Natural Beauty in the Wilderness

While we talked about wilderness in class, I argued that there can still be some of the same aspects of adventure, risk, and feelings of smallness in the big city. This was my experience, as a Texas girl in New York City, this summer. I know there must be a difference. There is something different, a different side to us, that yearns for something beyond the city. I mulled over this later and decided natural beauty and lack of constraints are the biggest differences between city and wilderness. Natural beauty calls us to reflect and breathe deep, and this cannot really be found in cities formed by slabs of cement, no matter how many flowers and trees you plant. And while you can feel small in a city filled with millions of people and very tall buildings, it still does not compare to the insignificance experienced at the base of a mountain or at the edge of the ocean. To know these things were not created by man — and never could be — stirs awe and wonder, and a part of us comes alive at the thought of it, I believe.

Sexual power

I was quite taken aback at the suddenness and the strength of the scene in Faulkner's The Bear where Isaac's wife uses her body and sexual appeal to hold power over her husband. She is upset because he will not accept the inheritance and the farm that is rightfully his, so she undresses before him, lies down, gives him a taste of what she offers (to say it nicely) then says she will never do it again unless he takes the farm. He refuses. She turns over and laughs. 

This is powerful. It makes quite a statement about the seductive abilities of women. The wife acts very manipulatively, and yet, she doesn't get what she wants. It is almost scary to me, honestly. The part when she laughs brings up the biblical allusion to Sarah and Abraham again, since in the story she laughs at God's promise to her to have a child. What is the promise here? How will things go for this woman? We do not know, in the end, but it doesn't seem very hopeful.

A Little Different, but Yes

When considering whether Their Eyes Were Watching God (now one of my new favorite books, by the way) is a bildungsroman, I realize it's a little different from the other books we have read so far.  The others focus more on isolated time periods in the main character's life, especially the transition from childhood to adulthood. Their Eyes, however, chronicles all of Janie's life. It is not just a "coming of age" novel but a whole life story about maturity and growth, in the midst of hardship and varying circumstances. I like this about the book: it increases the classical nature of the book because so many people can relate to Janie (and even the other characters) because of the different periods of life she goes through. I still think this is a bildungsroman, but it is also so much more. This aspect emphasizes the fact that all of life is about growth; it's always a journey through life's obstacles and joys. We are never stagnant. 

Some defining moments for Janie include each of her different marriages as well as the times she or he leaves (leaving Logan's farm, Jody's death and Tea Cake's death). Outside of these obvious ones, I think her moment under the pear tree is an awakening of dreams inside her and the moment we looked at in class, when she realizes her inner self and her broken dreams, is also a major turning point for Janie. 

What's in a Title?

First of all, I want to say that my last blog was a little off, I think. In class we discussed that Zora Neale Hurston gives depth to all her characters, not just the main one, and I agree with that. I think she shows more depth in the men than I gave her credit for. For instance, she builds sympathy for Jody by showing his fear of getting older, and even though it creates pity more than love for him, we see his human nature and not just this chauvinistic man suppressing his wife. 

As to the title of the book, I love it. It's beautiful and unique. Before I'd read the book, I was drawn to it. It forces the questions, "Why were their eyes watching God?" and "What did they see as they watched God?" I even think, "How did they watch God, the powerful and Almighty in heaven?" 

We get a glimpse of what the title means when Janie and Tea Cake are fighting for their lives in the midst of the hurricane. The scene shows their vulnerability to forces beyond themselves; all they can do is hope that the God who is causing such a powerful stirring in nature will spare them. They watch to see what he will do because it's all they can do in the midst of their situation. The implication for the whole book, then, is that Janie and the others are living their lives with an awareness that so much of their stories are out of their control, yet there is a flow to them that must be caused by something bigger than themselves, which, perhaps, is God. It goes along with the context of the book, since African Americans are known for having rich spiritual heritages.

Men: You Can't Live with 'Em, You Can't Live Without 'Em

An interesting aspect in Their Eyes Were Watching God is the way men are portrayed throughout the story. The different husbands (and some others) in Janie's life are cast in such a way as to compare with one another. 

There is Logan Killicks, who is unlovable, stiff and unable to satisfy his wife. He seems to live out of duty, not love, and this can never sustain a relationship. Then there's Joe Starks, who is first portrayed as exciting, respectable and loving. Then, as his true colors show through, he is shown as an insensitive power-monger who treats Janie as less than and enslaves her to his store. Finally, there is Tea Cake, who tops them all. Despite his poverty, he adores Janie, invites her into an adventurous lifestyle and is willing to sacrifice anything for her sake. Janie finally finds true love and a real man in the end. One other man worth noting is Mr. Turner, who is portrayed as weak and powerless to stand up to his wife and also to defend her. The scene where he sits down in the middle of the fight, while his wife gets trampled on, is contrasted with Tea Cake's valor as he defends Janie against the mad dog in the hurricane.

No Question About It

A Room With A View is definitely a bildungsroman. E.M. Forster's book focuses extensively on one character, Lucy, and the way she changes through different life circumstances: travel, adventure, hardship, death, love, relationships with family and friends, etc. There are few scenes that do not focus on Lucy specifically; even is she is not present, the conversation and events still involve her. From the beginning of the book to the end we see major growth in her. 

At the beginning of the book, I assumed Lucy was much younger than she actually is. She acts that way and is treated that way. There is always something different about her -- something that's forcing her outside of the box of English social conventions -- but she is first presented as a somewhat eccentric, though beloved, child. The second half of the book presents her clearly as a woman of marriageable age who is taking steps to become fully herself and to grow up. Her defiance to her family's ways and to Cecil's attempts to control her show independence and strength of character. I consider the scene in the square where the man dies in front of her and the scene where she breaks off her engagement as the most obvious turning points for her.

I Can Hear the Bells: Lucy Gets Married

One thing I am glad to see as we continue through our reading list of Bildungsroman literature is a book that deals with falling in love as a part of coming of age. While Harry Potter deals with this a little, it's not really central to his growing up process (at least in Book 7), and Huck Finn doesn't deal with this at all. This is central to Lucy's process, though, in A Room With A View.

When Lucy breaks off the engagement with Cecil, it's almost like you can hear a collective sigh of relief from the reading audience.  He's so not right for her. She is colorful and coming alive outside of English social conventions, while he is stuffy and pretentious. George, on the other hand, has boldly shown his affection — twice by this point — and Lucy finally comes to her senses. This is the life she wants, regardless of what others think: true love that takes her back to Florence and into adventure. She couldn't have Cecil and a room with the view. George can give her that, though, just as he and his father did at the beginning of the book.

Why the title A Room With A View?

While reading A Room With A View, I kept wondering why the book was titled that. Obviously, the name connects with the first scene, which is the first interaction between Lucy and George Emerson. George and his father give up their "room with a view" for Lucy and her cousin Charlotte. Throughout the novel, views of various sorts are described in great detail, as an essential part of the play's setting and storyline. As the scene changes from Italy back to England, different views are described. 

However, the meaning goes much deeper, as implied when Lucy discusses people as either having a view or not, as a signifier of the individual's openness to life and his or her appreciation for its beauty. The title could also be a metaphor for the kind of life Lucy wants. She is not satisfied with the stuffy, pretentious life with Cecil. She wants the beautiful before her, the wide open fields of violets, and this, to her, is George Emerson. Life with him is "a room with a view," and the end of the book effectively shows this, as well.