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Janie and Marriage

Janie at the end of the novel is a second time widow. Her first marriage just ended abruptly and there is nothing more to say about it, but the reaction to Jody’s death versus Tea Cake’s death displays the power of love. The kind of love Janie discovers under the pear tree. I do take issue with some of the things that occurred between Janie and Tea Cake. There is no excuse to hit your partner, that is not love. I would just like to make it clear that I do not think Janie and Tea Cake’s relationship was a healthy one. However Janie’s emotions for Tea Cake make his death far more deep than Jody’s and that shows the difference between a relationship founded on pure emotion instead of lies. A big indicator of just how bad the relationship between Janie and Jody was shows through in the scene where she tells him off while he lies on his deathbed. From page 85 to 87 the floodgates of Janie’s pent up feelings open into the room. Their toxic relationship is evident through Janie only feeling s
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Baby Suggs and Colors

 Baby Suggs and Colors      Baby Suggs is somewhat the head of the remains of Sethe’s family. Her character has a major shift in energy the day that Sethe kills Beloved. She goes from a preacher to a part of 124, stuck in the memory of the tragedy that occured in the shed. The first time she brings up colors is when Stamp Paid confronts her about missing the clearing for several weeks. This is after Sethe has gone to jail. She says to Stamp Paid “What I have to do is get in my bed and lay down. I want to fix on something harmless in this world” (211). Her whole life has been defined by the colors black and white. The white people causing harm to black people is what she has to constantly witness and experience herself. When she is referring to something harmless, she is talking about the colors in the world that are free from this oppression. She begins her studies with blue. She says “that don’t hurt nobody” (211). The color blue has not brought pain to her life. It is something so si
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 Mr. Norton, The Beginning vs the End Addison McClure       In the last chapter there was a scene that stood out to me. The narrator runs into Mr. Norton again. The narrator is relaxed and laughing as he talks to Mr. Norton. While he can clearly remember Mr. Norton, Mr. Norton has no clue who he is. There is a huge shift in tone between how the narrator approaches the situation versus how he used to. In chapter 2 the narrator is acting as a driver for Mr. Norton, the elite of the college. The narrator is in a constant panic trying to make sure he does nothing that makes him stand out. He views the world at face value. He lives scared that one wrong move will bring his downfall and he lets people step all over him. Mr. Norton has all the control in the conversation. Compare this to the interaction they have on page 578. The narrator believes that Mr. Norton has only approached him because he wants to save face. He says “to lose your direction is to lose your face. So here he comes to as
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Objectification in Chapter 19

Objectification in Chapter 19 Chapter nineteen is a bit chaotic. The chapter begins with the narrator being sent to speak on women's rights and ends with a one night stand that throws the narrator’s mind off track. The encounter starts with the narrator engaging in a discussion with one of the women at the seminar. She invites him back to her apartment to discuss the ideologies of the Brotherhood, but this quickly escalates to her intensely and inappropriately flirting with the narrator. Eventually they spend the night together. The narrator is awoken by her husband standing in the doorway. While neither the woman or her husband seem bothered by this interaction, it freaks the narrator out. He quickly flees the apartment terrified of the consequences of his actions. Chapter nineteen really highlights some important issues and stereotypes that the narrator faces. In an uncomfortable exchange between the narrator and the woman she tells him that his speaking is “so powerful, so-so
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Bessie Deserves Better

  Bessie Deserves Better  Addison McClure Bessie does not have a character development in the novel Native Son . She really only appears in book 2. Bessie and Bigger do not have a healthy relationship to begin with. They seem to be with one another to get something for themselves, Bigger wanting sex and Bessie wanting liquor. The treatment that Bessie receives and the little acknowledgment of the horror of Bigger does to her is disgusting. Bessie is treated like nothing to everyone and she deserves to be talked about more and her little representation in the novel reflects the little representation that black women get in real life.  There is something intensely disturbing about the way that Bessie is used by everyone. Bigger rapes her and violently murders her by smashing her head with a brick. Her body is brutalized with no respect whatsoever. This is a moment where I felt nothing, but hatred for Bigger. To rape someone is so violating and then to dispose of their life so quickly
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The Power of the Yam

 The Power of the Yam Addison McClure At the beginning of chapter 13 the narrator has an intense realization as he eats a yam he has purchased at a street vendor. The yam he purchases is described in great detail. He says he could already see it was sweet because “bubbles of brown syrup had broken burst the skin”. This is obviously a food that he is fond of. The narrator after biting into the yam is suddenly catapulted into a flurry of thoughts. He first feels homesick. The yam is a taste he remembers from his childhood. The homesickness transitions into an overwhelming feeling of freedom. He feels in control of himself. The narrator unapologetically eats the yam and he imagines confronting those who once mocked him. He then spirals into a fantasy of confronting Bledsoe and exposing him to the world. He makes himself laugh at the thought of Bledsoe crumbling with his facade. He continues his train of thought contemplating how him proudly eating a yam gives him power.  One passage f
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