The Story Behind My Name:

My name is Jordan Clarke. When I was old enough to understand my name, I thought "Why, Mommy and Daddy, Why?". People thought I was boy, and clearly I am not. When my mother gave birth to me, and took me home for the first time, all of my aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins were there to great me. They asked my mom what my name was, and she said "Jordan!", with a huge smile on her face. My mom told me that everyones faces dropped and they went, "JORDAN?!, THAT'S A BOY'S NAME!". Great way to start of my life in the world huh? My mom was completely in love with my name. She thought it made me different, and I'll give her that...I am different! My mom fell in love with my name after talking to my dad and looking through baby name books and just pondering what to name me. My older sister Chelsea, was named because my mom heard a women yelling at her little girl Chelsea to get away from the water. I wasn't named for anything special. I wish i was named after someone, but I am not. My middle name is McKenzie and that's my dad's doing because he wanted to give me and Irish name. My dad was set on naming me Shannon McKenzie, a very Irish name. But my mom convinced him to agree on Jordan. If I was a boy, I would've been named Ryan Richard or Kyle Thomas. My father's name is Richard Thomas, so that's where those names came into play. My dad claims that I'm the son he's never had. Probably because I was the biggest tomboy when i was younger so I guess my name fit.

Jordan actually means "Down-flowing" or "downward". It's a Hebrew word. I think its funny how there's a River Jordan. That's the meaning behind my name. Now that I'm older i don't mind being named Jordan. I really used to hate it because I was always mistaken for a boy. Even on my birth certificate they accidentally marked male as my sex and my mom had to call a legal place and get it changed back. It took awhile for me to became a "girl" again. It's a drag being called Mr.Jordan Clarke, and friends parents thinking I'm a boy. It's sort of embarrassing but I get over it. As long as people realize I'm a girl then I'm okay. I went through a stage where I hated my name. I was in middle school and I wanted people to call me Jordy. Teachers, friends, and even my parents. I finally realized that my name is unique and makes me who I am, so I just went by Jordan again. I have a lot of nicknames that my friends call me, but I don't really have a great name to make nicknames out of. Some of my nicknames include, JClarke, JC, Jordy, JDawg Jordyshort, Jord, Jordz, hJmac, and J. Jordan McKenzie Clarke is the name I'm stuck with for the rest of my life, so I might as well like it!

Imagery! Zora Neale Hurston paints pictures with her words:

Throughout the entire novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston uses exemplary imagery. Imagery is meant to paint a picture in your mind. Mrs. Hurston does an outstanding job when it comes to painting pictures with her words. Her are some examples from Chapters 1-8.

1. "Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men." (pg 1)

2. "They made burning statements with questions, and killing tools out of laughs. It was mass cruelty. A mood come alive. Words walking without masters; walking altogether like harmony in a song." (pg. 2)

3. "The men noticed her firm buttocks like she had grape fruits in her hips pockets; the great rope of black hair swinging to waist and unraveling in the wind like a plume; then her pugnacious breasts trying to bore holes in her shirt." (pg 2)

4. "There is a basin in the mind where words float around on thought and thought on sound and sight." (pg 24)

5. "The familiar people and things had failed her so she hung over the gate and looked up the road towards way off." (pg 25)

6. "The noon sun filtered through the leaves of the fine oak tree where she sat and made lacy patterns on the ground. She had been there a long time when she heard whistling coming down the road." (pg 27)

7. "They sat on the boarding house porch and saw the sun plunge into the same crack in the earth from which the night emerged." (pg 33)

8. "The idea was funny to them and they wanted to laugh. They tried hard to hold it in, but enough incredulous laughter burst out of their eyes and leaked from the corners of their mouths to inform anyone of their thoughts." (pg 37)

9. "She must look on herself as the bell-cow, the other women were the gang. So she put on of her bought dresses and went up the new-cut road all dressed in wine-colored red. Her silken ruffles and muttered about her. The other women had on percale and calico with here and there a head rag among the older ones." (pg 41)

10. "She's got those big black eyes with plenty shiny white in them that makes them shine like brand new money and she knows what God gave women eyelashes for, too." "It's negro hair, but it's got a kind of white flavor. Like the piece of string out of a ham." (pg 67-68)

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10 Symbols of Their Eyes Were Watching God:

1. Janie's hair - Janie's hair symbolizes her individuality when it is down. It symbolizes her beauty and womanhood. However, when her hair is tied back it symbolizes how Joe limits her in the store.

2. overalls - Janie overalls symbolizes that Janie does whats she wants and whats makes her happy. She does not worry about what people think of her.

3. the pear tree - The pear tree symbolizes a sexual experience inside Janie, which leads her into becoming a woman. It is a beautiful revelation and throughout the book, the pear tree grows with her.

4. gate - The gate symbolizes that Janie is trapped in a world where she doesn't belong. Her mind sees the gate opening but in reality she's trapped and can't escape. There's something beyond the gate that she is searching for.

5. horizon - The horizon symbolizes that a new day is born everyday. A new day brings new opportunities and something more to reach for. Janie is always searching for something more. The horizon gives her hope because a new always comes.

6. mule - "Black women are the mules of the world". The mule symbolizes how black women are expected to do hard labor work just like men. Men do not want to women to be more superior than them. Women need to work just as much as men on top of taking care of a home and children.

7. manure pile - The manure pile symbolizes that Janie and Logan's marriage only consisted of Logan putting Janie through hard labor because he didn't feel like doing it.

8. head rag - The head rag symbolizes how Joe is holding back Janie from the rest of the men of the town. Janie has beautiful hair but he makes her tie it up because he is scared that another man may be attracted to Janie and take him from her. In a way, he is jealous of her.

9. checkers - Joe makes Janie get out a checker game for him, but he doesn't let her play. This symbolizes that Joe thinks that women are only good for helping out around the house, but that they don't have enough intelligence to participate in anything that the men do.

10. Joe Starks house - The house symbolizes how even though Joe is supposed to be equal to everyone else in the town because they are all black, he is making himself superior to them and "above their level."

image from: http://luvsclassics.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/img_43281.jpg

25 Random Facts About Me

(Me on the left, my sister Chelsea on the right.)

1. My middle name is McKenzie and I love my first name Jordan. I feel that it makes me unique.
2. I used to hate my name and made people call me Jordy.
3. I was born the color yellow.
4. My favorite flavor of tootsie pop is raspberry.
5. I like to mix Sourpatch kids and Sweedish Fish together and eat them.
6. The Goonies is my all time favorite movie.
7. I have been a gymnast, dancer, softball player, soccer player, basketball player, and laxer.
8. I like long car rides.
9. My dad is the smartest man I know.
10. I secretly love to read books, but I don’t want people to think I'm a nerd.
11. I can play the flute, piano, and drums. (but not very good)
12. Ocean City is my favorite place in the world.
13. I want 4 kids when I'm older. I love big families.
14. I love to cook.
15. My favorite animal is an elephant.
16. I have all the American girl dolls except for some of them.
17. I like talking walks on warm summer nights around my entire neighborhood just to clear my head and enjoy being alive.
18. My favorite color is turquoise.
19. I love making breakfast, but I don’t like eating it. Especially eggs. I'll eat eggs but only when there hardboiled.
20. I hug my parents everyday and tell them I love them.
21. Hugs are my favorite thing to give.
22. I love history, I will sit and watch the history channel or read national geographic because its one of the only subjects that can hold my attention.
23. I never get bored. I love to entertain people and myself.
24. I wish I was an artist. I wish I could draw, paint, or play instruments like some of my friends. Art is intriguing to me.
25. The pink starburst will always be the best flavor of starbursts, ALWAYS.

Introduction: Their Eyes Were Watching God by: Zora Neale Hurston

The Novel: Their Eyes Were Watching God by: Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston is the author of Their Eyes Were Watching God. She was directly associated with the Harlem Renaissance and has influenced such writers as Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison, Gayle Jones, Alice Walker, and Toni Cade Bambara. According to Robert Hemenway, Zora "helped to remind the Renaissance--especially its more bourgeois members--of the richness in the racial heritage.“ Zora Neale Hurston used her talents to make a name for herself into the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, making friends with people such as poet Langston Hughes and admired singer and actress Ethel Waters. When her autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road, was published in 1942, Hurston finally received the well-earned acclaim that had long eluded her. When Hurston died, her neighbors had to take up a collection for her funeral because she never received any large amount of money from her incredible works.

Her incredible work, Their Eyes Are Watching God, is a classical novel. The main character is a women with a strong personality named Janie Crawford. She takes us on her journey through life as a mixed race women, trying to find her inner self. She deals with love, passion, budding sexuality, abuse, and will power. The dialect that Mrs. Hurston embedded into this novel is incredible and her imagery is exquisite. Take a journey through 20th century life with Janie Crawford and her ultimate goal to find true love and happiness.

image from: http://hoguenews.com/wp-content/uploads//2009/07/afghan-girl-615.jpg (cropped)