1 English Finals Person 1: In this speech, we will compare and contrast the books Their Eyes were watching

God and The Awakening. Both being books featuring the struggles of a minority, Their Eyes were watching God and The Awakening are titles that, despite their ery differences, deli er two uni!ue "ourneys of two repressed minorities, who struggle throughout the tale to achie e their same goal, indi idualism. In order to fully understand the similarities and differences of the two titles, the plot of the titles should be e#plained. $he %wakening by &ate 'hopin starts off with Pontelliers acationing on (rand Isle. %s Edna finds herself spending most of her time with %dele )atignolle, she begins to struggle between her role as a mother and wife. *he e entually falls in lo e with a man named )obert+ howe er as soon as he reali,es the futileness of their relationship, he flees -e#ico. %t this point, Edna has reali,ed her desire to be free from her social responsibilities. *oon, the Ponteliers return to .ew /rleans, where she begins to isolate herself from society, her family, and her friends. E entually, )oberts return and re"ection causes Edna to become de astated. %t the end of the no el, she drowns in the ocean. In $heir eyes were watching (od by 0ora .eale 1urtson, 2anie 'rawford, the main character tells her life story. In the beginning, she is arranged to marry 3ogan &illicks, an older man, despite her protest. Belie ing in only marriage by lo e, 2anie runs away with 2ody *tarks to the town of Easton ille. 1owe er, she reali,es that 2oe doesn4t lo e her for who she is, but the ideal wife he wants. By the time 2oe passes away, she takes care of the store by herself. 1owe er with the arri al of $ea 'ake, she finds herself truly in lo e. 5anting to marry him, she sells her store, and they both mo e to the E erglades, where they worked planting and har esting beans. 6espite the elements of anger and "ealousy in their relationship, she finally was in a relationship with lo e. 7nfortunately for her new found happiness, a hurricane hits the E erglades, causing the entire area to fall to ruin. 6uring the e ent, $ea 'ake gets bitten by a rabid dog and falls sick. In end, he almost shoots 2anie with a pistol, but instead, she shorts her in self8defense. 7ltimately, she is faced in trial with murder, making the entire community split on whether or not to support her. In the end, she returns to Easton ille. %s you can see, both these stories ha e completely different paths, but there are tied together by themes of struggle and self8re elation. 9From here on, e#pand on the ideas: I4m only pro iding an outline;

< CULTURE First off, we are going to compare and contrast the culture and background of these stories. In the %wakening, the story takes place in initially (rand Isle then .ew /rleans. In their eyes were watching god, the entire tale takes place in many regions of Florida. 5hile in the %wakening, there were about three predominant languages: *panish, English, and French. 5hile the lower classes tended to speak *panish, the higher classes and rich spoke French. 1owe er, English remained a uni ersal language that connects all the three different races together in (rand Isle and .ew /rleans. /n the other hand, in Their Eyes were watching God, the only language that is spoken is English. Ironically, despite the = different cultural blends in the %wakening, there appears to be no real sharp conflicts from racial di ersity. 1owe er, in their eyes were watching god, the sharp conflict between %frican %mericans and 'aucasians remain a dominant issue throughout the tale. %lso, in the %wakening the story takes place during 1>??, while in their eyes were watching god, the story takes place in 1?=@. Ironically, despite the fact that in $heir Eyes 5ere 5atching (od took place almost AB years more than the %wakening, the lifestyle that the main character 2anie li ed in appeared much more austere and simple, almost e en absent of any lu#uries or technology. /ddly enough, Edna appears to li e a more e#tra agant life, staying in a mansion while 2anie li ed in shoddy shacks. $his portrays an aspect of these two stories, which is ery %merican. 6espite the ery different timeline and setting, the setting portrays how in %merican society, the rich would be the only ma"ority to be affected by the ad ances of technology and change+ while on the other hand, the poorer and rural southern regions of %merican would not ha e any significant changes e en throughout years. $his creates an interesting point when despite the different timelines+ both the main characters struggle to achie e their indi idual dreams, freedom, and lo e. *uch struggles show how uni ersal human struggle is. C-adame )atignolle laid her hand o er that of -rs. Pontelier: the action was at first a little confusing to Edna, but she soon leant herself to the 'reole4s gentle caress D'hopin <<E. In this !uote, it shows how the clash of culture occurs. Edna is unaccustomed to the openness of the 'reoles in (rand Isle. $hese open displays of feelings are on the keys to igniting her feminist aspirations. %lso, it portrays the loose and rela#ing attitudes that are shown initially in the story. C-aybe it4s some place way off in the de ocean where de blackman is in power, but we don4t know nothing4 but what we see so de white man throw sown de load and tell de nigger man tuh pick it up. 1e pick it up because he ha e to but, he don4t tote it. 1e

= hands it to his womenfolks. 6e nigger woman is de nule uh he world as %h can seeF D1urston 1AE. 1owe er, in their eyes were watching god, racism is much more apparent and dominates the society in this area. 1urston, through the book, portrays the current social issues of %merican society, trying to bring awareness to the minorities. By %frican8%mericans were treated ery poorly in book, she creates a foil, in which females who were %frican8%mericans were at the bottom of society. By creating such an e#treme, it shows how 1urston feels there needs to be a change in how women are treated. In the %wakening, the oppression of women is shown when Edna4s fathers says on page ?G, C%uthority, coercion are what is needed. Put your foot down good and hard+ the only way to manage a wife. $ake my word for itF D'hopin ?GE. %lthough women were of high class, they were still treated poorly. )ather than being e!uals to men, they were treated as ob"ects or possession rather than indi idual. 1ere, Edna4s father e#poses how most men would treat their wi es, controlling e ery aspect of their wi e4s li es. $herefore, e en in two completely different societies, women were still oppressed. Both authors, by using the ery setting they were familiar with in their li es, openly presents the social issues of society of which women were treated like possessions or mere figures to be con!uered. $hus, it portrays how %merican society, e en with such a huge gap in time, still was the same.

Person H <: CHARACTERS 'omparing and contrasting the main protagonists 2anie and Edna, we will find that these characters are ery different. $he only dominant similarities these characters had are that they had unsatisfying marriages. /n page > of the %wakening, Edna Ccould not ha e told why she was crying. *uch e#periences as the foregoing were not uncommon in her married life:%n indescribable oppression: filled her whole being with a ague anguishF. 96escribe how her marriage was life; Insert Iuote on unhappy marriage in $heir Eyes 5ere 5atching (od. 6escribe their marriage. % good e#ample would be 2oe *tarks or her first husband, or both. 6espite their ery different marriages and lifestyle, both of these characters were unhappy with their marriage. 'reates a uni ersal message that despite the different types of people, they can face the same struggles and conflicts. 5hat makes these books so special is that instead of showing wi es "ust alle iating their li es, they try to take action to change their li es for the better. %lthough, some may argue that Edna may ha e failed

A her achie ement, both these characters became distinct indi iduals in the process of their struggles. Edna had a rich upbringing. 6escribe or comment. *he was raised with lack of mother, was self8contrained:studied and intellectual life. 3i ed in -ississippi at some point. 2anie li ed a rather modest lifestyle Dinsert !uoteE. 6escribe or comment. Both these characters had completely different li es but end up ha ing almost the e#actly same conflict. %nother e#ample of how despite different li es and status, women in %merica were greatly repressed minorities, who struggled for centuries to get the rights and security they deser e. Both these characters had elders who wanted to arrange marriages. 1owe er for Edna, she simply rebelled against her parents and married a man, who her father greatly opposed. For 2anie, howe er, she married that man her (randma wanted her to marry, but soon left him. In the end, they took completely different paths, 2anie marrying arious men and Edna trying to pull herself away from her social lifestyle. / erall, both characters attempted to find their happiness, which awakened from their marriage. %nother difference they ha e is how their life is becomes by the resolution. In the end of the %wakening, Edna drowns herself in the ocean. 9I.*E)$ I7/$E;. E#plain the contro ersy of her death. $ell how 2anie4s husband $ea 'ake dies in the end, and how she remained a widow. 6espite the tragic e ent, she finds her goal and li es on, recalling her life e#perience. %lso, both characters rebel society. 2anie tries to escape her duties as a mother, female, and wife. 5hile 2anie goes through more than one husband, runs away, and li es almost in e!ual power to $ea 'ake when she marries him. Both soon ha e a slightly more masculine aspect, like 2anie wearing o eralls while har esting beans with $ea 'ake in the E erglades, while Edna is physically described as handsome, and not ery feminine. Edna4s unachie ed lo e for )obert and 2anie4s lo e for $ea 'ake.

Person H= THEME Both these books ha e similar themes. $hey both ha e themes of self8re elation. /n page =@, Edna Cwanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before. J1ow easy it isK4 she thought. JIt is nothing,4 she said aloud+ Jwhy did I not disco er before that it was nothing:4 : into#icated with her

L newly con!uered power, she swam out aloneF. In this !uote, swimming out into the ocean represents her first awakening, when she reali,es that she has the ability to search for indi idualism. %s she looked out towards the lands, which represents social con ention and repression, she reali,es that she wants freedom from her duties as a mother and a wife. $his reali,ation allows her carnal desires to awaken, such as her lo e for )obert and struggle for indi idualism and self8decency. Pro ide !uote on self8re elation from $heir Eyes 5ere 5atching (od, and describe it. Both these characters ha e reali,ations about their situations and themsel es. In the end, these small truths help guide both of these characters towards the path of indi idualism. 9E#pand.; %nother common theme is the issue of se#ism. /n page = of the %wakening, -r. Pontellier looked Cat his wife as one looks at a aluable piece of personal property which has suffered some damageF. 6uring this time, women were not considered e!ual to men+ therefore, -r. Pontellier would try to use Edna as an accessory to enhance his public and business image. In fact, the entire society in the %wakening was se#ist, forcing women to become household mothers and children raisers. In $heir Eyes 5ere 5atching (od on page 9insert !uote;. E#plain how it is se#ist. 6espite the completely different time eras and settlings, both characters suffer underneath a se#ist society. $his shows how in %merican society and for centuries, the suffering and limitations of women under se#ism greatly cause strife and struggles for these indi iduals. /f course, with those issues apparent, indi iduals and feminists would try to rise up and cry out against the in"ustices of se#ism. $herefore, both these books use the elements and themes of se#ism to bring awareness and strengthen the feminist mo ement of these times. Both of the books ha e the theme of freedom. In the %wakening on page =@, Edna swam out in the ocean for the first time. %s stated earlier, the land represents society, while the ocean, in this case, represents freedom from the oppression. $hroughout the book, Edna struggles to achie e her freedom by first pursuing her lo e, )obert, and mo ing out of her home. %lso, she falls into isolations, soon abandoning her duties as a mother. By the end of the book, she returns back to the ocean, only to be engulfed by it. $his indicates that she had desired freedom. In $heir Eyes 5ere 5atching (od on page 9!uote about freedom;. *he also desires freedom. Elaborate.

G Both of these characters sought for freedom from the oppression their society forced upon them. Elaborate %nother common theme is the theme of lo e. For Edna, she lo es )obert. For 2anie, she lo es $ea 'ake. For both characters, their lo e interests are struggles they try to achie e. $he only difference is that while 2anie4s lo e interests returns her feelings openly and marries her, Edna4s lo e interests refuses to share a relationship with her. 3o e, in this case, can lea e a positi e or a negati e note, depending on the author. For Edna, )obert could not return his feelings because he feared too much of betraying the rules of society. For $ea 'ake, he returned his feelings for 2anie, despite the fact that she was a widow and li ed a life of e!uality with her. Elaborate. -ore possible themes: Pushing 3imits, Isolation, -otherhood, E!uality, and 2ealousy.