Reader's Choice

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!!

Style Watch

There you go, Twilight fans! Don't say I never did anything for you. As you can see from the bio picture, these are women with style! Anyone who can pull off a hat with a feather is impressive in my book. But, now, speaking of  books, what do you notice about Thomas's and Hurston's writing style? As you may have noticed, there is a topic involving comparing Hurston's/Thomas's style to O'Brien's's style. This is a rather broad topic, so I'll try to help narrow it down a bit.

When addressing the style of each author, you may choose to analyze the diction, or word choice, of each. (Is the word choice formal or informal? Does the author write in a way that is imagistic and poetic or rather terse and straightforward?)

Other ideas to consider: Does the author use dialect? Long or short sentences? Lots of dialogue or not so much? Is there anything else that stands out about the author's style? What sort of atmosphere, tone, or mood is each writer able to create? How are the writers similar and different in these areas? Also, what impact or effect does the author's style have on the novel? Does the style help the readers to understand the time period or culture? Does the style tend to alienate readers or draw them in to the story? Does the narrator seem to have a particular bias or philosophy that spills onto the page?

*These are questions to think about for the essay topic. For this post, feel free to stick to Hurston's/Thomas's style and we'll save O'Brien for later. (Unless you've already read both novels...in which case I now appoint you Most Impressive Person of June. Anyone?)

Gender, Race, & Society

In Their Eyes Were Watching God and/or The Hate U Give, how does gender (society’s vision of what it means to be male and female) and/or race affect characters’ identities, decisions, and/or lives? In the society presented in the novel, what does it mean to be a man? a woman? Do the society's expectations of masculinity and femininity and/or race affect Janie's and Starr's life in any significant ways? Are there any other characters that seem driven by societal expectations of gender or race (say, Joe Starks, for instance)? How do characters deal with stereotypes involving their gender or race?

Symbols: Hair, Hair Everywhere! (and Hurricanes...)

As you know, symbolism occurs when a person, place, or thing (such as hair) represents itself and something beyond itself. Hair, strangely enough, is a symbol in Hurston's novel. Other symbols that Hurston uses are the weather/hurricane and the pear tree. If you are reading The Hate U Give, what are some symbols that you've noticed? The cool thing about symbolism is that you have to figure it out. Calling all literary sleuths: How (in the world) is hair a symbol in Hurston's novel? What about the pear tree and/or hurricane? What does the title of each novel refer to? How does this passage relate to a possible theme of the novel? Hmmmm...

What is Love?

What is love? There are a multitude of quality pop and country songs (as well as rock ballads) that explore this very question. You may have a '90s stuck in your head right now just from reading the title.

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...

Speaking Truth & Finding a Voice

Hurston and O'Brien all explore the definition of truth. Where does Starr's story fit into this concept of speaking the truth and finding one's voice?  What are the consequences of speaking your truth in a society/community that disagrees with you? What are the consequences of staying silent and not speaking one's personal truth?

Identity: Defining Self on One's Own Terms or Being Defined By Others

So, you've probably heard of the idea of self-fulfilling prophesy that we become who we think we are, for better or for worse. This question of identity-of understanding and defining who you are-is yet another gigantic life question that shows up in Thomas's & Hurston's novels and in life. One major issue that surrounds questions of identity is who defines it? Do I get to decide who I am in life or do others decide that for me in various ways? This seems like the most obvious question in the universe. Of course, everyone should get to decide their own identities! But, when we look into the hallways of the high school, into the conference rooms of the business world, around the family dinner table, is this always the case? Do we have friends, family members, and co-workers that influence the way we think or feel about ourselves? Are they, in some ways, helping to shape our identities, in negative and positive ways? Or, do they provide feedback, and it's up to us to accept or reject it into our self concepts/identities like a really good peer edit in writing workshop?

As far as Janie and/or Starr are concerned, how does each define herself in the beginning of the novel? Are there points when she lets others define her? What are the consequences of this? How does this change as the novel progresses? What realizations does she make?

Individual Desire Vs. Social Responsibility

This theme seems to be the theme of the year...don't quote me on this, but I believe it comes up in every major work that we'll read this year (mainly because we're going to be reading about some oppressive and corrupt societies from which people feel the need to break free...). It is, as you know, a great problem of everyday life as well; what we want to do doesn't always neatly line up with our social responsibilities. For example, I feel like eating four doughnuts but I have a track meet in twenty minutes. Hmmm, what should I do? Okay, not the best example because I also risk stomach upset on a massive scale.

Let's have you come up with the example. Let's say you want to become the greatest [fill in blank of your dream job here] but society, or the powers that be, will not allow you access to this career because you are (too young, too old, too female, too male, etc). What should you do? In this case, we need to ask the question: Who is right in this situation? You or society? Are you a moral person living in an immoral society? If that's the case, what should you do? On the other hand, does society ask us to make sacrifices that are actually beneficial to us in the long run? Is there a middle ground? When living in groups of people, will we always have to make individual sacrifices in order to live together? How do we know when we've sacrificed too much (to society, a community, or a relationship)? Are there some things that should never be sacrificed? Where do we draw the line?

Getting back to our novels, do Janie and Starr do what they want to do or what others or society thinks they should do? Do they make some mistakes? Does this change throughout the course of the novel? How do Janie's three marriage illustrate this theme? When are they happiest? When are they most successful in society's eyes? Do these match up? Hmmmm, what do you conclude from all of this? What is the message, according to Hurston and Thomas?

Eye Hope You Like These Books...

If your eyes are watching Their Eyes Were Watching God or The Hate U Give (or you've started reading one of them, that is), feel free to start posting your comments. The discussion prompts relate to your possible essay topics, so you'll have a focused discussion forum in which to rehearse and develop your thoughts for your essay. Reading the ideas and interpretations of your peers will help by reinforcing some of your ideas while challenging others, helping us all to stretch our thinking in new ways. When you are making your astute observations, remember to support your view with detailed examples and/or relevant quotes from the novel (you're much harder to argue with that way!).