Journal 8

The hurricane had just ripped through the village. "As far as the eye could reach, water and wind playing upon it in fury" (Hurston 165). Hurston uses setting to mirror Janie's life in relationships and storms, because much of Janie's realtionships can be seen as surrounded by "Water and wind . . . in fury". Hurston's setting creates a setup to Janie's revelation of "bein' dead from the standin' still and tryin' tuh laugh." (167) The standing still is what Janie initially wants to do during the storm, but that would have led to death. In her other relationships, Janie stood still, and accepted her fate as a wife to Joe or Logan. However, she decides to move between each one and finds life. Then, with Tea Cake, she continues to move, as represented in Hurston's storm. Hurston intends the reader to see that the storm is the physical realization of the test that Joe, Logan, and Tea Cake must go through, only this time, Tea Cake managed to keep Janie.

This was signed off by you, Mrs. Wecker, on Friday, sept 25.