their eyes were watching god, no. 3

Their Eyes Were Watching God is a bildungsroman. I think that this novel more clearly was so than some of the others. Part of this is because Hurston did a good job of providing turning points in Janie’s life. Most notably were her three marriages. Each of her husbands provided a new learning experience for Janie, and after each marriage she took another step to maturation. Her first marriage to Logan Killicks was arranged and in leaving him Janie turned her back on allowing others to control who she married. Jody was controlling and abusive and in leaving him she allowed herself to marry for love and not allow a man to dictate who she was as an individual. Tea Cake was the one man that Janie truly loved, but in losing him she was forced to be on her own. Loving and losing Tea Cake enabled Janie to disregard social norms and focus on herself as an individual, thus bringing the bildungsroman to fruition.

their eyes were watching god no. 2

What struck me about the title was Hurston’s use of the word “their.” After reading the novel it seems that she could have just as easily titled it Her Eyes Were Watching God and still have made her point. Clearly Hurston did not agree. She must have felt that the plural form of this pronoun was vital to what she was trying to say. I think that it shows that, though Janie is the main character, the novel is not only about her. Also, assuming that this novel is a bildungsroman, Hurston must have also wanted to show that Janie could not have come of age on her own. Janie could not have made her journey alone. Though certain characters may not have been a positive influence on her life they were still necessary in Janie’s maturation process. She found who she was and when she was happy through her experiences and interactions with the larger community around her. I think Hurston makes an important point by showing that a person needs the people around him/her and that alone happiness, even survival, is not easily attained.

thoughts on jody

As I began reading Their Eyes Were Watching God for the second time I once again found myself fascinated by the character of Jody Starks. I have to first make it clear that my fascination with him is not the same as liking him. What I like is how Hurston makes a very realistic commentary on the behavior of many men. Jody is a smooth talker who values power and seems to exude it. Outwardly he is “perfect” man, tough, rich, and very powerful. Despite his external showing of power, internally he is consumed by insecurities. He forcefully controls his wife to bolster his feelings of dominance. He tightens his fist around her anytime he doubts himself in order to make himself feel strong. When Janie eventually goes against him his main source of personal power crumbles and any other power he may have appeared to have outside of it does so as well ending in his death.

a room with a view no. 3

For me, A Room with a View is not as clearly a bildungsroman as our first two books are. I was not able to connect with Lucy in the ways I could with Huck or Harry and thus did not see as much growth in her. I think there are at least two reasons for this. One is the time period the story was set in, and the other is that the protagonist is female. It was difficult for me to understand the difficulties that face a female who is facing the pressures of marriage. I acknowledge that Lucy matured into a stronger and more liberated person at the end of the novel; this growth simply did not resonate with me and thus did not exemplify the bildungsroman for me as Huck Finn and Harry Potter did.

lucy gets married...

I am taking a Modern British/European Drama class this semester, and we just finished reading Ibsen. If you have ever read him you know that he does not write happy endings. He does however create characters that grow in someway and attempt to move to a new, higher level of freedom in their lives, much like what Lucy wants to do. After thinking about it, I have decided that I really wish Lucy would not have married George. I wish Forster would have had her travel Greece with the Miss Alans and then set out on a journey to find herself, by herself. I understand that Lucy can be herself much more with George than she ever could with Cecil and probably any other man. Nevertheless, marriage is a commitment that greatly limits a person’s individual freedom. Lucy is bound to George and, even if he is to her as well, she will never have the chance to truly find herself and be completely free. I am fine with her marrying George eventually, if she must. I just wish she would have taken some time for herself first.

humans and nature

I found the underlying theme of the connection between humans and nature. Through various scenes Forster highlights this idea. One way in which he does this is through Mr. Emerson and his convictions about man and nature being fundamentally inseparable. Forster also often has the weather mirror the moods and emotions of his characters. For instance, after the brief moment of love, showing itself in a kiss between Lucy and George a lightning storm breaks out. Forster then continues to connect George, Lucy and their relationship with nature by comparing them to land at various points. Another striking connection between people and nature comes in the scene where George, Freddy, and Mr. Beebe swim in the forest naked. In this area that is seemingly separated from civilization these men become naked and, along with losing their clothes, they also lose many inhibitions. They seem to become free to be themselves, letting down their guards, and have a wonderful time doing so.

huckleberry finn, a human bildungsroman

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a bildungroman that is more true to the human experience than Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. When I initially finished the book and then re-looked over the last 12 chapters for class I was frustrated by the way Huck seemed to regress. Over the course of his journey he came to many realizations, especially in regards to Jim. Jim became a friend to him, and Huck treated him as another human being. Huck also learned to make practical decisions for himself in order to survive. When Tom Sawyer reappears however much of this seems to disappear. He willingly goes along with Tom’s foolish antics in order to free Jim and in the process Jim becomes nothing more than a prop to him. (Huck allows Tom to fill Jim’s shack with rats, not the sort of thing a friend does.) As I continued to think about it though, I realized that Huck is only human. He did regress some at the end, but he also grew tremendously during the journey and this was still evident at the end. Unlike Harry, who, as someone said in class, grew linearly throughout the book, Huck has times of progress and of regression, but he does ultimately grow. Huck’s inconsistent growth makes Twain’s novel a bildungsroman that represents the way people truly grow.