Literary Analysis (Part II)

Camus doesn't have Meursault using emotional words because Meursault himself has almost no emotion. (Word Choice)

Camus has Meursault's speech short and concise because Meursault is a character who finds no need to go into great detail about things. (Sentence)

Camus uses the image of heat to show building tension inside of Meursault's mind. (Images)

Camus has a lack of symbols because Meursault's character does not find meaning in almost everything, portraying a theme that somethings don't have much meaning to them. (Symbols)

Camus makes the first paragraph shorter than the others because it is a set up for the rest of the chapter. (Rhetoric Devices)

Camus uses the motif of sleep as a sense of relief and being able to let go of problems that Meursault has for the time being. (Patterns)

Camus uses Meursault as a first person narrator because Meursault is the opitome of the extitentialis view that Camus is trying to convey. (Narrators)

Camus makes time go by slower in the prison because Meursault is not indifferent to it, it is a big change for him and he has actual opinions towards it unlike other places. (Structure)

Journal 5: Literary Analysis (Part I)

Word Choice: semi-simple words, something a middle schooler would be used to.
Question: Why does Camus use simpler words instead of complex more intelligent words?

Sentence: Most sentences are short and simple. Details are explained in many.
Question: Why doesn't Camus just use long sentences to describe things in detail?

Images: the sun, the sky, the sand, heat
Question: What emotion does Camus try to evoke by using these images

Symbol: sleep, the cigarette, Marie's clothing
Question: Does Camus use these symbols for the same effect or different ones?

Figures of Speech: usually when someones commits a crime they are begging to be let off, but Meursault doesn't mind not having a laywer and the court has to give him one (Irony)
Question: What is Camus trying to say by showing how the court is forcing Meursault to go to trial?

Rhetorical Devices: juxtaposition of Meursault and the majestrate
Question: What aspects of Meursault does Camus highlight by juxtaposing him with the majestrate?

Patterns: Meursault always says "Yes", the use of the sun and heat, Meursault smoking
Question: What effect is Camus trying to create by the sun being described as a burden rather than a pleasure?

Narrators: Meursault is an active participant, doesn't go into much detail about other characters
Question: Why does Camus almost never describe specific physical details of other important characters?

Structure: Long paragraphs, some dialouge is fit into the paragraph without creating a new one, sometimes covers spans of time in one paragraph
Question: What is Camus trying to do by making long paragraphs covering lengths of time rather than short detailed paragraphs about specific points in time?

Journal 4

My philosophy make me dislike Meursault character. He is very unemotional and my philosophy entails that there is emotion in everything. My philosophy also makes me like the story. I belive that everything has a cause, and in the beginning of the book everything that Meursault does seems meaningless but it influences future events.

My Philosophy

Britni-ism :)

• People are born niether good or bad, they make themselved good or bad
• Situations don't define who you are, you choose your own path in spite of you situation
• Believe in one god that is all mighty and there is a connection between humans and god
• Everything has a cause, there are no coinsidences
• There is always a positive way to look at things
• If you are always wondering what the meaning of life is, you will never live your life to the fullest
• Every event has emotion attached to it, whether you deny them or not
  

Journal 9

Meursault is a very interesting character. Interesting in that there is not much life to him. He is quite...monotone....i think thats the right word. He does not have very much interest in what he is doing. He goes about his days very evenly, there are no ups or downs, its just one flat line (like a heart monitor :) ). This could ephasize Camus' exitentialism. Meursault's boring existence could also be compared to other characters later in the book who actually have some life in them.

Journal 8: The Stranger

The back page translation seemed a more strait forward. It didn't add much emotion to the words, which probably didn't help to convey the true tone of the story. This also made the narrator seem more passive about his mothers death. It almost makes me not like him. On the front page there is a different choice of words, it adds a better tone to the story. The narrator seems more sincere, almost shy in a way.

Journal 7

The way that Hurston begins and ends each chapter gives a feeling of closure for that chapter. Sometimes she even includes a metaphor or imagery that is used later in that chapter. But the way she ends the chapter also gives a sense or continuation, "She went on in ther overalls. She was too busy feeling grief to dress like grief" (pg 189). We know that Janie still somehow has to get back to Eatonville where the story began, and we know that she came there in overalls. But the way that Hurston ends the book, brining her back to her conversation with Pheobe, makes the reader go through the different events in the book and tie them all together to make the story come full circle.

Journal 6 cont.

chapter 18

The relationship of the characters to God is fearful. Up until now, the characters of the book have been taking advantage of not being able to see God. But now that God has been made into this real object (the hurricane) they have begun to watch him. Their Eyes were Watching God because they were waiting to see what he would do next. Would he continue to bring destruction to their lives, or would thier finally be peace.

Journal 6

Chapter 16-17

Mr. and Mrs. Turner's relationship is quite the opposite of the other relationships in the book. In the other relationships, like all of Janie's marriages, the man was in charge and making all of the desicions. While in the Turner's relationships, Mr. Turner is very passive with Mrs. Turner, allowing her to do as she pleases. This gives Mrs. Turner the freedom to speak her mind without anyone telling her differently. But it seems like Mr. Turner has gotten tired of defending his wife when he does nothing to stop the fight at the bar and allows Mrs. Turner to hit him. He doesn't defend himself he just continues on with what he's doing.

Journal 5

Literary Devices

Metaphor: pg.116, "Hurry up and come because he was about to turn into pure sugar thinking about her." This metaphor is used to emphasize how much Tea Cake is in love with Janie. Hurston uses sugar to show that it is more of a sweet love than a passionate love

Imagery: pg. 120, "Janie dozed off to sleep but she woke up un time to see the sun sending up spies ahead of him to mark out the road through the dark." Hurston usually used the sun to symbolize Janie's relationship with her past husbands. Lately she has been using the moon or night time to represent Janie and Tea Cake. This imagery and personification gives the reader a picture in thier head of light coming over the horizon. This shows that Janie is about ready to take it for what it is and call her and Tea Cake another failed relationship where he has taken advantage of her. This is shown through the imagery of light leaking into night and soon it will dominate over all.

Personification: pg. 128, "Her soul crawled out from its hiding place." Hurston uses this personification to emphasize Janie becoming her old self again. Using "hiding place" shows that it was once there but had to hide because of something or someone. Crawling gives the reader the image of being apprehensive but also willing to do it. This also gives Janie a big dynamic.

Journal 4

What is Janie's motivation?

Janie's motivation is life. She talked about how she had lived her grandmothers way, where she got up on the stool just to be there, which was like being married to Logan. She married Logan for the sake of marrying him, there was no love to it. Also, with Jody, she never got to live. She talked about folding her hands and sitting in the store all day. With Tea Cake she goes out of the town, she enjoys doing things and having fun. Now she is sure she will marry him and be able to love and live.

How does Janie change?

In chapter 11 Janie is still a bit apprehensive about spending time with Tea Cake. She sees the same thing happening to her that happened with her last two marriages. It will be fine until he shows a different side to himself. By the end of chapter 12, Janie is completely sure of Tea Cake. She knows that things will be different with him and the things that happened in her last two marriages will not happen again.

Journal: Pastiche

So Bethany startd to wish for love. Love, the gentle being with a warm soul that infects the hearts of men. The soft one that dwells on a foundation of family, and friends. How does Love complete its task, and what force can stop him? He grasps the healed, hurt and happy. Grasps their very existence, and waits, to blossom and grow. Has grasped the hearts and heads of the heavy laden. She was likely ot feel his gentle touch on her heart soon enough. She was scared and aprehensive too. Poor John! He should not be going through this alone. She tried to console him herself, but he sent her away. She was good with like smaller big problems, but she ws like so lost here. He would be fine when his brother called him and got himto move on. He was never going to get over her. That is what he kept telling himself. But his brother promised her he would, and she believed him. But if he didn't, soon enough she would know for sure, because he called ehr with a gentle tone in his voice. He would not usually call her but did so today but not to talk. He just told her he loved her and waited. Realization, the door to truth, spread through Bethany's body.

Literary Terms Journal

1. pg.26, Dynamic: "Long before the year was up, Janie noticed that her husband had stopped talking in rhymes to her." The author uses this dynamic with Janie's husband to emphasize a change that he had gone through in the past six months. This obviously affected Mr.Killicks, but it will also affect Janie. Before she was ready to love her husband eventually, but she can see now that that cannot happen because he does not love her the same way that she thought he would back.

2. pg.28, Dialect: "Janie pumped it off until she got a good look at the man. He talked friendly while he drank. Joe Starks was the name, yeah Joe Starks from in and through Georgy. Been workin' for white folks all his life."
In this passage the reader experiences a sudden change in dialect. This brings us out of the world of painting the picture for the story and back into the actual story.

3. pg.28, Foreshadowing: "Joe Starks was the name, yeah Joe Starks from in and through Georgy."
We know from the beginning of the book that Janie's name is eventually going to be Starks. So this sets up the reader for the future of the story. Yes, we know that she will eventually marry Starks, but that intrigues the reader to read on and find out how that takes place.

4. pg. 32, Epiphany: "A feeling of sudden newness and change came over her."
This sudden realization or mood shift by Janie, also causes a mood shift in the story. The mood was slightly angry, and annoyed before the epiphany. Then after the mood shifts into free and hopefull, getting the reader more excited to find out what happens next.

5. pg. 31, Imagery: "The sun from the ambush was threatening the world with red daggers, but the shadows were gray and solid-looking around the barn. Logan with hes shovel looked like a black bear doing some clumsy dance on his hind legs."
The authors use of imagery in this passage helps to highlight Janie's mood at the time. The red daggers and the solid shadows show that she's angry and maybe a little sad. While the image of Logan looking like a bear dancing on his hind legs shows her resentment towards her husband by making.

Journal 2

The setting is very important in giving you an insight as to how things were for the African Americans. The time period gives the atmosphere a sort of tension between the blacks and the whites. This creates some of the characterization of Janie, who had lived with whites when she was younger, and didn't know she was black until she saw a picture of herself. Then she went on to school to be teased by the white childeren, causing her Grandmother to decide to move away from the whites. The place creates a motivation for Janie to leave the place where she is. She tries to see the world from her front poarch but can't because she is stuck with where she is.

Journal 1

There is a great difference betweent the narration and the dialect. The narration is more formal and imaginitve. The author uses a lot of metaphors and figurative language that creates the picture in the readers mind. While the dialect is very stereotypicaly uneducated, the characters use a lot of slang and slur their words together lazily. This creates an atmosphere in the readers mind, giving them an insight into how African Americans were at that time, and how thier culture was. This juxtaposition shows the reader the full picture, giving them a background image and the focal points and the character and how they act in the picture and giving them a voice.