Journal #2

"In the air of the room were flies tumbling and singing, marrying and giving in marriage. When she reached the narrow hallway she was reminded that her grandmother was home with a sick headache. She was lying across the bed asleep so Janie tipped on out of the front door. Oh to be a peartree-any tree in bloom! with kissing bees singing of the beginning of the world! She was sixteen. She had glossy leaves and bursting buds and she wanted to struggle with life but it seemed to elude her. Where were the singing bees for her? Nothing on the place nor in her grandma's house answered her. She searched as much of the world as she could from the top of the front steps and then went down to the front gate and leaned over to gaze up and down the road. Looking, waiting, breathing short with impatience. Waiting for the world to be made. (pg. 11)

Decisions that Hurston made:

1.) The words "marry" and "marriage" are used to set a them for the rest of the paragraph about love and Janies desires.
2.) Symbol: Hurston constantly uses the tree as a symbol of life not just in this paragraph, but throughout the book.
3.) Motif: "Blooming" could refer to maturing in ones life and going out into the real world.
4.) Janie's desire to become a peartree or anytree "in bloom" could be refering to her wanting to grow up and become an adult.
5.) Janie compares herself to a tree when she states that she has "glossy leaves" and "bursting buds". She is  using these comparisons to show that she is already beginning to grow as a person.
6.) Janie's desire to "struggle with life" shows that although she feels she is ready to go into the real world and have her own struggles and life, she can't.
7.)Symbol: Hurston uses the kissing bees as a symbol of 2 lovers.
8.) The 2 bees are tumbling and singing. "Tumbling" and "Singing" make the bees seem like they are in their own world and that they are content with the way their lives are.
9.) Janie asks "where were the singing bees for her?" and says that the bees will sing to the beginning of the world. I think this is her expressing her desire to fall in love, and that when she does it will mean the beginning of a new life or "world".
10.) Hurston uses an entire to sentence to state that Janie is sixteen. This could be used to emphasize that Janie is of age and mature enough to pursue a love life.
11.) When Janie 'searches the entire world", she only looks from the front steps to the road. This is saying that her entire world consists of only this small space, therefore further emphasizing that she is not free.
12.) The "narrow" hallway could be compared to her life, and how little she has experienced.
13.) When Janie reaches the narrow hallway, she remembers that her grandmother is sick. An association between the narrow hallway and her grandmother is made. Her grandmother could be the anchor that is tying her down and not allowing her to grow and blossom.
14.) The moment that Janie "tips" out of the front door is when she begins to dream about what she wants in life, this could be because the front gate is the closest that she can physically get to the outside world, and this closeness to what she wants promotes her daydreams and thoughts.
15.) Foreshadowing: At the end of the paragraph when she leans on the gate and waits for the "world to be made", this could be foreshadowing her kiss with Johnny Taylor.