, so she knew.  And then if he hadn’t, the next morning she was bound to know, for people began to gather in the big yard under the palm and china-berry trees.  People who would not have dared to foot the place before crept in and did not come to the house.  Just squatted under the trees and waited.  Rumor, that wingless bird, had shadowed over the town.”

• Personification of Death.  Creates the sense that death is a person with a mind of his own.
• Repeats the motif of power.  This reinforces the idea that humans are not in power and they do not control worldly affairs.
• Repeats the motif of wind.  This has basically the same effect as the mention of power, as the wind is a symbol of power over people on Earth.
• Capitalizes the word no.  Emphasizes Jody's decision and his aggressiveness, even on his deathbed.
• Uses the phrase "two-headed man", which raises the question, who is the two-headed man, death or Jody or someone else?
• Many words describe time.  Time is a motif throughout the novel, and using it in a passage about death emphasizes how little time we have on Earth, and the inevitability of death.
• Lots of words about trees and nature.  Nature is a repeated idea throughout the novel.  Its use in this passage brings out the idea that death is natural and humans cannot control it.
• Uses words to create a sense of solidarity.  The words Hurston chose to describe death make it seem strong and immovable, reinforcing the idea that death is inevitable.
• Personification of rumor.  This expresses Hurston's idea that rumors have a life of their own.
• Use of the word "people" is very vague.  This creates the effect of anonymity, and makes it seem like it doesn't really matter who the people are.
• Hurston uses a little bit of dialect in this passage.  The use of dialect emphasizes Janie's emotions and how strong they are.

Journal 5-Thesis

Zora Neale Hurston uses wind as a symbol to personify the power of a higher being over people and nature.  Hurston does this to express the futility of humans trying to be in power, because the higher power will always be in control of their fate. 

Journal 4-Patterns

PATTERN 1
References to mules appear a lot in the novel, specifically in the case of an actual mule and its relationship to the people in the town.
Nanny is the first to compare black women to mules.
"De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so far as Ah can see." (14)
Then the literal mule appears in the novel, and Hurston writes a lot about what the mule is like.
"There would be more stories about how poor the brute was; his age; his evil disposition and his latest caper.  Everybody indulged in mule talk." (53)
"...he had more spirit left than body...Everyone was having fun at the mule-baiting.  All but Janie." (56)

PATTERN 2
Hurston writes a lot about nature, but I noticed that a lot of her imagery involves wind and what wind does.  She also compares certain characters to wind.
""He's a whirlwind among breezes," Jeff Bruce threw in.
           "Speakin' of winds, he's de wind and we'se de grass.  We bend which ever way he blows,"" (49)
"...de mule wuz dead in behind 'im and gainin' on 'im every jump, when all of a sudden de wind changed and blowed de mule way off his course, him bein' so poor and everything...." (53)
"She was a wind on the ocean.  She moved men, but the helm determined the port." (70)

PATTERN 3
Along the same vein as wind, Hurston refers to petals and buds a lot to describe Janie and her feelings.
"From barren brown stems to glistening leaf-buds; from the leaf-buds to snowy virginity of bloom.  It stirred her tremendously." (10)
"She had glossy leaves and bursting buds..." (11)
After Jody slaps Janie, she doesn't love him much anymore.  Hurston says, "She wasn't petal-open anymore with him." (71)

Journal 3-Dialect

PART 1-Harlem Renaissance person
Louis Armstrong was a famous trumpet player and wonderful singer.  He was one of the first African-Americans to become famous in a segregated, racist country.  Armstrong helped to make jazz and scat singing more popular.  He helped facilitate the Harlem Renaissance because he lived and performed in Harlem, and he is known by many as the king of jazz.
PART 2-dialect
Pronunciation: "o" is pronounced "a"in many cases (doll becomes dall), "l"s and "r"s become "w"s, and "ie" also is pronounced "a" (friend becomes frand)
Grammar: adjectives after nouns, no verb conjugation, no plural objects
Vocabulary: "down cellar" = basement
                   "sack of potatoes" = child
                   "frindle" = pen or pencil
PART 3-conversation
"Step into my office," said Louis.
"Why be I hew?" asked John the alien.
Louis, shining his trumpet, replied, "What were you doing in your basement at 11:30 last night?"
"Well, I is dawn cewaw just twy ta find my fwindle..." John the alien answered cautiously.
"I have reports that you were attempting to abduct a child and take him to your planet," Louis said, still admiring his shiny trumpet.
"Oh, uh, I think there is some undewstanding serious, because I do nawt knaw why a sack af patatoes is in my cewaw," John said.
Louis scoffed, "Oh, John the alien, you have so much to learn.  I can see everything you do in your 'cewaw'."
"Ahhhh," John said, "is that what that camera shiny do dawn there?"
"Yes, John, it is," Louis replied.
"Do you fand out abaut the...aperation?" John asked apprehensively.
"Your 'secret' plan to study human children?" asked Louis.
"Ah, uh, yah, I guess ya do," said John, wondering about his fate.
Louis, now peering into the trumpet, sighed.  "John the alien, you're going to have to go on trial for attempted abduction."
"Naw, but Louis, I isn't gonna take the chald wittle, I is just gonna study him!" John cried.
Louis turned to John the alien and said, "Oh, I give up.  Go study the children if you must, I am busy creating wonderful music."

Journal 2-Analytic

"It was a spring afternoon in West Florida.  Janie had spent most of the day under a blossoming pear tree in the back-yard.  She had been spending every minute that she could steal from her chores under that tree for the last three days.  That was to say, ever since the first tiny bloom had opened.  It had called her to come and gaze on a mystery.  From barren brown stems to glistening leaf-buds; from the leaf-buds to snowy virginity of bloom.  It stirred her tremendously.  How?  Why?  It was like a flute song forgotten in another existence and remembered again.  What?  How?  Why?  This singing she heard that had nothing to do with her ears.  The rose of the world was breathing out smell.  It followed her through all her waking moments and caressed her in her sleep.  It connected itself with other vaguely felt matters that had struck her outside observation and buried themselves in her flesh.  Now they emerged and quested about her consciousness."

Decisions are highlighted, bolded, etc.

•  Many words related to blooming
•  Several other "b" sounds
•  Decision to write short, quick questions
•  More vague words, like on page 1
•  Personification of the tree
•  words about touch, action, etc. 
•  Decision to add a lot of setting details
•  bringing in the motif of time
•  gentle tone
•  description of senses
•  Fairly short, descriptive sentences
•  Calm rhythm
•  Lots of figurative language
•  Describes remembering and forgetting again, like on page 1
•  Lots of descriptive verbs (struck, emerged, quested)
•  In the middle of the paragraph, lots of "f" sounds

Journal 1-Reflective

If I was telling my life story, I think I would tell it to someone I trust and know pretty well, but who isn't a really good friend of mine.  I don't have a specific person in mind, but I would want it to be a way to get closer to someone I want to know better.  I think I would start the story at the summer when I went on a cruise in the Mediterranean with my grandparents.  The two weeks I spent away from home with no contact to my immediate family were really valuable to me.  I think that being basically on my own for a while at age thirteen was a  really good way for me to become independent and figure out more about myself.  My grandparents pretty much let me do my own thing, and I learned some good life lessons those two weeks.  I met lots of brand-new people and had to make friends with many of them quickly, something I think is a good skill to have in high school.  I also learned more about how to think for myself and make my own decisions instead of letting my parents do it for me, and I think that is something that I need to have to succeed in the future.  Finally, it was a really educational trip, and since I experienced a lot of different cultures, I became more understanding of other types of people.  I think that's when my life as an independent person and thinker began, so I would start there if I was telling my life story.