One major theme authors universally write their stories around concern the power of human relationships. Though writers may take different paths to communicate this, the strength that comes from these unique connections that exist between individuals resonates with everyone. Authors clearly articulate through a myriad of rhetorical devices that maintaining relationships is a fundamental part in personal growth and allows for a stronger sense of self. In finding companionship and comradery. people become capable of evolving and arriving at better understandings of who they are. A lack of stable and secure relationships in one’s life may lead to detrimental effects on one’s mental and emotional health. Throughout The Things They Carried, Tim …show more content…
Their Eyes Were Watching God tells the story of how one man, Tea Cake, changes how a grown woman named Janie views life, opportunity, and happiness. Zora Neale Hurston employs parallelism in order to reveal the dynamic of this relationship between Janie and Tea Cake and writes, “He drifted off into sleep and Janie looked down on him and felt a self-crushing love. So her soul crawled out from its hiding place” (Hurston 128). At the very end of the book, Hurston writes again, “Here was peace. She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net. Pulled it from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder. So much of life in its meshes! She called in her soul to come and see” (265). Hurston beautifully depicts this image of Janie’s soul emerging as a statement of her love for Tea Cake and of her vulnerability when she is with him. Likewise, at the end of the story, Janie calls on her soul to come out yet again at the moment in which she reflects upon her life with Tea Cake and in a way thanks him for allowing her to be free. In the first instance, Tea Cake is alive and physically sleeping beside Janie. However, at the end of the story, after Tea Cake has died, Janie’s adoring and loving memories of Tea Cake continue to live on and that in itself is enough to make her feel at ease. By paralleling Janie’s soul in these two moments, Hurston highlights the …show more content…
Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, attests to the hateful and cruel reality that is the life of African Americans in Jackson, Mississippi circa the 1960’s. Stockett writes many anecdotes surrounding the relationship between Constantine, an African American maid, and the child she cares for, Skeeter. Skeeter reflects upon a memory of Constantine and
Janie’s treatment of Tea Cake shows that she does not consider him to be suitable for a serious relationship. In a sense, she is using him so that she can have fun. Janie’s progress as a person is still being overshadowed by her fear of being judged by her community. She had to make Tea Cake leave after their night at the lake because she knows what people will say if they find out.
When Janie figured out who she was a little, it allowed her to know what she wanted for herself , she ran off with this guy named Tea Cake and when she comes back to Eatonville Pheoby, her friend, and the people of Eatonville tell her that Tea Cake was not good enough for her, but using the voice that has come to grow on her she states ” Still and all
Oprah made it about Janie a love story between Tea Cake and Janie. Before Tea Cake fell when he got shot, he did his last hate act before he died. Tea Cake bit Janie on the arm. Oprah did not have Tea Cake bite Janie, because in Oprah’s version their love had become too strong for Tea Cake to bite Janie, making their relationship pure. “Janie does find love, but a love story, the novel is not” (Ceptus).
What was this thing that set his brains afire and grabbed at his throat with iron fingers?” (Hurston 178). Through this, readers can determine Janie's unreadiness for Tea Cake to die, and desperately wishes for his recovery. She notices Tea Cake’s terrifying deterioration, a slow breakdown of his sanity, and has no way to stop it, but continues to believe. Overall, Janie desperately hopes that Tea Cake will recover, but her overwhelming fear makes her question whether he will.
The Help was written by Kathryn Stockett in 2009. Stockett’s intention of The Help was to address racism in Jackson, Mississippi during the early 1960s. The relationship between a white person and their maid, or “help”, was appalling, in most situations. The maids in this time period were treated inadequately, no matter how laborious their work was in house. During this time, it was very rare for these maids to be treated with respect, even though they assisted in the care of their masters’ children.
more’n you kin say… When you pull down yo’ britches, you look lak de change uh life” (Hurston 79). Janie stands up for herself and verbally attacks her husband, which was unusual for the time
When tea cake shows up janie 's feels something she has never felt before, she is set free but the townspeople don 't think so. “‘Ain’t you skeered he’s jes after yo’ money him bein’ younger than you?’” (Hurston pg.133)Janie is in love with Tea Cake because he loves her for her youthful young side that was forced into hiding for so long because of her previous husbands. However the rest of the community is discouraging her and trying to keep her in the image as a mayor 's wife. They told Janie that Tea Cake was after her money
Discuss Hurston’s use of irony as it relates to individual characters and as it relates to Janie’s quest for happiness and self-fulfillment. One of the most prevalent themes in, "Their eyes were watching God" is Janie’s overall quest for love and independence. Janie has a goal throughout the novel to achieve self content and reach the "horizon". She went through several relationships and many imaginary mental thoughts to do this, through her grandmother nanny and her three husbands.
She needs to learn how to try to find herself more and what she wants that is not materialistic rather than just settling for things that may first appealing, but will only leave her unsatisfied at the end. Their Eyes Were Watching God Study Questions Chapters 10-15 10. Discuss Janie 's relationship with Tea Cake in comparison/contrast approach to Logan and Jody. Janie
Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God was the story of Janie, an African American woman, and her venture towards independence in a male dominated society. Although independence wasn’t Janie’s intended dream, she became involved in many events in which her fight for independence was unintentional. Hurston compared these events going through Janie’s life with elements of nature. Some of these elements of nature are huge motifs portrayed through out the whole novel. Elements such as the Pear Tree, which was used to portray her love life, or her hair band, which portrayed her relationship with Joey and the Mule which in a way portrayed Janie herself.
A big hurdle in Janie’s life is when Hurston writes: It was the meanest moment of eternity. A minute before she was just a scared human being fighting for its life. Now she was her sacrificing self with Tea Cake’s head in her lap. She had wanted him to live so much and he was dead.
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie merely wants to love someone, but that choice is ripped out of her hands when Nanny makes her marry someone she does not love. This marriage as well as another one does not work out because she never learns to love them. Finally, she meets Tea Cake, and falls madly in love with him even though he is a lot younger than she is. He is someone that she can truly love while still being able to be herself. They go through their struggles as well and sadly, he dies by the end of the novel.
They had the kind of love that she had longed to have her whole life. One day Tea Cake had rescued Janie from a mad dog and was bitten instead. There were no effects for a few months, but when the rabies hit him, it was unbearable. Eventually it got so bad that Tea Cake tried to kill Janie. He didn’t do this out of hate for her but because of the mad dog that was within him.
The Help During the early 1960’s inequality and discrimination was a large issue. During this period of time several civil rights movements were being made, one of the most influential and famous were that of Dr Martin Luther King Jr; books were also being published that would motivate woman to oppose the mentality of woman being below men and fight for equality. The decade was regarded as an era of breakthroughs for discrimination. The Help (2009) is a novel by author Kathryn Stockett that is set in the early 1960’s Jackson, Mississippi. The novel centres itself around three women: Aibileen Clark; A nanny and housekeeper for the Leefolt family, Minny Jackson; A forthright maid, And Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan; A newly-made college graduate.
Interpersonal Relationships, especially close and intimate interpersonal relationships, are imperative for the social and psychological growth of the people in the relationship. In today 's society, people in close relationships desire emotional support, acceptance, and love. These characteristics and needs are part of our nature, and individuals strive for these types of interpersonal relationships in order to fulfill their need for close interactions with others and, above all, to make sense of life through trust, sharing, and caring. Throughout my high school years, and during my time at Clackamas, I 've been able to meet and form friendships with many interesting people.