It has suddenly struck me that I have left no room for people to create their own topics, ideas, questions, and interpretations outside of the topics provided. Since that is usually where the magic happens, consider this post that place. Please use this post to comment on your thoughts as you read the novel. Ask questions, begin discussions, provoke thoughts...your choice!!
After finishing the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God" I have a few question that have been bothering me. My first question is what on earth compelled Janie to leave with Joe Starks? I understand that her husband is an awful person and that Joe was promising her the world, but he was a complete stranger. Janie knew nothing about him except his name and where he was , she could have just run off on her own she did not need a man to run off with. The next question I have, is how on earth did anyone think Janie killed Tea Cake for no reason? Throughout the entire book we get to see the love between them blossom and grow and everyone around Tea Cake and Janie can defiantly see the two were deeply in love. How could some of Tea Cake and Janie's best friends think that she killed Tea Cake with out reasoning? My final question is what is Pheobys problem? She is suppose to be Janie's best friend and in the beginning of he book the only reason she goes over to Janie's is to get gossip out of her and then in the middle of the book she tells Janie to not fall for Tea Cake and that she needs to marry the man from Sanford. She sure dose not act like Janie's friend she sounds more like a person the just needs gossip.
ReplyDeleteI also read "Their eyes were watching God" and I think I can answer some of your questions based on my opinion on the book. I agree her husband was a bad man treating her very badly. She had two options stay and be miserable or take a chance. She probably felt the way I would feel take a chance to have a better no matter the consequences of a new strange man, or be safe and miserable for the rest of her life. I know I would want to take the chance. I believe her friends said she killed tea cake without reasoning because they already had a bad opinion of him. So they take anything bad and throw it way out of proportion. Phoeby may have not just wanted to get gossip but also figure out what really happened and talk it out just in case Janie needed support.
DeleteDiana,
DeleteI think the reason why Janie left with Joe Starks is because he was nice. Logan Killicks was not nice to her. I agree with you on leaving with a complete stranger because they promise rainbows and unicorns. Maybe Janie never heard of stranger danger. With people thinking that Janie killed Tea Cake was appalling. People had to be blind to not see the love radiating between those two. It just goes back to people jumping to conclusions because even though they both shot at each other, Janie's bullet was the one that struck Tea Cake. I think that Pheoby is one of those friends who wants the gossip and will get it and then talk bad about you behind closed doors.
I don't understand how Janie would have the guts to go off with a stranger just because he was nice. Once I got to thinking, Janie might have not just wanted to run off with Joe Starks because he seemed like a good person. Janie could have wanted so desperately to get away from her old husband and start a new life, that she ran off with him because he said he knew of a great place. If she was so miserable with Killicks and didn't want to be with him anyway, then she would take any chance she has to change the way her life was headed before it could get any worse. I am probably overthinking this, but it's starting to make just a little more sense to me.
DeleteWhile reading "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" I was shocked at how detailed Maya Angelou's memorie's were of her childhood. She remembers the smells around her, her feelings at the time, and even how the store, which her grandmother owned, felt in the morning compared to the afternoon. She remembers the cotton pickers coming into the store in the morning before going to work, and what bliss the grogginess, from sleep, of the morning brought.
ReplyDeleteI know it sounds like an awful thing of me to do, but throughout the novel I could not help but to question the truths behind all of the memories Angelou shared with the readers. Granted some are far more memorable than others, such as her being raped as well as being homeless, but can someone's memory be so good that they can remember the smells around them at any given time in their life? Especially since this novel was written many years after said events occurred. I know I have a hard time remembering to do the dishes after my mom asks me for the fourth time, but maybe she just has a really good memory. My mind just could not help but wonder if any of it was made up or not. Maybe I am underestimating an awesome author. Perhaps the world will never know.
DeleteI completely agree! It's amazing to me that she could possibly remember all those little details, and maybe she did just make them up to fill in some gaps and add some detail. Or maybe she just has an amazing memory. I can't even remember what I did last weekend! I also have an idea that maybe she kept a journal throughout her childhood and recorded all of those details. Either way it was an amazing book with a great nostalgic feel!
DeleteI was shocked as well as to how well Maya Angelou recalled even her early childhood and the events that took place. Due to this time I feel as though while reading this novel we must assume that some events are either exaggerated or misinterpreted as this is fairly common in young children. However I am not saying that she is wrong I am merely pointing out that we cannot take everything at face value due to the difference from the time of the events to the year the book was publish. Still I may be completely wrong and the events are interpenetrated correctly, however people tend not to recall things correctly as their biases get in the way of what truly happened.
DeleteMatthew, I think your interpretation is correct. As I was reading the novel, I came up with very similar explanations for how Maya Angelou was able to recall such details from her childhood. I believe many of them are exaggerated and some may be completely made up to generate a better reaction from the audience in some situations. However, like you said, this may be a misinterpretation and Maya Angelou may really have an outstanding memory and she may have remembered the smallest of details from her childhood.
DeleteI was thinking the same thing! I can vaguely remember last year, so I don't know how she remembered conversations she had when she was 8! I agree with Matthew that things in the book were probably exaggerated. I think she made up a lot of her conversations with people, or wrote what she thought they would say in that situation. However, Maya could have had a journal and wrote about a lot of the events. She was very smart at that age.
DeleteI agree with Matthew and Ashley that some events may have been exaggerated or misinterpreted. I find it very hard that she could remember all the different conversations she has in the novel. I have difficulty remembering things from just two years ago. Some conversations may have been added to continue the story and to add some character development to characters like her brother and Momma.
DeleteI agree completely and found myself the same way throughout the story. Its almost like you have to specifically remember a key element in the book in order to understand why she kept jumping around everywhere. Exaggeration was most likely added to the story in order to make the reader feel and be closer to Maya, I think that was what she was going for in this autobiography.
DeleteWhile reading "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" there were several things that bothered me. First, I can understand that the story is based on Angelou recalling her childhood but it was difficult for me to try and follow her story. This was because every chapter was a new short story that, besides main characters, really had nothing to do with the previous chapter. Which leads into another issue of how fast events were happening. perhaps I zoned out while reading but it just seemed as if one second things were settled and fine then the next the kids were shipped back to their mother or father. Just a few thoughts that bothered me through out my reading.
ReplyDeleteI can agree with you on this subject a well, Maya Angelou did go through certain parts quickly and it was a tad hard to follow at points. But think of it this way, if she would have gone into even more detail and recalled every event that went on during that span of her life, the novel would have been enormous. I believe it was necessary to give shorter versions of some stories in order to make sure the book was not never ending. Because of this, I would also agree that the story did seem a bit choppy at parts, such as when she would switch cities. After all, this novel is an autobiography, and usually these types of books contain many short anecdotes of the author's life.
DeleteI agree that it was difficult to follow along with her chapters. I understood that each chapter was a separate life event, but I think it would have made the book even better if the chapters tied together. Another thing that crossed my mind while reading was the time gap of the events. We know that Maya was around the age of 8 when she was shipped back to her mother, but after that I wasn't certain if days had passed from chapter to chapter or years. Does anyone have a response to this that could clear some things up?
DeleteI can understand why it is very confusing, and I have thought of the same thing. However, looking at the perspective of Maya Angelou, it is clear that there are many events that took place throughout her childhood. Due to this, she may not remember a lot of these moments. Looking back at my childhood, I can remember many major events but it is very difficult to make connections with each event without going into unnecessary details. Also, putting these events in chronological order can also be difficult.
DeleteThe story flowed very well at the beginning, but then at the end it felt like I completely missed three years of her life. I do love how it was many stories put together to create a lasting memory of her life. I know it may be strange, but I wish there was more to the story. I loved reading this book I felt connected with Maya like I was reliving it with her as I read. I enjoyed how the way Maya wrote the book. I really felt like I was there in Stamps or in Mexico. I also really admire Maya for writing about her childhood, I admire her courage for telling people about what happened to her. I really loved reading about her and her dad's relationship as short as it seemed I could feel just how much he meant to her.
DeleteI agree with you, I got lost a couple times while reading it. I feel like maybe Maya was trying to piece together stories that were relevant to the timeline and keep progressing. I also agree with you, Rachel when you said how you felt like you were actually there in the story. I think Maya is very descriptive with the sights she saw and the feelings she felt to actually put us into the scene. I like how her writing style is very poetic and even though in some points I felt lost, the story as a whole fit very well together.
DeleteI can understand where the story may be confusing, but I think there is a difference that needs to be understood and applied when reading an autobiography rather than a piece of fiction. Not every memory will tie into the future, but instead can be used to simply show the time period or regional differences. I can certainly say that for myself I can only vaguely remember memories from my childhood, and they do not go fit perfectly together on the timeline. People tend to remember the more prominent life events, but not exactly when they occurred in relation to other life events. I believe what really matters is why the event had significance, and that is where the real message lies. I think that every story that made Maya’s book had some sort of significance in her life, which means there is something that can be learned from her life that can be applied to our world today. I respect Maya Angelou for sharing her stories and her knowledge to the world in hopes to inspire feelings of hope for the future generations to come.
DeleteI was confused in the beginning of the novel as well. I couldn't grasp onto what was actually being told until a couple chapters in, which made the first few very hard to sit down and read. But after I rolled along the first couple chapters, it starts to click together and all her stories kind of build their imprints onto the story. If she was to explain every detail like Blake said, the novel would never end. But the significance of her story is exactly what Sammy says, that she hopes to inspire future generations and leave her mark on the world through her book.
DeleteI was confused in the beginning of the novel as well. I couldn't grasp onto what was actually being told until a couple chapters in, which made the first few very hard to sit down and read. But after I rolled along the first couple chapters, it starts to click together and all her stories kind of build their imprints onto the story. If she was to explain every detail like Blake said, the novel would never end. But the significance of her story is exactly what Sammy says, that she hopes to inspire future generations and leave her mark on the world through her book.
DeleteWhile reading "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" I noticed how different Angelou's childhood was from the present. Blacks and whites lived in two different cities and didn't associate with each other. I realize how lucky I am to live in this decade than the 1930's. Now blacks and whites are more equal and we don't have to worry about the race of our neighbor. I find her childhood to be very unsettling, she had to go through a lot of disagreement. I wouldn't like to be in her shoes when she had to hide in the store with her family because the "boys" were coming.
ReplyDeleteI as well read Maya Angelou's bibliography "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," and found her childhood very upsetting and the events that happened to her quite cruel as well. However I do not feel as though things are that much different today. Even now different ethnic groups (such as African Americans and Caucasians) tend to live in different areas and have different socioeconomic levels. For example to show that these groups tend not to associate with one another according to the 2010 US Census urban areas tend to be poorer and composed of mainly African Americans and other minorties, however suburban and rural areas are mainly white. True we are more equal then in the 1930s but I feel as though we have a long way to go to achieve a integration of races.
DeleteI totally agree with Matthew on this topic, and connections can be made from those events to current events. As we all know, three weeks ago the SCOTUS passed a law that allowed same-sex marriage to be permitted in all fifty sates. This event is similar to when the Supreme Court ruled against segregation, in Brown v. Board of Education. The way LGBTQ+ community members are treated today, even after such a huge step forward, is just as unethical as the treatment of African Americans during the thirties. Millions of people all over the United States feel the same pain that Maya felt, just in different ways. A law will not change the minds of people now, just as it did not when segregation was abolished. Like Maya, I still suffer from hatred and discrimination, and it is likely that I will for the rest of my life. What I want to know is, what is the next step? How can we make this country even more equal? Like Matthew said, both African Americans and Homosexuals are more equal, but there is still a long road ahead of us to achieve complete equality.
DeleteI am reading your reaction this and the last line sticks out to me "But there is still a long road ahead of us to achieve complete equality." This reminds me of the short story we read in 9th grade called "Harrison Bergeron." In this story everyone has complete equality except for the people on top who continue to control the minds and physical abilities of the population. I also draw connections to Animal Farm and Anthem. While I am not against the SCOTUS decision I don't like the phrase "complete equality." One effort that people have been trying to get going is to ban the Confederate flag from the face of the earth. This whole event makes no sense because while a flag is being banned here, children are still working in slave shops in China and ISIS is holding half of the Middle East captive. Like I said I have nothing wrong with the decision but "complete equality" only works for the people on top!
DeleteRelating back to Tayor's comment, I also found it unsettling how separated the sides of town were in Stamps. I was really fascinated with how Bailey reacted to the discrimination of the town and how he came to realize the fears of being an African American boy growing up in a racist town. One of the first realizations that brought a new light the issues of racism to both Bailey and Maya was how nervous Momma got when Bailey had not returned from his movie when the sun was setting. Maya can remember how tightly Momma gripped her hand and how fast the walked home. Momma began to fear the worst, but I do not think either Bailey or Maya realized what the worst could be. I think the incident that really shook Bailey with the issue of racism as when he saw a white man smiling at the body of a decaying body of a black man. Bailey was asked to help carry away the body from the lake, but the real question Bailey could not understand was why the white people hated the black people so much. Other examples of racism were seen throughout the story, but this was the first real time that the racism was questioned by the children.
DeleteWhile reading "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou, I realized how much respect Maya Angelou had. In the book Maya Angelou's grandmother demanded respect from Maya and her brother to all family members, authorities, and "white folk". I feel that it If I were Maya Angelou it would have been very hard for me to give respect to everyone, especially the ones who never respected me. For example, when the "Powhitetrash" girls were harassing Maya Angelou's grandmother at the store, and Maya wanted so badly to scream at them and call them dirty, she didn't because her grandmother told her to respect them.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou, I noticed many parallels to Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," despite the ladder being a work of fiction these stories have many similarities. They both highlight similar time periods as well as both involving the them of racism and how it affects the individual and society. However do to the fact that Maya Angelou's bibliography is actually a true story, it is much more touching. It's shocking just how well she is able to recall her childhood from so long ago.
ReplyDeleteThinking back to when I read "To Kill a Mockingbird", I now recall striking comparisons between Maya Angelou's autobiography and Harper Lee's fictional novel. While reading "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", I drew connections between the two very different books. Matthew has already pointed out the similar theme of racism, but I believe that there could be similarities between the characters. Even though Maya Angelou and Jean "Scout" Finch were of different nationalities, both girls suffered due to their imaginative nature and physical appearances. Maya and Scout have compassionate older brothers (Bailey Johnson Jr. and Jeremy "Jem" Finch), a loving parent (Annie "Momma" Henderson and Atticus Finch), and the two girls live in a similar racist community.
DeleteI agree with Matthew that Maya Angelou's autobiography has a sense of history to it. She poured her feelings and experiences into this excellent book.
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou and "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee both do an excellent job portraying the effects of racism in everyday life. Both novels took place in the South, where racism was the strongest. Maya received a lot of discrimination for her skin color, such as her dentist refusing to treat her. At one point of the novel, Maya comes across a rotting corpse of a black man and notices a white man that seemed pleased in seeing the body. This was very similar to the way African Americans were viewed by whites in "To Kill a Mockingbird", as Tom Robinson was denied a fair and just trial and was sentenced to jail solely because of his racial descent, not because of his innocence.
DeleteI have to agree on this topic because both novels "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" portrayed two very similar themes or morals to their stories. As mentioned, the struggle of dealing with racism plagues both main characters (Scout and Maya) throughout the story. Also, as Mathew said, the fact that Maya Angelou's story is true makes it more touching and gives you a sense of what it truly was like to be in the shoes of an African American at that time. Other than the similarities between the characters and themes, the sense of unity in the black community remained the same throughout both stories. For instance, in "To Kill a Mockingbird," during Tom Robbinson's trial, many blacks came to watch, hoping for Tom to be found innocent. In "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," many of the black community gather around to watch the famous fight on television between a black man and a white man. They hope to win this match as a whole and in a way prove their worth.
DeleteI have read through chapter 15 of Their eyes were watching god and I have many questions. For example, Why did Tea Cake gamble every night when Janie has a generous amount of money in the bank from being married to Jody. It is both unintelligent and risky. I also do not understand why Tea Cake leaves for so long and so often. He would leave for days and make Janie worry. He started leaving frequently only about a week after their wedding. I have noticed that he is the only man that has gotten Janie to willingly work. Working in the fields is much harder to do than working in a store but Janie is OK with it because she is not forced to do it. I have also noticed that there is no antagonist in this book. Janie does not hate her grandmother or her first two husbands. She just accepts their differences of opinions and beliefs. For example, she understands why her grandmother tried to marry her to a rich man because she was once a slave and had few possessions and was the bottom of the social classes.
ReplyDeleteI have finished this book recently, and I believe I can help. Tea Cake ended up taking Janie's hidden money to give a feast to some fellow workers, therefore draining that amount of cash quickly for the prosperity of the working class. After winning back the money the following day with gambling, Janie finally tells Tea Cake about the remainder of the money in the bank, as before she was apprehensive of telling him about the money (she had heard of an incident in which a new husband stole money from an unsuspecting bride). Due to the ability to quickly gain money, Janie never needs to touch her money, as it is provided for in ample supply by Tea Cake and then by herself when they move to the Everglades. For your point on antagonism, I'd have to disagree. For almost the entirety of the novel prior to moving with Tea Cake, it has been society that attacks Janie, first with Nanny asking her to marry someone respectable (Logan Killicks), then the town of Eatonville for not respecting the memory of Jody Starks and running off with Tea Cake, a person who does not resemble her second husband in any respect. By finally going with Tea Cake, she goes against what society has been preaching to her since day one and just goes with someone she loves. I hope I was of some help.
DeleteWhile reading "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", like Laiya mentioned, Maya has an incredible amount of respect for everyone around her, even if they don't truly deserve it. Although it took everything in her, she held back and didn't insult the girls who were taunting Momma. When trying to get a job, it was obvious that her white employers and co workers didn't want her working on the streetcars, and went out of their way to try to make her job more miserable (scheduling grueling and inconvenient hours), but Maya stuck it out, enjoyed it, and stayed considerate of her colleagues. Another thing that bothered me was how respectful she was of her father when it seems to me like he didn't care about her. Running off with women while on the shopping trip to Mexico and stranding the two out there while he was passed out intoxicated isn't what you would call a father figure. Also, why didn't he try to at least look for Maya when she ran away? It just makes me think he didn't much care about what happened to her, but Maya still loved and honored him either way.
ReplyDeleteI personally find it interesting that you say this bothers you. I find that this kind of politeness is almost obsolete in today's society, which is really a shame because everyone could use a little more of it. What bothers me is that she does not give those powhitetrash children what they deserve. But then again, try imagining this novel with the main character being the very opposite of Angelou in every way. For example, if Maya Angelou were to speak her mind and talk about her feelings, this novel would not have not ended the way it did. Her life would not have taken the path that it did. This goes to show that such politeness is a good quality to obtain, though i do understand where you are coming from Sarah. Often throughout any novel that I read I put myself in the main character's shoes and imagine what their life would have been like. When I put myself in Angelou's position, I realized that she did not have a choice between respecting others and not respecting them. She was raised by the rules of her grandmother, which clearly ordered her to be respectful to all individuals. Not to mention how segregation also affected this whole situation. Overall i understand your angle on this topic, but I feel as though she really had no choice but to respect everyone around her.
DeleteWhile reading "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", I had a few thoughts. When Maya Angelou was in trial for Mr Freeman's assault on her, and she didn't confess that he had assaulted her before, was she scared that he would kill Bailey? Did she not want to send Mr Freeman to jail? Was it because she felt emotionally attached to him? I feel if I were in the situation at eight years old, I would have done the same thing. I feel that it would be so traumatic that I wouldn't know whether to lie or confess that the situation happened. I feel at eight years old you cant really determine whether someone is deceiving you into something you wouldn't ever do, or if they really love you. Its impossible to imagine what Maya Angelou had to go through especially being so young.
ReplyDeleteWhile on trial, Maya is asked if the accused had assaulted her before. She knew that Mr. Freeman had done something wrong, but she also had the idea that she had helped him do it. She was afraid that by admitting she enjoyed hugging him and letting him hold her close, she would anger her uncles, Grandmother Baxter, and Mother. I think this is part of the reason she lied. I believe that Maya also knew that Mr. Freeman couldn't kill Bailey, but her goal was to get off of the stand and back to her mother's side. To do this, she lied and said Mr. Freeman had not assaulted her before. That being said, I probably would have also done the same thing. This was a very traumatic event for her, and I cannot believe that she had to go through this at such a young age.
DeleteI think that she was probably more scared of the adults around her questioning her than anything else. She was a little girl and didn't know that what Mr. Freeman did was wrong. She saw him holding her in a comforting way and had no idea what exactly he was doing. I think she was also a little scared for Bailey because Mr. Freeman did threaten him. I think she saw that threat as still being very real even though she couldn't understand why.
DeleteI agree with Erika. Maya thought she led Mr. Freeman on because when he held her in his arms, she kinda liked it. She was just a lonely girl who wanted to feel loved, so she felt it was her fault. She was also very scared because of all the adults pressuring her with questions. Mr. Freeman's lawyer kept asking her what Mr. Freeman was wearing that day, and Maya didn't know, so it made her flustered. I think that also caused her to lie.
DeleteAfter reading "I know Why the Caged Bird Sings", one memory of Maya's seemed very important to the community as a whole, and I was wondering if anyone else noticed it. In chapter 19, the Store was packed full of people listening to the World Heavyweight Champoinship in which "one of their own" was competing. While hearing about the fight though the radio, they all groan, equating Joe Louis' possible loss as a return to slavery. Maya believes that if Joe loses, they will have to admit that they were the lowest type of human beings, and the lynchings, ambushes, and even rapings of the black community will continue. However, after Joe wins, it seems as though the community is celebrating their complete equality to the white population, even though they are careful not to be out alone after Joe's win proved they were the "strongest people in the world". My question is: was this fight so important to the race barrier that if Joe had lost, the black community would have admitted that they were less important? Would Joe's loss really have put his people back into slavery, giving them no chance to ever prove they were equal? I just find it hard to believe that a boxing match, or any single sporting event, could have the amount of power that Maya seemed to believe. It was definitely an important win, but did it accomplish as much as her community hoped?
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing, what if Joe had lost? The white community would probably go on with the same mind set of superiority, but how would the black community react? Most would probably accept the defeat and make a realization that things will never change for them. But I believe that there would have been a few from the black community who would have used this as a spark to strive for something greater within themselves. Like you said it was a very important win, but I'm not certain that it accomplished everything they hoped for. It gave them hope, but that may have been the only thing. There was still racism everywhere and it was going to take a lot more than a boxing match (as we learned through the course of history) to change the mindset of the white community.
DeleteI completely agree with both of you. I feel like this famous win in a simple fight was just a small victory overall but gave the black community this spark of hope that they could prove to the stubborn white community they can amount to anything a white person could do. You are right, however, a simple win in a fight like this did not accomplish as much as their community had hoped it would. The fight would not put blacks back into slavery if he had lost nor would it have proven once and for all that blacks are equal to whites. This fight simple gave the black community a spark of hope that they are moving closer and closer to true equality. The importance of the fight was to show that the black community was stronger than people thought and were unified to obtain the equality they have worked so hard for.
DeleteOne of the most important relationships in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," was between Bailey and Maya, and it was an unbreakable one.The only question I had regarding this topic is, why was Angelou so devoted to her brother? After reading through the novel it is clear that Maya had a stronger bond with her brother than the average sibling does, but what I am asking is why. Most siblings at a young age resent each other, but I have come up with a few ideas on why her and her brother were so close. Living in such a small town, Maya and her brother probably did not have many friends their age. Only at school did they interact with people their own age. Because they were both so close in age they understood each others problems and became dependent on each other. This, I believe, was how their strong sibling bond took root. Another factor that probably brought them so close together was the fact that Bailey was Maya's older sister, and most of the time older brothers protect their younger sisters. This only helped their relationship grow and blossom into something that no one could ever rip apart. Thinking back to Honors English 10 and the novels we read, I recall that there was a similar relationship between Jem and Scout in "To Kill a Mockingbird." Does anyone else have any thoughts about this topic?
ReplyDeleteThe relationship between Bailey and Maya was indeed unbreakable and indestructible. As to why, I am not too sure either. Maybe Bailey was Maya's anchor to all that was good in the world because when she was around Bailey, she was happier. It could have been their sibling bond that made their relationship so strong. Every child may fight with with their siblings once in a while or a whole lot, but in the end your siblings are your best friends. After all, Bailey had Maya's back no matter what. I agree with you on your reasoning as to why their relationship was so strong. Bailey being Maya's older brother made him sort of like Maya's protector, which definitely took root to their close relationship.
DeleteI have many reasons why I believe Maya may have clung so tightly to her brother and doted upon him as much as she did and vice versa. People that are psychologically hurt after something tragic happens while being a small child, such as Bailey and Maya are after being forced to cross the country alone and knowing that their parents no longer wanted them, tend to form addictions to something whether it is a drug, nicotine, or even alcohol. Not being old enough for any of those things and not understanding what they actually were anyways, I think Maya formed an addiction to her relationship with Bailey. He was familiar and kind and had never hurt her the way that she was hurt at that moment. Bailey brought her true happiness, shared jokes with her, and he was the only one she actually felt truly connected to - though they had only a one year difference in age - as he had taken the place of the adults in her mind that she should have been looking up to and connected to but instead they had abandoned that responsibility, such as her mother and father.
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DeleteI agree with Lila. Bailey was the only person there for Maya her whole life. They went through everything together. He was there when their parents left them, and he was there when Maya was raped. Those were traumatic experiences and Maya needed someone to talk to. Bailey was that person. They told each other everything, and Maya felt without Bailey she was nothing. Bailey was really the only person who knew exactly what Maya was going through. Because of this, Maya formed a big connection to Bailey.
DeleteI feel like the fact that they were both shipped off to live with their grandmother at the ages of three and four, by themselves, started their bond. Most siblings who have a consistent lifestyle, and don't have to rely on one another, usually do fight and aren't as close as Maya and Bailey. I feel that their lifestyle of constantly not knowing where they would be living, and who they would be living with, affected them greatly, and formed an unbreakable bond between them. So basically I agree with both Lila and Ashley!
DeleteIn "Their Eyes Were Watching God", I do not understand why Tea Cake beat Janie in chapter 17. There was no reason to feel threatened by Mrs. Turner's brother, and Mrs. Turner's brother didn't even talk to her really. It was just he was in town.Why wasn't Janie upset with Tea Cake for hitting her?. Another thing that I don't understand is why Janie rotated the gun so it would shoot three times instead of taking out the bullets. This way he couldn't shoot the gun, which means that Janie wouldn't have had to kill Tea Cake.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Tea Cake feels threatened by Mrs. Turner's brother because Tea Cake gets jealous and sometimes when people get jealous, they go through desperate measures to take action. In this case, Tea Cakes jealousy urges himself to show his diminance, which is shown through Janie's beating. I think that Janie does not get upset by Tea Cake after the beating because she feels like she really loves him, unlike how she feels when Joe hits her. I also believe that Janie rotates the gun barrel to allow her to react and have time in order to protect herself. If Janie had not have done this, she probably wouldn't have survived.
DeleteWhile reading "Their Eyes Were Watching God" I have noticed a few things. I have noticed that Janie is too much of a push-over. I don not understand at all why Tea Cake thought that it would be acceptable to take a large amount of money from Janie, throw a party for people he works with, and not tell Janie. He could have at least told Janie about it and taken her with him. Why shouldn't Janie be mad? The only thing that she said to him was that she would have liked to have gone with him. Also, she had a bunch of problems with her other two ex-husbands, but for years in each marriage she was unhappy with what she was doing, and she never told anyone. If she talked to them maybe the marriages would have worked out better.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the reason Janie is such a push-over is because of her grandmother. She pretty much forced Janie into her first marriage, and she doesn't want to disappoint her so she goes along with it. She tries to make it work by not saying anything in order to not disrespect her grandmother's wishes but she ends up doing more damage not the long run. But I do agree that she needs to be more open in expressing herself.
Delete*in the long run
DeleteWhile reading "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", I noticed how strong Maya Angelou had to be to go through everything she did. As a young child she could never understand what exactly the reasoning was for many people's actions. However, she respected them just the same. When the group of "powhitetrash" girls tried to intimidate her grandmother outside of the Store, she watched as her mom respectfully kept at her business instead of defending herself. Maya was confused by her grandmother's actions or rather lack of actions. She also never quite understood the reason for discrimination against the black community as a child or why white people did what they did but she accepted it as much as she could. Having to go through everything she did at such a young age made her stronger and tougher.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post. Maya Angelou started receiving racial discrimination early on in her life, and was angered by it. Sometimes she would become aggravated to the point of responding with violence or vandalism, such as her destroying the antique china of her white boss who would call her "Mary" instead of "Maya". This happened at the age of ten, showing that Maya was already mature enough to fully understand the meaning and the cruelty behind racism. Maya then continued to face more and more discrimination during her childhood. Having a childhood so rough, Maya grew up to be a very independent and strong woman, overcoming all of the hardships she has faced in the past.
DeleteAlthough, Matthew, you said you agree with Kevin's post, your reply to it seems contradictory. Kevin explained how she was not yet old enough to understand the reasoning behind peoples actions, but you discussed how she was old enough to understand the cruelty of racism. It seemed contradictory to me , but I can see where you are both coming from. My belief is that the rape, and all of the psychological wounds it carried with it, was sort of a turning in Maya's life. The rape, although a tragic event in anyone's life, did force Maya to mature in a way that otherwise would have taken much longer. Because of this, she grew up to be a strong, independent woman, as both of you had mentioned. However, what you two disagreed about was her understanding of the world. Before the rape occurred, I agree with Kevin, in that she did not understand much of the world around her. But after the event, I agree with Matthew's comment, that her perception of the world was dramatically altered. A little time relativity issue is all.
DeleteI feel that in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" that it wasn't just being raped that damaged Maya emotionally, physically, and mentally but, being put on trial, confessing to people overtime, encountering people she had deep feelings for, and her parents that left her with her grandmother. She may have seemed to be strong and independent but I think she just pushed people away except those who were close to her in her early years and became a scarred women who had to become strong to survive.
DeleteShame is tangible through the whole beginning of the novel "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou. Maya is shamed by the world for how she looks when in reality it does not matter how beautiful you are on the outside. Beauty fades with age but a beautiful personality will always shine no matter how old the vessel of it is. From a young age Maya wanted to be someone else and did not feel she belonged in her own skin. I feel even the very first pages of the book highlight this and it is quite saddening. Her quote about a jealous fairy godmother is nearly heartbreaking when you realize that as a child she felt inadequate and cheated in her life when it had just begun. The shame continues on and intensifies after the rape. She is shameful for the feelings that were manifested after Mr. Freeman held her and made her feel wanted. It was not her fault yet no one was there at first to aid her in finding this out. For a child to feel who she is and the choices she has made are not good enough is sickening and wrong on so many levels. Any thoughts from anyone else?
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree that shame played a major role in this book. To expand on what you covered, I saw a sort of "cause and effect" ordeal with shame. Ever since Maya could remember, she had been shamed by the outside world for her looks, her size, etc. These remarks began to manifest inside of her head and the shame became internal as time progressed. Maya spent her entire childhood with shame and guilt sitting on her shoulders, weighing her down. Her self-esteem began to diminish after many memorable events in her life. The first one of these events was her and Bailey's abandonment by their parents early on in their lives. Maya always saw herself as undesirable and intolerable. Mr. Freeman also planted a seed of guilt that would grow throughout her body, which was on the verge of consuming her especially after his death. She traveled back and forth between relatives and never felt like she had a purpose in life until after she gave birth to her son. This child gave her a beacon of hope and showed her that her life was one full of promise and meaning.
DeleteDuring "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" I noticed that the racism still continued but it made her stronger and a better person. I wouldn't be able to handle the amount of racism she had to deal with. Through all of the discrimination she has received she just turns her head, but there was a point where it became to much and she turned to violence. Mrs. Cullinan doesn't want to take the time to learn Maya's real name, Margaret. Mrs. Cullinan calls Maya "Mary" because she feels like she has more control over her when she is Mary.
ReplyDeleteThat part really annoyed me, it just astonishes me that people thought that they were so much higher than other because of their race. It sickens me. Mrs. Cullinan only shortened it to Mary for the reason that it took to long to say Maraget (which still wasn't the right name.) It almost seemed like the three extra seconds it would have took to say Marguerite was too much time to spend on a black. That enrages me. It was the fact that Marguerite would get three seconds of attention versus one. In my mind I think it's just as disrespectful as calling someone "slave." I don't understand how twisted you'd have to be to think like that, because when someone says "I'd rather you call me so and so," you call them as they would like to be called.
DeleteThe part that really disgusted me was when Maya had a toothache, and Momma took her to see Dentist Lincoln. When he told them that his policy was he never treated blacks, I was furious. Momma helped him during the depression, so why couldn't he help her? It makes me really mad that whites thought they were superior to blacks. I respect Momma so much for helping Dentist Lincoln. She never judged someone based on the color of their skin and was always opened to helping people in need.
DeleteSeveral things in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God bother me. First of all, Janie lets her grandmother decide who she is going to marry and after she is married to Logan, Janie decides to leave with a guy named Joe Sparks who she doesn’t know to a place she has never heard of. Also Janie lets others define who she is and she never really becomes her own person until she meets Tea Cake. Another thing is Tea Cake, how on Earth do you get a nickname like Tea Cake. Lastly, I don’t think I will ever understand why Janie didn’t just take all three bullet out of Tea Cake’s gun, why would she give a crazy man, infected with rabies three chances to kill her.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with nearly all of your questions. I really wish Teacake's nickname was explained at some point during the novel, yet the biggest explanation about it was just that it wasn't his real name. Although this isn't the most critical piece of information, it would definitely have been a good way of giving more information about the character. However, when Janie lets her grandmother decide who she should marry, it wasn't something she could disagree about. I understand your frustration about it, but I believe that Janie felt bad for her grandmother because of all of the things that happened to Janie's mother, so Janie thinks that marriage will be the thing that will make her grandmother happiest. Her life up to meeting Teacake was to be the person her grandmother wanted her to be, which she mentioned in the novel at one point. She explained how she was "sittin' on porches lak de white madam" (114) because that's what her grandmother thought would look best. Lastly, I definitely want to agree that it was silly of her to not take the bullets out of Teacake's gun. She didn't want to anger him, but it would have potentially prevented his death or any other injuries.
DeleteIn "Their Eyes Were Watching God", the beginning of the book has Janie telling her life story to Phoebe. Janie is in her early forties when the book starts. The author makes it sound like she is this old, lifeless woman. She is only in her early forties! I personally did not like the first chapter of the book. I feel that it was unnecessary to start off when she is old and tell her story. When she told her story why was it in third person? The story definitely should have been told in third person.
ReplyDeleteI believe the reason that Janie is so washed up is because during this time medicine was minimal, conditions were poor, and Janie has just killed the love of her life. Not to mention that she had been through an insane journey through knee deep water to outrun the hurricane and the rising lake in the Everglades. Especially after the trial I feel that Janie is just very tired from the multitude of exhausting events that have occurred. I also want to comment on how crappy of a friend I think Phoebe is, she completely disrespected Teacake even though Janie liked him a lot. I thought that she should have been a little more supportive of Janie but, the entire community was against Janie and Teacake.
DeleteHonestly, I think that it made sense that she sounded so worn out in the first chapter. Even though she was not actually as old as it sounded, she had a very rough life and had been through more than some people ever go through. This gave her the wisdom and experience to sound as weary as she did. Also, Max, I think the Phoeby was truly looking out for her friend in the only way she knew how. Phoeby's opinions were warped by society's rules and expectations, and she was only trying to help Janie.
DeleteI have read a few comments and talked to a few people that did not like the structure of "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings". The main complaint is that each chapter seems disconnected from the next and the story seems to not be very linear. I think that Maya Angelou wrote this way on purpose. I think that the purpose was to simulate her remembering specific parts of her life with great detail because of how important they were to her. Each chapter is separate because she doesn't remember enough to link them all and handled that by making her autobiography center around her best and worst memories.
ReplyDeleteI also read "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" and I would have to agree with it seems disconnected. I think this is because Maya wanted to make us focus more on the trauma that she went through i.e. when she was raped by Mr. Freeman rather than her day to day chores and work at the store. She most likely did this intentionally to put in her other auto biographies.
DeleteAfter reading "There Eyes Were Watching God", I noticed it had a court case just like "To Kill A Mockingbird", but both cases ended similarly and differently. In "There Eyes Were Watching God", Janie goes to court for killing her husband Tea Cake. Janie killed Tea Cake because he had rabies and was threatening to kill Janie. Janie is then declared not guilty because the jury found that Janie did it accidently. Later, in the courthouse there are a few white women that begin to talk about how the decision was fair because Janie had killed a black man, and not a white man. In "To Kill A Mockingbird", a black man named Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white woman. Although there isn't enough evidence, Tom Robinson is declared guilty because of the racism that was still happening in the South, and how it would be a shame if they had let a black man go that easily. In both books we noticed that if a black person does something to another black person they don't get punished but if a black person is accused for doing something to a white person than it was considered bad at that time. This proves that both books show that black people at that time weren't considered as important as white people because of the racism happening at that time.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading "Their Eyes Were Watching God", but the first two men she was with really frustrated me because they were so rude to her. I liked Teacakes but he also had flaws when it came to him leaving often to random places and beating her to claim her as his own and stealing her money. The book showed how the south was back then really well with how badly racism was. The author made it sound like Janie's life was worthless with her age and with the men she was with. I felt bad for her and that her grandmother was always giving her life advice and usually she followed it. I think from the very start she should've just listened to herself and find a man that she truly loved. I always wondered why she didn't leave sooner in her marriage of Joe, the minute he started demanding her to do things I wanted her to leave but she never did.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that she relied too much on the wishes of others. She never really thought about what was right for her until it was almost too late. The novel really does portray an accurate southern life for the time. It shows how alot of times women were taken for granted or treated like property and they basically could do nothing about it. Everyone knows how the women are treated by their husbands and yet they look down on the women for leaving their husbands and no shame is brought to the men.
DeleteI really enjoyed I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. It's a novel written in the time when racism was at its peak and discrimination was among the country. Maya shows this through the story explaining her own encounters with racist men and women, and even her own parents not wanting her and her brother takes a tole on her perspective of herself. From birth through her high school years, she's developed this sense that she's an outcast. She's the one with the most discrimination and she's the one who will never be like the average black man or woman. She sticks close to her older brother because she feels he's the only one who understands her, not the steriotype version of her she's known for, and he understands what she's feeling. Maya learns to become very independent early in life as she has to switch homes between Momma's in Stamps and her real mother and fathers homes in St. Louis, Oakland and San Francisco. She learns painfully from her encounters, and she learns to take positive things from the hurtful words of others.
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ReplyDeleteWhile reading "Their Eyes Were Watching God" I was taken back by how Teacake was forced to bury bodies after the hurricane. Not only did he have to do this, but he was asked to identify the color of each person. If they were black they were thrown into a mass grave and if they were white they were to be left out so that they could be put in caskets. It amazes me that literally every detail of life was segregated at this time, even when two people of opposite color are dead, they were still given different treatment. It makes me wonder how people actually justified this type of thinking, what was even more shocking was that blacks kind of just accepted their treatment. I understand that it wasn't until after WWII that the civil rights movement went into full effect but it was a very shocking that there weren't more anti-white comments from the African American perspective.
ReplyDeleteIn "Their Eyes Were Watching God" there was not only an abundant amount of racism but the way women were treated was terrible. Women were still treated with a sense of inequality by men of both races. Janie was beaten by Teacake in chapter 17 for really nothing, "Before the week was over he had whipped Janie. Not because her behavior justified his jealousy, but it relieved that awful fear inside of him," (Pg 147). Teacake was then congratulated for beating Janie and keeping her in check. Teacake would never take Janie to parties and social gatherings, merely so she could "rest." However, women weren't always disappointed with their treatment, they took pride in how well they could cook. I understand that heritage played a big role but apparently the women's movement had this area yet.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" I was happy to see Maya enjoying life after her childhood. She's becoming a young girl and in that stage of life she learns what young love is and just experiencing life as a young girl. I was also happy to see her living life to its fullest and just having fun. Maya finally finds someone out of her family that she cares about. He writes Maya letters almost everyday and he says even if she doesn't reply his affection for her won't change. The valentine helps her forget about what Mr.Freeman has done to her. I was excited to see her happy again and finding someone that really cares about her. Throughout this stage in life she realizes that Joyce is taking advantage of Bailey like Mr. Freeman took advantage of her through frustration. These few chapters are probably my favorite because the touched my heart the most.
ReplyDeleteAfter finishing "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" I have a lot of questions and I have learned a lot. At the end of the book she had a lot of questions for her mom. Even though she questioned her appearance and her sex she was still happy and loved life. I was happy to see her living with other races. Her childhood was full of racism and only living in the black community. At the junkyard she learned how to live with other races and she accepted it. Thought the last couple chapter she questioned if she was a lesbian and why didn't she have as big of breasts as the other when she was growing up. When Maya had her baby boy it brought tears to my eyes because with everything she went through in her life she was still able to have a child. This book will forever be one of my favorites, I will never forget Maya and The story she told.
ReplyDeleteI read "Their Eyes Were Watching God" and I feel like I'm missing something. Why does Janie hate her Grandmother so much? I mean she raised Janie after her mother left her. I understand that she pushed Janie into marrying Logan, who wasn't a great husband, but that was just because she wanted to know that Janie would be safe after she died. Janie says that Nanny didn't really love her but it seemed like she did to me.
ReplyDeleteJanie hates her grandmother so much in "Their Eyes Were Watching God" because her grandmother pushed her to conform to traditional societal gender roles. It's not so much that Nanny wanted her to marry a bad husband, but more that Nanny wanted her to be something that she wasn't. Nanny tried to push Janie into becoming something that she thought was the best position to be in for a woman rather than what was best for Janie or what Janie wanted to be. Also, to top it all off, Nanny view black women as the "mules" of society which was a factor into pushing Janie into that marriage.
DeleteJanie hates her grandmother so much in "Their Eyes Were Watching God" because her grandmother pushed her to conform to traditional societal gender roles. It's not so much that Nanny wanted her to marry a bad husband, but more that Nanny wanted her to be something that she wasn't. Nanny tried to push Janie into becoming something that she thought was the best position to be in for a woman rather than what was best for Janie or what Janie wanted to be. Also, to top it all off, Nanny view black women as the "mules" of society which was a factor into pushing Janie into that marriage.
DeleteWhen I first started reading 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' I thought Maya Angelou had written the novel to show a story about racism in the south. I was surprised when I realized this wasn't exactly the main idea of the book. Although there were a few examples of racism shown in this book. A very big part I felt was when momma took Maya to see a dentist in the white part of the town. The dentist refused to treat Maya because she was black and made mean remarks. Even though momma had helped him out during the depression by loaning him money, he still refused to help her. There was another part at the beginning which is what made me think that the book would be based on racism. That was when someone had come and warned people that a group of white men were coming and people had been worried about it.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading "Their Eyes Were Watching God", I noticed Janies personality was socially bi-polar. In saying this she through her relationships felt that she was her "own woman". That she was independent and strong to survive on her own. So following her thought she ran from Logan since she didn't need or want him, and landed herself in another lifeless relationship full of empty promise. Janie again and again tries proving herself independent but never left Joe even through the way she was treated. From my point of view she put her self in a hole throughout the book. She never stood up for herself and when she did with Joe at the porch she was struck back down where she started. I don't quite understand her reasoning with running off with tea cake either, doing the same thing she did the last time. This brings a question to thought of, is she happy with herself? Shes so worried about finding men to make her happy but yet she fails to find a non male dominated lifestyle. When with Tea Cake she thinks she is complete and fulfilled, and again proves she cant be happy herself unless a man is around to do that for her.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading "Their Eyes Were Watching God", I noticed Janies personality was socially bi-polar. In saying this she through her relationships felt that she was her "own woman". That she was independent and strong to survive on her own. So following her thought she ran from Logan since she didn't need or want him, and landed herself in another lifeless relationship full of empty promise. Janie again and again tries proving herself independent but never left Joe even through the way she was treated. From my point of view she put her self in a hole throughout the book. She never stood up for herself and when she did with Joe at the porch she was struck back down where she started. I don't quite understand her reasoning with running off with tea cake either, doing the same thing she did the last time. This brings a question to thought of, is she happy with herself? Shes so worried about finding men to make her happy but yet she fails to find a non male dominated lifestyle. When with Tea Cake she thinks she is complete and fulfilled, and again proves she cant be happy herself unless a man is around to do that for her.
ReplyDeleteI also read 'I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings' . I agree with Natalie C, I believed that this book's main idea was going to be about the racism in the south. But I was surprised to find out that the novel shows how strong and independent African Americans were back at this time. Joe Louis’s world championship boxing match demonstrates the desperate nature of the black community’s hope for vindication through the athletic triumph of one man. This novel shows everyone can make a change and I am proud to have read it.
ReplyDeleteI also read 'I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings' . I agree with Natalie C, I believed that this book's main idea was going to be about the racism in the south. But I was surprised to find out that the novel shows how strong and independent African Americans were back at this time. Joe Louis’s world championship boxing match demonstrates the desperate nature of the black community’s hope for vindication through the athletic triumph of one man. This novel shows everyone can make a change and I am proud to have read it.
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ReplyDeleteI read 'I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings' by Maya Angelou also, and again I will agree that I was shocked a main part of the story wasn't about racism in the South. Of course with the timeline it was destined to be in the novel, but she didn't make it the total focus. I was impressed by her ability to show a somewhat unbiased opinion about her own race, showing in the novel through the rape scene that she would not pretend that the white people they fought against were not the only bad people, and that justice is not always promised. I think the way she portrays her life shows both the good and bad in all people in the novel.
ReplyDeleteI might be over-evaluating this a bit too much, but as a reader I've come to understand that there's almost always a reason behind a name that an author chooses for one of their characters. Marguerite sounds a lot like margarita, which I took to mean that she's fun and bright and the little bit of salt around the edges is her temper. But then I got to thinking, what about Mr. Freeman? He's such a huge part of this book, why was he named that? And I have come to this conclusion: He was given that name because he thought he was free to do whatever he pleased and could get away with it. It was showed when he raped Maya, when he threatened Bailey's life, and again in the courtroom when he was looking at Maya in a way that he scared her into lying on the stand, and yet again when he was bailed out of jail.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” one of the things I most enjoyed about the book was reading about the cultural differences that were highlighted as Maya Angelou moved to and from the larger more advanced cities to the rural traditional town of Stamps. I found it amazing how different the lifestyles were in the different areas of the country, but also how interesting it was that both Maya and Bailey were able to adjust to their constantly changing living conditions. One of the instances that really struck me about the cultural differences was the different diction used depending on the area. For example, when Maya used the phrase “by the way” in Stamps her grandmother took it as using Jesus’ name in vain. I think this example shows how even a harmless word or phrase can be extremely offending to people depending on the area they live in. I also found it interesting that Bailey would often exaggerate some of the stories about living in St. Louis to the small town people of Stamps. He would speak about buildings so high that the snow could not be seen on the ground just to watch the faces of the unknowing small town people light up with fascination. I think that having lived in both large cities and a small town definitely had an impact on how Maya grew up because she saw that though the many places she lived had different styles and traditions, she still noticed how issues such as racism and gender roles were prominent in all areas.
ReplyDeleteIn I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou, I was quite surprised by how the novel unfolded. In the beginning I thought that the main focus of the novel would be strongly around the issue of racism in the south. However, it wasn’t that at all. Angelou managed to weave a story that told of a young girls’ struggling journey to discover who she was as she moved about in life and was continuously influenced by society and by those around her. However, throughout the novel, the issue of racism and segregation was silently and effortlessly woven into the story. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings surprised me in many ways. I wasn’t exactly excited and looking forward to working my way through it, but it turned out to be attention grabbing and worthy of more credit than I originally gave it.
ReplyDeleteI read the book "I Know why the Caged Bird Sings" written by Maya Angelou. I thought it was a very moving and touching story. The part with Mr. Freeman was very disturbing and graphic. You read this book and almost become attached to Maya, as she go through the struggles of; becoming an adult, dealing with racism, and her sexuality. The opening of the story was the best, the first 15 chapters were my favorite. Unfortunately the book did snowball and the end left me wanting and expecting more. Despite the ending I enjoyed this story, it was not only inspirational but heart breaking.
ReplyDeleteIn "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" Maya shows how you can overcome anything if you put your mind to it. Knowing a little bit of background on Maya Angelou I didn't expect the book to run like a story of be all about racism. However, I was completely blown out of the water on just how many struggles she had to oversome and how she managed to do so. Maya used her pain and struggeling to move many people emotionally through her poetry and books. This book was a real eye opener to me on this life's many obstacles and on overcomeing them to not only help myself but others as well.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", I realize the meaning behind the title. I feel as if the "caged bird" is describing Maya Angelou herself, and it is singing because it is finally free. Maya Angelou had a tragic childhood,dealing with problems such as insecurity,racism, neglect,and worst of all,abuse. I feel that the title represents her outcome as an adult, and her being free from all the issues she had in her life before. Even though there was still racism, and insecurities, Maya Angelou was brave, and persistent, and became stronger throughout the book. Which is, I feel, Why the caged bird sings.
ReplyDeleteIn the book Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie worsens her problems with Jody by not speaking up during their critical arguments of the book. She would not challenge him when he would yell at her and this led to the feeling between them that he could just walk all over her. For instance, when she could not find the pigs feet in the store, Jody yelled at her for her inability to run the store and instead of telling him how she felt about that, she kept her silence and just took the abuse. Only when Tea Cake came around did she begin to speak her mind.
ReplyDeleteIn the book Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie worsens her problems with Jody by not speaking up during their critical arguments of the book. She would not challenge him when he would yell at her and this led to the feeling between them that he could just walk all over her. For instance, when she could not find the pigs feet in the store, Jody yelled at her for her inability to run the store and instead of telling him how she felt about that, she kept her silence and just took the abuse. Only when Tea Cake came around did she begin to speak her mind.
ReplyDeleteIn "Their Eyes Were Watching God" there was so much racism. It started from when Janie was growing up, her grandmother always told her that you need to be the proper women and do whatever the husband wants and only do work in the house. I think that when she went off to be with Tea Cake was when she really began to live her life as she wanted. She was working in the fields and not just in the kitchen. Janie spoke up against Tea Cake. She wasn't just doing what society said was the right thing to do; she didn't leave Tea Cake even though many people Thought it was wrong and she could do so much better.
ReplyDeleteIn 'I Know Why The Cage Bird Sings', I believe the novel says a lot about Maya herself but also has a way of defining the human race. Due to the rape by her mother's boyfriend, I think that Maya has a bit more of an open view on people, not seeing one race or gender as better than the other simply because she belongs to it. She is open and familiar with the idea that all humans have flaws and that just because she belongs to a group does not mean that group is perfect in any way. She also shows other races, such as the Mexicans she meets with her father, and the children living in the junkyard, without prejudice. She is very accepting and does not give in much to the stereotypes that normally would come with a novel about one's life, especially during the time period. She shows the flaws in everyone, including herself and her family. I think that it makes her book not only more realistic, but more interesting to read, because it almost seems like an outside perspective, without painting anyone as a perfect person.
ReplyDeleteIn Maya Angelou's novel the concept of internalized racism is demonstrated in how Marguerite/Maya hates her natural hair because it is curly and course; therefore, it does not adhere to European beauty standards. The fact that she finds herself to not be attractive and this is relevant to her shows the toll of being of color and a girl in a society that is both so racist and so sexist.
ReplyDeleteThese oppressive ideals both still exist today and show how racism and sexism have not disappeared in the least, despite how many do not notice it due to how it is taught to us from an early age. Sexism is accepted as the norm, no one thinks hard enough to question it. Why is the vast majority of anorexia cases in girls? Ah, that's so simple, it's because girls care more about their weight and appearance. Okay, then why do girls care so much about their appearance that 10% of them show symptoms of anorexia and bulimia? This is where no one seems to have an answer.
One other interesting thing to contemplate is Marguerite and her differing feelings toward black and white people. She sees white people as outsiders (she mentions how black people were "folks" and white people are "white folks," does this remind you of how white people only specify race when the race isn't white?) and black people as actual people. This is surely because she has never had a positive interaction with a white person in her life.
In "The Things They Carried" I came across a part that sort of stuck out for me. He is talking about Lieutenant Cross' thoughts about Martha and how he carries the pebble she gave him. He has pictures of her and he remembers the night they went to the movies and he put his hand on her knee and she gave him a sympathetic look. "She looked at him in a sad,sober way"..."how embarrassing it was, how slow and oppressive." I think right there we all felt for Jimmy Cross. We all know the feeling of rejection. Even if it's not romantic or relationship related rejection, we all know the feeling. He was completely in love with her. He knew her weight, and remembered the way she hit a volleyball. All she saw him as is a friend, as far as we know. It wasn't verbal rejection but he knew just by a look that she wasn't his.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading "The Things They Carried" I was touched by Lieutenant Jimmy Cross because even though he was in the war he always thought about Martha and kept her letters close to his heart. He never let go of the pebble he gave her or all the memories they made together. He remember all the little details about Martha and he pictures her playing volleyball and moving in the rain. All the soldiers carried something that was close to their hearts, emotional pain, and something to remind them of home. They all had a story to tell and prayers to say. But by far Lieutenant Jimmy Crosses story touched me the most. Love is a powerful thing and it took over Jimmy Crosses mental health, he would spend his night weeping in his hole that he dug deeper and deeper with sorrow.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it was very heart warming that Jimmy cross carried those things and how even during everything that was going on he loved Martha. But I think that it was these thoughts that got Ted Lavender killed. If he wouldn't have been so distracted by his thoughts of Martha he would have payed more attention to the quietness around them and maybe could have prevented Lavender's death. He realizes this too. He knows that if he wouldn't have been thinking about Martha it might not have happened. It's sort of bittersweet, his adoration of Martha during the time of war.
DeleteI was a little confused about the chapter in "The Things They Carried" that told the story of Mark Fossie and his girlfriend Mary Anne. Could the men really bring their "honeys" in like Rat said? I guess it is hard to take it all in considering Rat's history of fabricating his war stories. But you can't help but think- could it really be possible? I'm not really sure why O'Brien would include this into his book. I personally don't believe this story. I believe that this story symbolizes how many of the soldiers during this era lost loved ones while in Vietnam because of the different points of view on the war.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Man I Killed", I think there was no reason for O'Brien to obsess over the the guy he killed with a grenade. I thought it was too excessive when he created a fake life of the person he killed. Imagining his childhood to what he could have been in life is too far. Also, I think that when it comes to dealing with the pain from the memories of what happened in the war, having some sort of audience helps. O'Brien is writing about the war and how he killed someone. He seems to have accepted what happened in the war when he talked about it. With Norman Bowker, he was very guilty that he couldn't save Kiowa. He was by himself after the war and became depressed because he didn't have anyone to talk to about it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that O'Brien went a little far into thinking about the man's past life, but how could you not think about it? In an matter of only a few seconds O'Brien took the life of a human being, and there was nothing he could do about it. He reacted the way he was trained and in the eyes of his men he was a hero, but deep inside it was eating away at him. O'Brien never wanted to be apart of the war because he knew exactly what he was getting into.
DeleteWhile I was reading 'The Things They Carried', I had a few questions. First, did Lieutenant Jimmy actually tell Tim O'Brien the details of his love for Martha? I feel that Jimmy probably told his soldiers about Martha, but not about how "he wanted her to be a virgin, but not be at the same time", or how he envisioned her feet along the shore to be "brown and bare." I would assume that the soldiers during Vietnam didn't sit around a campfire and share their deepest feelings, I mean they were men. So how would O'Brien know all of these feelings Jimmy had? When Jimmy came to visit O'Brien years after the war ended, did he explain the way his heart broke when he realized Martha would never love him? Did Jimmy confess how he blamed himself and his love for Martha, for the death of Ted Lavender? I think that O'Brien knew about some of Jimmy and Martha's relationship, but made up little details to show how love affected soldiers.
ReplyDeleteYes Jimmy Cross did tell Tim all those details. That's how they are in the book. Tim must have had a few soldiers come and talk to him about the war for this book. I think Jimmy was probably alot more open about about everything that happened and in his opinion why it happened after the war was over. After all those years it probably felt good to tell somebody all those things and get them off of his chest.
DeleteI'm sure that Tim O' Brien might have put in a few made up little details to make the book hold more emotion and have the book how he wanted it but I'm guessing the majority of it came from the mind Jimmy Cross directly.
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DeleteIn the story "I know why the caged bird sings" I thought it was rather odd how in the end her struggle with sexuality was only briefly brought into the picture. Maya struggled with many internal conflicts through out the book but this one by the way she worded it just seemed to eat away at her. She began questioning everything so she figured if she could just find a guy to shake everything back into perspective everything would be okay again. Well even after she did she still wasn't completely at ease. I personally believe a lot of us go through our own personal struggles and we all look for quick fixes just like Maya did but life isn't always kind enough to give us all the answers we are looking for straight up. It usually takes searching and a will to comprehend the things you find whether they be external or internal.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Things They Carried," I was touched by the story O'Brien told about his deceased childhood girlfriend and first love, Linda. I found the title of this chapter, "The Lives of the Dead," to be a sort of oxymoron. I was also intrigued by the first line of this section. "But this too is true: stories can save us." At first, I thought it was strange that a 43 year-old man relied on stories to keep him going. However, as I thought deeper, I realized that we all do this in a way. Fiction can sometimes be better than reality (also a topic for our essay of "Life of Pi" last year). We can have amazing dreams and wake up sad because the dream was not a part of our reality. Sometimes, we choose to believe that those dreams happened. I remember as a child, I always thought I could breathe underwater (I could not remember if it actually happened or if it was a dream). However, I never tried to prove myself right because I didn't want to eradicate the idea that I had a superpower. This may not seem as if a story like this could "save me," but as a child I wanted to believe that I could be something, anything, more than ordinary. Even though I was a child, I can see why Tim feels that stories are such an important part of our lives. Has anyone else had experiences similar to this?
ReplyDeleteAfter reading The Things They Carried, I felt a sense of determination. I feel determined to go out and do things I never thought I would do because in Tim O'Brien's case, it took him a good role model, a week in the woods, and some crying to get him to go into the war. O'Brien was disgusted by the idea of war, and yet, he manned up, went to war, and made memories that would last forever. Even though he had to face a ton of struggles throughout his war experience like deaths of friends, the guilt of killing someone, and many more, he still came out and was able to write about it, and how much it changed his life.
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