Characters
This is Janie's dearest, most trustworthy friend.
Who is Pheoby?
The line "sometimes it [the house] creaked and cried all night under the weight of lonesomeness" is an example of this literary device.
What is personification?
This is where Janie goes to detach from her present reality and retreat into fantasy.
What is the pear tree?
At the beginning of the novel, Janie indicates that Tea Cake is "gone." Hurston is using this literary device to hint at the plot to come.
What is foreshadowing?
Hurston weaves this into the narrative, including stories of characters like Big John the Conqueror. It is reminiscent of her days in Eatonville, listening to stories told on the porch.
What is folklore/folk tales?
This character dies, leaving Janie with a new, free life.
Who is Jody?
The use of this helps the author explore the thoughts of more than one character.
What is third-person omniscient narrator?
Nanny "choked" Janie with this.
What is the horizon?
This animal causes Tea Cake to become sick.
What is a dog?
The words death, done, darkness, deep, and dissolution used closely together create this literary device.
What is alliteration?
This could be considered a character, as it is a living force that the other characters must contend with.
What is the hurricane?
"To Janie's strange eyes, everything in the Everglades was big and new. Big Lake Okechobee, big beans, big cane, big weeds, big everything" is an example of this literary device used by Hurston for emphasis.
What is repetition/anaphora?
Janie's love for Tea Cake has helped her find this important aspect of herself.
What is a voice?
These people are the first to know that a storm is coming and leave the muck.
Who are the Seminoles/Natives?
This represents Janie's fertility as a character - a place where she can grow into herself.
What is the muck/Everglades?
This character built an altar to the unattainable -Caucasian characteristics for all.
Who is Mrs. Turner?
"She didn't read books so she didn't know she was the world and the heavens boiled down to a drop. Man attempting to climb to painless heights from his dung hill" is an example of this literary device.
What is a metaphor?
These emerge at the end of the novel as a representation of Janie's newfound identity. They were introduced in the beginning of the novel.
What are overalls?
This character testifies in court for Janie and tries to save Tea Cake's life.
Who is Dr. Simmons?
He was run off the muck at the end and blamed for the people's hostile attitude?
Who is Mrs. Turner's brother?
Other than Tea Cake and Janie, this character is huddled with the group in the house, "watching God."
Who is Motor Boat?
Hurston's use of dialect and real places lends this type of realism to the novel.
What is verisimilitude?
This is buried with Tea Cake.
What is a guitar?
By emphasizing that Janie is new to the muck, Hurston is able to provide this - important background information that the reader might not otherwise know.
What is exposition?
These are described as square and are associated with death throughout the novel.
What are toes?