The wilderness is definitely something that we create as humans. If we did not exist, wilderness would not exist. I believe nature is what existed before humans, and now we call it wilderness. I think it was interesting to talk about the possibility that the wilderness could exist in a city if a person is unfamiliar with city life, but I do not agree. I believe that a person is truly in the wilderness only when they are completely alone with their thoughts. This can never happen in a city. Wilderness is being lost in a place that you cannot navigate with your car, compass or cell phone; it is a place where you are not in control and can never truly be in control. I believe people are drawn to the wilderness because they want adventure and discovery. It is daunting to be surrounded with people, televisions, radios, cell phones, etc. every day. The wilderness is a place where people can be alone with their thoughts in order to truly discover themselves and what they are made of, and as scary as that may be, it is a basic human desire.

I see one similar theme between The Bear and Their Eyes were Watching God in the reading I have done so far. The theme of Man vs. Nature, or perhaps even Man vs. God, is evident in The Bear, but this novel seems to take a different view on the subject. Rather than doubt the power of nature as Janie and Tea Cake did with the hurricane, Sam seems to know and accept this power. Sam teaches the giant dog to obey, but makes it a point to say, “We don’t want him tame” (212). Ironically, he names the dog Lion, which is an animal that humans often try to tame. The interesting thing is that Sam seems to believe that only one specific dog, Lion, will be able to take down Old Ben. He recognizes that a man cannot do it on his own, and he seems to believe that man can never truly tame wild animals. Only an untamed dog will be able to take down the untamed Old Ben. As we have seen time and again in the news, animals that humans believe they have tamed often carry out deadly attacks. It is going to be interesting to see how the idea of man taming nature plays out in this novel.

Their Eyes were Watching God is definitely a bildungsroman. Janie changes and matures in amazing ways. The first instance I see of real change is when she decides to leave Logan. At this point, she decides to live for herself rather than for what others want. The next significant sign of change occurs in the scene we discussed extensively in class yesterday. After Jody slaps her for ruining dinner, Janie decides to put a part of her soul away for someone who she truly loves. This is both brave and sad. After Jody’s death, she lets her beautiful braid down and is transformed. She does not care about putting on a false face for the community and she does not care that Jody is dead. Perhaps the most important sign of growth is when Janie reveals that she actually hates nanny. She rejects nanny’s way of thinking and her materialism. Janie would rather work with Jody in the muck than have material things, despite the fact that she has a lot of money. Janie comes to know herself and she is true to that self. She finds someone to love truly and deeply, which is one of the best things we can hope for in this life.

After wrestling with the title, I know that the word “Their” is significant. This novel does chronicle the journey of Janie, but in an important way it also chronicles the journey of a community. Building the community as the white people would have done it becomes a task for the group. Once the store is done, the porch becomes a meeting place. Janie’s marriage strife is out in the open for everyone to see and judge, especially while she is working in the store. We see the input from others from the beginning when the ladies are watching Janie walk down the road. The novel also ends with community input when Janie is on trial. The word “Their” signifies the importance of community for the newly freed slaves. They were on a journey to lift themselves out of poverty and ignorance, and that journey could not have been made without the help of others.

What is love? I am only about 40 pages into Their Eyes were Watching God, and I can already tell that this will be the central question in the novel. Janie’s first marriage to Logan was not true love. It was forced and arranged by her grandmother. Janie accepted this arranged marriage at first by assuming that husbands and wives automatically love each other, but she soon finds that this is not the case. When Janie runs off with Joe, I feel uneasy about it. Joe seems to be concerned with appearances and control, and may not treat Janie as an equal in the end. When Hicks shows interest in Janie and tries to make her notice him, it seems to foreshadow that perhaps Joe isn’t Janie’s last love affair in the novel. She is on a quest to have and understand true love, and I don’t think Joe is it.

I don’t believe that A Room with a View is a true bildungsroman because I don’t see that Lucy truly experiences change or growth. I believe she is free spirited and willing to ignore propriety from the beginning of the novel. Though Charlotte tries to corral Lucy, Lucy still ends up going off on her own and developing her own opinions about the Emerson’s in Florence. She tries to appear upset when George kisses her, but afterwards she is very willing to have a direct conversation with him about it. Charlotte thinks the idea of Lucy confronting George is strange, because, as we discussed, people rarely address each other directly throughout the novel. This is one instance where we see that Lucy is different. Lucy does seem to experience an inner struggle because she doesn’t want to let those around her down, but I think she is different and that she knows what she wants from the beginning. Deep down inside Lucy is a different person from her relatives, and the Emerson’s are able to bring her true self to the surface. Thus, Lucy does not mature or grow, she simply finds a lover who will allow her to be who she has always been.

It is very appropriate that we are reading A Room with a View so close to Valentine’s Day! Was this planned? I am not quite done with the book yet, but I really hope Lucy picks George, and I have a feeling that she will. This story addresses a common problem that many people have in love; should one pick convention or passion when choosing a life partner? I often have this conversation with my mother. A few years ago she told me that she had been engaged before she met my dad and was deeply in love with the man, but that she broke off the engagement and married my dad instead because it was the more practical choice. Then, she told me that she loves my dad but has regretted her decision every day since then. I was shocked! It is so hard for people to ignore others and go with their true gut feelings, and this is Lucy’s problem as well. I am hopeful that Freddy and Mr. Beebe help influence Lucy to ditch Cecil and go with George in the end; otherwise I will be thoroughly disappointed.

Huck Finn is definitely a bildungsroman. Huck’s journey has to do with being civilized and the relationship between religion and morality. Huck notes several times that he is going to hell. He does not understand Miss Watson’s religious ways or reasons why people attend church, and he would rather just figure things out on his own. Huck’s triumph is that he does, in fact, find a way to exhibit the most morality in the novel. His morality does not come from religion, but rather from his own conscience. There are two important moments when I see Huck as reaching maturity. First, when he decides that he will be loyal to Jim instead of writing Miss Watson to turn him in, and second, when he comes to the simple realization that humans can be very cruel to one another. We see humans being cruel to one another throughout the novel, starting with pap being cruel to Huck. We also see cruelty in the dueling families, with the duke and the king to the sisters and with slavery in general. Huck matures because he recognizes cruelty and chooses to reject it, despite what the current times teach him.