Lili's Blog :)

Throughout our time reading Mumbo Jumbo we've constantly asked ourselves what Jes Grew is. Our initial thoughts were to look it up, but the only results found were linked to Mumbo Jumbo. Therefore most of us came to the conclusion that it wasn't a "real thing." While "Jes Grew" exists only within the context of Mumbo Jumbo, the idea of it is very real and still prevalent today. My conclusion of what Jes Grew is, I don't think that it is a solid thing. I think it is the idea of letting culture and tradition live on or in other words, the spread of culture. And I think in terms of Jes Grew specifically, the spread of culture in a way that actually teaches origin and stories.  Throughout the novel things like museums are criticized because while yes, they show ancient artifacts and give facts about them, they also don't really tell a story. I can see traditional clothing from an ancient tribe and know what it's made out of and how they ate. But it d...

The ending of the novel was quite unlike the way the rest of the book flowed. There were multiple complex stories and characters coming together to form one narrative. Along the way we got to see mother and her character development, along with fathers lack of it. We saw Houdini navigate his inner struggles and even finding his worth in some way as he continues to preform. We saw Coalhouse Walker and Sarah and their impact on the family and the world. We followed Mother's Younger Brother who's narrative seems to always be driven by other people, much like his name suggests. The book was relatively slow paced for the most part until the ending. The book took a deep inside look into all the characters and showed us how each reacts differently to the same situation. Such as how each family member reacted in a different way to Walker entering the home and coming into their lives. And even how he impacted them after.  The very end of the book seemed very rushed and vague. Almost li...

Throughout the novel so far, we've experienced quite an interesting bunch of characters. Some are historical figures, while others are completely fictional, and often-time the fictional characters are given basic names. In the very beginning of the novel we are introduced to a family Mother, Father, Mother's Younger Brother, and the Little Boy. Right off the bat we think we have a basic understanding of the characters as the opening chapter contains a lot of detail about how the family functions. Mother in particular has immense character growth as the novel progresses.  In the beginning of the novel, mother comes off as this passive 2D character. She doesn't seem happy nor does she seem depressed, she just simply goes through the motions of life. More than anything she just seems kind of lonely, being the only female in the household she doesn't really have anyone to relate to or confide in. Despite this, it seems like she somewhat enjoys her space perhaps because it g...

 All posts from now on are for History As Fiction 2022.  

 Beloved is a novel all about trying to forget the traumatic events of the past even though they keep coming back up. All Sethe does in the novel is try to escape her traumatic experiences, yet they always come back to haunt her, and not only her but others around her.   It seems as though the more Sethe tries to repress her memories and the affects of her trauma, the harder it comes back. The most clear example is Beloved, first she haunts as the baby ghost and later she shows up as a real life form. Another example of this is Paul D coming back and living with them, Paul D is a symbol of Sweet Home and the past for Sethe. Not only that, but he has his own stories to tell which interrupt Sethe's understanding of all she tried to forget. Finally we have Denver who most likely reminds Sethe of everything that happened everyday. For example after she escapes Sweet-Home, she tries to forget the tragic stuff that happened to her while she was there. And even though Denver was...

Throughout Hurston's novel  Their Eyes Were Watching God, the protagonist Janie endures two failed marriages. Her first partner Logan Killicks, she was forced into marrying at the age of only 16. He was the safe choice according to nanny; he had land and a stable income so Janie would never have to worry about life on the street. However, Janie was unappreciated and completely un-attracted to him and runs away with Joe Starks. The beginning of their time together was promising, he wanted to treat her right and she was practically royalty as the mayors wife.  However, over time Janie was forced to become more and more isolated and couldn't live the free life she wanted, and eventually Joe grew violent with her. After his death, she wants to be an independent woman and live life for herself. In the mean time, she curves men left and right, all wanting to be her business partner and marry her.  This all changes unexpectedly when Tea Cake comes walking into Janies store one d...

Throughout Invisible Man,  Ellison hides many metaphors that relate to the narrators life. From the reoccurring theme of running to the coin bank at Marry's, but one particularly interesting one was the doll that pops up before the climax of the book. He stumbles upon Clifton (who he doesn't notice till later) advertising and selling racist puppet dolls. Like everyone else, the narrator finds himself sucked into the doll fascinated with how it moves, he doesn't even realize Clifton is the one selling the dolls nor does he get upset that they're racist dolls. The police eventually come and everyone runs away and the narrator grabs a doll off the ground later putting it into his brief case (another reoccurring metaphor). Upon picking it up he finally realizes how the doll was able to move, it had tiny black strings which Clifton were using to move it in such a way.  This scene essentially creates a puppet on a string metaphor. In many ways, the Narrator is the puppet on t...