A year ago I took a
course that was based upon who has the “right” to share their story, and who
has the “right” to have their voice be heard. These two questions often arise
when I read books, and even when I write on my own, but more so in a probing
manner like who is going to be interested in this/my story and why, versus
someone’s “right” of voice. In thinking about Carla Kaplan’s opening question
on page 138, “Why does Hurston begin her novel with a woman awakening to her
sexuality?” those two questions began to fester in the back of my mind. Every
person has the “right" to share their own story, and everyone should have
a chance to be heard, but in the literary world not everyone is granted equal
opportunity to tell their narrative, especially in the realm of male versus
female, and white versus other nationality narratives.
Hurston delves into her novel with a risqué approach right
from the beginning - she is addressing feminine sexuality, and specifically
that of a black woman’s journey within her sexuality. She is hitting two
categories, that of the woman, and that of being black, that are not widely explored
and especially together in the written world. As a modern day reader I had no
problem jumping into the reading, but thinking about when this book was
published in 1937, I’m sure not nearly as many people respected, analyzed, or
were open to discussion about the book as we are today. On page 139 Kaplan questions “rewriting
desire itself as the desire to tell ones story” and also “Why does she foreground
female sexuality only to represent “the oldest human longing” as the longing to
talk?”
I connect these questions with the overall idea of wanting of
intimacy with someone else. This theme is threaded throughout the book through
relationships (in any capacity) with the opposite sex, with the same sex,
family, friends, lovers, and also a relationship with the reader. Breaking down
the complexities of gender, ethnicity, and other identities, all humans have a
basic want and need for human connect, and intimacy whether it is in the form of
physical touch or of verbal communication. Adding identities further challenge and push the reader, to think outside of their comfort zone. In terms of sexual interaction and verbal interaction I think that this novel captures the development of both, and shows how
I think that this post helps me answer one of my biggest questions after the reading. I found the process of going from non-racial settings to a racial one very interesting. The beginning is an illustration of a very isolated black town. There is no mention of race or whites - people are focusing on class only. But then Tea Cake and Janie move to the Everglades and inter-racial issues become the focus. Mrs. Jennings criticizes Tea Cake for being too black and idolizes Janie for having light skin. The idea of inter-race clashes becomes very apparent. Then, after Tea Cake is bitten and gets rabies, whites are drawn into the equation. They force Tea Cake to work, a white doctor cares for him, and whites try Janie after she kills Tea Cake. This slow introduction to race intrigued me. I think that Hannah's post answers my questions- she said that "adding identities further challenge and push the reader, to think outside of their comfort zone." With each added identity and part of race, the reader is pushed further and further, forced to consider race in new ways and get out of their comfort zone. I think that's the way Hurston is engaging the reader - getting them comfortable with one idea and then adding on more ideas to make the story more complex.
ReplyDeleteGoing off of your mention of intimacy/desire and the relationship of the reader, I wonder if the "complex" nature of intimacy/desire is indeed created, not by Hurston, but by the readers. Is Hurston intentionally implying these references of intimacy or are we, as readers, deeply analyzing in hopes of experiencing said intimacy? Is our eagerness to be Janie's, "kissing bee" reaffirming the problem that Hurston is trying to address. If Hurston is " rewriting desire itself as the desire to tell ones story"(139), are we truly listening to the story if we are rewriting it for our desire?
ReplyDeleteIn reading Kaplan's essay, I was intrigued by the same questions that Hannah discussed. One aspect I found interesting about the post was the comment that she, and presumably the rest of us reading Hurston's novel now do not have issue with listening to and respecting her voice, though the first readers may have had more difficulty due to the constraints and prejudices of the time which devalued the voices of black women. Furthermore, when they were listened to, they were with quite strict scrutiny. This is undeniably important both to Kaplan and Hurston, though I feel that at the end of her essay, Kaplan includes a second level of observation beyond what this post references. What I gathered from the end of Kaplan's essay is, despite the fact that we feel that we are able to look past biases of race and sex in our current age because discrimination based on these categories has been targeted as an issue, we still may be holding on to more subtle, underlying biases. In her penultimate paragraph, Kaplan asks, "can we avoid assuming that we are already its reconstituted, transformed, ideal reader"? I found this question particularly difficult and made me consider past the point of what I consciously think of the book, to consider how my subconscious notions may have impacted the way that I read the book. I am curious about and eager to discuss how my experiences as not a person of color nor familiar with the social constraints familiar to Janie could have impacted my read of the novel or passively encouraged judgement of either her or other characters in the book. For example, have my experiences of being raised in a single mother household have raised my expectations for Janie and her inability to find true independence under her first two husbands? As such, what struggles of hers did I fail to listen to or relate to as a result of my personal background?
ReplyDeletePersonally I thought that Hurston's parallelism between sexuality and sharing your story is a very interesting and accurate comparison. I agree with your statement that this novel shows how intimacy in the most basic forms can be simple yet so complex. Hurston uses this novel to draw attention to the fact that self-revelation and conversation with others is a privilege that should be earned and not forced. To feel comfortable opening yourself up to someone requires the same amount of trust and intimacy as having sexual relations with someone. Kaplan notes that, "…this novel sees something shameful in telling a story to hostile or incompetent audiences." Sexual intimacy is not something that can be shared with everyone because it will lose it's sacredness. In the same way being open about your personal experiences, emotions, and thoughts is something that will lose it's value if shared with those who have not earned the privilege. By Janie not sharing her story to the townspeople and only with Pheoby, who is a "hungry listener", Hurston shows us that "public speech is meaningless nonsense" (Kaplan).
ReplyDeleteAs a response to Kaplan's question, "Why does she foreground human sexuality only to represent 'the oldest human longing' as the longing to talk?", it is possible she was making a play on how society viewed black women and how that influenced how black women viewed themselves. When thinking of a black woman sexuality was often what society chose to focus on, whether it was hiding their sexuality or showing lack of approval of their sexuality. Society also approached black women's sexuality as being a threat. Hurston, however, puts a spin on this negative connotation of black sexuality by drawing it away from something physical and placing the focus on something personal. In Hurston's story multiple characters close to Janie have had their "sexuality" decimated through rape. However, since Janie places her "sexuality" in in her experiences and inner thoughts she can choose who she would like to share them with, and she can also choose to not share which is an important point.