Again, Hurston, Thomas, and O'Brien have struck a major chord with all of human existence when they each attempt to present a vision of love within their novels' pages. One of the questions that seems to come up when attempting to define love (or really anything, for that matter) is: What is it not? How does Hurston define love? How does Thomas define love and friendship? How does she show what it is not? Do you agree or disagree? We'd love to hear your thoughts...
Angie Thomas demonstrate friendship through two of Starr's friends, Kenya and Hailey. Kenya who share a brother with Starr, doesn't seem like a good friend at the beginning, end up encouraging and supporting Starr to speak up and fight for Khalil. On the other hand, Hailey who Starr sees as best friend from the white school, is being races and not giving Starr the support when she needs it. When Starr asked her mom about her problem with Hailey, mom said that a relationship is worth salvaging when "all of his good and the love we share outweighs that one mistake". Multiple examples are given of how Hailey is not being a friend: she always give command and being the leader of the group, making jokes that hurts her friend's feeling and not apologizing for it, and giving an attitude to her friend's break down, instead of giving her friend a shoulder to cry on.
ReplyDeleteStarr is a character that is surrounded by loves of her family. The two man in the book, Maverick(Dad) and Uncle Carlos, both love Starr very much. Maverick's love for Starr gives his courage to take King's charge and goes to jail for three years for King to get out of the drug selling business. Maverick is all about changing the society for the Blacks, but if it mean putting Starr in danger, he would rather Starr keep silent about Khalil. In the same way, Uncle Carlos gets in a fight with One-fifteen, the one that killed Khalil, when he learned that One-fifteen pointed the gun at Starr. Uncle Carlos love Starr more than his job, he would risk his job to defend and protect Starr. Love for Starr brings the two man that used to fight in every situation together.
I very much agree about the author's point of view about friendships, that friends are supposed to support each other when there is an hardship. Hailey is definitely not a good friend, for putting salt on Starr's wound. I think Starr is not being a good friend in the beginning. Her fear of showing her friend her true self is keeping her true friendship at bay. Without knowing what is going on, her friend cannot help her out her misery. When she opens up to her friend and boyfriend then their friendship would finally never be broken.
Angie Thomas shows love and friendship throughout all of The Hate U Give. Starr’s home life demonstrates love, especially after Khalil’s death. After trauma, everyone grieves differently. Her parents and siblings knew this and gave her space, support, lent a listening ear, and prayed with her. They did their best to provide a safe space for her.
ReplyDeleteThere are different types of friendships going on throughout this novel. Since she goes to a private school, not in the city she lives, there is a separation between the two. Kenya and Hailey are the friends most focused on. Kenya and Starr share a brother, Seven, and Hailey and Starr both attend Williamson Prep. Kenya is there to help her testify the situation to get justice for Khalil. As the book goes on, Hailey and Starr seem to drift apart, and you see qualities in her that are not “good friend” material. Although, I do not think it is all her fault. I believe that their friendship never had a solid foundation to begin with, because Starr always felt she had to hide her true self while at Williamson. She did not feel as though she blended it on her own, so she tried to act like the others.
Angie Thomas presents a powerful definition of love that I personally agree with. When hearing love most people tend to think of a significant other, Thomas instead shows the reader the love and family and friends.
ReplyDeleteOne way she explains what love is by showing the relationship between Starr and her Uncle Carlos. While her father was in prison, Starr and her family lived with her uncle. Carlos was the father figure in her childhood. For many of her memories, he was there instead of her father. While Starr has a great relationship and bond with her father now, she still has the same relationship with her uncle. Starr explains how dad is not just a name and how she considered her Uncle Carlos her dad. Thomas in this situation shows us that love is not just a name. Relationships between people are not always the same. She shows that even if someone interacts with their mom or dad, they may not have a traditional relationship. It also shows that some people find the traditional relationship with someone else.
Another thing Thomas describes love is that it is forgiving. While talking about her childhood and relationships, Starr's mother explains "At an early age [she] learned that people make mistakes, and you have to decide if their mistakes are bigger than your love for them" (264). By having her say this, Thomas is explaining that love does not make people perfect. Love is a powerful force that can override the mistakes that people make. Love is forgiving.
Thomas explains this powerful force in a genuine way that I believe everyone can relate to. She helps to make sense of love, which is a force beyond definition.
The idea of love is very well presented by Hurston in Their Eyes Were Watching God. She defines it by that firework giggly feeling that happens during every conversation, and by the support and care given by the significant other. However, the entire beginning of the novel where the main character Janie, has not yet met her Tea Cake, Hurston is defining what love is NOT. She uses Joe Starks, to elaborate on this concept. Joe, when he first meets Janie, seems like a fun and charming man. Anything is better than the husband she has now. So she goes with him partially out of boredom, and partially out of hopefulness for what her future may carry. Whatever made her go with Joe to the new town, it was not love at first sight. As the story progresses, she becomes contempt and unsatisfied. Her husband and her barely get along, and their bedroom has become a stolid place of emptiness rather than love and conversation. We can see and feel the emotion between them dying out as Joe falls under the pressure of his manliness, and in turn they fall out of love. We can clearly see the change of emotion as she meets Tea Cake. The dialogue between them shows that happy and excited feelings that love should bring. Hurston shows through the trials Janie faces that marriage and love are not synonymous, and societal standards can crush a relationship. Spouses should recognize the personality of the individual and treat them as such, not the gender or race and define them as such. That is exactly what Hurtson tries to show us as she contrasts Joe and Tea Cake.
ReplyDeleteAngie Thomas shows the most powerful love that can be given, which is the bond between Starr and her mother. Lisa Carter has always led Starr in the right path and was a shoulder for her to cry on. After Khalil had died, Starr's mother made sure she was alright and understood how much trauma Starr has been through at such a young age. In such a dark time, Lisa was loving no matter what and tought Starr important life lessons. For example, Lisa explains to Starr that even though Brenda was never there for Khalil, she should still help Brenda return to a normal lifestyle. She also raised Seven like her own son and wanted to move homes so her whole family was protected. Lisa also made sure to remind Starr how brave she is and telling the truth even when she is scared makes her a hero.
ReplyDeleteI think it was extremely important Thomas included how rocky the relationship was between Starr, Maya, and Hailey. Thomas shows how even Hailey, one of Starr's oldest friends, can betray Starr and not show how a best friend should support and love Starr in this difficult time. Instead, Hailey makes rude comments on how Khalil was a "drug dealer" and how Starr should "get over" his death. I believe this was so important to include in the book because Starr did nothing wrong for Hailey to treat her like this. Starr is a normal teenager and will have to figure out on her own what friendships are toxic and who needs to be removed from her life.
Zora Neale Hurston defines love as being satisfied and complete. At the beginning of the novel, Janie does not know what love means and she only has what her grandmother tells her it means. In Nannny's eyes, love is being financially stable. Nanny tells Janie that she has to marry early to a stable man and she will grow to love him. However, that is not the case. Janie was looking in the wrong place when she took Nanny's advice because, as learned throughout the novel, love is not having money. I know that Janie did not love Logan or Joe and that she did love Tea Cake. I agree with how Hurston portrays true love thrpugh Janie and Tea Cake because she shows that they love each other when Janie talks about how much she wanted to make her house feel like a home for Tea Cake and how Tea Cake could not stay away from her for a full work day.
ReplyDeleteAngie Thomas shows that love is being with someone even if you don't want to do what you are doing but are doing it to be with them. Love is shown in the novel, The Hate U Give, by Starr's family and also Chris and Maya. Thomas also defines friendship as sticking up for someone you call a friend even if they are not around. She also shows that love is not being nice to someone in person but making fun of them outside of that and also not talking to them outside of that. Friendship is shown by Kenya and Maya throughout the novel, an example is when Maya defended Starr after her and Hailey got into a fight. An example of what love isn't is when Hailey was saying Khalil was just a drug dealer and deserved to die and then fought Starr. I agree with how Thomas showed examples of what love was and wasn't because it involved things that happen in todays world everyday and is a thing people need to change if they are not at least being polite to everyone else they see.
ReplyDeleteHurston lets us know what love is by giving us two great examples of what it isn't: Janie's first two marriages. Her first marriage is with a man she really doesn't love. We know this because she never says anything good about him. She hates turning over to look at him in bed because of how much he disgusts her. Love is not being with someone you cannot bare. Janie's second marriage was not love either. She ran away with Joe, a man she barely knew. He later becomes mayor of another town and she feels more worse and worse the better their financial lives get. Although she was married to the major, she later realizes he is no longer good looking and his charisma isn't enough. She does not care for his jerk-like personality. You have to love who someone is inside, not who they are on their outside. I agree with Hurston's representations of what love isn't.
ReplyDeleteThomas defines friendship and love as “the good outweighing the bad.” In The Hate U Give, Starr is shown love by her family, Chris, and her community. Even when times were tough they stood by her side and supported her decisions. They were willing to do whatever it takes to keep her safe. For example, Chris stayed with Starr the entire time they were in Garden Heights during the riots, even if that meant his life might be in danger. Not only did Thomas show the idea of romantic love, she also showed family love. Starr’s relationships between her parents, siblings, and Uncle Carlos were unbreakable, and they guided her through one of the toughest times of her life.
ReplyDeleteThe friendship of Starr, Maya, and Hailey showed both what love is and what love is not. Love is realizing differences, but coming together because of them. Maya stayed with Starr after they realized how Hailey was treating them. Love is not making fun of differences, whether it is appearance or culture. Hailey viewed herself as “superior” to Maya and Starr, and would always joke about their culture’s stereotypes.
I agree with how Thomas portrayed love and friendships. A lot of times, people only see what love is, but not what love isn’t. Starr was shown how to recognize the ones who truly care for her, and how to let go of the ones who don’t.
Hurston's definition of love is simple: feeling not just satisfied because of materialist factors, but truly loving someone for who they are on the inside. Janie's first two marriages were far from true love and that may be an understatement. Her first marriage was extremely forced and we (the readers) know she didn't love him because about a month into her marriage, she went back to her family and asked them if she would ever love him. Janie's second marriage was very sporadic and abrupt and she didn't even know the man. She had talked to him for about a week and then just left and started a new life with him. He wasn't what she thought he was and the marriage had no mutual love. Janie used that marriage as an escape from her previous.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the points of what love isn't that are brought up throughout the novel. You can't attempt to force yourself to love someone, it should be natural. Love isn't loving someone because of the pressure others put on you. Love isn't loving someone for their values or power. Loving someone is loving that person for who they are on the inside. After all, that's all that really matters.
Thomas, the author of The Hate You Give, defines friendship through Starr, the main character, and the relationships that she develops over the course of the story. Hailey, who was once best friends with Starr, is the character who is able to enlighten the readers on what friendship truly means. When deciding if she should forgive Hailey, Starr thinks, "If the good outweighs the bad, I should keep Hailey as a friend." Unfortunately, there was an overlord of bad that Starr could not ignore. Hailey is ignorant. She is not willing to see things in different perspectives. Hailey does not see all of Starr for who she is. That is the opposite of what friendship should be. Friendship relies on trust, and when one person is unwilling to listen, then the friendship never truly existed. Friendship is never perfect, but in the end the good has to outweigh the bad.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this the idea of friendship that Thomas shows throughout her story. Hailey never fully accepted Starr for who she was. She ignored Starr's race. On the other hand, Starr's friend Maya saw all of Starr. She never ignored part of her. I think that Thomas did a good job contrasting friendship through these characters.
In "The Hate U Give", the author, Angie Thomas, uses many different relationships to show that she believes love is the unselfishness that brings people closer together. One such relationship lies between the main character, Starr, and her white boyfriend, Chris. These young characters come from vastly different backgrounds. Starr grew up in Garden Heights, a ghetto that was filled with violence and uncertainty. She lived in a modest home with a comfortable lifestyle. Chris, on the other hand, lives in a mansion, where he is given everything he wants. While at Chris's house, Starr even states that "My old house in Garden Heights could fit in your house." and that "We shouldn't be together"(Thomas 375). Despite this difference, Chris goes to great lengths to show Starr how much he loves her. At Prom, he goes on stage and sings the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song in front of everyone to show her how sorry he is for being petty. Towards the end of the novel, he goes with Starr to save DeVante and help with the riots. He is extremely uncomfortable but wants to be there for his girlfriend, showing her how much he loves her. A relationship Thomas uses to show what love is not is King and his family. What makes this relationship so devoid of love is King's selfishness. Whenever something goes wrong, King beat his wife and daughters. This shows that he only cares about himself and his own interests.
ReplyDeleteI agree with how Thomas defines love. The people who I love most are those who I am willing to make sacrifices for, and the people who I know love me most are always there for me when I need them, even if it conflict with their own plans.
Hurston's idea of love is shown when Janie meets Tea Cake. Before then, Hurston shows us what love isn't through Janie's first two marriages. Janie was forced into her first marriage. Her second marriage was a result of how she felt about her first husband Logan. She didn't love him. Joe promised Janie he would treat her right if she left with him. After a week of knowing Joe, she left with him. When Janie and Joe started their new lives together, Janie realized that Joe was not the person she thought he would be. He seemed to be putting his major job before being Janie's husband. By the end of their marriage, they didn't love each other. I think Janie fell in love of the thought of what Joe could be instead of who he was. Janie was, however, in love with Tea Cake. The readers could tell they were in love. Tea Cake let Janie come to work with him because he couldn't bare to be away from her all day. He ignored the gender stereotypes of what a woman is capable of and taught Janie how to play checkers and how to shoot a gun. They just simply loved each other.
ReplyDeleteI agree with how hurston defines what is and what isn't love. Love is not forced. It is not based on what could be. It is not based on financial status. Love is based on who a person is. It is who they are inside. When you love a person, you don't need anything but that person. You would do anything for that person. Love is forever.
In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston shows the readers many examples of what love is not and what true love is. We see signs of false love with Janie's first two husbands Logan and Joe. Janie's first marriage was a forced marriage caused by her Nanny who believed that Janie would fine love through marrying someone who was finically stable. However, Janie did not care for any of that and just wanted a man who loved her for who she is and let her be herself. Logan did none of these causing Janie to leave him for her second husband Joe. Joe and Janie fell madly in love, connecting right away but everything changed when they got married. They realized they had different expectations for each other. Joe thought that Janie was going to take a more traditional role why Janie thought that Joe would allow her to do things and go places with him. Due to these simple assumptions of each other it caused then to grow further and further apart until they did not love each other. It wasn't until Janie's third husband Tea Cake, where she found true love. The reason why the love with Tea Cake was real is because he loved her based on who she was not on what he wanted her to be. Tea Cake and Janie were always together and Tea Cake would often let her come to work with him and do things with him because he could not stand being away from her. I agree with Hurston on her view of love. True love is when you love someone based on who they are and not on how they look or what you think they could be.
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ReplyDeleteHurston demonstrates to the reader both the true definition of love and the exact opposite through Janie and her three husbands. In her first two marriages, to Logan Killicks and to Joe Starks, Janie is confined and belittled by her husbands. At the plea of her grandmother, Janie married Mr. Killicks, not because she wanted to. Her unhappiness in that home led her to her second marriage with Joe. Joe promised Janie freedom and peace, all of which was cast aside once Joe was announced Mayor. In this relationship Janie is unfulfilled and her character’s growth is stunted by the beliefs and standards her husband holds her to. Both of these marriages did not complete Janie or allow her to continue to follow her dreams.
Hurston provides to the reader what she defines as love through Janie’s relationship with Tea Cake. Although he is younger than she, their age difference does not stop them from spending time together. Not only that, but when before she was previously treated like an animal and a mute figure by Logan and Joe, Tea Cake respects who Janie is and that she needs to come into her own. Tea Cake appreciates everything Janie has to offer, and in return he provides her with the skills she needs to protect herself in the end when she has to kill him. Tea Cake did not force Janie to hide behind societal norms and conform to what other men and women believed she should do, he allowed her personality and identity to bloom. He recognized who she was and who she wanted to be, and gave her every chance to become that person. Hurston does an excellent job of demonstrating both ends of Janie’s experiences with love, and what love should be.
Throughout the novel The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas gives a very prevailing theme, which is love and friendship is everything. This idea of love is very clearly demonstrated between Starr and her family. After Khalil was murdered, they all knew, or at least tried to understand what she was going through. They were there for her, everyone grieves very differently especially after going through a horrendous experience like Starr did. However,they all knew how to make it better. Her parents were both there for her. Starr's mother nurtured and protected her by checking almost every hour of the night to make sure that she was okay. Her father, Maverick shows love by telling Starr that he loves her, and everything is going to be okay. The morning after the incident Maverick simply says: "'Morning baby girl"'(Thomas 31), kisses Starr on the forehead and asks how she slept, even though he knows she didn't sleep well. Starr's older and younger brothers, Seven and Sekani also show their love by acting like nothing terrifying happened, which is was Starr needed: something to be normal.
ReplyDeleteFriendship is greatly demonstrated throughout the novel. One of the greatest friendships in the novel is spread out through the community. After Khalil is shot the entire community comes together to show their love and support. Although it's not the ideal situation they make the best out it, and find way to help each other through the loss of someone that was loved.
Hurston defines love as unconditional and unmaterialistic. This is seen in Janie’s third marriage with Tea Cake. Janie sees that Tea Cake genuinely loves her and isn’t married to her just to use her. Tea Cake doesn’t worry about money and always gives Janie something if she needs it. Even though Tea Cake didn’t have a strong financial foundation, he was still able to support and make Janie happy. Many people in Eatonville thought this was bad. They felt that Janie was disrespecting Jody and that she should find someone else. When she lived with Jody and Logan, her relationships were forced. She didn’t give back love because of how they treated her. Love shouldn’t be rushed and should come naturally. I agree with how Hurston portrays love through Tea Cake and Janie. It is a very good example of how you should love someone for who they are and not what they provide for you.
ReplyDeleteAngie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give, focuses on a powerful form of love that many often overlook. While most authors may focus on romantic love, such as with a boyfriend or girlfriend, Thomas instead writes about the love shared with a family, going against readers’ expectations of what it means to write about love. Thomas defines love as being supportive and always standing with the people you love. She demonstrates this through Starr’s bond with her mother. Starr’s mom cares very deeply for her daughter. After the incident with Khalil, she expresses her love for Starr through her unconditional support of her daughter.
ReplyDeleteFrom the beginning of the book, the reader sees that Starr and her mother have a close bond. Lisa clearly loves her daughter and watches out for her whenever she can. After Khalil’s death, Starr is traumatized, scared, and struggles to decide if she will speak out about the events of his death or not. Through the entire ordeal, Lisa acts as a strong support system for Starr. She acts as a shoulder to cry on and never pushes her to do anything she doesn’t want to involving Khalil’s death. She defends her daughter unconditionally and even yells at her own brother for trying to push Starr to talk to the police when she may not have been ready to. From the very first page, Lisa shows her love for her daughter through her unconditional support and defense of her daughter.
As Angie Thomas has shown throughout the entirety of "The Hate U Give" love is a very important thing- and that is in no way to say that romantic love trumps all. On the contrary, Angie Thomas puts far more emphasis on love between family members, friends, and, perhaps most notably, a person's passions! Passion towards a problem seen in society is as important a form of love as romantic love and I think how the several forms of love were shown was done very well. Starr clearly loves and cares deeply for Kahlil and this is shown in several ways throughout the novel. What she is willing to do for him and his cause only goes to prove this point further. She loves and cares for Kahlil and is passionate about bringing him as well as others in similar situations justice. Although she greatly fears what will happen if she speaks out and goes against society, she knows that she must. Her love of her friend and his cause overrides her (justified) fear, in the end. The love others- such as her family members and others passionate about the cause- show both her and the issue at hand also greatly inspires her actions. The love and support of others is a fantastic motivator to do what Starr knows she has to do. Starr knows she may face horrible repercussions for speaking out, but love is a powerful force and it is precisely what she needs to make her voice be heard.
ReplyDeleteIn Their Eyes Were Watching God, the idea of love and being happy is stated throughout the book. The main character, Janie Crawford, marries three different men with three different ideas of what a marriage should be. Her first husband that she was forced to marry, Mr. Killicks, treated Janie like a common housewife in the southern 20th century. She helped him in the fields, cooked all the food, and waited on him hand and foot. Janie was feeling bored and unfulfilled in this marriage, so she ran away with mayor Joe Stark. Mr. Stark thought that a wife should be given the best gifts and that she should be treated like royalty. However, he also believed that a wife should be seen and not heard while out with her husband. This caused Janie to again feel bored and underwhelmed in her marriage despite having anything she could ever want. Janie’s third marriage was different from the first two. Tea Cake loved and respected Janie and introduced adventure and true love into her life. Janie was happier with Tea Cake than she was with the other two men, and this is shown by how she acts with the different men. Hurston used the first two marriages to show the reader what a marriage or relationship should not be, and she used the last marriage and Janie's relationship with herself to show that love means taking care of each other and respecting each other. Janie’s relationship with herself also shows that taking care of yourself and listening to your own feelings is the most important thing to do. Hurston also proves that there are many different interpretations of love and relationships, but not everybody agrees or is happy with every interpretation.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel, The Hate You Give, Angie Thomas defines love and friendship as accepting people for who they are. The main character, Starr, acts differently at home and at school. In school she thinks she has to act like everyone else, so she isn't thought of as "ghetto". Starr eventually learns that true friends accept you for who you really are. One way Starr learns this is through her friend Hailey. When Hailey and Starr get into a fight, Starr's mom reminds her that she should keep friends when the good outweighs the bad. Starr realizes that Hailey doesn't accept her for who she is and there is too much bad in their relationship. Starr also learns true friendship through her white boyfriend, Chris. Starr struggles with being herself around Chris and she often thinks they shouldn't be together because of their different backgrounds. Starr realizes Chris is a true friend when he goes to Garden Heights with Starr during the riots. Chris accepts Starr for who she is and he doesn't care about her race. I agree with how Thomas defines love and friendship. I think true friends are people who you can be yourself around. The people that truly love you are the people who love you for who you are, not who you pretend to be.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel The Hate You Give, Thomas displays strong families,friendship,and love. Thomas seems to define love as really being there for each other. This includes people and communities everyone has everyone’s back. This is shown a lot throughout the book every time something major happens everyone is there for each other. When Khalil is killed, Starr’s entire family has her back and is constantly showing her that they love her and want to protect her. When the police ask if anyone witnessed King set the store on fire the community was there and despite their fear of him they told the police. These examples really display love and friendship. Helping each other out and protecting each other was very important in the novel. Thomas also shows what love is not supposed to be. She displays some very real topics when she writes about King and Iesha and their relationship with each other. King often gets very angry and takes it out on Iesha and his daughters. Another example Thomas uses is Seven and Iesha and how a mother is supposed to be there for her child which is not what Iesha does for Seven. Toward the end it is portrayed better that not all of Iesha’s intentions are bad and she does want to protect Seven even if it isn’t always shown. I agree with Thomas that love is being there for each other and small acts of kindness are very important.
ReplyDeleteHurston defines love through symbols and omens. That there has to be a reason to love someone. We can really see this within the first part of the book when Janie is under the pear tree. Once the bee pollinates the fruit she thinks that this is a symbol that she should have her own love for Johnny. Hurston also shows what love is not. Love is not through the eyes of someone else and is should only be through you perspective. When Nanny pairs Janie up with Logan this is not love because it is through the eyes of Nanny. Nanny vision of love is materialistic and dominance. She thinks if a man can provide for you, you should love him and do you part. Janie relationship with Jody is a mistake of love as well, Jody viewed Janie as an object, which love inside and deeper than that. Hurston provides one example of what love can be, by the relationship Janie had with tea cake. Tea didn't have much to offer but his love for Janie. I agree with Hurston for the representation of what love is not. However I disagree that love is declared by symbols and omen. I think love should come with time and experience.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel “The Hate U Give”, Love and friendship is a big theme. Love is not shown through a boyfriend and girlfriend. It is shown through friends and family. Angie Thomas, the author, says that love and friendship is just accepting people as they are. Starr doesn’t want friends to know how her life is like at home, so she lies to them and acts differently. The love that Starr shows for Khalil is unlike no other. Starr is willing to do anything for Khalil. Starr is scared about the reactions she will get about speaking out against society, but she knows she must. Also Starr’s bond with her mom is very strong. After Khalil was shot Starr’s mother expressed a lot more love for Starr. Lisa always made sure she was there for Starr. She taught Starr important life lessons and was a good role model for Starr. She wanted to move homes so her family was not around the violence. Lisa Carter also took in Seven and raised him like her own son. Love and friendship was a big theme in this novel that shouldn’t go unnoticed.
ReplyDeleteAngie Thomas has shown throughout the book that love is not a simple thing. Many things have a factor in who or what you love, from where you come from to who you are as a person. She uses Starr's friend Hailey as an example for that, her mother told her to make a list and if the good outweighs the bad then keep her, if it doesn't then don't. I think that is a good thing to hear because people aren't all bad or all good but one is always more prominent. Starr has a boyfriend named Chris, he is white and she is not, so when Starr has problems in her life she feels as if no one will understand because they didn't grow up where she did. Eventually, she tells Chris everything, and he did understand, which showed how much he loved her. I believe that Angie Thomas was trying to show that if you show someone who you are and they accept you for it, then they probably love you. I agree with what the author is saying that when you love someone they accept you.
ReplyDeleteIn Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston displays love in several different ways. Specifically, different forms of love throughout Janie's three marriages, and how her grandmother views it. At first, Janie is instructed by her grandmother that marriage is nothing but a safety net; essentially, "Marry first, love later". Being only sixteen, Janie has had no other experiences with love, so she believes her grandmother's views and marries the man she is assigned to. In her first marriage, Janie is treated as a typical housewife. As time goes by, Janie grows tired of her life and how her husband is treating her. She wants adventure. When she meets her second husband, Joe Starks, he promises her a life full of grandeur, and Janie does not hesitate to follow him. Once again, as time passes, her marriage proves to disappoint her. Joe Starks is abusive towards Janie, saying she has no place to act in the world, basically preferring if she acted like a doll. Janie's first two marriages are clear examples of what love should not be. It is not until her third marriage to Tea Cake that a loving relationship blooms. Tea Cake adores Janie with every fiber of his being, doting over her but not being upright controlling. Unlike her first two husbands, Tea Cake truly wants Janie to be by his side and work with him. He gives her a chance to be independent. Janie's relationship with Tea Cake shows what love really should be. It is not the ideal picture of what a relationship should be and could certainly see some improvement, but with what Tea Cake and Janie had, there was true, genuine love. I believe that Hurston is trying to show that love comes from passion, acceptance, and friendship, which I absolutely agree with.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Hate U Give," Thomas expresses love more through friendship and family than a relationship or romance. Starr's mother, Lisa, was someone that Starr could always looked up to. She worked hard to try to move her family out of their bad situation and out of the violent hood and gave Starr as much as she could. Friendship was also something that Thomas used to show love; Starr and Khalil had a bond stronger than most, and even though she was initially afraid to speak out against his killing, she did so out of her love for him. Thomas uses small acts of kindness to display the amount of love the characters have for each other, which I like because it kind of captures what love really is; holding somebody down through anything and thinking about them even when they aren't there.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Love is displayed throughout the novel in multiple forms. They can be seen in all three marriages she had and how it affected her. Janie’s first marriage was forced by her grandmother. Logan treated her as a common house wife and only married her just to use her. There was no true love in the relationship, Logan didn’t give any so Janie didn’t give back. This is similar to her second marriage with Jody Starks. At first, Janie thought she would be happy, but it eventually turned out to be like her first marriage. Jody would always ridicule Janie if she made a mistake, and he treated her like she wasn’t human. There was no connection with her and Jody. When Janie met Tea Cake, it was love at first sight. They were very comfortable and happy with each other. Tea Cake also didn’t have a lot of money, but he was still able to take care of Janie. This shows that you don’t have to follow what society expects of you. You should love someone for who they are and not for the money in there pocket.
ReplyDeleteZora Neale Hurston demonstrates what love is, as well as what love is not through the main character, Janie, and her many marriages throughout the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Janie is forced into marrying a man who she hardly knew, in order to have someone to look after her when her grandmother passed away. Given how little they knew one another, the marriage was mainly arranged by Janie's Grandmother. Wanting the best of Janie, her grandmother saw the man, Logan Killicks as a good husband, in result of his financial wellbeing, and his good amount of property. As the readers know, Janie did not love Logan, she returned to speak with her grandmother after only a month of marriage, questioning if one day she would ever love him. In an attempt to escape Logan, Janie agreed to travel with another man, by the name of Joe Starks, who she also hardly knew. Joe seemed to have a promising future ahead of him, and big dreams for a new town, so Janie packed up her things and traveled with him. After settling down and getting into their new life in their new town, in which Joe was the major of, Janie began to grow increasingly unhappy. Joe tended to pay more attention to his town and his duties as the major, and less attention to Janie as time continued to pass. When she meets Tea Cake, she finally realized what love was, through their relationship. Tea Cake includes her, regardless of society's standards of what it means to be a female or male. Tea Cake allows Janie to travel with him to work, because he can not stand being apart from her, as well as teaches her how to shoot a gun, which were both things that neither Joe, or Logan would have even considered doing. While with Logan, she tended to spend a lot of her time at home alone while he was out working, and while with Joe, she spent all of her time tending to the store. Joe even refused to bring her to certain events because he did not believe that it was appropriate for the major's wife to attend. The author brings to light that love is not defined by the materialistic items in the world. Although Janie's first two husbands both had a small fortune, in the end she was married to the man who made her the happiest. The author shows through Janie's multiple marriage that just because she wasn't happy with the first two men, did not mean that there was not someone else out there for her, who would make her happy. I agree with the author, I think that love is defined by what someone has on the inside, not what they have on the outside.
ReplyDeleteThe novel “The Hate U Give” demonstrates that love, whether it be a friendship or a relationship, is crucial for every person, especially when times are difficult. Throughout the book, Starr feels likes she lets Kahlil down and what he would do if they had switched places. In Starr’s friendships and relationships she keeps those close to her who treat each other like they are family no matter the race or background. Starr learns the hard way that a loving friendship is not making fun of one another, controlling other people’s decisions, or criticizing one’s background by her friend Hailey’s actions. Hailey defines very clearly on how to not treat someone even if it’s one of your closest family members or friends. In my opinion, Angie Thomas portrays a loving friendship and/or relationship exceptionally because the best kind of friendship and/or relationship is one that you can treat as if you’re family.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Hate U Give" Angie Thomas repeatedly discloses that love is extremely important in peoples lives. She shows love through family support. Starr had a very strong bond with Khalil so when he is shot Starr is devestated. After this incident Starr's family is very supportive. Starr's mom is there for her by supporting her in speaking up against others and seeking justice for Khalil. Seven is there for her by keeping things calm. He plays basketball with her when he's not busy even though he is not very athletic. When there is sirens, gunshots and helicopters Seven and her mom stay up with her. Starr's dad shows his support and love when he came home, wrapped his arms around her, kissed the back of her head and said, "We'll be a'ight".
ReplyDeleteIn "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Janie Crawford wanted to find love, and while trying to find it she found what was not love, but the complete opposite. Janie wanted to find the person she could blossom with. Her grandmother arranged a marriage for her. Janie did not love the man she had to marry. Their relationship showed the opposite of love. He used her for work. She felt nothing for him. She was beaten and mistreated. She was very upset with her grandmother because her grandmother believed that love came from stability and money. Her grandmother was completely wrong. She then found a man named Joe Starks who she thought she loved. He gave her many things. He had a big house, money, and he was the Mayor. Janie soon realized that this was not love either. She needed a man that would respect her and spend time with her. She realized that money did not equal love. Love is something that happens and is not forced.
ReplyDeleteIn Hurston's Novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God", Love is described as a feeling of completeness and togetherness. I feel that love is misunderstood in this context. To say love is simply a feeling to describe your completeness with your partner is a horrible definition. I feel that love is less of a feeling, and more like a journey and idea. Love is dedication, commitment, mutual respect, and acceptance of one another. those who describe love as the temporary feeling of completeness often question their decisions down the road. This questioning often leads to the loss of their idea of love and separation from their partner, both spiritually and physically. Every definition of love is different in its own unique way, that's why it's important to let those in love define their true feelings for one another.
ReplyDeleteHurston shows love for what it is, and also what it is not in "Their Eyes Were Watching God". Throughout the novel, Janie comes in contact with four relationships. Her lack of personal identity, and relationships with Logan, Joe, and Tea Cake. Hurston shows love as a beautiful thing that the main character, Janie Crawford, is trying to find. She tries to find "love" at a young age by kissing Johnny Taylor under a pear tree but is soon forced away from him by her Grandmother. Grandmother forced Janie to marry Logan after this incident. There was no true love between Janie and Logan because he treated her so poorly. Janie moved on to find love but was unsuccessful with Joe as well after he shows her his true colors. As she moves on to meet Tea Cake, Janie discovers what love truly is. Tea Cake does not care what society thinks and is truly in love with Janie. The author shows different stages of finding out what love is during the book by showing Janie how not to be treated first. I agree with this idea of love because love should be based on how someone makes you feel, not what they have to offer you.
ReplyDeleteAngie Thomas defines love and friendship as the people who are there for you when times are hard. This is seen in friendship when Starr realizes how terrible Hailey is and how much of a good friend Maya is, although this sadly had to come to light through racism it was a good example of true friendship is and isn’t. Starr was able to realize that the bad and the un-remorsefulness of Hailey outweighed the good of her, additionally as much as she didn’t want to admit it, she had made some very racist comments and bullied her friends and told them is what a joke to paint herself in a better light. Additionally I feel that Seven is a great example of someone who shows love because no matter what his mother does to him he will always be there to try to fight for her and his younger sisters although he might get hurt in the process of protecting him. From this I feel that Angie Thomas did a great job of showing what love is. She also shows what love is not in how Iesha treats Seven although near the end of the novel she shows kindness towards Seven I feel that it is remorse for what worse could happen if she didn’t help. Iesha doesn’t help Seven in any of his hard times it’s always Seven helping her.
ReplyDeleteWithin her novel, Thomas presents love and friendship as the ability to overcome prior prejudices and irrational judgements to see and treat a person for who they really are. Her boyfriend, Chris, having grown up in an entirely white environment, obviously had some prejudices about Starr’s world at home. But because he knew who she really was under the surface she used to hide these things, he trusted her when she showed him this true way of life. This is the same reason why her friendship with Hailey failed; Hailey was unable to overcome the biased beliefs that she had been raised upon and as such never came to see Starr for who she truly was. In The Hate U Give, Starr’s relationships never follow the same path, but all take the same final conclusion: faith and trust in who the real Starr is and the great things she can do.
ReplyDeleteLove is a very strong emotion found throughout the whole novel, The Hate you Give. The different relationships in the book aren't always a love that is romantic and while Thomas did have romantic relationships in the book, not all that are portrayed are like that. One of the bigger romantic examples of love is the relationship between Starr and her boyfriend Chris. These two come from extremely different backgrounds and live in extremely different parts of the world. Chris lives in gated community and his family obviously comes from money. Starr on the other hand lives in an average home with parents who have modest jobs and she lives in one of the bad parts of town. Even through these obvious differences between the two and how much tension it caused at some points in the novel, they stuck with each other and managed to look past these between themselves because they loved each other. One other important relationship in the novel is the relationship between Starr and her brother Seven. Although he had family troubles of his own and he was growing to be an adult, he still managed to find time for Starr, whether it was playing basketball with her or doing something else to keep her occupied. This showed the love he had for her because he knew that he had troubles but his love for her hallowed him to put them behind him because he knew that what she was going through was harder than his own problems and he wanted to help her get better first until he helped himself.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel, "Their Eyes Were Watching God," Janie's Nanny explains that love is something that will make one work and sweat. Within Nealson's book, she represents life and love with the symbolism of a pear tree. Janie learns with time that love will come through experience and isn't something that comes when you marry them. Janie learns that with her marriage with Logan Killicks when she felt no connection like how she imagined when she was with him. He treated her like everyone else and she waited, hoping to feel love with him, yet she never did. It's not until her third marriage that she finds love. I know that love, like Janie, comes with experience. Love is when one is willing to sacrifice everything for the one you love. When one is willing to give up their own happiness for them and live with knowing that you will no longer be happy, but the one you love will be and that makes it okay.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurtson, Hurtson shows the reader what her idea of love is. She does this by first showing what love isn’t, and then having her character, Janie, come to the realization of what her version of love really is. It all starts when Janie is 16 and is married off to her first husband Logan Kiilicks. Even though he’s the richest man around and has lots of land, she didn’t find herself happy, even saying that “She knew now that marriage did not make love …”. She then left her first husband and married Joe Starks, another rich man who eventually become mayor. Joe believed that women, specifically a man's wife, should be given great gifts and treated well, however he also believed that women should be seen and not heard while with their husbands. He also abuses her both physically and emotionally. Once again Janie felt unhappy and unloved. Both Janie's first and second marriages are used by Hurtson to show what love isn’t, it’s not until Joe dies and Janie marries Tea Cake that Hurtson starts to show the reader what her idea of love really is. Unlike the men of her first two marriages, Tea Cake is not rich, he does not give Janie a bunch of expensive gifts in order to win her over. Instead he just genuinely cares for her, Janie finds in him something that was missing with her other two marriages, fun and laughter. Janie finally starts to feel good, she finally starts to realize that this is what love is.
ReplyDeleteLove is known as one of the strongest emotions a person can feel, and that is displayed very well throughout the novel "The Hate U Give". Everything from Starr's family support, to the love Starr still has for Khalil after he passed, this book does a very good job at showing how strong and important love is. The standout example to me is the fact that no matter what, Starr is fighting to get justice for someone she loved. After Khalil died, Starr realized that in able to do good for him she had to step out of her comfort zone. Even though she was scared, she spoke up and let love motivate her to get the equity and clarity Khalil would've wanted.
ReplyDeleteIn Their Eyes Were Watching God, love is shown through Hurston's eyes. In Janie's first marriage, Janie is forced into marrying Logan Killicks by Nanny. During her second marriage, Janie is pushed around by her husband and viewed as an object. Janie's first two marriages taught her that love needs to be between two equals and that love cannot be forced. Janie's third marriage with Tea cake was perfect because she was not arranged into a marriage and he is willing to have Janie be his equal. Tea Cake is what Hurston feels people need in love.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurtson. this is primarily shown through the three marriages Janie was in. The first two were unhappy and painful for Janie. The third was a happy marriage up until the end. this demonstrates how choosing for yourself is much more fulfilling than letting society/family choose for you.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, love is not shown in Janie’s first two marriages. She is rushed and forced into the first marriage to Killicks by her grandmother. Nanny wanted her to marry a rich man whom everyone loved, except Janie. Janie kept being told that love will find its way to the relationship but it never did. Janie could not stand to look at her husband and the way he treated her upset her very much. She often got bored of just staying in the house and upholding the standards for a wife. This leads to Janie’s next marriage with Joe Stark. She meets him when she sees him walking down the road. Once they have a conversation about where he’s going and what he’s doing, Janie comes to find through her marriage that Stark does not treat her well regardless of how many things he buys her. Once Janie leaves this marriage, she finds Tea Cake or what we would call true love. She is kept fulfilled and grows as a person in this relationship. Tea Cake likes to see Janie happy and relaxed with herself and the relationship. He often invites her to work in the fields with him because they cannot stand to be away from each other for a workday. The two never grow tired of each other and are always finding ways to better each other. Hurston shows what love is and isn’t throughout the novel in many different ways. I agree with what love is not. Feelings should always be true and never suppressed or faked in order to spare others' feelings. True love is hard to find but once that person is found, they should never be let go.
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