"So they beat him down to nothing but sparks but each little spark had a shine and a song. So they covered each one over with mud. And the lonesomeness in the sparks made them hunt for one anther, but the mud is deaf and dumb. Like all the other tumbling mud-balls, Janie had tried to show her shine." (90)After Joe's death, Janie started reevaluating her life again. This quote truly Janie's frustration in life of not being able to show her true self. She had been beat down over and over again in search of being able to "show her shine". Her own grandmother was one of the first people to start beating Janie's dreams down. Nanny had been beat down her whole life as well, and this lead to her being a pessimist and realist, leaving no rooms for dreams. Janie said about her grandmother "Here Nanny had taken the biggest thing God ever made, the horizon-for no matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you- and pinched it in to such a little bit of a thing that she could tie it about her granddaughter's neck tight enough to choke her." (90). This means that her grandmother left no room for hope and saw life as it was and forced this view upon Janie, crushing any chance of her going out and expressing herself. Also this relates the Hurston's opening quote of women viewing life according to truth.
Also, men beat down Janie's dreams throughout her life. Logan Killicks and Joe Starks suppressed her in a very similar manner. Each were dominating husbands who expected Janie to be quiet and simply do her "duties" as a wife. None of which really allowed for much self expression. Janie's views herself as a spark in the mud, her dreams being clouded by the world around her. But, I think there is a sense of hope in the quote because it talks about each spark having its own "shine and song" and I think sine Janie is now single and free to do what she wants that soon she will be able to show her shine.
Jake I like the quote choice. I happened to appreciate the same quote in my post on Feb 23! And I wouldn't be surprised if other people talked about it as well, that is how much it effected me and my reading.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Janie was held back her entire life. By her family, her husbands, and now society is even bringing her down. She never had an opportunity to show herself for who she is. Thankfully, later on in the book, she finds someone who lets her be who she is.
ReplyDeleteJake-
ReplyDeleteThat last paragraph is excellent! But when is Janie pessimistic in the novel? Perhaps you were looking for submissive?
Noah-
ReplyDeleteI never said Janie was pessimistic, Nanny is.
I loved your analysis of this quote. It was definitely one of those lines that made me stop reading and just consider for a while. In Betty Friedan's nonfiction book The Feminine Mystique, she discusses a mental disease detected in the 1950's that doctors labeled the housewife's illness. Basically the mental illness they detected was depression from being controlled and stifled in their marriages; from not being able to "show their shine," just as Janie is not able to in her relationships.
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