mak&cheese&books
by Makenna Chamberlain
I have a distinct memory from my childhood of scampering out of the pool during the summer at the first sign of a thunder storm and cozying up with a Harry Potter or the latest nauseating romance book I was reading, while I munched on a whole box worth of spiral Kraft Mac and Cheese. Ever since that random summer day, I have always associated the best books with mac and cheese. That might be why I've given this blog such a cheesy (lol) name. Most likely, it might just be the only semi-creative title that worked with my name, but I'm gonna go with the first one because that's a much cuter story. Anyway, I promise I'm not obsessed with mac and cheese; I enjoy splurging on a bowl of mac and cheese just as much as anyone else, but I do eat it just as frequently as I did when I was a kid. However, I'm apparently not allowed to read Harry Potter on repeat like I used to. Now, I'm required to read challenging AP books that'll help shape my way of thinking and enhance my knowledge for the future. In my opinion, I don't know who could prepare me more for life than J.K. Rowling, but that's just me. Currently, I'm reading Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston as one of my AP required texts. I chose to read it because it fulfills the need for one of my required books and feeds my guilty pleasure of reading romance novels. Despite the fact that the syntax can be challenging and hard to follow, I'm really enjoying it.; however, it's taking me a while to read. This book is challenging me primarily due to it's syntax. I've currently only read 88 pages, and I've tried really hard to read at least fifteen minutes every night before I go to bed, but I'll admit that I've definitely missed some nights. Other than that I've struggled to find time for reading, I'd say that my reading is gradually becoming part of my routine.
Even though I'm only at the beginning of this book, I have been constantly highlighting quotes that I have felt connected to since I picked up the book. Many of the quotes made me think beyond the surface message, but of course, I don't have time to discuss all my thoughts and impressions of them. Since I've probably made it clear by now that I'm a complete and utter hopeless romantic, I don't think it's much of a surprise that I discovered a deep truth about love and marriage in Their Eyes Were Watching God. I can infer that this novel, in many ways, is similar to self-discovery books. From the beginning, Janie Crawford exudes a wonder for the world around her unlike anyone else in the book. She's full of curiosity, hope and ambitious dreams while her grandmother just wants her to be married to a pragmatic man. Despite her grandmother's wishes, she still yearns for love that will connect her to the world and possess mutual respect. She believes she will feel fulfillment within herself once she's married and in love. Janie's ideal vision of true love is depicted when she is a young girl as she "saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from toot to tiniest branch creaming in ever blossom and frothing with delight. So this was a marriage!" (11). The interaction between the bee and the flower illustrates Janie's view of love that it should be between two who reciprocate mutual trust and respect for each other. During this time period, many didn't associate marriage with love; marriage was merely a necessary part of life to gain status and a stable life. However, Janie still believes that marriage comes with love and that marriage should be a give-and-take relationship where both people bring forth something desired by the other. This quotation is significant because it sets up the fulfillment Janie is seeking from love throughout the book. From very early on in Janie's life, it is noticeable that her main priority is to feel a sense of gratification from love as soon as possible, and she'll overcome any challenge or obstacle to make her ideal vision of love a reality. That is why Janie so often jumps from husbad to husband because she is searching for that passion that fills her soul and exposes her to all the world has to offer. Her second husband, Jody, represents those opportunities because of his ambition and wealth. At first, his confidence and power fascinates and excites Janie; until, his confidence and power turn into selfishness and tyranny. This shift made Janie not only question her marriage, but her belief in true love. She discovers the waning of the love in her marriage as she realizes she has "no more blossomy openings dusting pollen over her man, neither any glistening young fruit where the petals used to be. She found that she had a host of thoughts she had never expressed to him, and numerous emotions she had never let Jody know about,"..."She was saving up feelings for some man she had never seen. She had an inside and an outside now and suddenly she know how not to mix them" (72). Janie depicts how her love for Jody withered away and how their love was no longer flourishing and growing. Janie's second attempt at finding her ideal vision of love has failed, by why? How could the love in her marriage die, if she knew exactly what she was looking for? I believe it's because she hasn't learned how to love and be fulfilled with herself. To outside observers, she may seem incredibly happy and in love, when in fact, she is utterly heartbroken that she has not found the give-and-take relationship she desperately desires. Janie displays uncertainty and discomfort in her marriage because she is unsure of who she is. Her inside feelings don't match the things that go on around her because she hasn't taken the time to discover who she; her mind is clouded by her dream of love. However, one must know who they are and learn how to love themselves before they can love and support another. She continues to refer back to the blossoming flowers and bees which shows her how her focus is on love. Of course, she is prone to bad luck when it comes to husbands, but what else is she doing wrong? Many would say that Janie is doing nothing wrong and that simply her husbands are to blame for not reciprocating the respect and trust she grants to them. However, in my opinion, her objective was in the wrong from the beginning. Janie longs for fulfillment in life through love with another in marriage; however, love is not meant to be the source of ones happiness and personal fulfillment. That fulfillment should come from with; essentially, one must learn to love ones self before they can love another. Janie's desire to feel connection to the world around her and experience fulfillment and self-worth is an understandable aspiration, but her tactics of obtaining such sensations lack sense. How can one ever love another without loving ones self first? To me, you can't. Now, I've never been in love, and my idea of love could be completely different from someone else because love is subjective. However, I believe no one can put their whole self into a relationship without knowing who they are and loving themselves for who they are. I think it's extremely important to realize ones self-worth before submitting themselves into love with another. This article dives deep into the importance of realizes ones self-worth and focusing on yourself before anyone else. The clear message I got from this article is that your own happiness should be your top priority before any romantic relationship. You should be selfish and focus on yourself. You should understand who you are and what you want. You should feel comfort and fulfillment from within yourself. This is something I think many people don't take the time to do. Many hurry into relationships before they are content and happy with who they are, and then, they become dependent on the love that their partner provided them for happiness. Janie skipped this part of her self-discovery. Her enthusiasm for love spun her into unhealthy relationships because she had't learned who she was and who she was going to be. I have no doubt that love is an incredible thing. Personally, I love love, or I at least love the idea of love. However, there is an often overseen value and necessity in the journey of self-discovery. I think its important that people are encouraged to love who they are and find fulfillment from within themselves before rushing off into relationships and marriages that will end in disaster. I hope by the end of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie has discovered who she is without a man and that her wish for fulfillment is found from within and not from her marriage. Citations: Huston, Zora. Their Eyes Were Watching God. J.B. Lippincott & Co. September 18th 1937. Print. - MLA Citation "The Truth is That You Must First Love Yourself Before You Can Love Another". Ricardo Martinez. April 7th 2014. - Chicago.
1 Comment
Jeanette Rooks
10/16/2017 01:22:29 pm
Trust me when I say that I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I just know J.K. Rowling became the writer she is because she respects other authors and their craft, and I figure we can too. I also know that there's no way J.K. can replicate the experience of an African American woman in the 1930s, but Zora Neale Hurston can. So we mix in some new choices and expand our world awareness a little, but we can always dive back into Hogwarts when we need an escape! And look at what a great life lesson Ms. Hurston offered - love yourself first. :)
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