Journal Entries: Their Eyes Were Watching God

2/4/09
Journal Entry 1: Chapters 1-3
Hurston's narration of the story uses proper English. Figurative language including similes, metaphors, and personification are all frequently used to make clearer the feelings of the character or the atmosphere in general. Metaphors reflecting Janie's life are also commonly used. The dialect uses slang which one would hear in the place where the story is set. While the narration's language is clearer and more readable to people who are not used to the dialect, the dialect is more successful at conveying the emotions, characteristics, and values of the characters because it allows the author to show the person's character as opposed to describing it. The dialect also allows the reader to feel as if the character is talking directly to them, which allows for a better understanding of what the emotions the character is trying to convey.

Journal Entry 2: Chapters 1-3
The ideas and attitudes of the characters are influenced largely by the setting. Janie's grandmother, having been brought up in a society where black women carry the greatest weight as the lowest ranking members of society, wants to get Janie married to a man who can support her as soon as possible. Though black women are still not in a very favorable position in society, times have changed, and Janie has not been brought up in the same circumstances as her grandmother was. For this reason, she wants to marry for love rather than for protection and support. The setting, in this case the time period and the region of the country, influence the value Janie's grandmother places on having her granddaughter be in a better situation than she was, at any cost. These values motivate Janie's grandma to marry her to Logan as soon as she can, even though Janie is clearly against it. The setting also adds to the tone of the story. A community where everyone knows everyone else's business sets a tone of anxious anticipation to find out Janie's story at the beginning, and the time period where black women didn't have much power, as supported by Janie's grandmother, helps depict Janie's feeling of dismay at having to get married and discover that marriage is not what she had hoped.