Like water for choclate!

I think that this book is a little different the the other ones that we read as a class. I think its weird how each chapter starts with a recipe and a name of the month. Im not saying that its a bad book i just think that its different. I don't really know where the character that is telling the story is. In all the previous books that we read in class we would talk about the speaker and see who they are but in this book its find of different. The one thing that i find hard is stopping in the chapters i kind of just want to finish up the book right away. Im having a family re-union this weekend and im seeing allot of people i haven't seen in years so i have been busy. The first chapters were some what harder to take the time to sit down and really focus so i just gave up. Today was a diffrent story i actually sat down and read it all and now i just want to finish the book. But is that really a bad thing?

Cooking Up Love

I may not understand the title, Like Water For Chocolate, but I absolutely love reading about the recipes, on how to make them, and every feeling or story that goes with each receipe.  I kinda felt that Tita loved to cook and everything about cooking, and in her world inside the kitchen and beyond to the garden , she expresses those feelings with a recipe, how she feels when she eats that certain recipe or how she relates an event in her life to a recipe.  Like when the taste and the aroma of the Christmas rolls reminded her of last christmas and of how Pedro confessed his love for her.  Another time, Tita was making a Chabela wedding cake for her sister, Rosaura and Pedro, as she's beating the eggs into the cake mixture, the egg whites reminded her of the testicles of the hundred chicken she and Nacha castrated the previous month.   

Even though Pedro has agreed to marry Rosaura because Mama Elena has said that the youngest daughter cannot marry before the older ones are, I totally understand Tita in loving and respecting her mother so much that she does not defy her mother's decisions.  Tita was mostly in the kitchen and spending time with Nacha so I also felt that Mama Elena wasn't that emotionally close to Tita and she didn't really care whether Tita and Pedro were already in love or not.  All she cared about was her control and whatever she commanded had to be followed.  What I didn't understand was Pedro's love.  If he was so in love with Tita, he wouldn't have married her sister just so he could get close to her!!! THAT IS NOT LOVE!! That is just men thinking with their smaller head between the legs and not with the bigger head up on their shoulders!! With that being said, I think Tita is better off without Pedro's love.  It's not worth the heartaches and heartbreaks.  There are much better men out their waiting for her love.  Tita's mother? Well, patience is a virtue but if she falls in love again and her mother does the same thing to her as she did with Pedro and Rosaura, Tita is better off living by herself.  Tita could also have a secret love and just run away with him.  Maybe, this is the better plan. 

All these recipes are making me licking my lips hungry.  Maybe, I might even try a recipe or two. 

Like Water for Chocolate

This book is different from the past ones we have read. Yet, the mother daughter connection seems similar to that in Pride and Prejudice. In this case Mama Elena is not looking out for her youngest daughter Tita.With Pride and Prejudice it was more evident that Mrs. Bennet was just trying to give her children a better life by having them get married off right away. In this case with Mama Elena, she is being very controling and is stuck in the families tradition. Sometimes these traditions should be broken. When Pedro asks for Tita's hand in marriage Mama Elena refuses for it to happen because it doesnt fit with the tradition that the youngest daughter has to take care of the mother. I think that is nuts! If two people are in love there mother should be happy and embrace that love not reject it.
In this novel I like the fact that the writting has magic realism added into it. Sometimes it can get kind of confusing but it can give a better understanding on how the character is feeling. The way Tita has such a deep connection with food seems quite comparable with people today. People have a way of showing their emotions through food. It could be anything really, from buring something when your sad or angery or having something turn out perfectly when your in the greatest of moods. People also use food for comfort when they are feeling down. They mostly just eat away their feelings but I think Tita does this in a different way. When she cooks it almost sets her free and gives her a chance to think of those who really seemed to care about her, Pedro and Nacha, and she lets her emotions flow through each thing she cooks. I can't wait to read more!

Bitch

I feel so horrid for Tita, and if I were her I would leave that house. When her mother had her love ask her sister to marry him was enough for me right there. It is hard enough to even find true love in the world today, let alone have them ripped away from you. And then when the mother ships them off, I would have run away. I would not have cared whether or not I was supposed to be my mother’s “caretaker” or not; that in itself is a load of you know what. Which leads me to my next issue, the whole matriarchal household. It is very well known that I am a feminist, but even so, this is taking it to a whole other level. She has all the bad qualities of a patriarchal society and not any of the good. She abuses Tita and wears her thin, she controls her every movement, and acts as if she is “God”. She should instead take advantage of the “respect” and power that she has obtained and use if for good. She should be raising the best daughters and wish for all of them to be happily married. The way I see it is she obviously is not happy with the person she is inside, and is trying to fill the void with a power hunger. And I am sure ruining a beautiful young girl’s existence is all the better!

Like Water For Chocolate

When I first started to read Like Water For Chocolate, I really was getting into the book.  This is the first book this semester in this class that I can say that I actually am enjoying and am really getting into.  I really felt bad for the character of Tita because of Mama Elena and the way she was treated.  To be told that you could not get married to the man you love and on top of that to have your own mother offer up your older sister to marry that same man is just horrible.  I guess I can see Pedro's view and reasoning for agreeing to the marriage but for Tita to have to see the man she loves marry her sister has to be difficult and heart wrenching.  I think the reason Mama Elena gave for why Tita could not marry is ridiculous and flawed.  What happens if there had only been one daughter or no daughters at all?  The theory that Tita has to care for her mother and cannot marry isn't right.  If that is how it works than who will take care of Tita when she gets older?  It seems that no one, including Mama Elena takes that into account and that Mama Elena only really cares about herself and she doesn't care that she breaks her own daughter's heart by not allowing Tita to marry Pedro.

lost...

so im pretty sure i'm lost as to whats going on in class. nothing makes sense to me and i have no clue whats going on. I'm sure falling behind on my readings has a lot to do with it but i didn't think it would make such a big difference in following along with the conversations and the group discussions but it has.. :(

This new book is actually kinda good, dirty, but good lol and i'm a little disappointed in myself for not staying on top of the assigned readings but its just been stressful at school lately and its been hard to find time to read. With that said hopefully i will be able to catch back up this weekend? hopefully.

the connection of food and emotions

The concept of magic realism to me, is really interesting. I just really love that kind of thing and it makes me really like this book. In our first discussion we talked about how Tita's emotions get seen through the food. At first I thought it was a little strange but now I really like it. Tita was only ever able to express her emotions through her food because if she ever showed them physically then there would have been consequences from Mama Elena. She doesn't control it, which makes it so much better. I just find it fascinating that when she is feeling extreme about something (her feelings are at an extreme) than the food is affected and things happen to everyone! I think that we do try to get out emotions through cooking, maybe not to the extent like in the book but we definitely still do it. We can see it, in how our emotions affect our food constantly, or how we closely associate memories with food because of the emotions that occurred with them. In today's discussion we talked about Tita and Pedro and I just don't like him! To me he just seems like a coward. If he really loved her he would have run off with her, not marry her sister! His logic just doesn't make sense, and even less so now. John is who I think she should be with because he was the one truly there for her when she needed someone and he truly cares for her. Pedro is just a selfish person who is so jealous that he did what he did to her, at the end of the section. (Not that she didn't want it too) But she wanted to marry John and now Pedro may have ruined everything. To me it just seems like Tita was confused a lot throughout the book and now she will probably be even more so even though she was just within sight of being happy without a ton of drama...

One Of My Favorites!

Like Water for Chocolate is one of my top five favorite books. My copy of the book is full of dog-eared pages, stains, water marks and the cover is bent. Like an old friend, LWFC has grown with me. It is so interesting to me that though I've read it so many times, this class is showing me new perspectives and I'm catching things I never noticed before. I guess that happens often with things we read again and again- each time something new jumps out! For example, today we talked about Rosaura. I said, "I hate her." but when I listened to the discussion and the points people brought up I realized that wasn't exactly true. I really HATE what she does when she marries Pedro- he's her sister's sweetheart, after all! What kind of sister does such a thing, even at the insistence of pushy Mama Elena? But, on the other hand, I feel intense pity for her. Rosaura is married to a man who obviously doesn't love her. It takes them 4 months to even consumate the marriage and she has to remind him to do it! I can imagine the mortification she must have felt. That coupled with the fact that she loses her first baby makes it hard to not feel sorry for her. So, I guess I alternate between pitying her and disliking her. I definitely relate to Tita the most and I think she is one of the strongest, most interesting heroines we've read about. I also love the way the magic realism is weaved throughout. I know some students are finding it jarring but to me, it just works. I accept it as fact and I love the idea of emotion being transmitted through food. One of my other favorite books about food is called Legend by Jude Deveraux- this is a romance novel so a bit different but it also deals with some fantastic things (time travel, ghosts, etc) as well as the power of food. I love how LWFC has the recipes in it and I must say it's a goal of mine to one day make some of the food (that is, if I can find a gluten-free, vegetarian alteration!). LWFC is a beautiful, sexy and interesting novel and I hate that it's going by so fast- the discussion today was great and I'm excited to have more!

Secret Self

I think it’s interesting that Tita only truly knows her mother after her mother is dead. When she discovers the box with Mama Elena’s letters, she is finally allowed a glimpse into the Mama Elena that she never had a chance to know. The discovery of her mother’s secret love affair makes Mama Elena seem more human, and it also shows how similar Tita truly is to her mother.

I find it confusing that Mama Elena went to such great lengths to keep Tita from happiness, even when she herself had experienced such a great love affair and such a devastating loss. It seems that her own experiences had turned her bitter, and changed her forever into the person that Tita knew her as. She had to build a shield around her heart, and she no longer had the capacity to recognize or care about true love, even in her daughters.

I think that this theme rings true for each and every one of us. The older we get, it’s easier to understand that our parents and grandparents had a life before us, a life that was completely separate from us; even so, it’s difficult (for me at least!) to truly imagine. Even with those closest to us, our girlfriends or boyfriends, husbands or wives, it’s impossible to know every piece of their heart and soul. It’s interesting to think that as close as we are to someone, we can never know them completely.

Food Coming To Life ...

When we talked about magic realism and food having 'emotions' I was confused at first because I did not know that there was a term for the writing style. But I wanted to blog about whether food may have a kind of emotion to it when you cook. My friend wanted to cook some tofu for my friends and I, but it did not turn out so well. He was in a good mood, but I think he was rather intimidated or pressured to show us that he can really cook. In the end, it was the broth that needed some draining and readjusting to. So I do believe that cooking with emotions is true because you can see the result at the end; tasting the food is like tasting the emotions coming from the dish.

Now for the book we are reading, it is rather interesting because it talks about food in another way that I have not read or seen. The descriptions about the food being cooked or mentioned is also exotic to me. The imagery and senses are told so ... I don't know how to say it, but I like it. Reading this book is like ... dreaming about things coming to life.

Love stories?..Not so sure.

So far this semester all of the "love stories" we have had to read do not seem to be focused on falling in love or the search for love. The trend I am seeing is that the characters that are supposed to fall in love are usually doing so out of necessity or because the suitor is the lesser of two evils. "Pride and Prejudice" may be the exception to this trend. In the last three books the plots and environments are surrounded by physical and mental abuse. This may be as Dr. J has pointed out, that these books are trying to push and bring to light social issues of that time. This may be true, however I would think that if environments and social norms are that bad that the "love stories" of the time would be more uplifting. I personally enjoy reading stories that are not fully grounded in reality. Reality is such a disturbing place, that when I read I want to read uplifting and emotionally fun stories.

With that said, I would like to address the matchstick analogy. The saying that we have to have chemistry between people is so true. It takes both people to light the fire in a relationship as well as to keep it burning for years to come. A fire will not start by itself. You have two sticks, but until they are rubbed together and friction is created there can be know fire. In a relationship a little friction provides the spark that is needed for a successful relationship. Opposites attract. each person needs to push the comfort zones of the other enough to change and grow together as a couple. As the analogy states it takes the combination of the oxygen and the phosphorous to produce the explosion. For the sake of this analogy that explosion is the passion of love for each other.

Mama Elena

To be honest, I really am not liking Mama Elena. She has a really hot temper, and she basically makes her kids miserable, because they are afraid to cross her in the wrong way. Tita just wants to be free to love Pedro, not be doomed to a life having to take care of her mother. Tita should be allowed to follow her families tradition in marriage, because it is not fair to be prohibited from it, just because she is the youngest. It's still not fair. Because of Mama Elenas matriarchal status, Tita has struggle with individuality, as well as being truely happy. I feel bad for her. As of right now, Mama Elena is NOT my cup of tea.

Emotional Cooking

Cooking with emotion in your food is a little weird. I'm not a cook so I don’t cook emotions into my food, and when I do cook I’m too worried about following the recipe and not burning anything to put emotion into my food. But there is that ingredient “made with love” on every package sent to you from grandma. That extra ingredient makes those cookies extra tasty.

I think the emotional cooking is the book is a little bit of an exaggeration. Tita’s extreme sadness of the loss of her love makes her cry and her tears fall into the cake batter and frosting. Because of her tears, the happy wedding is ruin and turned into a disaster with everyone having an overpowering feeling of sadness and then they all start vomiting. I don’t think that what Tita had in mind when she was baking the wedding cake.

Then with rose secretly given to Tita by her love Perdo, she makes a special recipe with rose petals. And the family that night is filled with intense passion and love. One of Tita’s sisters smells like rosebuds and she starts the house on fire! I think this realistic magic genre is more magic and less realistic. No one can start a house on fire from eating rose petal food and taking a shower. That doesn’t seem very realistic to me.

If someone is cooking with that much emotion to affect other people in that way, she is probably a witch brewing spells and cursing her meals or she needs a lot of help.

Like Water For Chocolate

After reading some of the book one thing that really stuck out to me was that the youngest child was not allowed to get married because she would have to talk care of the mother until she got old and passed away. In this case Tita is the youngest daughter and because of the family ritual/tradition she is forbidden to get married. Tita already being in love with Pedro, this news has to be unbearable to think of. Imagine having so much love for a man and the only thing that stands between the two is a family tradition. Not only being unable to marry the man, but come to find out he is now marrying your sister, must be heart breaking as Tita's emotions show in the book. Pedro's assumptions of marrying her sister to be closer to Tita may be considerate in his mind, but I feel this is only putting Tita through more pain. If he had so much love for her, wouldn't he refuse to marry anyone else and stay true to Tita?

After reading more Tita is right with her thinking. Who will take care of her when she gets old, and has no children? What will she do? These questions are very realistic and I cannot even imagine how this would feel if my mother refused to let me get married.

The Magic of Love

Let me just start by saying that I love this book. A few weeks ago, I was bored and decided to pick it up off my book shelf after realizing that sooner or later we'd have to read it. I laid down in bed and finished it that night.

The characters that Esquivel created are so life-like, yet depict something more fantastical than any other character I've read. Mama Elena, for example, is like other mothers: demanding and strict, however, she holds a higher power than other authoritative figures like the men. Tita can cook her emotions into the meal, which is seen at the wedding and when Gertrudis leaves spontaneously.

Not only are the characters stranger, but so are the situations. Esquivel starts off with a normal scene and changes it at the drop of a pin--it becomes intertwined with magical elements. I think that this is one of the most brilliant characteristics of the book. It definitely left me thinking if what I just read was real or not. The one thing that was true, though, was the love story. Esquivel does a wonderful job of not disguising it or hiding it behind the magic; instead, it is raw love. And that is what makes this book purely magical.

Like Water For Chocolate

This book is definitely an easy read- it goes by much quicker than the other novels we've read so far just because the text is so much simpler. So far I find it very interesting, a bit frustrating just because of Tita's sad situation. I really like the magical aspects of this novel, blending it with romance and the fantasy genre. I love fantasy books, they are probably my favorite type of novel. If there is ever a fantasy oriented literature class, I would definitely be the first person to sign up.

The way Tita's emotions affects her food reminded me quite a bit about the movie Simply Irresistible. The main character of that movie is a chef that discovers her emotions are being transferred into her cooking and thus affecting the emotions of the people that consume it. It is a love story, perhaps on a more 'cheesy' level than most people would enjoy, I love that movie regardless. But it strongly reminded me of this novel, with the direct relation between emotions based on love being represented with food. I think the emotions a person is feeling while they are cooking can affect the meal, obviously on a more realistic way than the magical side fiction represents. Food can be a powerful thing that bonds families and brings up strong memories. There are many people that feel passionately about the foods they chose to eat or not to eat. It plays an important role in our lives and this sense of magical realism that is represented in this novel is an indicator of that on a different level.

I feel very sorry for Tita in the beginning of this book, she is definitely the victim of her mother's controlling behavior and takes the brunt of the negativity. Since the responsibility falls upon her to take care of her mother and not to marry, she has no real control of her life. Like Dr. J mentioned in class, this is an excellent example of how the concept of 'patriarchy' or in this case 'matriarchy', is not exclusively male. Females can represent these characteristics of dominance and control, as clearly shown by the actions of Tita's mother. This is good way of showing that these problematic characteristics can be carried out by either gender. There is so much misconception about feminism and the assumption that feminists only seek equality for women and place blame on men. Obviously, this is not the case and in the context of the book, showing that females can also carry out these traits.

Magical Realism

Today in class we talked about Like Water for Chocolate and how Tita’s emotions and infused in her cooking and those feeling then come out in those who eat her food. I feel that her cooking is the way that her feelings and emotions are expressed, she cannot simple say how she is truly feeling and what she thinks because Mama Elena has forbidden it so this is the only way she knows how to express them. I know that I have said this all in class but I just wanted to add some more to it.

I believe anyone who is a cook or enjoys cooking can agree with what I am about to say and that is your emotions and feelings go into what you are making and if you are happy it shows in the food just like if you are angry or upset that shows in the food also because it usually doesn’t turn out when you are feeling that way, where as when you are happy and in a great mood the food tastes awesome and looks great.

Another thing that I wanted to talk about was the magical realism in the novel and how this novel reminded me of the film Practical Magic starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. The film is about two sisters who come from a long line of real life practicing witches. The story intertwines their lives with the magic they do, which as soon as I began reading Like Water for Chocolate I immediately thought of Practical Magic because it too has magical realism. The magic that the sisters, aunts and girls practice is so apart of their everyday lives that it doesn’t stand out from out of the ordinary.

I believe when magical realism is used in a film or novel if it is done well you feel that it should be there and you could not picture the film or novel without it. Even in some cases if you took it away the story that is left is nothing without it. Good magical realism lets you enjoy what you are watching or reading without even thinking that it wasn’t real it lets us drift into another world different than our own, one some of us wish existed in everyday life.

Like Water for Chocolate

For starters, when I first picked up this book I thought this book would be some valentine's day type reading, but I was completely wrong. I really don't understand the way this book is written. It's not really hard to follow but I just don't understand why it focuses on recipes. My thought is that maybe it's because the name character, Tita, basically lives in the kitchen and loves food, cooking, and eating. Culinary is her life and this is her book?? That's what I'm getting out of the story so far.

Also, I think Pedro is a very sweet man to marry Tita's sister so that he could be closer to Tita. Since that was his only option he took it but only to be closer to his true love, and I understand that thinking. I was surprised to read the part when Pedro tells Tita his real reason for marrying her sister at his wedding because Tita's reaction was a shock. I didn't think she would be so happy because whether he really loves her or not, he is not hers. Throughout the book, their love for each other is only shown in their minds. They both long to be with each other. Although Pedro has a wife, I think he is just as alone as Tita because he does not care to be with Rosaura and doesn't enjoy her company as much as he enjoys the thought of fulfilling his lustful fantasies of being able to even touch Tita.

Jodha Akbar--Jashne Bahara(High Quality)

For the week, I watched, Jodhaa Akbar, for my extra-credit blog.  I absolutely loved the actor, Hrithik Roshan and the actress, Aiswarya Rai together.  Hrithik is superb as the Emperor Akbar, I doubt if any actor of his generation could have handled this role as well.  And Aishwarya Rai, as usual looks stunningly beautiful.  For years, I had wished that they would act in a romance movie together.  They both showed in popular movies, but never together! Until a few years past, they finally made two movies together!  Wish come true!!  Personally, I think they just make the perfect actor-actress couple in the movies!  Although, secretly, I wished they were a couple in real life.  But that's not to be as both, Hrithik and Aiswarya, are already so in love with their own spouses in real life and I totally respect that!  As long as they do more love movies together.   It doesn't hurt if I let my imagination dream a little, I suppose.  ;oD

Jodhaa Akbar, is a sixteenth century Hindu love story about a marriage alliance between a great Mughal emperor, Akbar, and a Rajput princess, Jodhaa.  Akbar was politically successful in securing the Hindu Kush and futher extending his empire by conquest, tolerance, and force.  In order to futher strengthen his alliance with the Rajput, he married Jodhaa, the daughter of King Barhmal of Amer.  Jodhaa was a fiery Rajput princess who resented being a political pawn in a marriage alliance.  But soon she fell as much in love with the great emperor as he did with her. Religion and politics cannot seperate such a great emotion as love.  I especially love the scenes where the Emperor Akbar tames the wild elephant, the sword fight between the royal couple , and the scene where Jodhaa finally lets Akbar into her heart and they share a magical night together in her rooms.  The initial mistrust between Akbar and Jodhaa and the budding romance were well thought and executed in by the actors.  I just know that in my past life, I was the Rajput princess Jodhaa!! Beautiful as Aishwarya is, smart, and enchanting as a Rajput princess could be, even the great emperor Akbar, as handsome and breath-taking as Hrithik is, couldn't resist my charms! 

I don't think there is an Indian movie that has ever evoked such a strong mixture of emotions in me as this one. Each and every frame of the movie is a treat to the eyes. There's richness and grandeur in every aspect of the film.

'Jashn-e-bahara' and 'Khwaja mere Khwaja' are such heart catching songs. And then 'Azeem oh Shan Shahenshah' is one song that will remain etched in your memory long after watching the movie.  I find myself singing, humming and dancing to these songs, even though, I hardly know how to pronounce the words and what they mean.  I may be Hmong, but I love Hindu movies, especially their songs!  LOVE LOVE!

A scene from the movie: 

Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar: I don't understand? 
Jodhaa Bai: No, you don't! You know how to wage war and conquer. But do not know how to rule.
Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar: [confused] What did you say?
Jodhaa Bai: That you have only conquered me, but not won my heart yet... you should have at least tried to know what really happened. But the truth is that you are far removed from reality. You do not know how to win hearts. To do that, you need to look into their minds, discover their little pleasures and sorrows. And win their trust. Be one with their heartbeat! And the day you will succeed in doing that, you will rule my heart.
[2nd scene later, Akbar visits Agra Bazaar disguised as a commoner, accompanied only by two trusted court ministers, Todar Mal and Mahesh Das]
Todar Mal: Your Majesty, why are you doing this? Roaming in the bazaar without guards is dangerous.
Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar: Don't worry. No one will recognize me. I'm doing it since there's a difference between conquering and ruling. To win the hearts of people, one must look into their minds.

All in all, a tremendous movie, and I strongly recommend this to anyone and everyone.

 

The Duchess

One of the movies I have watched so far over Spring Break is the movie The Duchess starring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes.  It is based on the life of Georgiana Spencer, who became the Duchess of Devonshire.  Her marriage was one that was arranged on the promise that she would produce a male heir for the Duke.  At first she seems to love her husband and at the age of 17 when she married that may be why it appears that she loves him.  The love doesn't last when she realizes that her husband enjoys having affairs, but during that time period it seemed perfectly acceptable for the men to have affairs and the Duke didn't really have to hide it.  G, as she was called, become friends with Lady Elizabeth Foster, who would end up living with the Duke and Duchess.  Lady Bess would become a mistress of the Duke and this affair became known within their circle.  G would have 3 children with the Duke, the first two were girls and the 3rd was a boy that resulted from the Duke raping Georgiana.  The Duchess then started an affair with Earl Charles Grey, who she knew before she married the Duke.  The Duke was not happy with G upon learning of the affair and he threatened her by saying that if she continued with the affair or left him that he would make sure that she never saw her children again.  She chose her children and ended her affair but she was already pregnant by Charles.  The Duke arranged for Georgiana to leave the country to have the baby and then she was forced to give up the baby to be raised by Grey's family.  I would say that this movie was a love story even though it may not seem like it.  Georgiana may not have ended up in a loving marriage or had the typical happy ending but she did love Charles Grey and if she hadn't of been threatened with never being able to see her children again and having the pressure from her mother to stay with the Duke, G could have ended up with the man she wanted.  There was an obvious double standard during Georgiana's time.  The Duke could have as many affairs as he wanted but when she had an affair, he was furious with her.  Georgiana even raised the Duke's daughter from an affair as her own but he wouldn't let her raise her own daughter from an affair with Grey.  I did enjoy this movie and while some may say this isn't a love story in the traditional sense, I think it is and the movie does have the 8 Essential Elements that we have discussed in class.

P.S. I Love You- Extra credit blog.

Over spring break I watched the movie P.S. I Love You, this is one of my favorite romantic movies. This movie is interesting because the main character, Gerry, this movie is angled around is already dead right in the beginning. He is depicted throughout the movie by his wife, Holly's memories. Before he died he wrote her letters to help ease her grieving and after dying of a brain tumor, she begins to receive this letters. Long story short, it's a real sweet, romantic way to depict a tragic love story. One of the things I love about this movie is how real their relationship is portrayed. They show the common life challenges they faced as a married couple, the differences between them and the love they had despite all that. I feel so many romantic movies are unrealistic and are too much of a 'fairy tale' story. Not that there is anything necessarily wrong with that but it's always nice to see movies that show relationships in a very real life manner. The movie doesn't necessarily have a feel good ending, because after all, Gerry has been dead since the beginning, so there is no way they can end up together. But it shows her moving on with her life in a healthy way while still keep him a part of herself. I think this is a wonderful movie with the way it depicts the love between the two characters. It's so vivid, alive and real, even after his death. Her memories of him are so strong and you can see throughout the movie, how every little thing reminds her of him. Throughout the movie you have such a strong sense of how much they belong together and how unfair it is that he passed away so young. However, it seems he remains alive through her and her vivid memories of him. This movie is quite sad but it has many humorous moments and despite the sad nature of the story, ends with her finally learning to be happy again. I think this movie is a wonderful example of romance, especially with the plot circling around the love letters he leaves her after his death. It doesn't get much more romantic than the traditional love letter.

GHOST!

The movie Ghost with Patrick Swayze is one of the best movies i ever watched, and is one of my favorite love stories. Its about a man who loves a woman but he never told her how much he truly loved her until he died and it was to late. after his death he came to her as a ghost and he helped her get out of danger and at the end he finally told her he loved her. this movie related to the books that we have been reading in class so far because there is so much love between the characters. like Heathclift in Wuthering Heights took the time to see Cathy, the same way Patrick Swayze's character Sam did for his love. Also the way in pride and prejudice the 5 sisters went out of there way to be with the ones they loved. Last but not least when Janie changed her whole life style for Jody. Just the way Molly, Sams lover did. what makes this movie a good love story is because it showed what true love is. Sam never told Molly he even loved her and she still was there and loved him even when he was dead. and they way that he finally said it in the end made the whole move tie together. before the death of Sam in way they even looked at eachother was also a way that you can get the vibe that love is in the air.

The Ugly Truth

The Ugly Truth is a great movie! It's funny and romantic, especially at the end when Mike tells Abby he loves her, which is something I didn't expect the first time watching it but after seeing the movie a few times I noticed all the hints given throughout the movie that hinted at the fact that he was falling for her. Abby lives her life looking for the "perfect" man. She has this big checklist that the guy of her dreams should have or be like. When she finds this guy, Mike helps her get him to fall for her by being the girl guys want. Abby later realizes that this guy doesn't like her for her, but likes her for the person Mike told her to be. She tells him the truth and breaks up with him. Mike is very bitter about relationships in the movie. He doesn't believe in love because of all the bad relationships he's been through. I think he is very smart about guys and girls. He knows so much about what guys want [since he is one himself], and about what girls want in a guy. My favorite statement he makes is: "they're not sleeping with you, they're sleeping with a carefully calculated set of venal choices. Money over substance, looks over soul, polished over principles. No gesture, no matter how real or romantic will ever compensate for a really impressive list of credentials."
It's a very true statement, maybe not for all women but most. Men do it too and its wrong, that's probably why the divorce rate is so high. If people dated each other because of who they are instead of what they have.

The Adjustment Bureau

The Adjustment Bureau

Over break, my husband and I saw The Adjustment Movie in the theater. While we originally chose to see it because the advertisements reminded us of The Matrix, I was surprised to discover that it was a good mix of Matrix-like adventure and surreality along with a fantastic love story.

Although the details of the movie are not important, the main character falls in love with a woman only to discover that there are forces determined to keep him apart from her. At first,

he feels that there is nothing he can do, but as the movie goes on he realizes that he wants to

make his own choice regarding who he loves, and ultimately does everything in his power to live his life with her. He also asks her to give up everything in her life and blindly trust him, and she proves herself willing to do so.

I think that this movie makes a great point about the power of choice. While many people feel that love is something pre-destined that will simply fall into place when the time is right, love in fact takes hard work and sacrifice to survive. The Adjustment Bureau demonstrate this perfectly: when the main character finds the woman that he wants to be with, he has to make one difficult choice after another in order to keep her in his life. The woman also demonstrates the importance of choice when it comes to love, by choosing to give up the things she knows and follow him into the unknown.

I found this movie to be an excellent love story because it showed a side of love that involves hard work and determination, two qualities that unfortunately are not associated with love nearly enough.

Love, Love, Love

I watched numerous “Romantic” movies throughout Spring Break, ”Somebody Like You”, “Home Fries”, and “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend”. My feelings on each movie obviously ranged, since they al had different perspectives and completely different story lines...But one thing was for sure---true love overrides everything! Before I show my feelings on each, here is a link to each movie so that you can get a better feel of the different plots...http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244970/, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119304/, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1447793/.

In “Somebody Like You”, I love Jane's strong feminist views towards men. However, it is unfortunately based solely on a bad break up. I knew right away that Hugh Jackman's character would be the best match for her. He also, was acting out from a bad breakup and being somewhat of a sexist pig. When they lived together as roommates, you knew nothing would stop them being in love. I never truly understood why Jane fell for her ex boyfriend in the first place, he seemed sleazy and I just wanted to slap her and wake her up. And then to find out that he was with her boss? IT just seemed too surreal. The one thing I did love though, was that through the breakup Janie creates a fake persona and writes about men being like cows; that once they have been with the “old” cow for too long they must move on to a young or “new” cow. Her analysis of the male psyche was extremely intriguing, but in the end all of her theories concerning a man's psyche was disproven. She falls for the sexist male pig and he ends up being the sweetheart and romantic. Her ex ends up with his original “old” cow, her boss. Either way I loved the whole ride, and I understood completely where Jane was coming from; I am sure all of us women have been there(or close to) before.

Now, “Home Fries” was a way out there love story. The whole time I just wanted to see Luke Wilson naked, but that unfortunately never happened. :( Drew Barrymore, was so naïve yet there was something particularly fascinating about her. The whole storyline was soemthing completely different than your average “romance” novel or movie. Drew Barrymore was a young pregnant woman, whose baby's daddy leaves her to go back to his wife. When the wife finds out about his affair, she sends her sons to kill him(they are in the air force and use the aircraft). The blonde son wants to kill him,, while Luke Wilson (being the kind and logical man he always is), just wants to scare him. Well, either way he ends up dead, and Luke Wilson goes “undercover” and works at the fast food restaurant that Drew Barrymore works at. They slowly fall in love, and when he tells her who he is she refuses him. I felt that she should obviously be pissed and confused, but she shouldn't have ignored him. I identified more with Luke's character than Drew's. He was stuck in a horrible mess of a family and fell for a woman who was carrying his stepfather's child. Even so, he lvoed her eternally and nothing would stop him from protecting her form his family and winning her back. Thankfully, everything worked out ok, and Drew finally came to her senses.

“My Girlfriend's Boyfriend” was something like you never seen before. At first, I thought that this is just going to be your average Romantic Comedy, but the ending was surprised. The movie leads you onto thinking That Alyssa Milano's character is dating both Ethan and Troy... Throughout the movie, I was hoping she would choose Ethan, the poor writer whom is the biggest sweetheart in the whole wide world. Troy was so obnoxious(though he acted as if it were subtle), and it seemd like he put himself before Alyssa Milano. He just seemed like a schmuck, and then when the amazing Ethan asks her to marry her, Troy asks her to move with him when he starts a new location of the company. My heart sank when she decided to move and she refused to tell Ethan what was going on. Ethan goes to her apartment, her brother tells him which airport she is at, and he goes to find her. She ends up not being at the airport, but waiting at his apartment, and you think “thank god” she is going to choose him. Yet, instead she says she can't go until she tells him something. He tells her how his story is being published, and we find out Troy was somebody fictional he made up in his story (which was weird at first, but if you watch the movie you can see the clues). Then she says she was going to go to a different state to move with her friend, because she cant have kids, and he deserves to have kids. As usual, everything ends up working out and they end up together. What makes this movie actually my favorite of three, is the twist in storyline. I like the whole “Troy being a part of his story”. It makes what seemed to be a mediocre movie, an absolutely amazing movie!

Bridget Jones Diary and Pride and Prejudice

At first glance you wouldn't think these two films have anything in common. Except, er, Colin Firth. But you might be surprised to learn that the author of the oh-so-funny Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding, based her novel on the classic Pride & Prejudice, which we read earlier this semester.

In the novels we see many comparisons- the ever embarrasing mother who tries her hand at matchmaking, the haughty Mr. Darcy (played by Firth) who goes by Mark Darcy in BJD, the charming bad boy from Darcy's past, in BJD this character is Daniel Cleaver, in P&P we knew him as the soldier Wickham. Both stories are set in England and both feature a loveable female protaginist. They also end happily and have their share of humerous moments. And both feature that issue that to be married or in a relationship is to be happy- that the single girl or woman is to be pitied, or at least by some.

The differences are obvious enough- the timing, the diary-like way BJD was written vs. the more formal P&P, the fact that there is sex in BJD, the fact that Bridget doesn't have a gaggle of silly sisters and Elizabeth does (along with the lovely Jane). Bridget Jones smokes and drinks and has a slight weight problem. And one could say she's not as confident or self-assured as the fiery Elizabeth Bennet. But, I love her all the more for it! Both novels are endearing, engaging and thought-provoking but while P&P will make you have warm visions of romantic balls, floaty pastel dresses and true gentlemen (and let's face it- a huge amount of sexual tension), Bridget Jones's Diary (the book and the movie) is likely to make you laugh out loud, even in a room full of people. Then everyone will stare and think you're crazy.

(And yes, that happened to me)

I love them both, for totally different reasons. So if you enjoyed Pride & Prejudice, take a couple hours to read Bridget Jones's Diary or simply watch the movie. There's a fight scene, some drunken escapades, a couple of bad sweaters, some very large underpants and as in the modern British style, liberal use of the f-bomb. I quite enjoy it :)

Extra credit blog:" Chasing Amy"..or chasing myself?

My summary of this movie for those that have not seen it will not do it justice. "Chasing Amy" is a love story with a not so happy ending. It is about a guy who falls in love with a lesbian and she falls for him as well. As they begin to date he finds out that she has a past and was not completely honest about it. He of course cannot handle this and they end up breaking up. The story that is told to the main character during the movie about "losing the one" which was "Amy", is a very honest depiction of not realizing that you had the "one" until you have lost it.

It is very difficult to write a short blog about this movie and how it affects and pertains to me. I could spend two weeks writing a paper on this movie. I can much appreciate the paper that you (DR. J) wrote on this and would love to read it if you still have it.

With that said I will attempt to explain what the movie means to me. First of all, I found the movie to be very raw and real. The acting was poor at times, but that just added to the realism. The dialog in this movie reminds me of how my friends and I talk or have talked in the past. I find pieces of myself in many of the main characters, especially "Bankie" and "Holden". The act of dating in the movie seemed to be very natural and not forced. It was just two friends becoming closer and eventually lovers, all through the act of communication.

I cannot exactly relate to the specific circumstances of the breakup or how it affected the friendship, all though I have had breakups damage friendships that took years to repair. There are way to many individual memories and circumstances to recollect here that pertain to this movie.

The story of "Chasing Amy" used in the diner scene is what hits home the most for me. The first few times I had watched this movie I was younger and had thought I was in love. I have come to know that I was not. As I have mentioned in previous blogs I have only been in love one time. It is this one time that I thought I had started to "Chase Amy" after the break up. After watching the movie nearly three years after the breakup I have come to the conclusion that it is not "Amy" that I am chasing, but myself.

They say that you cannot truly love someone until you can love yourself. I feel that it is the journey of self discovery and the ability to recognize the "one" when they present themselves to you that becomes the act of "Chasing Amy". I now feel and recognize that it is chasing myself and not "Amy" that this movie and my life is really about. "Amy" was just the catalyst for self discovery and love. Once she is lost you will search for her forever and long for what was until there is reconciliation or the new "one" is found.

I cannot seem to get through a viewing of this movie without getting emotional and remember all of the good and bad time I have had while being in love. This movie seem to get better with every viewing and year that passes.

So with new strength and understanding I will continue to chase "Amy" who I now know is me. Hopefully not forever"Chasing Myself".

I forgot what I wanted to blog about ...

I don't remember if I blogged or not & I forgot what I wanted to blog about ... I hate that feeling ._.

But I was going to day, I kind of wish we had class on Thursday ~_~" I enjoy the discussions we have in class because we all get to see everyone's point of view on the book. Overall, the ending to this book was rather sad. First time reading this I did not expect the ending to be like this. I was disappointed although I really loved the imagery and details that Hurston wrote towards the ending. How Teacake acted towards Janie; his actions were so ferocious and wild while she held him gently like a baby. I don't know how to say or express it but I just loved the way it was beautifully written. Sad that he had rabies and was controlled by it.

It seems that Teacake's actions taken under the rabies are a kind of metaphor of ... the kind of love that she has received from him and her past mates. It was intense and controlling, yet a touch of innocence when Teacake settled down with the medicine. In the end she had to pull the trigger to her love story, never expected that.

Sorry its late.

Not having classes screwed  me up. lol
My Thoughts on the book.

I have read this book before and this is a book I don't mind reading over again. Janie is a strong women who does need a man to help her, yes she is always married but that is because she believes in romance and happy endings. Back then though every women needed a man and the richer the better, if you didn't have a man back then you were kind of looked down upon and talked about but other towns folk. Maybe if Janie was work recently in this time, she might not need a man. Janie being such a strong, independent and determined women she could maybe make her own business today or become a CEO. Then in these days she would be repressed and pushed around like she is with Killicks and Joe. She wouldn't work in the fields and she wouldn't have to hide her beautiful hair. Then there is Tea Cake who lets her flourish and encourages her to learn new things. But look how he turns out, does that say something. The good people get hurt.

CRAZY READING!

Well well well, this book unlike the others read as a class is defiantly different. In some ways its good and other its kinda crazy. I think that its kind of more how life is for women hahaha. Yes us wemon are confusing and we don't know what we wont sometimes just like in the book. janie kind of seems like a lady who knows what she wants but she just cant please no one with her true choice. So she goes and tries to please other people and forgets about her own happiness. i think that this book in interesting and was a good choice :). Its more of a book that is for people who absolutely hate reading. Because there is some good parts in the chapters we have read that make want to keep going. Not having class this Thursday was very unhelpful i really enjoy when we talk about the book because sometime i feel like i need a second opinion on my thoughts on the book and enjoy what everyone has to say about the chapters read.

Kiss With A Fist

I have stressed my opinion on Tea Cake and how he does fit the “abuser” profile. Like I stated on Tuesday, after the not coming home and partying instead... I would have been gone! Well, now after this past section where he actually goes and beats her, this would defiantly be the time when there are no more excuses. And to top it off he brags about beating her and that it states that he is proving his devotion and love for her. Everyone cheers him on for it, and he continues. I understand she loves him, even until the end, but how do you put up with that? Yes, this is the deepest of love she has been in, but it is also the biggest roller coaster ride of her life. I relate to her, I somewhat love this character, and I just am sitting here basically in tears waiting for her to leave the bastard.

8 Essential Elements/Their Eyes Were Watching God

In class on Tuesday when we got into groups to work on the 8 Essential Elements activity, our group had the character of Jody.  While our group was able to come with an event from the book for each of the 8 categories, finding or coming up with something for every category wasn't always the easiest.  It just showed that while a book may have those essentials in them for a relationship between two characters, that those events may not be so easy to come up with because it isn't always so black and white when it comes to love.  It also showed that not every category will present itself in a way that may be expected.  I wonder how many people could say that their own relationships would fit so easily into these 8 Essential Elements.  I think in this case, art doesn't always represent real life and maybe that isn't a bad idea. 

People or things??

When I was reading the second section of the book, I noticed that Janie describes Jody getting old as well, pretty gross. It pretty much sounded like he was melting...which to me is a mean and just weird way to describe the aging process. I just don't understand why the author did that unless she just wanted to really get across that he didn't age well, while Janie was.

Another thing I noticed was that it seems that the "gold digger" ideal was reversed. Nowadays its the young women going after older men for money. But in the book it pretty much says that the young men will go after the older women for money. I think that this is a pretty interesting change in what happens during different time periods and just different cultures. Either way I think it's wrong but in our recent books the women never held that kind of power, but in this book they hold a little bit at least.

An interesting question we talked about in class was if we orient our lives around people or things? In the book Janie wants to orient her life around people but gets forced to orient it around things. I would love to think that we orient our lives around people but honestly we may try and some of us may succeed, but with how much we spend on things, or how much we love our things, I don't think many of us really succeed. It's really sad too, if you think about it because we would get so much more out of life if we didn't focus just on things or at least so much on them. But it's hard with all the ways companies have of getting us to buy things and with how having a lot of things is considered good or powerful a lot of the time!

Lastly I just wanted to comment on how people were criticizing Janie for going off with Tea Cake. I think that she gave it plenty of thought and hesitation. She lived so much of her life by doing the responsible thing or the "right" thing that now is her chance to live and experience things her way. I mean if she isn't hurting anyone and is happy then everyone she just be happy for her.

Were They Real?

In class on Tuesday we discussed the three guys in Janie's life and whether or not we thought Janie really loved them. However, we didn't really come to a conclusion.

I believe that Janie didn't really love any of them. Logan, of course, she only married because her grandmother told her to so Janie would be taken care of. She definitely didn't love him.

I think Janie thought she loved Jody in the beginning of their relationship, but then as time went on and Jody began to treat Janie worse and tried to control her, I think she realized that she only loved the idea that he had such big dreams.

Janie and Tea Cup's relationship is harder to describe, however I'm not sure that Janie loves him, either. I think that she believes she loves him, just like with Jody at first, but I don't believe that she truly loves him the way she's longed to have love.

What Women Endure For Love

Even back in Janie's time and age, women weren't looked to as men's equals.  Women, no matter what the century, date and age, no matter where they live, we all endure physical, verbal, emotional, and sexual abuses one way or another.  I sometimes wonder, is it really all worth it? Is love really worth the hurt and the pain?  I suppose, if we find the "right one," it would all be worth the hurt and the pain, right?  A friend once asked me, "How do I know when I've found her, the right one?" and I had to answer, " I don't know! I guess, you'd just know!" Like how Zora Neale Hurston describes when Janie loves Tea Cake:

"She couldn't make him look just like any other man to her. He looked like the love thoughts of women.  He could be a bee to a blossom - a pear tree blossom in the spring."  

This is how love is, I suppose, whenever you look at him, you get butterflies in your stomach and love just overflows, and you think to yourself, "I am the luckiest woman to have this wonderful man loving me."  Although, it may take a while, like Janie, to find the "right" apple from the apple tree, to find the right color, find the right taste, find one that looks appealing, then take a bite to see if the taste fits to your liking. That's probably why Janie went through 3 different marriages, 3 different kind of loves, 3 different lifestyles to find the one to her like.  And with the luck in this sinful world, when you find the "right one," it doesn't usually last very long because we, humans, just don't want things to ever end: the end of the world, the end of membership to a nice, expensive restaurant, the end to a really good movie, the end of a really good meal, the expiration of something we really want and like.  So sad for Janie to have found her love then, to have lost it.  But, "Better to have loved and lost than to not have loved at all!" Another nice saying I like to use.  ;o)

Besides the dialog being harder to read and turn out the word, overall, Zora Neale Hurston uses such touching words to describe how she wants the reader to feel the emotions and actions her characters are also feeling.   Some parts in the book are so moving, so beautifully described and written that I wish I'd written something like that:"Oh, to be a pear tree - any tree in bloom! With kissing bees singing of the beginning of the world!"  If only this was so!

Extra Credit Blog: Shrek Forever After

Recently I watched the movie "Shrek Forever After" and even though it is a cartoon I think the story depicts a very important message about love. I don't want to give away the whole story because I strongly encourage everyone to watch it. To give you an idea of how the movie went picture this fairy tail world of "Far Far Away". Shrek is married to Princess Fiona and they have three little ogres together. It is their children's first birthday and they have a big party with the villagers. Shrek gets angry and storms out of the party because he feels like he is no longer scary and frightening to the villagers. Fiona is trying to be caring and asks whats wrong etc.. and Shrek pretty much says he wishes things were back to before he saved Fiona from the dragon guarded castle. That when Rumpelstiltskin come into the picture. Rumpel gives Shrek the option to be a scary ogre for a day, only if he can take a day from his past. They agree to this deal and Rumpel takes the day Shrek was born. To make a long story short, with this deal Fiona never really met Shrek because he was never born. He goes through the movie trying to win Fiona's heart and have true loves kiss to break the deal so everything will go back to the way it was before. The fact that he took for granted the love he once had fits perfectly in with love stories because many people I'm sure have come across that same problem. All in all everything goes back to normal and Shrek never takes his life and loving family for granted again.

Extra Credit Blog: Message in a bottle

The movie that I watched today is called Message In a Bottle, based off the novel by Nicholas Sparks. It is about this man (Kevin Costner) who's wife dies, and he writes to her by sending love letters in a bottle out to sea. A Woman (Robin Wright Penn) who is divorced, and has a child was walking down the beach to find the letter in the bottle, and traces it back to the man.
Garret Blake (Costner) and Theresa Osborne (Penn) begin to develop a relationship, and eventually fall in love. When Garret visits Theresa (she is from New York and he lives in a small fisherman's town along the ocean), He discovers that she had the love letters and leaves her. She goes back to him, and he denies her, but then realizes his mistake and tries to get her back by writing one last love letter to his late wife saying goodbye for good, and goes to sail his boat to new york to be with Theresa. But a storm hits, and he unfortunately dies while saving a family whose boat was sinking.

The reason that I chose this movie is because it shows the difficulties of love, and the way that people will sacrifice to do anything, and prove their love towards that certain person. I really loved the way that Theresa opened her heart to him, and though he was very frightened and weary about everything, he learned to trust and accept her - flaws and perfections. That is what true love is about, and though this movie did lack on a happy ending, it was definitely a really good movie, as well as a tear jerker. I recommend watching it!! It is the perfect definition for a romance movie, by far.

Janie!

Well, throughout this novel I have really grown onto like Janie's character. She's just a woman who is trying to find her way in life, and her sense of who she is. I find that personally admirable, though it is very hard to deal with because of the stress of going through different milestones and life experiences. Those are the experiences that help shape who you are. Janie has gone through a lot - abuse, people judging her, when really all she is searching for is someone to love, and someone to love and accept her for who she is and she has had a hard time doing so.

Because of her struggles, and how she has lived her life I believe that she is extremely strong, and a hard working woman to succeed what she wants in life. Not many people pursue what they truly desire, and many people just let others walk all over them. Janie is not like this. She fights back.
Rock on Janie!

What a Coincidence..

As I finished reading "Their Eyes Were Watching God", I felt like I've heard this story before. In actuality I have, but it was the movie with Halle Berry. I really enjoyed reading this book because it helped give me an understanding how some people go through life searching for that right someone, even if they might not have the right "things" or possessions and security like we have read about in the other books, who they can connect and have a loving relationship with. I like the fact that this book embraces the thought that a person can have more then one possibility for love in their life, compared to the usual stereo type that there is only one. Also the book shows that not everyone is perfect (no one is actually) and we just have to accept the flaws of others and try to live with them. Which I think is exactly what Janie was doing with Tea Cake when he acts so juvenile and irresponsible. If we can't learn to live with someone maybe it is best to live without them and move on to find someone more "tolerable". I think that's what Janie was trying to do with all her marriages. She just had to search through all the ruble to find the gem. Tea Cake opened her heart to love and even with his passing a piece of him will always reside there.

Change of heart

I just finished reading "their eyes were watching god". I won't ruin the ending for those that have not finished yet, but through the reading my initial feelings towards Teacake have changed. At first I thought he was no good because of the train yard incident. As I kept reading I was expecting to find other examples of abuse or neglect towards Jainie. When I didn't find these examples I had to rethink what Teacake was all about and how Jainie thought of him. There was only one other instance where Teacake was abusive. He slapped her around once to prove a point to the residence in the "muck". This was not a loving thing to do, but I feel that I can now properly put their relationship into context.

In that time and place in our history physical and emotional abuse was rampant and occurred on almost a daily basis. With today's laws and media coverage I would assume that physical abuse, while still occurring, has decreased significantly since that era. With said I think as a society we are more abusive than ever. We have diminished physical abuse and replaced it with emotional abuse.

With that said, I now feel that Teacakes failings were do to age and environment. This does not excuse his abuses, but in comparison to the norm of the their society he was near a saint. he was devoted to her and wanted her around all of the time. He survived a knife fight to bring back her money, he protected her through a hurricane, he never asked for or took her savings, and killed a dog to protect her. No one is perfect and Teacake is no exception, but he proved himself as the story went on and won me over.

20 year marriage...

When Jody first came into the book, I liked him for taking Janie out of the marriage she was in at the time because she was forced into it. At first, Jody seemed like a great guy and they got along great, Janie was happy. After 20 years of marriage, its obvious that Jody didn't marry Janie because of the person she is. Jody loves power and it makes him happy. Janie could be the best wife a man could ask for but it wouldn't be enough for him. He is a cruel and conceited man. He has high expectations for Janie and doesn't let her do the things she once was able to do in the marriage. I think Janie should have walked away from him when she wanted to instead of listening to him and doing what she was told. Jody made her obedient which is something I wouldn't expect of her since she is so different then anyone else and she isn't the person she is expected to be.

Beautiful or Ugly?

Reading Their Eyes Were Watching God was a challenge for me. It wasn't just that the dialect was difficult, it was that I couldn't decide how I felt about it. Do I really like it? Do I look upon it with indifference? Perhaps even disgust?

The truth is, there are many not so nice parts in this book, such as physical abuse. Take Tea Cake when he is speaking with Sop-de-Bottom about beating Janie. Tea Cake's friend is envious and replies with, "Ah lov tuh whip uh tender woman lak Janie! Ah bet she don't even holler. She jus' cries, eh Tea Cake?"

Tea Cake then goes on to agree and state that he didn't beat Janie this time because she had done something wrong, but to prove a point to Mrs. Turner! He doesn't seem particularily proud of having beaten Janie, but then again, he doesn't say he's sorry.

Besides the physical abuse sprinkled throughout, by two of her husband's, Janie gets cut down by snide remarks, by Jody in particular. Then there's the mistreatment of the animals and of course, of the other women who we know were looked down upon not only for their sex but for their race.

On the other hand, Zora Neale Hurston is a terrific writer. There are some parts in the book that are so moving, so beautifully written that they make me, a writer, think, "I wish I'd written that." Some of my favorite lines and sections are so poeticly crafted. Hurston is very good at saying things in a new way, a way that you might not think of yourself. For example, when Janie is thinking about Tea Cake's illness, you can sense the passion and terrible grief she's going through by this on page 178:

Well, she thought, that big old dawg with the hatred in his eyes had killed her after all. Sh wished she had slipped off that cow-tail and drowned then and there and been done. But to kill her through Tea Cake was too much to bear. Tea Cake, the son of the Evening Sun, had to die for loving her. She looked hard at the sky for a long time...It wasn't anything she could fight. She could only ache and wait.

The reader can really sense her pain without Hurston coming out and saying, "Janie was devestated that Tea Cake was going to die." We don't need that. We can understand through Hurston's powerful use of language. One of the most lovely sections in the book comes at the beginning, when Janie is still a young woman, full of hope and wishes for life.

Oh, to be a pear tree- any tree in bloom! With kissing bees singing of the beginning of the world!

This same idea is repeated when Janie falls in love with Tea Cake, later in the story.

She couldn't make him look just like any other man to her. He looked like the love thoughts of women. He could be a bee to a blossom- a pear tree blossom in the spring.

There, not only did Hurston use some pretty words to show a pretty picture, she lets the reader know that Tea Cake is what Janie has been looking for, since she was just sixteen. It doesn't have to make sense to the rest of her world or to the reader. It makes sense to Janie and that's all that matters. TEWWG is terrible in many ways, but it's also honest and vivid. I think I like it more than I thought...

different shades of brown

at first, when we had to read our first section of the book i absolutely hated it. it was long drug out and wasn't very exciting. Then the next two sections changed my mind for the better. The excitement started coming and I got to see why we were picked to read this book.

This book had 3 somewhat common discrimination's. One against women (which is a theme in all the books we've read so far,)being black,which I found interesting that a black person is more respected if they look more white vs. being black. I thought it very odd that Mrs. Turner was prejudice against dark blacks when she herself was black! I guess people will always find ways to feel better about themselves. But it is kind of true for white people too, a lot of people look better tan then pasty white. But we don't look at it as a money situation. The more white you looked the more things you deserved? If your dirt black, your assumed as dirt poor? and not good enough. That just doesn't make sense. If your black your black and if your white your white. But it was interesting to see the comparison of money to color.

The discrimination of woman was a lot less seen but still very there. At least they could somewhat choose what to do with their life, own property and be "free" for once. I liked this book but I thought the last part came too fast. They were having a good time, then storm, then Tea's dead. END. But all in all it's plot was good, it showed self vs. society for a woman and for once the woman won. At least to her standards and that all that counts.

Abusive Relationships

In class Tuesday we talked about the abuse, both physical and emotional that took place in the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. We started to touch on the subject of why didn’t she just leave or how could she put up with what was happening to her. Abuse no matter what the form physical or emotional and not matter the time in history past or present it doesn’t change it is all the same and it all hurts. But what people don’t realize is that the women in these relationships most of the time are completely in love with their abuser and don’t what to leave because it’s not always like this. That is a line that echoes through time but most of the time that is true, most men that are abusers are great to be around and you can have some of the best times in your life with these men, until something triggers that anger and they do a complete one eighty.

I’ve speaking from personal experience. But it also takes a strong woman to be able to decide whether to stay if they are emotionally strong enough to handle the situation or if they should leave. Because really if you have ever been in an abusive relationship you may agree with me and you may not, I always say the abuse that hurts the most and leaves the deepest scar is the emotional abuse, the physical stuff the cuts and bruises that will heal the emotional stuff that stays with you. The physical stuff I could handle I was a Marine I could fight back and stand my ground hold my own with my abuser the emotional stuff that takes a little longer for me to deal with because I am not one to show my emotions or to let people in.

So I guess what I am trying to say is that when it comes to abusive relationships they are all different and there are reasons that women stay with their abuser and it is not because they are dumb or stupid sometimes its love and love is a powerful thing. But sometimes in the worst cases of abuse the women can’t leave or the fear is too great for them to take the chance to leave because he will try to kill her or her children. So when it comes to abusive relationships each one is different and the people are different. I’m not saying that abusive relationships are ok I’m not saying that at all I can honestly say that I HATE men that abuse women and I wish that the women in these relationships realized that there is help out there for them.

Tea Cake is a bad guy???

Janie has always been the type of girl that wanted to fall in love. It was obvious already in the beginning of the book when she was daydreaming while watching the flowers bud on the pear tree. When she was forced to marry Logan Killicks, her dreams were put on hold for a while. When she met Joe Starks, he opened up the possibility for chance and change. For twenty years Janie went through hell being with Joe. Yes she had almost every material object that she could ever ask for, but inside she was never satisfied. I find it so hard to believe that more people are saying how bad and mistreated Janie is by Tea Cake, and nobody ever said one word about Jody. Giving Janie a nice big house to live in and all the clothes one could ever ask for must be worth being put down and hit everyday of your life. When Janie met Tea Cake, she met the opposite of Jody. This was the man of her dreams. From what I've heard in the discussion in class on Tuesday, more people would rather have material items than love and someone who makes you feel beautiful. The first time I read the book I was a little worried after Tea Cake left Janie in the hotel, but after he came back I knew he deserved someone like Janie because he gave Janie what she always wanted and never had before in her life. I find it really surprising that nobody likes Tea Cake.....there must be a misunderstanding in the reading or sentences are just getting looked past on.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

As we talked in class the other day Janey called out in Jody's manly hood in the store. After being with someone for almost 20 years of her life and not being happy I can see how Janey wanted to attack Jody. This marriage was obviously something she really did not want. She just went with it because its what her family wanted. He had a farm and other dreams in his life which seemed like the perfect man. However, all Jody was focused on what the material things in life that made him a better person. Janey, like to focus on people in life and how more personal connections were made. After viewing this marriage through the book, it makes me wonder how many people do that today. Do people stick with marriages because they are comfortable and do not want to ruin anything? Sometimes marriages are not all about love. One may think they are in love with a person, but in reality are only in love with the material things another person has to offer.

Off The Path

"I have the nerve to walk my own way, however hard, in my search for reality, rather than climb upon the rattling wagon of wishful illusions."

This is a quote from a letter written by Zora Neale Hurston. It clearly expresses her boldness in the face of persecution, and her willingness and desire to overcome her perceived minority status.

I think that this quote, while meant to express Hurston's own life and experiences, can also be applied to Janie's life and experiences. In the beginning of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie does in fact seem to be riding on the "wagon of wishful illusions," but as the story of her life progresses she is seen to mature beyond that sentiment.

Although Janie does not lose sight of her dreams, as her life progresses she incorporates reality into her quest for happiness. When she is married to Joe, in particular, she is seen to actively choose to keep a part of herself hidden away; this, to me, shows not weakness or Joe's domination over her, but an inner strength, or the "nerve to walk her own way." Janie becomes smart enough to strive toward her dreams within the confines of her reality, which ultimately allows her to strike her own path through life.

Works Cited:

Boyd, Valerie. "About Zora Neale Hurston." Zora Neale Hurston. Ed. Sonnet Media LLC. Estate of Zora Neale Hurston and HarperCollins, 2007. Web. 15 Mar. 2011.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

So far I really like this book, at first it was hard to get used to the Southern dialect that is used throughout it. But like Dr. J mentioned, this is an accurate way of staying true to the regional traits during this time period in the South. I can relate to other reader's frustrations about Janie's character and the ease which she puts up with Tea Cake. It is frustrating when you analyze the situation and the underlining mistreatment he puts her through.

However, after her first two failed marriages, I can see why his personality would attract her. He's young, spontaneous and exciting compared to her previous husbands. Whether these exciting traits are healthy or not, I think he represents a certain passion that wasn't present in her previous relationships. It is always easier for an outside opinion to think to ourselves, "Why does she put up with that?" But when you think of the many people that are involved in unhealthy relationships, it's always easier for an outsider than it is for them. If she/he has strong emotional ties to this person, whether it could be classified as love or not, it makes it more challenging to leave the situation. It is common for psychologists and "romance" experts to classify situations such as these as an addiction. In Janie's case, I definitely think this definition would apply to her. When Tea Cake is gone, she is unable to function and "fiending" for his presence. When he comes back, all that built up anger explodes but after the fact, she is just satisfied with his return, regardless of her anger.

Experts also have a term for this back and forth emotional rollercoaster, it is called the cycle of abuse. Basically, the first cycle is the tension building stage, where all the hurt and resentment is boiling under the skin. The second part is the 'acting out phase' where all these tensions or abusive treatment explodes. The third part is the 'honeymoon phase' where there is a reconciliation after the outburst and the abuser makes apologies to the victim. There is a very clear example of this in the book, when Tea Cake comes back. After they are done fighting, they engage in a passionate sexual act after all his apologies. The fourth part is the 'calm phase' which is still a part of the 'honeymoon phase', but basically, the relationship has a calm resolution for a period of time, before it starts all over again. While Tea Cake might not be necessarily as abusive as Jody was, I still think some of these patterns are in evident in their relationship with each other.

Adios Amigos!

Today I am off to the beach in the Riviera Maya, Mexico! I am not sure if I will be around a computer with internet so I thought I would do blog #6 right now. I thought in honor of my trip to Mexico I would talk about wedding traditions they have because it has to do with love and I thought it would be interesting.

A couple getting married are sponsored by godparents, "padrinos," who act as mentors throughout the engagement. As a thank you, the couple has the godparents be a part of the wedding. The groom gives his wife to be 13 gold coins as a symbolize the man's commitment to support their family. As the newlyweds walk down the eisle, red beads are thrown for good luck. It is amazing to read about how different people do common things like a wedding in different places.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

After starting to read Their Eyes Were Watching God, I found it at times hard to read because of the way it was written.  The way the author had the characters speaking with thick accents made me visualize in my head the way they would be talking as if they were actually in the room with me.  I have heard people from the South talk with the thickness of this accent by I never really had to read it in a book.  I will say that it did help to not just read the words but to imagine the characters saying the words.  By doing this, it helped me to understand what was actually being said and not just have the words appear as almost gibberish.  I do agree with what was said in class about the fact had we actually been from the south, that we may have had no problem or at least not as much problem reading this book.  It is exactly like if a story had been written in some other accent, like Cockney perhaps.  I think it would have been even more difficult to understand because that is even more foreign to us because it is not something we are used to and at times reading something in another type of accent than what we are used to can almost seem like a book were written in a completely different language.

Is It True? Is It Love?

When we see a handsome man or beautiful woman for the first time, we are struck with awe at how good-looking they are.  Is it love at first sight? How do we know that this love will last? Do we want "happily-ever-after?" Do we want "forever?"How do we tell if it's just a short-term infatuation? Maybe, it's just trickery of the eye and then, to the mind. Then, again, maybe not.

In Their Eyes Are Watching God, Janie is married to Logan whom she was not in love with.  She then, meets Joe who she happily falls in love with.  But how does she know that she wasn't just trying to get out of a love-less marriage with Logan?  How does she know that she didn't love Logan?  Did she give their love/marriage time to blossom?  "The grass is always greener on the other side," is a saying that I like to use often because I feel that we don't always truly appreciate what we have until we fully lose it.  I felt that Janie should have tried to at least love Logan and give him a chance.  Maybe, he's the one, the one she wanted all along. Instead, she jumps into a relationship she wants so she can be happy, but is she? Is it for the better?  

Personally, I feel that committments, as big and as important as a marriage is, should be given every chance to succeed.  Every choice and decision to be made, should have the committment of marriage as the reason we are striving for the better. When we've done all we can and have said all we should, and all else fails, there are no regretts. 

I'm not sure what to think about this yet.

I'm really not sure what to think yet about this book. Yes, given we have just started reading this, I'm not sure. The text is sort of hard to read, its easy when the the characters in the book are not talking, then its clear as day but the way they talk is almost foreign. When reading how they talk, I feel like I'm 5 years old again because I go over it so slowly, and read it aloud..I feel pretty goofy doing that. I have heard this book is really good, and I am begining to think so as well.

In the first few pages of the book, as they were talking about how this "mysterious woman" was strolling through town and were wondering what her story was. It seems like they're almost prejudice or really judgemental. I guess that is alright for what era the book was based in, but it still doesn't make it right.
It seems as if all the books we have so far deal with a lot of judgement, social status and abuse.
There's almost seems to be a trend going on here.

What I really do like about the book though, is how Hurston does write the dialog. She makes it as if they are really talking, and makes the characters seem alive, and that is really admirable. The text is also more clear then how Bronte wrote Wuthering Heights.
Anyways, the book so far is alright, I'm positive as time goes on with the reading, the dialog will be easier and just come naturally. I'm excited to see what this book has to offer. :)

Ships and Circumstance

Although the first time I read the book, the opening did not really catch my attention, for some reason this time I found the opening two paragraphs absolutely captivating. I love the imagery of the ship on the horizon, always seen but ever just out of reach. While I'm not one to categorize people into their "stereotypical" groups, I find that at my house, anyway, these descriptions are spot on.

My husband tends to set his goals huge; I sometimes get the idea that he is not able to fully enjoy each of his successes because he already has his eyes set on his next project. I worry too sometimes that he/we will never reach a point in life where he can sit back and enjoy what he has reaped. On the other hand, I feel that I have a tendency to live contently within our circumstances. I know that at times this is frustrating for my husband, because he sometimes views this as me being too easy-going or unmotivated. However, I have goals and dreams ~ I simply live them out and work towards them within the confines of my circumstances. Sometimes in life, we have to make choices because obstacles make it impossible to fulfill every single dream and goal; I feel that I am better at my husband at making choices and then moving forward within those choices without looking back to dwell.

With that said, I believe that each of our tendencies in this area compliment each other well. He has taught me how to reach out for the things that matter to me, rather than simply sitting back and hoping for them to fall into my lap. Likewise, I have helped him to become more laid-back as he thinks about our future, and to begin to realize that whatever our circumstances may be, we can live happily together within them.

Happy Ending?

After finishing Wuthuring Heights and with discussions in class, I believe that this was a good love story that did consist of a happy ending. Since Cathy and Hareton have been wronged by so many people it seems natural that they would end up together and have a good relationship. Compared to what each of them had when they were growing up in the past, this relationship could only feel right to them both. Love is what they lacked in the past and now that they have each other, it is something good which relieves a lot of stress that they both were feeling.

Also discussed in class is how we define love. Clearly everyone has the own definition of what love is and what love should feel like. We can not judge others on what they feel love should be like. Maybe Cathy and Hareton do not have a loving relationship to other people, but to them its right and all they need.