Freemyer 1 Lilly Freemyer Ms. Sokolov English 9 May 14, 2015, The Journey of Janie Finding Her Own Voice Throughout Their Hyes Were Watching God the symbol of voice is prominent as Janie struggles to find her own voice in her marriages. Her first marriage does not last long because of the lack of respect between the two partners. Janie leaves him for another man by the name of Joe Starks. Joe seems like a free spirited and ambitious person who is the complete opposite of any tle abt tthe Sake 4. | Tati 's voice, allows for Joc to have. When that marriage ends, she falls for another man by the name of Tea YatWay oy eegeablig) she Semen trey for 1 J] Ye, right? a . mate, he Cake-Tp her third marriage she begins to search for her voice. Janie grows as a young won her first marriags leading Janie o leave with him. She quickly suceumbs to the power that she eid pi through these marriages and learns her voice is meant to be heard and she has to stand up for Plek 4 ee herself. Throughout Janie’s last two marriages, she slowly learns to identify her own voice and is "ja bs 1 ant ad tee able to speak out against those who physically do not MI9W her to talk. Mine ny Sart PK “Per, Janie struggles to speak up for herself when she is married to Joe Starks because he Yomi Ann M: Fase aS. “te 4° silences her. One of the many stories that Janie shares is about a mule that evokes trouble and ‘chaos in the town. Everyone is talking about it on the porch of the store, yet Joe forbids Janie from engaging: “ Janie loved the conversation and sometimes she thought up good stories on the mule, but Joe had forbidden her to indulge. He didn’t want her talking after such trashy people”(53). Janie has her own thoughts but is unable to express them because of the actions of Joe. He is preventing her from sharing her own ideas and allowing for everyone else to hear her stories. As Janie and Joe’s relationship progresses he becomes more aggressive with her. Janie“eS pf quik Was mitted Freemyer 3 ‘was working in Joe’s store one afternoon when he enters looking for a bill and he accuses her of misplacing it, He believes that women cannot do anything tight and that is why they cannot _speak for thseves This leaves Janie feeling depressed and confused about her marriage, “Times and scenes like that put Janie to thinking about the inside state of her marriage. Time came when she fought back with her tongue as best as she could, but it didn’t do her any good. It jjust made Joe do more. He wanted her submission and he'd keep on fighting until he felt he had i°(71), Janie tries to stand up for herself and recognizes her weakness in the marriage but cannot find her own voice because of Joe. Joe has power over her that she cannot escape from and it prevents her fom speaking up for herself, The relationship between Joe and Janie sltaces her because of the power that Joe has and that she succumbs to as the vietim. Janie leams and recognizes that her voice is being silenced; she tries to find her own voice by confronting Joe about their relationship and her position within the relationship; she is able to speak and have her voice heard for the first time, Joe becomes very sick and lays in bed within the walls of their home while governing Eatonville as their mayor. He has become more powerful over Janie and continues to not let her speak, however Janie recognizes that Joe has this power over her and decides to stand up for herself by confronting him for the fsbo he dies: “ Four walls squeezing rere it Foo leat be pat ile she betta is voles, Thee, mr her and she was inside the room before/fie caught her breath... Something stood like an oxen’s pk al foot on her tongue”(84). As she prepares to speak to him, she cannot find the nerve to speak to (ate is mentally unable simply because of his presene§” four walls squeezing her breath “ Aepesaniled, > out”, The oxen is Joe and what he hag ughout their entire marriage. He has silenced her and So TE stovet lhe an verGot ms fons ve wate dhe ulale pt, physically and emotionally disabled from her speaking, Janie eventually is able to explain to Joe ‘what she is feeling. She says to Joe, “ You wouldn't listen to me. You done lived wid me forFreemyer 3 ‘twenty years and you don’t half know me atall. And you could have but you was so busy worshippin’ de works of yo" own hands”(86) . Janie can explain how she feels and what she believes he has done to perpetrate her silence. He has not paid attention to her and what she has done for him. He has been so focused on the store and his mayorship, rather than focusing on the whole, “ And you could have but you was so busy worshippin’ de works of yo’ own hands”. The recognition of her weakness allowed for Janie’s voice to be heard and for Joe to hear it for the first time, taking his power away. When Joe dies, Janie finds a healthier relationship; this new relationship allows for her \--wice to be heard by everyone. Tea Cake was the name of this new gentlemen whom she had met in Eatonville a few months after Joe’s death and he gave her a new insight to how her voice can lly be heard. Through getting to know one another they learn a lot about each other, specific * Thankyuh, Mr. Tea Cake... Who Janie learns the calmness and easy personality of Tea Cake’: jaolot fiv raw ever heard of uh teacake bein’ called Mister! If you wanta be real hightoned and call me Mr. Woods, dat’s de way you feel about it. If yuh wants tuh be uh lil friendly and call me Tea Cake, dat would be real nice”(98). Tea Cake gives Janie the freedom of calling him whatever she 2 wice ‘chooses. He let's fiave her control over herself and more importantly i voice. Janie can speak ferent than Joe; Janie her mind without anyone telling her that she cannot. Tea Cake is vei has fully realized how she was treated in her relationship with Joe and that her new relationship is better for her expression. By the end of the novel Janie returns to Eatonville after Tea Cake on voice was actually heard throughout the novel; the entire novel was Janie telling her best friend her own story and what had happened throughout her life. Her voice is heard in fullFreemyer 4 Ly aspeat ae and no one is there to suppress aloy oie Shoo her own ideas through telling her story to Pheoby, is heard and she shares ‘Though in the ending of the novel Janie’s voice is heard and she was able to tell her story, she had her final release from anything controlling her or her voice when she was with Tea Cake, He had attempted to kill Janie because of his madness, but rathesshe had known about his possible plan when she found the pistol underneath his pillow. When she found the gun she placed her own rifle in a mechanism of defense. Before he could shoot her, she took him out of rN? his own misery and shot him first. She took control of her life before he could,herk, She finally gins her own complete control. Though this isnot physically he voice, her voice waspeing . EGON bles tS Sebeln managed by another person and so was the rest of herself. As Janie grows as person through) 2, fe final two marriages she finds her own voice and stands up to those who try and silence her." pyc Works Cited Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Novel. New York: Perennial Library, 1990, Print, Tuphold the NCS Honor Code: Lilly Freemyer Mus mproved Lilly ow, yay Were anet de eeenny quectio ~ ; awardect Atrvant rental ciduwe v tried fr Here rcmelinpy o- : GWA treatment 4) the hovel bony each ge weed TP So Areporcled to my actvice M Confoance ipa mig hae ic econ abot Oe her qn de be a ' fide 1 An Tow conetenten « anys cals» an Mio macta lack we Yow opi Latinre ¥ deepen Hows Aanaling § (EG SGHemS Ament kA Wise deersion he aemrisec | Yov earnest «lot. - MosFreemyer 1 Lilly Freemyer Ms. Sokolov English 9 May 14, 2015 The Journey of Janie Finding Her Own Voice ‘Throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God the symbol of voice is prominent as Janie struggles to find her own voice in her marriages. Her first marriage does not last long because of the lack of respect between the two partners, Janie leaves him for another man by the name of Joe Starks. Joe seems like a free spirited and ambitious person who is the complete opposite of her first marriage leading Janie to leave with him. She quickly succumbs to the power that she allows for Joe to have. When that marriage ends, she falls for another man by the name of Tea Cake. In her third marriage she begins to search for her voice. Janie grows as a young woman through these marriages and learns her voice is meant to be heard and she has to stand up for herself. Throughout Janie’s last two marriages, she slowly learns to identify her own voice and is able to speak out against those who physically do not allow her to talk, Janie struggles to speak up for herself when she is married to Joe Starks because he silences her. One of the many stories that Janie shares is about a mule that evokes trouble and ‘chaos in the town. Everyone is talking about it on the porch of the store, yet Joe forbids Janie from engaging: “ Janie loved the conversation and sometimes she thought up good stories on the mule, but Joe had forbidden her to indulge. He didn’t want her talking after such trashy people”(53). Janie has her own thoughts but is unable to express them because of the actions of Joe. He is preventing her from sharing her own ideas and allowing for everyone else to hear her stories. As Janie and Joc’s relationship progresses he becomes more aggressive with her. JanieFreemyer 2 ‘was working in Joe’s store one afternoon when he enters looking for a bill and he accuses her of misplacing it. He believes that women cannot do anything right and that is why they cannot speak for themselves. This leaves Janie feeling depressed and confused about her marriage, “Times and scenes like that put Janie to thinking about the inside state of her marriage. Time came when she fought back with her tongue as best as she could, but it didn’t do her any good. It Just made Joe do more. He wanted her submission and he’d keep on fighting until he felt he had it"(71). Janie tres to stand up for herself and recognizes her weakness in the marriage but cannot find her own voice because of Joe. Joe has power over her that she cannot escape from and it prevents her ftom speaking up for herself. The relationship between Joe and Janie silences her because of the power that Joe has and that she succumbs to as the victim. Janie learns and recognizes that her voice is being silenced; she tries to find her own voice by confionting Joe about their relationship and her position within the relationship; she is able to speak and have her voice heard for the first time. Joe becomes very sick and lays in bed within the walls of their home while governing Eatonville as their mayor. He has become more powerful over Janie and continues to not let her speak, however Janie recognizes that Joe has this power over her and decides to stand up for herself by confronting him for the first before he dies: * Four walls squeezing her breath out. Fear lest he depart while she sat trembling upstairs nerved her and she was inside the room before he caught her breath... Something stood like an oxen's foot on her tongue”(84). As she prepares to speak to him, she cannot find the nerve to speak to him, she is mentally unable simply because of his presence,” four walls squeezing her breath out”. The oxen is Joe and what he has throughout their entire marriage. He has silenced her and physically and emotionally disabled from her speaking. Janie eventually is able to explain to JoeFreemyer 3 what she is feeling. She says to Joe, * You wouldn’t listen to me. You done lived wid me for twenty years and you don’t half know me atall. And you could have but you was so busy worshippin’ de works of yo’ own hands”(86) . Janie can explain how she feels and what she believes he has done to perpetrate her silence. He has not paid attention to her and what she has done for him. He has been so focused on the store and his mayorship, rather than focusing on the whole, “ And you could have but you was so busy worshippin’ de works of yo? own hands”. The recognition of her weakness allowed for Janie’s yoice to be heard and for Joe to hear it for the first ti , taking his power away. ‘When Joe dies, Janie finds a healthier relationship; this new relationship allows for her voice to be heard by everyone. Tea Cake was the name of this new gentlemen whom she had met in Eatonville a few months after Joe’s death and he gave her a new insight to how her voice can be heard. Through getting to know one another they leam a lot about each other, specifically Janie learns the calmness and easy personality of Tea Cake’s: “ Thankyuh, Mr. Tea Cake...Who ever heard of uh teacake bein’ called Mister! If you wanta be real hightoned and call me Mr. ‘Woods, dat’s de way you feel about it. If yuh wants tuh be uh lil friendly and call me Tea Cake, dat would be real nice”(98). Tea Cake gives Janie the freedom of calling him whatever she chooses. He let’s have her control over herself and more importantly her voice. Janie can speak her mind without anyone telling her that she cannot. Tea Cake is very different than Joe; Janie has fully realized how she was treated in her relationship with Joe and that her new relationship is better for her expression. By the end of the novel Janie returns to Eatonville after Tea Cake dies. Her voice was actually heard throughout the novel; the entire novel was Janie telling her best friend her own story and what had happened throughout her life. Her voice is heard in fullFreemyer 4 and no one is there to suppress it. By the end of the novel Janie’s voice is heard and she shares her own ideas through telling her story to Pheoby. ‘Though in the ending of the novel Janie’s voice is heard and she was able to tell her story, she had her final release from anything controlling her or her voice when she was with Tea Cake. He had attempted to Kill Janie because of his madness, but rather she had known about his possible plan when she found the pistol undemeath his pillow. When she found the gun she placed her own rifle in a mechanism of defense. Before he could shoot her, she took him out of his own misery and shot him first. She took control of her life before he could hers. She finally gains her own complete control. Though this is not physically her voice, her voice was being ‘managed by another person and so was the rest of herself. As Janie grows as a person through her final two marriages she finds her own voice and stands up to those who try and silence her. Works Cited Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Byes Were Watching God: A Novel. New York: Perennial Library, 1990, Print. Luphold the NCS Honor Code: ly Freemyer:Proposal for Rewriting an Essay Name: Liss Hremuce Date: Of Wiis. ‘You must bring a filled-in copy of this form and a printed copy of your essay with your teacher’s comments to a conference with your teacher with in one week of receiving your essay back. Learning goals (What I hope to learn by rewriting my essay): 1. BOS xO Conner Yopve SEMEN WO esis, at i 3 aM veod Ain on of oo Synvol ond Led Moat means evs MOE OV AHH More OF YQKER i WY. Bove PIEEYE WM analuaye S ONONASS 2 - Bettor Clove REO 2, Foux Aurion YO chadheg/aver vague Werels Wve, do to achieve my goals) Revision stiategies (What I fist & \ Xe- fows ex OV) Voice Faller 2 DWNVONOW aN AS ef APC SUNOS Me MEU SLOAN Acacher freayonns) dy jneat, Deadline for the revised essay: Marten Mang R By signing below at the end of my conference with my teacher, I agree to do my best to employ all the listed revision strategies to reach my learning goals and, by the agreed upon deadline, to: ‘+ hand in a hard copy of my revised essay, ‘+ hand in a hard copy of my original essay with my teacher's comments, and ‘© hand in a copy of this proposal for revision. | understand that if I do my best to employ all the agreed upon revision strategies, the grade for my improved essay will the grade recorded in the grade book. If I only attempt the easier strategies, my grade for the assignment will remain unchanged. ‘Teachers Signature+2 name Lally v Ticalient | Sven] Geo | NSS [Meng Good (| ‘Work largument ‘Quality of Thesis Statement it takes a risk, is not obvious, is open i ended | ‘Quality of Topic sentences Clear and interpretive points are drawn a from the argument and show a logical brass] progression _ Quality of Evidence - a | Supports the point in the topic sentence~ | [tree aee unpiants propery with cont | ualiyparaAnaTsis i Focuses on specific words arid phrases, — teases out significant connotations, draws strong inferences that clearly connect to toa Cay Kew’ the evidence, and relates to the topic ove sentence and argument eee _— = lnnterial / External Organization Coherent, unified paragraphs se Transitions between ideas \| wee “Transitions between sentences — Se wt ‘Argument is clear and identifiable EE Vejen Topic Sentences are clear and identifiable — —— Mev pters. : style, Grammar, and Mechanics. pan Le Ee ae “ke alevan Clarity of sentences es ogee Word choice cc orto) +1 ‘Grammar and Punctuation — — Sha og. Te = Spelling and Proofing _ tre | =M.S Present Tense wera) tations - Se pelea saastance Work Cited Uist : E Formatting (see, MLA Style Sheet) ie he \ Comments: isnt es sa peat iss sue in the narel, byt i Lh Be cata a - . late sos bvece tis voice , «sare oS hy fo emacs — Wren Ka Des vs suppreeted Cyr have 1) tere in Your seas pul body IP, but you Vee ant 1. as part ore “Popic Sentence Whim Ade Shaysley “ag bas voice fran hen Dore ts SUPP ALEJe dS eb her vor Cains lo Show te Prsetee IS x Sood 4x. o thal), Falvo ee eS % booty [Py an dhe 3 ‘mans MON bag, a wake ZL. Thane are vores /supprecein queveg wy lav ee Sawe spewre, Po een at ean 4 ‘acl UL! pepety fro eps Sees fe Ait gata Nee a Se OT tA Wow We! Cvnck —— 4: Freemyer 1 Lilly Freemyer Ms. Sokolov English 9 — May 4,2015 ro ‘Throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie struggles to find her own confidence, to another. Hurston introduces Janie in carom Soaps Florida during the 1930s. The novel gas is its structure through Janie’s narrative of her life as told \mamloges / to her best friend Phoebe. Her story speciffpaly highlights WEE a iaships that occur AW KAL throughout her life. From each of tl elationships she learns to, ogain lee Janie’s ye, egilignt especially as she moves from o€ / fr selatonsip swith Logah Kil feks, a mda that Janie’ grandmother Picks for nis Moya, ‘ t cn! ieee the shaié'bétween Pepecis ver act course ae novel and through each 2S * 76, ie 1 eu? Orea Sho ? Hors sq 2 £ ney “ne she struggles to gain Ge symbol o} contol over her ee bere wtrd| Om. 547 Te Ceol a ws one (9s In Jane's relationship wih Joe Starks she succumbs to Joe's contol fad iis Tan br her ee dGesnotlast Very a one another, Janie experiences threy felationship. Vo ase. is about a to find confidence to stand up for herself. One of the many stories that Janie share: mule that arouses trouble and chaos in the town Everyone is talking about it on the pore yet Joe forbids Janie from engaging: “ Janie loved the conversation and sometimes she thought up good stories on the mule, but Joe had forbidden her to indulge. He didn’t want her talking after such tose “g trashy people? (bg Salami had her own thoughts but was unable to express them or share them with others because Joe kept her from doing so. He silences her because he iT ~ he wag * Sees LT temp te finef x [P3 — Vere es [ “Peuang be ciee Freemyer 2 has control over her and she needs to learn to break out of that control. As time passes and CouRa Janie’s relationship with Joe continues, he gains more and more control over her. Joe forces Janie A UA, to work in his store and one day when someone is making an order to Janie, Joe comes in and P2 MoVon A tells her she is doing it all wrong, “ ‘Dat’s cause you need tellin’,’ He rejoined hotly. * It would VO\ ca, Wore, -g0d, they sho don’t think non theirselves...e wanted her submission and he’d keep fighting at Sess until he felt he had it” (bg.7 PyAgain she is being told what to think, but even when she does ieedeee, ORY Fou" te %, hat she is told she seems to doit wrong, Joe even admits to his control over Janie and he will ©), eat not give up until he has complete control. He believes that women cannot think for themselves AS, Sah, and others have to think for them, Janie does not have confidence in herself and she is A ne oe eo be pitiful if Ah didn’t, Somebody got to think for women ag chillun and chickens and cows succumbing to Joe's control because of the weaknesses she has about her insecurity. Aone 3 : ao fei weg whe ee May, nship where she is learning “4 + When Janie’s relationship Joe ends, she begins a new rek move ino ff speaks out loud) Janie’s next relationship is with a man by the name of Tea Cake whom she meets in Eatonville a few months after Joc’s oa, Tea Cake allows Janie from her submissiveness to speak and share her own opinion. In one of their first encounters, Tea Cake teaches Janie to : “He set it up and began to show her and she found herself glowing inside. play checker Somebody wanted her to play . Somebody thought it was natural for her to play’ (Pu OSQThis is the first time that Janie is being taught something that she enjoys and for her own benefit. In the puk a2 Anke: Waste Past she was old what fo do and how to do forte sake of somevig ‘He beba 0 STow her... “ Ae W_77 Somebody wanted her to play, Somebody thought it was natural for her to play.” Tea Cake aes a Ve + ppreciates her company and respects her as a woman. He is that “somebody” who wants her 10 anes aia: Freemyer 3 vs play and he is willing to teach her something. Unlike with Joe, Janie is free and under h&xwon control. Even as Tea Cake loses his own controf Janie gains her opr even further. When the i hurricane hits Jacksonville and Tea Cake Age swept up into the flood, Tea Cake is bit by a rapid dog. The rabies takes such full control over Tea Cake’s brain and body that he attempts to shoot Janie: “The gun came up unsteadily but quickly and leveled at Janie’s breast. She noted that even in his delirium he took good aim... The pistol and the Kale roa together.fhe pistol just ba Utes Vv enough after the rifle to seenits echay9 alsa Tea Cake had attempted to kill Janie because of his madness, but rather she had known about his possible plan when she found the pistol ale! d underneath his pillow. When she found the gun she placed her own rifle in a mechanism of 2 a defense, Before he could shoot her, she took him out of his own misery and shot him first. She (,, ae Gok control of her life fore he could hers. She finally gains her own complete controland < Re became a free woman. | ex fod This cycle of relationships iS telling on Janie and her life. It is hard for her to break the sunt pattern of succumbing to the patriarchy that she goes back to Eatonville alone can she be a free woman, She breaks the control that the men in her life have over her. By findinj self confidence she now has control over her life and no one else can injure that, Werks Cer Hot Zora Neale. Theit Eyes Were Watching God: A Novel. New York: Perennial Library, (nsterrk ZV4 (—t— > 1990. Print Luphold the NCS Honor Code: fly. Freemyer