Journal #1

From the first chapter I perceived Janie as a relaxed, but at the same time tired, woman. Janie recognizes this and his able to laugh about it which led me to think of her as more of a wise person than her peers. "'Ah'm tryin' to soak some uh de tiredness and de dirt outa mah feet.' She laughed a little" (pg. 4) This shows to me that Janie is using her feet to represent her body and in a larger sense her soul. She gives the impression later in the first chapter of having a lack of care towards the gossip going around town about her. In reference to the gossip "'Tain't worth the trouble to me. You can tell 'em what Ah say if you wants to" .This to me indicated that Janie had matured past her peers which would suggest that she had encountered something on her journey that caused her to mature further.

From the first chapter I perceived the narrator as a philosophical person that would rather contemplate ideas than give examples that are actually happening in the novel, those examples are filled in by Janie. For example the narrator states "The people all saw her come because it was sundown. The sun was gone, but he had left his footprints in the sky." (pg 1) Without any real explanation of who "he" is and what he did I felt as though I was reading a hypothetical situation that was supposed to prepare me for the events to come rather than actually moving the plot forward. As well the narrator used diction that gave a calming and relaxing mood to the text, "Words walking without masters; walking altogether like harmony in a song" (pg. 2) This simile to music brought in all the feelings of what music it to me, and because of that I was instantly relaxed because that's what music does to me. Especially smooth jazz.