Housekeeping: Just a reminder, if you do not have your blog entry done by the end of class on the day it is due then you receive a zero. Blog entries must be 200 words.
1. After completing the bell work search through the novel to review details in the text.
2.Please take out Hurston's essay entitled "How It Feels To Be Colored Me." Once you have finished the bellwork and have out your essay and novel I will know that you are ready to proceed. Study those details, because we will be playing a review game later! Sit quietly until everyone finishes bellwork.
Once everyone finishes the bellwork we will form groups and finish pop-corn reading Hurston's essay, "How It Feels To Be Colored Me."
After group work we will play a review game (Chapters 1-13)
Jeopardy
Leisure reading:
Click this link for leisure reading
H.W. Read Chapters 14, 15 and Chapter 16! Create a blog entry that describes the unique diction of the novel (anywhere in the novel). Be creative and remember your post must be 200 words. Also remember to include page number(s), author, and title of the work.
The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston uses a unique style of diction throughout the story. Zora Neale Hurston uses this diction to emphasize certain points throughout the novel. One way that Zora Neale Hurston emphasizes certain points is by having a long sentence followed by a very short sentence to draw the readers attention to the short sentence and demonstrating it's importance. "Five or six more men left the porch and surrounded the fractious beast, goosing him in the sides and making him show his temper. But he had more spirit left than body. He was soon panting and heaving from the effort of spinning his old carcass about. Everybody was having fun at the mule baiting. All but Janie" (56.) The shorter sentence "All but Janie" is important because it illustrates how Janie feels different from a lot of the people in town because of the way she grew up. Janie often felt that she had less power than men, and this is why she was not having fun at the mule gathering, because the mule had less power then the men. This situation reminded her of the childhood and how she grew up, and she felt bad for the mule. The diction that is used throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston exhibits the importance of certain passages throughout the novel.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, diction is cleverly used to accentuate words or occasions in the novel. Specifically, Hurston uses diction to take note of appearance in the story. “Then too she noticed how baggy Joe was getting all over. Like bags hanging from an ironing board. A little sack hung from the corners of his eyes and rested on his cheek-bones; a loose-filled bag of feathers hung from his ears and rested on his neck beneath his chin. A sack of flabby something hung from his loins and rested on his thighs when he sat down. But even these things were running down like candle grease as time moved on” (Hurston 81). Hurston uses the words “bag” and “sack” frequently to establish an image that reveals Jody as a now floppy-skinned man. The author also sets the mood of age. In the excerpt, an image of an elderly Jody is given. It makes the reader understand what happens to one as they grow older. In the last sentence, “running down like candle grease as time moved on” gives the idea of a slow but inevitable movement to an older period in one's mind. From the passage, it is clearly seen that diction is a tool used by Zora Neale Hurston in Their Eyes Were Watching God to provide a note of appearance by words and occasions in the novel.
ReplyDeleteDiction is used in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston to represent significant situations and bring attention to important ideas in the novel. The use of specific words throughout the novel gives the reader a clear idea of how the scene is set up and the feeling each scene is supposed to be portraying. “You changes everything but nothin’ don’t change you-not even death.But Ah ain’t goin’ outa here and Ah ain’t goingtuh hush. Naw, you gointuh listen tuh me one time befo’ you die. Have yo’ way all yo’ life, trample and mash down then die ruther than tuh let yo’self heah ‘bout it.” (Hurston 86). The words used in this quote from the novel draw attention to the importance of the scene in the book. Based on the distinctive diction used, the reader becomes very aware of the tension present in the occurring event. Diction is an important element in this novel because it gives a true feeling of the situations that are happening and it gives a deeper meaning to the ideas that are suggested throughout the story. The use of diction also makes for a more interesting experience for the reader. Hurston successfully utilizes diction to make her novel more interesting.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel "Their eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston, diction is one of the biggest and most used literary elements used throughout the entire book. It is beautifully wound in with the rest of what she has written. One example of this is the way that she uses diction is right in the beginning of the novel. "The men noticed her firm buttocks like she had grape fruits in her hip pockets; the great rope of black hair swinging to her waist and unraveling in the wind like a plume; then her pugnacious breasts trying to bore holes in her shirt" (Hurston 2). the way that she uses diction to describe Janie gives the reader an image that is clear as day. The use of the words such as, "the great rope of black hair swing to her waist and unraveling in the wind like a plume" show just how fine her hair is in length. The words that she used to describe Janie such as grape fruit and pugnacious are very good example of diction also. They are words that give the reader an image that will stay with them as they continue to read the book. These are words that will capture the readers attention and give them the want to keep reading. diction is a source that Zora Neale Hurston used to the best of her ability and did it with such finesse that it grabs the attention of all people.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the greatest part of Zora Neal Hurston’s literature is her incredibly unique use of diction. Hurston incorporates African American Vernacular English into her novels thoroughly, which elevates her stories greatly. In the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, diction and dialect is manipulated and emphasized throughout the novel. This strong use of the literary device accents many other devices, significantly elevating the text. Through diction the reader can better understand the setting, the way characters behave, the cultural background of the novel, and even the way characters think. Something that Hurston does which makes diction stand out even more is directly contrast two types of speech. A quote from “Their Eyes Were Watching God” that displays Hurston’s use of diction is “’look at me, Janie. Don’t set dere wid yo’ head hung down. Look at yo’ ole grandma!’ Her voice began snagging on the prongs of her feelings” ( Hurston 13). The speaker here is Nanny who speaks in this dialect for the entirety of the novel. This tells the readers that Nanny was most likely raised in the south, that she is presumably African American, and that Nanny probably has a traditional southern view of the world. Right after the dialog, Hurston uses personification, giving Nanny’s feelings prongs. Personification makes the next line sound smooth and eloquent, which contrasts the broken English of the dialog.
ReplyDeleteDiction is strikingly evident in the novel by Zora Neale Hurston “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” It is without no doubt that Hurston's presentation of the story between high literary narration and idiomatic discourse is what makes the novel unique. Through diction, the reader can see that it is the source of identity and empowerment in the rural Southern setting. Diction is used by Zora Neale Hurston to emphasize the exaggeration of language, which makes the text more exhilarating. For example near the end of chapter 11, when Tea Cake is trying to persuade Janie to go with him to the picnic, he says, “Nobody else on earth kin hold uh candle tuh you, baby. You got de keys to de kingdom.”(109) The candle means a way to the freedom, as candles are used in dark places to light up the way. Janie is now living in the dark world where she is still being Mrs. Starks, which is not her real identity, and she does need a candle to lead her out of there. The keys to the kingdom, also, symbolize the ways that Janie can free herself. In these two sentences, Tea Cake tells Janie that she should not be tied up by the past, and she should go with him to a new life.
ReplyDeleteIn Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston uses unique diction to help develop the novel. Her choice to use this diction helps the reader understand the setting, as well as develop characters by clearly showing the reader how each character pronounces a word differently or something of the sort. An example of this can be found on page 128, where Tea Cake says, “’Put dat two hundred back wid de rest, Janie. Mah dice.’” From this, the reader can deduce that Tea Cake is most likely a black man from the south, solely on the diction used by the author. Therefore, by using this type of diction for each unique character, Zora Neale Hurston can effectively develop her characters instead of describing each and every character which gets quite boring. Also, using this diction allows Hurston to show the reader where the story is set, rather than telling them. This ultimately keeps the book flowing, and instead of Hurston being forced to stop to describe a new setting or new character, she can let the diction of the character do that work for her by switching the spelling of a few words or by adding a new accent.
ReplyDeleteIn her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston utilizes diction to develop stronger characters. Through her unique use of language, Hurston establishes an important character difference between two of Janie’s husbands. Jodi Starks and Tea Cake are two very different characters and this is evident through the way that they address and consider Janie. When Joe Starks talks to Janie he seems to class her off as something better than what she feels she is. He makes the reader feel like he is the most wealthy and important man on the scene and that Janie is his inanimate property rather than his wife. An example of Joe’s dominance can be found on page 42 of the novel: “Ah means to put my hands tuh de plow heah, and strain every nerve tuh make dis our town de metropolis uh de state” This is the line that immediately thereafter gets him appointed as the Mayor of Eatonville. A line that that establishes Joe’s dominance over Janie can be found on page 43 “Thank you fuh yo’ comliments, but mah wife don’t know nuthin’ ‘bout no speech makin’. Ah never married her her nothin’ like dat. She’s uh woman and her place is in duh home.” Janie doesn’t even get a choice in the matter and Joe creates this image that she is so much better than all the other women in the place. Tea Cake on the other hand just wants to live his life with Janie because he loves her and wants the two of them to be happy together. This is evident on page 109: “Nobody else on earth kin hold a candle to yuh, baby. You got de keys to de Kingdom.” This sums up all of Tea Cake’s feelings for Janie in strong contrast to Jodi Starks. In this way, Zora Neale Hurston uses diction to reiterate the vital character differences between Janie’s second and third husbands.
ReplyDeleteDiction is an essential part of understanding the text in Their Eyes were watching God. Zora Neale Hurston utilizes diction in order to create a rich setting and add to the characterization of the characters. The way the characters speak reflect where they are from, that is, Florida. An example of Hurston's use of diction is when Janie is talking to her dying husband Jody. She says: "And now you got tuh die tuh find out dat you got tuh pacify somebody besides yo'self if you wants any love and sympathy in this world," (Hurston 87). The way Janie speaks is a reflection of her past, and where she came from. But it is more than just that. It allows Janie to speak in her own voice, and it reveals her values and beliefs. This example illustrates that Janie values love, kindness, and respect-things that she often felt were lacking in her relationship with Jody. The diction of the sentence lets Janie explain these things in her own voice, which makes a strong connection with the reader. The use of diction in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God allows the reader a better understanding of the way the characters think, and allows the reader a glimpse into their past experiences.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston, the author utilizes very interesting diction to help develop her novel. Her use of diction helps to further characterization and helps to develop the setting by showing that it is in the South. You are also able to deduce what types of characters there are. Tea Cake says "You don’t have tuh say, if it wuzn’t fuh me, baby, cause Ah’m heah, and then Ah want yuh tuh know it’s uh man heah." (Hurston 109). From this quote we can deduce that Tea Cake is most likely a Southern African American man. He is most likely uneducated meaning that he is from a poorer area of the south. Zora Neale Hurston uses diction to develop characters and settings without stopping to explain a new character or describe a new setting, the diction characterizes without directly explaining a character. The diction also contrasts with the language and prose of that of the writer. Zora Neale Hurston uses beautiful language throughout the novel that greatly contrasts with the diction that she uses. The diction may contrast with the author’s writing language but it creates an atmosphere of Southern African American culture. Diction really helped the novel develop and the contrast with the eloquent prose helps to even further the effect of the novel.
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