April 29, 2008

Essay 3: Draft 2 Progress Report

(Please write your answers on the lines below the questions)

Your Name _Diana Concepcion_______________ Number of words of draft 1212_____

TOPIC & THESIS: What is the object you are evaluating?

Their Eyes Were Watching God, the movie

What are the standards of value you using to make your evaluation? List here. Are these stated directly or indirectly in the draft? Explain.

I am judging the movie in comparison to the novel.

What is your over arching judgment of the object?

The movie should definitely be watched and does a good job at bring the novel’s theme to life but can not compare because it lacks much of the novel’s aspects.

Is your thesis sufficiently complex to indicate the mixed feelings you may have toward the object?

Yes

What is your thesis?

Directed by Darnell Martin and presented by Oprah Winfrey, Their Eyes Were Watching God is the story of sincerity, truthfulness to oneself, and the idea that we must live to follow our desires on our own, for our own free will.

Did you state it explicitly in the draft? (You are not required to). Why did or didn’t you put it in the draft?

Yes

PURPOSE: Other than fulfilling the requirements of the assignment, what is your primary purpose in writing this essay? What do you want your readers to believe as a result of reading your essay?

I want readers to become interested in both the movie and the novel

AUDIENCE: You must choose a specific publication that you are writing for. What is it? Why this publication?

It can be in a woman’s magazine because it would appeal to women but can also be published in a movie review section either on the internet or in a newspaper.

List three ways that you have used language that would appeal to a general audience and not an audience of college students.

I called Hurston’s writing a work of art.

I spoke of its topic which appeals to everyone because it is about life.

I mentioned that the main character’s story begins at age sixteen which would appeal to someone of the same age

DEVELOPMENT: What kinds of evidence are you using to support your judgment? Examples? Comparisons with other subjects of the same type? Expert opinions? Other?

I am using sources from the authors website, the novel, and the movie itself.

What source(s) will you list on your Works Cited page?

The author’s website, the novel and the movie

ORGANIZATION: ? Does your opening paragraph introduce, describe, and summarize the subject you are evaluating? Is there sufficient information for your reader who doesn’t know your subject?

Yes

On a separate sheet of paper, outline your draft. Does your outline present an argument in support of your thesis claim that follows the reasons proof pattern? Explain.

It has a reasonable pattern but the thesis can be altered to better fit a comparison between the novel and movie.

Examine your draft for transitions for each new developing paragraph. What do you need to do to make your transitions stronger?

I can make each paragraph tie into the next especially with my conclusion

PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT: What are you most pleased with in this draft? Be specific.

I am pleased with the introduction because it states my opinion clearly and catches the readers attention.

List any problems you are having with this draft and write down any questions you have about the assignment or your work.

I’m not sure if I gave away too much detail in describing the plot of the story

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Directed by Darnell Martin and presented by Oprah Winfrey, Their Eyes Were Watching God is the story of sincerity, truthfulness to oneself, and the idea that we must live to follow our desires on our own, for our own free will. The opening line to the movie states “There are two things people got to find out for themselves. They’ve got to find out about love and they’ve got to find out about living.” It opens the perspective of the story and automatically catches the viewers’ attention with the lines that follow causing viewers to become curious about the mysteries of its opening. The movie takes viewers through a flashback of several years, telling a story of love and faith as it touches on aspects of life we often take for granted and others we are too concerned with. The flashback takes us to the meaning of living. This movie, which has been derived from a widely credited novel, brings the theme of one of Zora Neale Hurston’s work of art to life.

Although the movie lacks words of imagery found within the novel, Halle Berry does a terrific job at bringing out the characteristics of Janie Crawford, also known as Janie Starks from the novel-made-movie written by a magnificent author. The director, Martin manages to bring the novel to life through the actors. Janie is a down to earth girl with dreams exceeding those of the ordinary, dreams of happiness and traits of living freely that are usually found in children. Through a series of experiences, Janie reaches knowledge of the meaning of happiness. She learns that it is not to live by expectations of financial needs or comfort, but by loving, laughing and playing. She discovers it all with Tea Cake.

Although the movie brings the novel to life, most recognition should be given to its author. Their Eyes were watching God was published in 1937 and was not generally recognized until years later due to sexism and racism of that time. It is now considered the most widely read and acclaimed novel of African American Literature written by a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance. She grew up in Eatonville Florida, the first incorporated black city of the United States and a setting within the novel. She worked for a traveling theatrical company leaving her studies and later studying anthropology at Colombia University and continuing her studies at Howard College and Bernard University. She published four novels, two books of folklore, an autobiography and several short stories, essays articles and plays during a thirty-year period. However, she did not gain much money for her writing and therefore did not live wealthy. Her neighbors even collected money for her funeral in 1960 because there were no other means of paying for it. They didn’t raise a sufficient amount for a tombstone. Hurston’s grave had no tombstone until 1973. A plain grey headstone marked “Zora Neil Hurston: A genius of the south” was placed by Alice Walker, an author inspired by Hurston. Zora was a genius because of her clear perspective of the aspects of life, detailed perspectives that can be pointed out and understood after reading one of her novels.

For example, unlike the movie, the novel is introduced with a comparison of men and women. Hurston uses the example of a distant ship to describe the dreams of men, which are unreachable and “mocked” by time. She continues explaining that women act according to dreams because their dreams are truth. After returning to an old home in Eatonville, Janie begins the flashback and story to her friend Phoebe with her childhood experience as the only black child in her school and growing up with her grandmother. Janie’s life begins to change when her grandmother catches her kissing Johnny Taylor and screams her name with anger. The novel states that at this moment, Janie’s childhood ended. Her grandmother tells Janie she must become married woman because she has reached womanhood and can go around having relationships with different men. Men like Johnny would only use Janie to wipe his feet on. Although she sounds harsh and she slaps Janie at one point, Janie’s “nanny” continues to give her a talk in attempt to teach her a lesson. She sits Janie on her lap and continues speaking of life learned lessons. She is portrayed as caring and passionate as she speaks of Janie’s infancy and childhood, and continuously mentions Jesus, tying into the religious aspect of the novel. She continues to be part of Janie’s life even after Janie is married off to old Logan Killicks, guiding her in certain ways including in the idea that marriage would bring love, which Janie discovered to be false. The novel states that the death of this first dream (marriage would bring love) caused her to become a woman.

The introduction of the movie skips straight to Janie returning to her old home in Eatonville Florida with torn cloths and dirt on her face, being criticized by all who watched rather than including the comparison of men and woman. Janie’s flashback in the movie cuts her childhood and begins with the encounter and kissing of Johnny Taylor at age sixteen, which triggered her grandmother’s decision of an arranged marriage. However, the movie portrays her grandmother as a bitter old woman who exits Janie’s life and is not seen after the marriage. She does not comfort Janie or speak of her religious thoughts on life or marriage or past experiences in which she believed she was assisted by God as she does in the novel.

As time passed and Janie realized she could not grow to love, she knew she wanted more than a decent marriage. She took the first opportunity available toward what seemed like freedom but ironically restrained her emotionally from the world and who she was. Janie’s second marriage defied all her character stands for. She married Joe Starks who with her company became mayor of Eatonville. His marriage showed no appreciation toward her but a need to show her off as his wife, “the mayor’s wife.” It did not serve the purpose of love but the purpose of reputation, something young-minded Janie did not care for. His death left her with a sense of freedom. She felt no need to mourn although she did grieve and felt for his death. At that point she could care for herself above all. Janie meets and falls in love with Virgible Woods (Tea Cake) who inspires her to find out about love and about living as stated in introduction of the movie.

Janie’s experience’s are not typical but touch on unspoken details of faith in God and ways in which life should be carried out. It raises questions of what is proper, what is wrong, what is right, and what is best. Though the movie summarizes the theme and the acting could not have been better, it can not compare to the novel. Not only do the novel’s words carry symbolism and imagery not present in the movie, but the way in which the story was written can not be copied by a movie because of Hurston’s choice of words. I suggest reading the novel before viewing the movie.

Works Cited

Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. U.S. 1937

Their Eyes Were Watching God. Dir. Darnell Martin. 6 March 2005

Sonnet Media. Zora Neale Hurston. Estate of Zora Neale Hurston and Harper Collins. 28 April 2008 http://zoranealehurston.com/

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