Beauty of a Former Slave

             This passage is displayed on the moment when her husband, Jody, a strong, rich, bold man, dies after fighting with Janie. After Jody dies, Janie sees herself in the mirror and remembers her old self and faces reality of how much she has aged, but has become a strong persistent handsome woman. But this is also ironic because although grief overwhelms her body, she feels free from the bondage under the custody of Jody Starks. Which from that moment was the confirmation of her freedom after she took off her handkerchief. "Then she starched and ironed her face, forming it into just what people wanted to see, and opened up the window and cried, 'Come heah people! Jody is dead. My husband is gone from me'" (Hurston 87). This is when she proclaims the declaration of her husband's death through the windows of her deceased husband's house. The tone of this passage can be considered very liberating as if it was the end of the war between the relationship of Jody and Janie. In the passage she describes herself with positive adjectives because of how she was forced into hiding her beautiful side by her "Master" Jody Starks. Also she describes herself positively after being observant of her body. For example, she says descriptions of her body like plentiful hair, glory, and handsome. This connotation gives off a very bold reaction of how someone would describe themselves after being forced to act like a pet. In this passage, you can evaluate multiple metaphors if observed thoroughly. But imagery is also very distinct in the passage. For imagery, the book gives a descriptive image when she looks at herself and remembers her old self compared to her new self. Also, the book demonstrates figurative speech through how she viewed the mirror as a person displaying personification.

-David Lai and Ji Sub Lim