Annotation 1
“Sometimes Janie would think of the old days in the big white house and the store and laugh to herself. What Eatonville could see her now in her blue denim overalls and heavy shoes? The crowd of people around her and dice game on the floor! She was sorry for her friends back there and scornful of the others. The men held big arguments like they used to on the store porch. Only here, she could listen and laugh and even talk some herself if she wanted to. She got so she could tell big stories herself from listening to the rest. Because she loved to hear it, and the men loved to hear themselves, they would “woof” and “booger-boo” around the games to the limit. No matter how rough it was, people seldom got mad, because everything was done for a laugh” (Hurston 134).
Comment 1- Janie thinks of how she would be perceived in Eatonville, where she was seen as the epitome of luxury and power, to what she is now, a natural person living in the liberal community of the muck. The clash between the strictly hierarchical Eatonville and the free and natural locale of the muck is illustrated here.
Comment 2- Janie used to live a life of luxury, a restricted and controlled person who has forced to fit the “Social role” of the culture of Eatonville. In the muck, Janie is completely accepted and she is at peace with herself, which is shown by the way her hair is worn down- something she was never allowed to do with Jody. The culture clash of Eatonville and the muck exemplifies how different cultures and their social roles that are formed can completely influence how a person is perceived and how they act.
Comment 3- Now that Janie is part of another culture, she realizes how her worldview has been opened- she feels sorry for those who are stuck in the limited world of Eatonville, and is glad to be rid of Eatonville and feels she is better off than those who criticized her back when she was in Eatonville.
Comment 4- Jodie, and Eatonville, forced her into an uncomfortable, predetermined role, a position of power. She was unable to express herself and be herself. In the muck, Janie is at one with herself, with Tea Cake, and in this natural setting, feels most as peace. This quote shows how she accepts herself, and is happy- she can talk, laugh, enjoy herself here which she could not in Eatonville.
Comment 5- In Eatonville, she was never allowed to speak out because of her role in the society as the 'mayor's wife'. But now, in the muck, the free society with no prejudices, Janie is allowed to talk and tell stories and listen as she pleases. Janie, who has a 'trickster' in Eatonville after she confronted Jodie with her words and public humiliation, has become a natural normal member of the society and culture of the muck.
Comment 6- This is another example of the cultural clash between the muck and Eatonville. The muck is all about freedom, equality, and just having fun being yourself, with your friends. Eatonville is a society predicated on the roles and tiers of everyone in the town- Jodie, then Janie, the commoners, etc. The social roles of Eatonville make people restrictive, uncaring, unable to enjoy themselves, whereas in the muck everything is "done for a laugh".
Comment 1- Janie thinks of how she would be perceived in Eatonville, where she was seen as the epitome of luxury and power, to what she is now, a natural person living in the liberal community of the muck. The clash between the strictly hierarchical Eatonville and the free and natural locale of the muck is illustrated here.
Comment 2- Janie used to live a life of luxury, a restricted and controlled person who has forced to fit the “Social role” of the culture of Eatonville. In the muck, Janie is completely accepted and she is at peace with herself, which is shown by the way her hair is worn down- something she was never allowed to do with Jody. The culture clash of Eatonville and the muck exemplifies how different cultures and their social roles that are formed can completely influence how a person is perceived and how they act.
Comment 3- Now that Janie is part of another culture, she realizes how her worldview has been opened- she feels sorry for those who are stuck in the limited world of Eatonville, and is glad to be rid of Eatonville and feels she is better off than those who criticized her back when she was in Eatonville.
Comment 4- Jodie, and Eatonville, forced her into an uncomfortable, predetermined role, a position of power. She was unable to express herself and be herself. In the muck, Janie is at one with herself, with Tea Cake, and in this natural setting, feels most as peace. This quote shows how she accepts herself, and is happy- she can talk, laugh, enjoy herself here which she could not in Eatonville.
Comment 5- In Eatonville, she was never allowed to speak out because of her role in the society as the 'mayor's wife'. But now, in the muck, the free society with no prejudices, Janie is allowed to talk and tell stories and listen as she pleases. Janie, who has a 'trickster' in Eatonville after she confronted Jodie with her words and public humiliation, has become a natural normal member of the society and culture of the muck.
Comment 6- This is another example of the cultural clash between the muck and Eatonville. The muck is all about freedom, equality, and just having fun being yourself, with your friends. Eatonville is a society predicated on the roles and tiers of everyone in the town- Jodie, then Janie, the commoners, etc. The social roles of Eatonville make people restrictive, uncaring, unable to enjoy themselves, whereas in the muck everything is "done for a laugh".
Annotation 2
Pg 140-141:
“But Mrs. Turner's shape and features were entirely approved by Mrs. Turner. Her nose was slightly pointed and she was proud. Her thin lips were an ever delight to her eyes. Even her buttocks in bas-relief were a source of pride. To her way of thinking all these things set her aside from Negroes. That was why she sought out Janie to friend with. 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, but she felt she could remedy that. That was what he brother was born for. She seldom stayed long when she found Tea Cake at home, but when she happened to drop in and catch Janie alone, she'd spend hours chatting away. Her disfavorite subject was Negroes."
Comment 1-Mrs. Turner was prideful of characteristics that resembled those of the whites.
Comment 2-The white characteristics she had made her superior, from her view, than the blacks because she fit into the superior white society
Comment 3- Mrs. Turner looked to Janie as a beacon of hope to her ideals of getting rid of the negro race and becoming a member of the white race. Janie had many white features, and looked even more white than she did. She sought out Janie as a friend because with Janie, Mrs. Turner was able to feel more white.
Comment 4- Because Mrs. Turner saw the whiteness in Janie she was against her marriage with a man as black as Tea Cake. She wanted Janie to whiten up the race by marrying a white man, so that they can make a step towards becoming assimilated into the white society
Comment 5- Even though Mrs. Turner was against Janie’s marriage, she still wanted to befriend Janie because Janie made her feel more white.
Comment 6- Mrs. Turner did not like the Negro race. She wanted to be socially accepted by the superior whites. She wanted to lighten up the race so that they would accept her more and become a part of the white, not black, society.
“But Mrs. Turner's shape and features were entirely approved by Mrs. Turner. Her nose was slightly pointed and she was proud. Her thin lips were an ever delight to her eyes. Even her buttocks in bas-relief were a source of pride. To her way of thinking all these things set her aside from Negroes. That was why she sought out Janie to friend with. 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, but she felt she could remedy that. That was what he brother was born for. She seldom stayed long when she found Tea Cake at home, but when she happened to drop in and catch Janie alone, she'd spend hours chatting away. Her disfavorite subject was Negroes."
Comment 1-Mrs. Turner was prideful of characteristics that resembled those of the whites.
Comment 2-The white characteristics she had made her superior, from her view, than the blacks because she fit into the superior white society
Comment 3- Mrs. Turner looked to Janie as a beacon of hope to her ideals of getting rid of the negro race and becoming a member of the white race. Janie had many white features, and looked even more white than she did. She sought out Janie as a friend because with Janie, Mrs. Turner was able to feel more white.
Comment 4- Because Mrs. Turner saw the whiteness in Janie she was against her marriage with a man as black as Tea Cake. She wanted Janie to whiten up the race by marrying a white man, so that they can make a step towards becoming assimilated into the white society
Comment 5- Even though Mrs. Turner was against Janie’s marriage, she still wanted to befriend Janie because Janie made her feel more white.
Comment 6- Mrs. Turner did not like the Negro race. She wanted to be socially accepted by the superior whites. She wanted to lighten up the race so that they would accept her more and become a part of the white, not black, society.