Journal #6

Journal #6: Read closely Janie's description of Death in chapter 8. Make a list of the stylistic choices Hurston makes in the passage that begins "Death, that strange bird with the huge square toes..." and ends with "Rumor, that wingless bird..." Along with listing the decisions Hurston makes in this passage, identify the effect of each of each of these decisions. You can do this in list form: technique/stylistic choice, effect, technique, effect, etc

Decision #1: Janie thinks about Death as something that actually manifests itself as a thing or in this case a bird with big square toes.

Effect #1: This ties back to what her Grandmother believed, that Death was a real being that could decide who lived and who died.

D#2: Janie describes Death as someone on a high platform watching people from up high, like a god.

E#2: In the town, Jody was often thought of as almost a god, maybe Hurston is making Death as someone who is even higher than Jody and is judging him for his suppression and aristocratic ways.

D#3 “She was liable to find a feather from his wings lying in her yard any day now.”

E#3: The feather that may end up lying on Janie’s yard is saying that she thinks she may be paid a visit from Death soon as well.

D#4: The beginning of the passage has a sort of righteous mood.

E#4: The mood makes it seem like Jody is being judge for his previous actions by Death.

D#5: Towards the end of the passage, the mood turns to sadness and remorse.

E#5: The feeling of sadness and remorse is Janie feeling bad for belittling Jody in front of the townspeople despite him belittling her the whole time.

D#6: Janie sends Sam in to visit Jody instead of visiting him herself.

E#6: This shows Janie’s conflicting emotions about Jody. Shes angry at him for suppressing her throughout their marriage, but she also feels bad about him dying.

D#7: The people waiting outside of the Stark house gather under the trees.

E#7: Hurston uses the motif of the tree representing life, and Death being a real being in this sentence. I think the people sit under the tree so that they will be protected from death.

D#8: The fact that the townspeople had the nerve to approach the Stark house.

E#8: Jody’s power and suppression is further cemented by the fact that the townspeople are no longer afraid or in awe of him now that he is in his weakened state.

D#9: At the end of the passage Hurston uses the wingless bird to represent Death and how it was shadowing the town.

E#9: Hurston could’ve used this to get the reader to believe it was foreshadowing more deaths to come.

D#9: The medical doctors could only work with the “Godly sick”.

E#9: Hurston may be trying to say that these “doctors” are actually phonies that can only work with patients under some superstitious or fake disease.

D#10: In the passage, a “two-headed man’ is mentioned to have something to do with Jody’s health.

E#10: What or who is the two-headed man?