Eyes Journal 3

Characterization:
      The character I chose to analyze is Joe Starks. First of all, the first name Joe or Joseph means "He will enlarge" or "He will add". This definitely has meaning for the character because Joe is the mayor of the town, he's the creator of this place, he enlarges and adds to the town. He's very powerful and he literally enlarges and adds to the town. Also, the name "stark" means strong. And Joe is definitely a strong character. Also, the vocabulary word stark means "severe or barren in appearance" or "unpleasantly or sharply clear; impossible to avoid". His name has that feel to it also when you say it aloud, Joe Starks is a very succinct and strong and concise. It sounds harsh.
        There's a ton of characterization of Jody in this chapter. Another more subtle aspect, is the different names he's called through out. He's referred to as Jody or Mister Starks or Mayor Starks or just "Starks". Typically when Janie is thinking or talking about him, he's called Jody. Since it's more a term of endearment and could refer to the softer side of him that she sees. Also the use of his last name all the time makes him sound much more formal and I think that Hurston does this so the reader gets an image of Joe being important. She wants the reader to have an authoritative view of Joe Starks because that's how the characters in the story view him.
        Another way to characterize Joe is by his actions. His actions are a little more obvious the way he speaks to Janie, he's belittles her constantly. He definitely has the mindset that he is way smarter than her and can outwit her. He treats her like a child. When he wants her to do what he wants he tries to make it sound like that's what she wants. For example, "He didn't want her talking after such trashy people. 'You'se Mrs. Mayor Starks, Janie, I god, Ah can't see what uh woman uh yo' stability would want tuh be treasurin' all dat gum-grease from folks dat don't even own de house dey sleep in. ''Tain't no earthly use. They's jus' some puny humans playin' round de toes uh Time" (54). First,(highlighted in blue) he surround her with words that put her on a pedestal, like calling her "Mrs. Mayor" and saying "A woman of your stability". He's building her up trying to get her to think she's better than them so she'll do what he wants. It's what a parent would do to a child, like saying to their toddler that they're trying to potty train, "Oh, a kid as big as you wouldn't want wear diapers anymore because you are much to old and grown up for that!" He's showing that he thinks he can easily outwit her. Then, also (high lighted in pink) he puts down other people. Again, trying to show how much better she is than them. There's also many more examples of him using this belittling tone with her through out the chapter.
         Another way to get to know Jody's character is by his thoughts. I found this to be the most interesting piece. Because, in life, we don't have an omniscient narrator so we never get the benefit of knowing what other people's intentions are. However, Hurston does occasionally narrate some feelings and thoughts of Joe that he doesn't say out loud. For example, "...Joe never told Janie how jealous he was.." (61) and "He felt like rushing forth with the meat knife and chopping off the offending hand" (61). I found this interesting because looking at just his actions, he's really mean. As a reader, I don't like him one bit when I look at how he treats Janie. However, you catch glimpses of his anger and you get to know that he can be pretty hot headed. He does have strong emotions and he shows a lot that it's not that he doesn't love Janie, he actually truly believes that he is smarter than her and that women need someone to think for them. He thinks he's doing her a favor."Somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows. I god, they sho don't think none theirselves" (71). And "....he saw that she was sullen and he resented that. She had no right to be., the way he thought things out. She wasn't even appreciative of his efforts and she had plenty cause to be. Here he was just pouring honor all over her; building a high chair for her to sit in...." He goes on to talk about how much he does for her. He really thinks of her as almost subhuman. He thinks of her like an animal almost and I feel like this is when you start to get a real sense of feminism from the novel and you start to feel amazed at how some men viewed women during these times.