Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Reaction to a Peer Post: The Return


In Noah's blog posted yesterday, entitled "Hero Journey: The Return...Or Maybe Not," he brings up several good points supporting the idea that Janie's return to Eatonville is in fact her Return in terms of the Hero Journey. While the post addresses many good ideas, there are a couple points I'd like to add.

First, I disagree with his statement of Janie's journey. Yes, Janie certainly searches for love in her life, but I believe that her main journey is one of self- discovery, as we addressed in class today. Noah mentions her call to adventure being the awkward moment under the pear tree. In this moment, she does discover her sexuality and her want for love, but in turn, I believe she is also discovering herself and the person she wants to be. Hurston describes: "She had glossy leaves and bursting buds and she wanted to struggle with life but it seemed to elude her. Where were the singing bees for her? Nothing on the place nor in her grandma's house answered her. She searched as much of the world as she could from the top of the front steps and then went on down to the front gate and leaned over to gaze up and down the road. Looking, waiting, breathing short with impatience. Waiting for the world to be made"(11). One could argue that she is waiting for her world to be made, so in turn, she is waiting to begin a fulfilling life as an individual. She even begins searching for herself right here in this moment, as she physically looks through the house and out the gate. Since her Call to Adventure can be seen as a general call to finding her true self, the rest of her journey must follow suit. Certainly her "love story" is a large part of this journey, as it is a part of herself, but I feel her journey is a more general path to self- discovery rather than her search for love.

I do agree with Noah's description of the Return, as most of the points fit in with my interpretation of Janie's journey as well as his. However, he also states that Return requirement number two does not fit in with Janie's return, and I believe it does (in a very crazy-English-student-stretching-her-point way :) ). The Hero Journey can apply to any story, but depending on the story itself, I think the criteria can be stretched to fit the specifics of the plot. Requirement number two states: "The Hero has been resurrected and purified and has earned the right to be accepted back into the ordinary world." Noah already describes how Janie has been resurrected and purified, but states that Janie has not been accepted. For the specifics of Their Eyes Were Watching God, I believe that this requirement can be eliminated. As a result of her journey, Janie develops a very confident sense of self; she has found out who she is, and has learned to be proud of it. She feels she no longer has to explain herself to anyone, which is why she remains silent as she walks by the gossipers at the beginning of the novel. For her journey, her Return should not include being accepted into the society of Eatonville (her Ordinary World). Because the Elixir she brings back is a sense of individuality no matter what society thinks, society's acceptance should not matter. The point is society no longer matters to her, she has won her conflict over society, as several of you have mentioned in this blog. Yes, she physically returns to Eatonville, her Ordinary World, but she is going to live there whether she is socially accepted or not. The fact that she returns from her Special World with Tea Cake, and has come out of it with the Elixir, self-discovery, is enough to consider this the Return; acceptance does not matter.

Following a similar path, I also believe that requirement number five is completely met. While harmony and balance are not specifically brought to the Ordinary World of Eatonville, Florida, harmony and balance are brought into Janie's Eatonville, Florida. Janie brings back a sense of harmony and balance for herself, so she brings this peace into her life in Eatonville, which is what counts for her Hero Journey. (Does this make sense? I'm having trouble putting this idea into words...)

All in all, I agree with Noah's point, I just had a few clarifications of my own to add :)
(And does anyone think they understand what I'm talking about in terms of Janie's Ordinary World?)

(While the picture more obviously represents the Road Back, I felt like a road was the only way to effectively show some sort of Return...so yes I do realize the discrepancy :P)

1 comment:

  1. Nice! That was a really good point you made in paragraph three. I had not considered the fact that her newfound sense of self eliminates the acceptance part of requirement two. And the same for number five. It all made sense and I agree with your points.

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