Analysis of the following passage:
"So Janie began to think of Death (...) Rumor, that wingless bid, had shadowed over the town." (p.84)
Stylistic choices in this passage and their motivation:
1. Firstly and most obviously Hurston makes death a proper noun, thereby making it a person. I believe that she treats death as a person so that there can be emotion and feeling directed towards him. When someone dies, there is obviously grief and anger. With a personification of death, this can be directed at something. I believe she does this to allow more identification with the reader in this regard.
2. Hurston describes Death as having square toes, again personifying it. I do not really know why Hurston mentions him as having square toes. Perhaps other than that it is an abnormality, which sets him apart from being human.
3. Hurston describes deaths house as "a platform without sides to it, and without a roof." I believe that Hurston does this to give the feeling that death is almost omnipotent, clearly visible of all that is below him, without anything obstructing his vision.
4. There is a recurring theme throughout this passage of of watching and looking. I believe that Hurston does this again to make death seem omnipotent, but I also believe it has a greater meaning relating to the title of the book. Perhaps Hurston is comparing death and God, maybe she is saying that they are the same person, or that God is the cause of death. This may also be the source of personification in the first place.
5. Hurston also tells of death standing, waiting for the "messenger" to come, with his sword drawn back. In this death is perceived similar to a warrior, much like angels are in the Bible. Perhaps Hurston is suggesting Death as being an angel?
6. Hurston mentions being liable to find a feather from Death's wings. I have noticed a recurring pattern of wings and feathers throughout the book, often relating to people. One such instance is when Janie's grandmother is talking to her, saying she doesn't want people "crumpling her feathers" or something to that effect. I believe Hurston mentions this again to perhaps dehumanize death, but at the same time personify it.
7. It says in the passage that medical doctors are alright with the "Godly sick", but that they could not help Jody. I think this is interesting because normally I would have assumed the opposite, thinking medical doctors would not be help to a case of "spiritual sickness." Perhaps Hurston is suggesting that Jody is not a spiritual man, or that he is not "right" with God?
8. This passage is narration, and generally the narrator does not speak with any dialect. However, during the passage the narrator says "wuz", both using incorrect spelling and incorrect subject/verb agreement. I believe Hurston does this to set a certain mood in the passage, in which the reader feels more close towards Janie, in that the narrator is using her dialect, perhaps in a sympathetic sense?
9. Hurston again chooses to mention trees in this passage: "...for people began to gather in the big yard under the palm and china-berry trees." I have noticed trees, especially living and fruit bearing trees, as being a recurring theme in this book. I believe that the tree is a symbol for life, and the blooming is a symbol for marriage. The townspeople gathering under trees as Jody dies presents a sort of parallel structure between life and death.
10. Lastly, Hurston mentions Jody would "be alright as soon as the two-headed man found what had been buried against him." I'm not certain but I believe that this is a reference to witch doctors. It mentions earlier in the book that Jody had been seeing witch doctors of some sort to help him with his illness. I've heard somewhere that in that culture certain items can be buried that will cause pain/misfortune to people until they are discovered. I think that is what Hurston is referencing. I believe that she does this to show how paranoid Jody is becoming, perhaps she is hinting that he is looking for something that he believes Janie buried, showing how greatly he mistrusts her
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