Again, Hurston, Angelou, and O'Brien have struck a major chord with all of human existence when they each attempt to present a vision of love within their novels' pages. One of the questions that seems to come up when attempting to define love (or really anything, for that matter) is: what is it not? How does Hurston define love? How does she show what it is not? Do you agree or disagree? We'd love to hear your thoughts...
Their Eyes Were Watching God
ReplyDeleteIt’s very hard to define what love is. I’m not exactly sure how Hurston defines love.
She does show what it is not. She shows that being born does not necessarily mean love. Janie was born and she never knew either of her parents and never had any siblings. Janie only had her grandmother. She shows that being married does not necessarily mean love. Janie married Logan without meeting him first and that gave way to a loveless marriage. That loveless marriage led Janie to leave and try to find something better.
Hurston does show that love is a two-way street and that relationships require work from both people. She shows this with Janie’s marriages to Joe and Tea Cake.
Janie loved Joe but there were times where it seemed that Joe didn’t love Janie. Joe also didn’t want to put the effort into their relationship. They had poor communication: Joe told her what to do and didn’t want to listen to Janie. Janie also didn’t speak up when she should have. In this relationship, love is a one-way street and one person is working at the relationship, not two.
With Janie and Tea Cake’s relationship, love is a two-way street and they both put effort into the relationship. They both worked to have a home and they had good communication. If one person was upset, they talked to the other person. They also liked each other. At no point did they ever hate each other.
So maybe this is how Hurston defines love. It doesn’t necessarily mean being born and having a family, or being married. It does not mean doing as you’re told, even if you don’t agree with it. It does not mean keeping quiet.
It means that there should be good communication between the people in the relationship. It means that both people need to work to have the best relationship that they can have. It means that you don’t want this person to be out of your life. Both people need to like each other at least a little bit because then both people can work at it and have a better relationship.
I couldn't have said what Abigail did better myself. I will add to it though; in "Their Eyes Were Watching God", Hurston does portray love in another way instead of just through opposite gender relationships. During the story Nanny shares with Janie about her life and the unwanted interaction between her and her "master", it is let known that it led to a daughter, Leafy, that became Janie's mother. Although Janie never knew her mother she still had her Nanny and loved her dearly, as did Nanny loved Janie. Typically when one mentions love the brain tends to think about a significant other as a first response, although, love is also held between family and simplistic friendships.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the novel it shows the reader how Janie had kissed Johnny Taylor although she did not love him, (she later admits to Nanny). That is a way Hurston displays something that is not love other than her loveless marriage to Logan Killicks. This specific marriage was said to blossom into love for Janie if she just gave it time, but that was not the case. No one can make love out of something that just is not there. Love is a bond between two people that has to be given the proper way of growing into something rather than being forced into a relationship that no mutual feelings are felt. Especially when those two people have no interest of fermenting a strong loving bond with one another.
The amount of “I love you”s that have been passed between two people is almost innumerable. Two year olds say it to their parents before they go to sleep every night. Seventh graders say it to their “girlfriends” or “boyfriends” when they say goodbye to each other. Maya Angelou, in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, felt it towards her grandmother, brother, and even Mr. Freeman. But, to define love, one first must find the common denominator. And the common denominator would be the feeling that one has when one thinks that they can’t live without the loved one. That’s why when couples they break up they cry. Thats why when Mr. Freeman betrayed Maya she cried. Thats why when loved ones pass away we all cry. The feeling of being left by someone you never thought would leave is unbearable. Love is what one feels toward someone that they believe they won’t be able to live without.
ReplyDeleteThe dictionary defines love as “an intense feeling of deep affection”. However, what it does not specify to is whether that feeling is toward a thing or an individual (including pets). In my opinion, the feeling of love differs when it is applied to an individual versus a thing.
ReplyDeleteWhen it is applied to an individual, it is in its purest form. Take for example a brother, like Bailey, in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings". Maya loves Bailey so much, that she would do anything for him. After Maya was raped by Mr. Freeman, Bailey was the only person Maya would talk to. Despite her life being deeply upset by a strong, black male figure, Maya still feels comfortable around Bailey, even though Bailey is also a strong, black male figure and had the potential to do the same thing.
When it is applied to things, love is, most times, confused with lust. Lust, in its most innocent terms, means “a passionate desire for something”. If you love a certain type of candy, you don’t actually want to take home the favored item and care for it for the rest of your existence. It is the passionate desire of wanting something you can’t have, which is lust. You lust and lust and lust after an item, until you obtain it, and take it for granted. This applies to when Maya was moving away from Stamps and into St. Louis to meet her mother. Maya took for granted when she lived in Stamps, and now lusts for it back.
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, one of Janie's main goals in life is to find true love. Hurston definies love as being able to be accepted and not changed by someone while still being yourself. With love is supposed to come happiness, but in a couple of Janie's marriage, this is not the case. When she was married to Logan Killicks, he forced her to tie her hair up when she preferred to wear it down because it represented her strongwilled personality and independence. That was not a loving relationship because he changed who she was to be acceptable to him. her relationship with Tea Cake, on the other hand, was a loving relationship. She allowed her to wear her hair down and he treated her as if she was equal to him. She was happy with Tea Cake because they truly loved each other.
ReplyDeleteIn Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie is constantly striving to find true love. But what is true love? That is the question that Janie struggles to answer throughout the novel. In her first marriage, Nanny believed that her love for Logan would come with time. Although she just wanted the best for Janie, you cannot force love, it is an unexplainable connection that just has to be there in a marriage. In her second marriage, she thought she found true love, until she realized how controlling Joe Starks really was. She finally found true love with Tea Cake. He treated her like a wife rather than acting like her owned her. Hurston defined love as treating each other as equals, and both putting an effort into the marriage. Love is not controlling or forced. I agree with Hurston's definition of love, I believe she explained it perfectly.
ReplyDeleteLove is such an overused word in our society. Like Sarah mentioned, love often is associated with the superficial level of lust such as when Maya used "one of the most eligible young men in the neighborhood" as she saw no reason not to "experiment with the best of the lot". However, I believe love has many meanings and many levels. Love can mean lust or it can mean a deep emotional connection to someone; it can even be used in reference to something that brings great happiness or joy. A child may "love" its favorite stuffed animal, but that love is quite different from how you "love" someone when you are first attracted to them, or how you "love" your best friend, or even how you "love" your significant other. In Maya Angelo's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, love is shown in many forms. Maya, as a child, loves her town similar to how a child loves a stuffed animal but she shows a different love for her brother, Bailey, similar to that of a best friend, and her grandmother with whom she has has a great emotional connection, and an even different love for her parents.
ReplyDeleteMaya grew up with an empty void in her heart, due to the fact that she was not raised by her real mom and dad. The "I love you" that may have been shared between her and her grandma would not have felt the same if she were saying it to her birth parents. The void is the reason Maya took interest in Mr. Freeman. Maya thought that the love from a man could subconsciously fill it. Maya clearly felt and emotional attachment between them even though it wasn't real. The dictionary definition of love doesn't explain the way Maya feels about her grandma or the way she felt about Mr. Freeman. Real love was the bond she had with Bailey, that included her feeling that she couldn't go about life without Bailey by her side. It was also the idea that she knew that she could trust Bailey with anything no matter what things he said or did to her near the end of the novel. Like Jacob said, the feeling of being left by someone is unbearable. Maya and Bailey both were left by their parents and they filled the emptiness is their hearts with real love from one another.
ReplyDeleteThis post refers to ''Their Eyes Were Watching God''.
ReplyDeleteI believe, in the novel Hurston defines love through Janie, who has always had the determination to find love for herself. From reading, I gathered that Hurston believes you get different types of love through different people but their is not one true definition of love. Janie felt love from and for her grandmother, Nanny, who expresses love in a protective way. Who would do anything for Janie to make sure she is safe and cared for. Throughout Janie's marriages not one type of love was expressed in the same way either. But the one type of love that stood out to me was the love Janie experienced that was none like the rest that she felt for herself when she had the feeling of being independent and free to be herself. I believe this is something we experience in our lives everyday. We feel love, but not just one type in particular. Love comes differently from our family members, friends, partners, and so on. The definition of love isn't clear, but is different for everyone, expressed differently from different people, shown differently and this novel showed that in many ways whether it was the love Janie felt for her family, the love she felt in her marriages, or the love she had for herself.
Love can be interpreted in numerous ways. There is a wide spectrum that may define what love is, but is there really a “true definition”? In “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, love is what drives Janie throughout the entire novel. She yearns for what she believes to be true love and to be loved wholeheartedly by someone. Her experiences with Logan and Joe prove to her that love was never there. They both show no respect for Janie. Joe for example spends more time focusing on himself and pushing Janie away. He often scolds her and treats her poorly by making her feel less than a woman and a wife. To Janie, the feeling of true love is not what either Logan or Joe could possess. Her relationship with Tea Cake proves to be different. Love in a marriage is more that looking right at each other blindly. It’s about looking in the same direction and sharing common goals in life. Janie and Tea Cake share this deep connection that is evident in the novel. Communication, trust, passion, selflessness, and respect all go along with love. Love takes many forms and everyone experiences love differently. Love is more than a defined word, but rather an emotional feeling that can be defined in more ways than one.
ReplyDeleteI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
ReplyDeleteLove can be applied to anything. You can love people close to us, celebrities, inanimate objects, TV shows, movies, and many many more things. The definition of love is wrongly construed by the majority of the human race. "People fall in love in mysterious ways", the way people have fallen in love is different to everyone, some have felt it truly and some have not. The definition of love is different to everyone, but society tries to put a single label on it. Even two people that are in love with each other can have different ideas about it. You may love a person for their looks, their personality, their humor or a multitude of other things. Throughout the novel Maya loves many people, but all of them are loved in different ways. She loves Bailey as a sibling, well obviously because he is one, but it's a very close sibling relationship that a lot of people don't have. She loves her father and Momma in a respective way. She loves her mother in an almost worshiping manner. She loves every person she knows in a different manner, so for Maya there is definitely more than one definition. Love has an infinite number of definitions, but the ones you know are specific to you and only you. You love what you love and no one else loves it the same way you do.
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
ReplyDeleteLove is one of the best emotions a human can feel. Love can be defined in many different ways. You can love music but I doubt you will love that music more then your family. Maya experiences two different stages of love with her mother and grandmother. Even though her grandmother was more prevalent in her life she still looks up to her mother like all of us do and there is a better connection, creating a strong loving bond unlike others. Love is as unique as a persons identity, no one has the exact same but we all create our own. Love is one of the best things life has to offer, it can hurt us but ultimately will bring us joy and happiness.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
ReplyDeleteMaya loved her family. She loved her grandmother, her uncle, and her brother. The only person who was ever explicitly affectionate to her was her brother, Bailey. She was molested by Mr. Freeman, and he said that he would kill Bailey if she told anyone. She wanted to tell her brother, but she didn't want Mr. Freeman to hurt him. Maya knew that Mr. Freeman could rape her again whenever he wanted, but she didn't say anything until Bailey and her mother found out themselves. Maya loved Bailey, and she cared more about him than she did herself.
In the book "I know why the caged bird sings" Maya has a love for her momma(grandmother), who takes care of her. She also loves Bailey who will help defend Maya. Love is a feeling of comfort and affection. Mr.Freeman gave Maya a false sense of love. He made her feel important but he truly never loved her,but used her for his interests. Love can be used in multiple ways, such as object or people. Maya lacked the love from her true parents because she was abandoned. Love is a overused term and many people don't know the true definition of love. Maya found love in not only the people in her life but her love for literature, it opened up her mind and gave her a voice. Mrs.Flowers was her model and showed her how to experience using Maya`s confidence, which she loved Mrs.Flowers as a friend.
ReplyDeleteI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
ReplyDeleteMaya Angelou believed love is something that has to be earned. Maya loved Bailey because he was her brother and best friend and Momma for taking care of her when her parents didn't. She loved Mr. Freeman for being the first man to show her affection and she loved her mother's perfection. She didn't love her parents until they began to care for her and Bailey. Simply being family doesn't mean love, people need to prove they're worthy of love before they can receive it.
Love can be defined in many ways, but love to me is the feeling that keeps bringing you back to it. In the book "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" Maya shows love to her brother Bailey and her grandmother. She loves Bailey because he is her brother and they were always with each other. Bailey and her did everything together as well. Since she didn't have her real parents she looked up to her grandmother. Her grandmother has taught her all of the important values of her life and is a motherly figure to her. Everybody should love their mom like Maya loves her grandmother.
ReplyDeleteI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
ReplyDeleteLove is an unspeakable desire for something or someone. It can be used in many ways, whether it’s for an object, person, or thought. Some people might use love to get something they want and others may use love to show someone how much they value them. There is also a difference between lust and love. Lust is when you really want something and love is when you feel really affectionate for something-someone. You tell your family you love them and even the people you’re in a relationship with. Maya shows her love especially toward her grandma, Bailey, and even Mr. Freedman. Love is when you can’t live without someone or something. It’s the feeling you get when you picture someone you care for out of your life.
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ReplyDeleteThis post pertains to "I Know Why the Caged Birds Sing".
ReplyDeleteLove can be describe as many different things. Love can be an intense feeling of deep affection towards someone or something. For example, like Abigail had mentioned, it can be the way that a child loves their stuffed animal or how someone can have an emotional connection with another. Love has so many levels and different meanings to it, I don't think that you can honestly give it a fixed definition! Maya was a very loving and caring kind of girl. She had a big heart and was very naive to some of the things she had loved. The love she had for Mr. Freeman was something that Maya was not even aware of how bad it was until many years later. On the other hand, the love that she had for Bailey and her grandmother was beyond describable and that to me was true love. I don't think that Maya could honestly tell the difference between the right and the wrong kind of love. She had a very hard time trying to cope with how Mr. Freeman had treated her after he had raped her and she thought that she really loved him. Maya knew that she loved Bailey, but I feel that towards the end of the book when Bailey had lived with the prostitute she had just given up on trying to get him to listen to her. I don't think that you could describe how Maya portrays her definition of love.
In "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" young Maya has never received love and is very confused about what it truly is. Momma never telling her 'I love you' whenever Maya would ask if she loved her is what I think made her the most confused. Her craving for someone to love her is the thing that lead her to allow Mr. Freeman to do that stuff to her. She just wanted to be held and assured that she was loved. Looking back on it when she was older she could see that that was not the type of love she wanted or needed. This confusion is what led her to close everyone out and not make an actual friend until Louise accidentally stumbles into her life. The only way that she really understood what love is was when she was with Bailey she understood that she loved him. Her actual definition of love however is not something you can tell as her view is rapidly changing throughout the book.
ReplyDeleteIn "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", Maya helps the reader define love while never delving deeply into the issue herself. She experiences several instances throughout the novel where she ponders her feelings for others. One of the most remarkable being Mr. Freeman. In a longing for a father figure Maya becomes closer to Mr. Freeman and she believes that Mr. Freeman loves her. After Mr. Freeman raping her though, the reader sees that the relationship they had is not love but in fact lust. Mr. Freeman lusts to satisfy his sexual desire a Maya lusts to have a father to hold her. It shows the reader that lust and love are not the same and while lust is changing, love remains constant. For example, Maya had a genuine and great love for Bailey and her Grandma. She displayed several times how much she showed genuine affection for them and they in return did the same. This displays to the reader that love is not just a passing emotion or diluted with other desires. Maya's view on love though can not be set to a specific idea, seeing as her view on love seems to change many times throughout the novel. The reader can only conclude that Maya experiences many trials in a search for the definition of love and whether those trials brought her personal fulfillment or not she never strictly says.
ReplyDeleteTheir Eyes Were Watching God
ReplyDeleteWhat is love? This is a very broad question and has many different answers to it. Love to me is when two people feel a special connection when they are always together. There was no love between Janie and Logan. Janie's grandmother had forced Janie to marry Logan. Logan treated her badly and was never romantic with Janie. Then, Janie meets a man named Joe, but she calls him Jody. Janie begins to feel that special connection with Jody and marries him. This is where Hurston began to show what love is to Janie. Joe had treated her well and Janie thought that he was the one who she would spend eternity with. However, even though he treated her well, he never let Janie be who she really wanted to be as a person. Hurston at this point shows only part of love where a true husband would let his wife be anything she wanted to be. Janie then marries Tea Cake. They promise to share all of their thoughts and experiences with each other. They also promise to always communicate with each other. Hurston shows here how true love can only exist. True love exists when a couple doesn't keep secrets from each other and are always honest. Tea Cake and Janie's love was true love.
Love is a feeling of great respect and appreciation for someone. In the beginning of “Their Eyes Were Watching God” when Janie is a young girl, her grandma tells her to marry Logan Killicks. Her grandma wants this because she wants someone who can support Janie. Janie agrees to marry him and she believes that she will learn to love Logan over time.When they were married, Janie just couldn’t love him. She eventually meets a man named Joe Starks and runs away to live with him. He treated her like she was royalty promising her all sorts of things. She later starts to realize she doesn’t love him when he tries to change the way she acts. She finally falls in love with Tea Cake. He lets her express herself and doesn’t try to control her. Nora Zeale Hurtson shows that you can’t force love it has to come naturally and I would have to agree with her. This was shown evident when Janie was with Logan.
ReplyDeleteZora Neale Hurston shows in the book, Their eyes were watching God, that love isn’t one controlling the other, the relationship has to be equal,making compromises, and that both people are allowed to be jealous. Janie’s relationship with Logan Killicks consisted of trying to control her and make her do whatever he wanted because he’s first wife did whatever he said. Even though his first marriage didn’t work out, he still tries to control Janie. Janie meets Joe Starks and thinks the relationship would be more equal so she marries him. He does the same thing as Logan Killicks, and the relationship isn’t equal in the opposite as her first marriage where all she does is work and all Joe does is sit on the store’s porch, and be jealous that other men want Janie. In her marriage to Tea Cake, Janie realizes that they both work, making them equal, they both get jealous about each other and they have compromises, meaning that they talk to one another instead of one telling the other what to do. Overall, I agree with Hurston’s idea of love, and that communication, and just being equal to each other can make a relationship work and defining what loving someone in a marriage is.
ReplyDeleteIn Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston demonstrates what love is not through Janie's first two marriages. Firstly, the marriage to Logan Killicks was due to Janie's grandmother's desire, not Janie's own. As humans, we naturally love the people that we ourselves feel compelled to love, so Janie's unwillingness to marry Killicks proves that is not in love with him. Hurston's second example of what love is not is Janie's choice to run away with Joe Starks. It has been said that "love is blind", but this is not true. Janie's "blind love" when running away with Jody proves to not be love at all when she realizes Joe does not truly care about her. He tears her down all the time, and if he really loved her he ought to be building her up. I agree with both of Hurston's claims: you must choose the person you love and you must completely know a person before you can really love them.
ReplyDeleteLove can have a thousand different meanings. It can mean something different to everyone who uses the word. People abuse this meaningful and delicate word in so many ways. In I know why the caged bird sings Mr. Freeman sexually assaults Maya and demonstrates the exact opposite of love. Angelou shows the readers through different experiences like Mr. Freeman’s that hurting someone to benefit yourself is not the meaning of love. Angelou defines love by using different characters to demonstrate her version of what it means. Bailey is the best example of this. He is Maya’s older brother who would do anything for Maya to keep her safe. He puts her before himself and has this unconditional feeling towards her that cannot be replicated by another character in the book. I agree with Angelou’s opinion on what love is. I think love is unbreakable and it is all you need in life. It is the most important thing and everyone needs it to survive.
ReplyDeleteIn Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston shows that love is something that cannot be forced upon, its something that will come as time goes on and the people that show love show it for who you are and for what you are not. In the book this is shown by the marriage between Janie and Logan Killicks because the marriage happened because Janie was forced by her grandmother to marry him because of protection. Janie's grandmother promised that she would love him over time but it never happened because Janie was forced to do it by her grandmother. I agree with Hurston that people can't force love upon you because you can't love someone you didn't love in the first place.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Eyes Were Watching God", Hurston shows how you don't find love but love finds you. For instances 9 months after Joe Stark's death, love comes into the way of Janie's life. Tea Cake showed Janie the feeling of what it felt like to love again. For this she hated him, yet loved him. Before she knows it love overtook that hate, and she was married to another man. Hurston also shows that love is not decide for you. For if a feeling of love is decide for you it is not a true love. In relation to Janie her grandmother decide what to be her first love with Logan Killicks. This relationship did not thrive because that love was not true. Therefore true love can only be accepted by the lover and not by others.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Hurston defines in many ways. In the beginning of the story her Janie’s grandmother forces her into a marriage not because she wants Janie to be unhappy, but so she has a stable home because she clearly wants her to be happy. Her first marriage didn’t show any love what so ever, but her second one showed not only true love because the couple loved each other very much until he became mayor but it also showed that love can gradually fall apart. Her third marriage showed that love could last no matter what happens to the couple.
ReplyDeleteThis refers to "Their Eyes Were Watching God."
ReplyDeleteIt is said that you get three chances at love. Hurtson seems to make this statement true after Janie goes through two marriages thinking she was happy until she has a third marriage and she knows she is happy.
Love is not easily defined because it comes in so many different terms. A dictionary definition isn't close to describe what love is.
What is love? Zora Hurtson seems to know. Hurtson describes love as being able to have freedom and independence while sharing a deep affection with someone. She describes this when Janie marries Tea Cake. Tea Cake was of a lower class than Janie and doesn't have much to give, but Tea Cake gave Janie everything just by giving her freedom and independence in the Everglades. Janie was able to attend parties, go to dinner, and play games with her husband and his friends. She was able to be herself and do what she wanted all the while receiving just the right amount of affection.
"Their Eyes Were Watching God"
ReplyDeleteHurston tells the story of three different types of love within her novel. There was the first love which was nothing more than forced love. The second love was the misconception of the feeling of love. The third love presented was true love. Janie was forced to marry Logan and while she may of loved him as a person, she was never in love with him. Then the love Janie had with Joe Starks was what Janie thought was true love, but Janie was wrong. She may of thought she was happy with Joe, but he only saw her as an object and did not see her as his equal. She was not truly happy with him. The third love, however, the love Janie had with Tea Cake was true. She could be herself with him and he never tried to suppress her individuality. While they may have argued, love always prevailed and made everything okay again. That is what true love is, the acceptance of someone for who they are and knowing that no matter what happens you will always love them unconditionally. You will always see the best side of them and be willing to work through the bad times. Most importantly though, true love means true happiness. Hurston did an excellent job of showing what love is, and what love is not.
Their Eyes were Watching God
ReplyDeleteHuston describes love as caring for someone without letting the person the character loves change them. Janie has a couple of different types of love in her life. The first to Logan Killicks. The marriage was arranged and though Janie thought she loved Logan, I don't think she ever did because Janie put up a fight with her grandmother when she was told she was going to marry Logan. Her second love was a need to be recognized love. When Janie runs off with Joe Starks and gets married. She does it so someone can care about her. The problem with this marriage is that Joe considers Janie a piece of his property and not his equal. The third love of Janie's life is true love to Tea Cake. As Janie knew Tea Cake longer then her previous two husbands they knew each others personality. They could be separate individuals but still work together in the end. I agree with Huston that true love is being able to be with someone that you can be yourself with and also be equals toward each other.
Hurston, in, Their Eyes Were Watching God, defines love as something that is voluntarily between two people where they will take care of each other for the rest of their lives. Janie is forced to marry Logan Killicks by her grandma. Her Grandma arranged the marriage before she died so Janie can have a wonderful life. Since Janie was forced to marry Logan, she did not like it. She ended up running away with Joe Starks. Even though Joe had everything, Joe treated Janie like property. Hurston is saying that love is when two people are equal in the relationship, which Joe did not. Her third relationship with Tea Cake was true love. Janie herself chose him herself, which was better than Logan Killicks who her Grandma chose. Tea Cake also treats Janie with respect unlike Joe Stark. These make Janie fall in love for real this time instead of marriage being forced upon her or marrying someone for what he has. Hurston, in this last relationship shows that true love will come when a person or persons are ready for love.
ReplyDelete-I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings-
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading through the different posts, there is a lot of talk between Maya and her feelings towards Mr. Freeman. Although that part of the novel is most climatic and important, I would rather discuss the love Bailey and Maya portray throughout the entire novel. The siblings have an unconditional love, one that most families do not for reasons of betrayal or what have you. Yet Bailey is protective over Maya when she is put down and even raped, he remains loyal. The same goes for Maya with her feelings for her brother, because in a novel which depicts the male image, Bailey remains to be a good one. Love is a choice that may lead to a feeling. Love is not something to be taken lightly, and just because someone shares your bloodline does not mean you have to automatically love them (although it is highly stressed). Maya and Bailey have a strong sibling relationship which is the pillar to love.
"Why The Caged Bird Sings"
ReplyDeleteLove is a word that is not easily defined. Many people have different interpretations of such a strong word, a word that little seem to know the depths of. In reality, do many people really know the true meaning of love? I think Maya Angelou really shows the way love should be, trusting someone even when the word trust seems insane. Bailey, Maya's brother, shares a type of love that is unbreakable. After Maya was raped by Mr. Freeman she couldn't allow her self to trust, except with Bailey. The problem among people, that Angelou expressed well, was that lust and love can intermingle and create confusion between individuals. Maya believed Mr. Freeman loved her but in reality it was her lust for having a male figure in her life since she didn't have a father. Mr. Freeman showed lust because all he wanted was sexual encounters. I believe Maya Angelou showed the true meaning love. Having all your trust in someone and not being able to live without them, but people need to decipher the difference between love and lust. Maya cried when Mr. Freeman betrayed her because she never believed he would leave her, for she thought he loved her.
Love is a tricky subject that is hard to explain, but I believe it is one of the most delicate things of life, something that is gifted by most. My question is how can you decipher the difference between lust and love? Is it really possible?
In “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, Hurston defines love by blossoms; love is constantly renewed between two people. Throughout the entire novel Janie is searching for a blossoming love. She finally finds this definition of love with Tea Cake. The author also defines what love isn’t. Throughout the novel Janie is unhappy with her relationships. She feels as though people change as marriage goes on. In her first marriage, with Logan, Janie was never really attracted to him. Janie married Logan to please Nanny. This made for a terrible foundation for a marriage. Janie ended up leaving Logan when she fell in love with a man named Joe Starks. Janie’s relationship with Starks turned cold when communication fell between the two. As both Abigail and Amber stated, Hurston shows in the novel that communication is a key part to a successful relationship.
ReplyDeleteLove is a tricky subject and can have many different connotations depending on the person. People can claim to love others and then betray them and as a result people may have a contorted view of what love truly is. In "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" Maya believes her and Mr. Freeman are in love, but it is mainly because she doesn't truly know the meaning of the word. She never had a male figure in her life and Mr. Freeman's strong hands caressing her was a feeling she never experienced. Maya's innocence led to her being hurt after Mr. Freeman betrayed her. Perhaps the only person Maya truly loved was Bailey. She trusted him with all of her secrets and looked to him in times of need. He was always there for her even through issues as serious as what happened in St. Louis. In my opinion, if Bailey was not in Maya's life she would've never been able to love any man because Mr. Freeman completely ruined Maya's view on the male gender. The presence of Bailey in her life however showed her that not all men are like Mr. Freeman. Bailey also helped her learn that love is an unconditional bond between two people, which these two siblings have.
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ReplyDeleteThe denotation of love is an intense feeling of deep affection. However, the connotation of love can be one of the most diverse in this planet. Everyone has a different meaning for the word “love.” After reading the novel, I feel that Maya Angelou believes that love is caring for someone because they make you a better person. Throughout Maya’s life, she loves many people and she loves them all differently and for different reasons. Maya loves Bailey, her grandmother, Vivian, Daddy Clidell, Big Bailey, Mrs. Flowers and many other people because all of these people helped shape Maya into the young lady that she is. What’s scary about love though, is that you can love somebody while they do not love you back. An example of this is Maya’s love for Mr. Freeman. Maya loves Mr. Freeman because of the affection that he gives her. When Maya finds out that Mr. Freeman really did not care about her but used her for disgusting reasons, she is crushed. That shows how powerful love can be. Things like sex, and even marriage, can be purchased, however love cannot be purchased; It just happens and it’s one of the greatest feelings a human can experience in their lifetime.
In "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Hurston believes that love can not be forced. Janie had found true love in Tea Cake after two disastrous marriages. Although Logan was well-off, Janie could never love him. She had been forced into the marriage by her grandmother. That forced relationship prevented her from really connecting with her husband. Hurston's concept of love is like the wind; unable to be tied down, yet flows beautifully.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie persistently tries to find true love for herself. The only problem with this is that Janie struggles to answer the question what is true love. In her first marriage with Logan she didn't feel true love and didn't understand why. Nanny told her that her love for him will come in time. The only thing thing is that you can't force love on a person it's just something that's either there or not. She had though that she had found love with her second husband Joe Starks before she had realized that Joe Starks was a very controlling person which she was not comfortable with. After a while she had found love with Tea Cake. He actually treated her right like a human being and not a possession. She had finally realized love is not forced or controlling.
ReplyDeleteHurston does a very good job at showing what love is not in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Janie wants love more than anything, but it must be shown through both people. In Janie's first marriage, Janie was open to the idea of one day loving him, but he expressed no interest in her. In her second marriage with Jody Starks, they were in love at the beginning, but he lost interest in her and was more worried about his social status in the town. In her third marriage with Tea Cake, they were both truly in love and did not care about what society thought of them. They worked together for their house and to be happy. Hurston showed that love is not simply being married. It is not one providing for the other. It is togetherness and communication.
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ReplyDeleteLove is so much more than what it is defined in the dictionary. Love is not only words, love is actions. Love is showing someone how you feel, not just telling them. Love is willing to do anything for that person, like how Tea Cake saved Janie from the mad dog. Janie expected to find the true meaning of love in her first marriage. After all, how could you be married to someone and not love them? She was dead wrong there, and she was wrong again in her second marriage as well. It was on her third marriage that she truly found love. Everything was so natural with Tea Cake, it just flowed and happened out of the blue. Love is unforced, and can catch you off-guard when you least expect it. That is the best kind of love.
In the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God", Hurtson shows what love "is", and "is not", through Janie. By using Janie's marriages as examples, Hurtson shows that there is no true definition to the word love nor is there just one kind of love. Through Janie's first marriage, Hurtson explains that no matter what type of love, it can never be forced upon by a third party. The connection of love is something between two people (or two things in today's society for that matter), that can only be controlled by those two beings. Another type of love that is shown is the love connection between Janie and her grandmother. This is why love has a twist. Although Janie and her grandmother obviously do not share the same love that a man and a woman would, the bond they share contains some of the same attributes to that "couple love". Hurtson does an amazing job of representing what love is in this novel.
ReplyDeleteI feel that in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings love is depicted a lot by safety. Having security and sanctitude seems to be very important in Angelou's heart. This most likely has to do with the incident with Mr.Freeman. But with her grandmother she is content and feels safe and in turn feels love. Betrayal and molestation are most definitely not love and Angelou makes that very apparent. Also Maya seems to find her place living in the junk yard and finds love and tolerance for others. I believe that is what Angelou is trying to say about love.
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ReplyDeleteLove has many interpretations to many people, but love to me is showing someone affection and devotion to that person. In the novel Maya loves Bailey Jr, Momma, Uncle Willie, Vivian, and her baby boy. In Maya's life she also loves Mr. Freeman. Because she never had a fatherly figure growing up she immediately falls for Mr. Freeman. She loved the way he held her and caressed her even though he never truly cared for Maya. Maya loved the affection from Mr. Freeman because she has never experienced it before. Because of everyone is Maya's life has helped her find the true meaning of love. Maya had an unemotional relationship with a boy and had a baby she was able to experience the unconditional love between a mother and her newborn son.
Love is one of the strongest emotions felt by humans, and it often prevails through the worst of situations. Love is created through the presence of safety, closeness, affection, or a mix of all. In the novel, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", Maya encounters terrible incidents. Maya is abandoned, abused, and rejected, yet she still finds it in her heart to find and share love. She loves Bailey, whom she feels an inseparable bond of closeness and safety with. She loves Momma with never ending affection and devotion. Maya also loves her son, who she loves like no other, and will give to him all that those she loved gave to her. Maya learns that even when it seems like nobody likes her, there are people who love her with all their heart. Sometimes we love the wrong people, such as how Maya loves Mr. Freeman. But the true love she shared with others kept her on the right path. Through love, Maya is able to prevail through all of the horrible ordeals that she experienced, and can continue to strengthen her love for herself and others.
ReplyDeleteIn "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" Maya experiences love but she doesn't exactly know what it is. She just knows everyone wants to experience love and to be loved. Maya loves her grandmother because she takes care of her. She loves her mother, almost to the point of envy, because she's perfect, beautiful and confident. She loves Bailey because she can tell him anything and he's the only one she knows that she can count on. However, there is another kind of love that she craves. It is the kind of love she thought she had with Mr. Freeman, but that event has ruined "love" for her. Although she still craves this kind of love she is scared. By the end of the book she didn't find love with a boy. She did find true love with her child. It was something that people didn't buy or make for her. Her child was truly hers and she loved the beauty of her child. Love is different for everyone. People can't define their love based on someone else's opinions or experiences.
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ReplyDeleteIn "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Hurston Defines love as something that happens and cannot be controlled or created. Hurston shows that love is not Marriage by telling how Janie was unhappy and did not love two of her husbands because she thought if she married them she would fall in love and be happy but sadly Janie was very wrong. And i agree with her, you cannot find love by forcing a relationship upon yourself.
ReplyDeleteIn "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Hurston shows that love is not something that can be forced; it must be spontaneous. Love isn't something that can be changed it simply just is. Hurston shows that love is not about just being with someone it's about being with someone that makes you happy and accepts your differences. Hurston shows this in the beginning of the book when Janie is essentially forced to marry Logan Killicks. Sure he has the money and protection that Janie's grandmother wants Janie to have but Janie is in no way happy with Logan. Logan does not make her happy and Logan constantly bosses her around. Later in the book when Janie is with Joe Starks, Joe wants Janie to constantly work and doesn't want her to participate in any talk or any activities. Tea Cake is the only one that allows Janie to do as she pleases which Janie deeply appreciates which is why Janie loves Tea Cake so much. I do believe that truly is accepting others differences and flaws. I think the best example of this is the love a mother has for her child. No matter how messed up or terrible a mother's child may become she will always love it no matter what.
ReplyDeleteIn "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" Maya's experiences with love varied. First there was Bailey who she loved most, he was her brother and best friend. Then there was her grandmother and Uncle Willie who were her caregivers. Also there were her parents and with the love she had with them was almost just because she felt obligated because they were her parents. She also had experiences with love that was only an illusion, she thought she loved Mr.Freeman but she soon learned it wasn't real after he hurt her. So in her book love was just an idea she couldn't really control.
ReplyDeleteIn "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", Maya Angelou demonstrates different kinds of love. The first way she showed love was the tight love of siblings. Sibling love is a tough love with lots of hardship through it all but still knowing that they still loved each other. Another type of love that was shown was love towards a parent or guardian figure. This is shown through Maya's and Bailey's obedient love towards their grandmother. They would fear her if they did anything wrong but loved her the most out of anyone anyway because she was their grandmother and she was the person who raised them. Love is a crazy thing that really no one can ever define. There is also so many different types of love such as love towards a friend or a family member or a person you hope to spend the rest of your life with. We all need these different types of love in our lives and it is what completes us as humans.
ReplyDeleteIn "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings," Maya Angelou portrays the different ways different personalities exhibit love. Some people do so through acts of service and meeting needs, like strictly moral Momma, who never says "I love you" but would do anything for Bailey and Marguerite. For example, Momma "sins" by tricking a dentist into paying her ten dollars interest when he doesn't actually owe her anything. For someone as devoutly Christian as Momma, that's not something to be overlooked. Bailey has a different love language. He is young and opinionated; therefore his personality can be a little selfish. He shows his love by being a best friend to Marguerite. They have the closest connection in the whole book. Clearly, Angelou does attempt to give examples of what love is, but she also tries to show what it isn't. This is where Marguerite's father comes into play. He is self-centered, light-hearted, and focused on indulgence. Nothing he ever does is solely about love; he is only kind when it doesn't interfere with his desires. For example, when he took Marguerite with him to Mexico, it's because it doesn't place any burden on him. In fact, everyone at the bar in Mexico seems to celebrate him for having a daughter. And then he deserts Marguerite without telling her. She is worried and insecure, left to her own devices, while he doesn't even consider her before going off to make love to a voluptuous Mexican lady and cheat on Dolores. Through Marguerite's father, Maya Angelou demonstrates what love isn't.
ReplyDeleteIn "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings", Love has uncountable meanings. In some cases, love means showering another with gifts and compliments and kisses. In others, it may mean going to the end of the earth for someone they love, but never actually being able to say "I love you" like Maya and Baileys mother. This is why Maya believed she had never been loved or wanted, her mother had not been able to tell her that she loved her. The love between Maya and her brother show that their bond was strengthened by events that happened throughout their entire lives. Maya and Bailey had a connection and bond to their grandmother, who had raised them and loved them more than their mother had. Love means a million different things in my opinion. And its meaning can change any time of any day. Love can be sweet, adventurous, or even depressing and sad. Love is an amazing thing. Maya Angelou created a story that on the other hand though, shows what the opposite of love is.
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