Journal #7 - 3 quotes

Dialect -"Hand me dat wash-rag by dat chair, honey" (5).

     I saw this as a way of the author setting stage early on in terms of letting the reader get to know the main character.  It shows a term of endearment, "honey", which could be used to show that Janie is naturally a kind and loving person.  It also shows the way she speaks, just like all of the other townsfolk of Eatonville, perhaps used to inform the reader of the way the people spoke in that region, or more likely used to show that she comes from a rural backround with little to no education.

Imagery- "Joe noted the scant dozen of shame-faced houses scattered in the sand and palmetto roots and said, "God, they call this a town?"(34)

     I felt that this quote describes the scenery that Joe and Janie entered, while at the same time giving insight to their feelings towards it.  Joe immediately expresses disappointment at the status of the town which is merely a collection of shacks on the sand.  This might show that Joe has a more sophisticated past and is used to higher standards for a town than in the one he is currently observing.  Even the narrator gets in on the act, casting down a dismissive tone on the situation, calling the houses "shame-faced", perhaps a  connection to the people that live in them.

Flashback- "It was a spring afternoon in West Florida. Janie had spent most of the day under a blossoming pear tree in the back yard" (10).

     This quote depicts a tranquil scene in a back yard and really helps develop the setting.  It describes Janie laying underneath a pear tree all day, signifying that her life used to be calm and worry-free.  The fact that the tree is blossoming helps create visuals is true, however it also serves to connect the idea of Janie blossoming into a young woman at the time it was going on.  It says that the pear tree was in the back yard and that that was where Janie spent most of her time, possibly meaning that although Janie was growing into a young woman, she was still wary of the outside world and preferred to stay within the comfortable confines that she was familiar with.