Summary Of The Film 'Every Secret Thing'

She battled death and fame at the same time and is dealing with the repercussions 20

She ended up living a life full of manipulation and mediocrity. While living with Joe, she had to tend to many different tasks as his wife.  She wasn't independent with him either.  She was Joe's tag-a-long.  'She went through many silent rebellions over things like that.  Such a waste of life and time.  But Joe kept saying that she could do it if she wanted to and he wanted her to use her privileges.  That was the rock she was battered against.' (Hurston, 51)  Janie always had to wear her hair a certain way, always up in a head rag, in order not to attract attention to other men and women. She was always in a state of loneliness with herself.  While married to Janie, he would not allow her to attend the people's gatherings believing that she does not belong to such a group of lower class people.  Joe was depriving Janie of her independence and sanity.  "Naw, Ah ain't no young gal no mo' but den Ah ain't no old woman either.  Ah reckon Ah looks mah age too.  But Ah'm us woman every inch of me, and Ah know it.  Dat's uh whole lot more'n you kin say.  You big-bellies round here and put out a lot of brag, but 'tain't nothin' to it but yo' big voice.  Humph!  Talkin' 'bout me lookin' old!  When you pull down yo' britches, you look lak de change uh life." (Hurston, 75)  This quote spoken by Janie proves that she was getting sick and tired of being pushed around by Joe and his stuck-up ways.  This was a slow

Even before Joe’s death, Janie “was saving up feelings for some man she had never seen. She had an inside and an outside now and suddenly she knew not how to mix them.”(75) Joe’s influences controlled Janie to the point where she lost her independence and hope. She no longer knew how to adapt to the change brought upon her. When she finally settles and begins to gain back that independence, the outward existence of society came back into play. “Uh woman by herself is uh pitiful thing. Dey needs aid and assistance.”(90) Except this time Janie acted upon her own judgment and fell for someone out of the ordinary. Tea Cake was a refreshing change for Janie, despite the society’s disapproval. “Janie looked down on him and felt a self-crushing love. So her soul crawled out from its hiding place.”(128) This was what she had always dreamt of. When she was with Tea Cake, she no longer questioned inwardly, she simply rejected society’s opinions and acted upon her own desires.

This loneliness was supposed to be filled by another man, her second husband Joe Starks. She continued her development as a woman especially in the beginning of the new relationship when Joe “spoke for change and chance” (28). The problems Janie had to face in this marriage were that her husband did not treat her equal but rather treated her as an ornament. She found out that the love he provided to her in the beginning was rather part of the ulterior moves Joe had about becoming an important landlord and major. Joe gave only material goods to Janie who felt again as if something misses in her life.

The story of her life begins to unfold as she sits with Phoebe Watson, her friend for decades that brought her some mullato rice. I think Phoebe shows signs of hypocrisy because although she defended Janie when the other women spoke badly about her, prior to Janie’s arrival she accompanied these women daily as they gossiped about other people. Sheep don’t stay in the presence of wolves for too long. “Well, nobody

Janie’s outward appearance and her inward thoughts contrast following Joe’s death. She finally frees herself from his control only after he dies as she, “…tore off the kerchief…and let down her plentiful hair” (87). In freeing her hair, Janie begins to free herself from others’ control and social norms. However, she chooses to keep it tied up until after Jody’s funeral in order to keep appearances that she is grieving his passing in front of the townspeople. However, on the inside, Janie doesn’t really feel any sorrow and “sent her face to Joe’s funeral, and herself went rollicking with the springtime across the world” (88). It is only after Joe’s elaborate funeral that Janie shows her first act of freedom by burning “every one of her head rags and went about the house next morning with her hair in one thick braid swinging well below her waist” (89). She chose to let her hair be free from his domination, thus freeing herself from him overall and allowing herself to move onto the next journey in her life.

If lying was a job for Norma Khouri, she truly would have been a billionaire by the end of Anna Broinowski's enthralling documentary, "Forbidden Lie$". Documentaries and films are seen as a reliable medium for providing facts and information yet even after having seen this riveting documentary, you'll find yourself questioning the integrity of the entire documentary. With Broinowski gaining a great sense of authority over this text right from the start, she paves the stones in leading the viewer to eventually gain a greater sense of authority over the film's meaning. Anna Broinowski attempts to pull Norma Khouri apart at the seams in Forbidden Lie$, to finally unravel the ball of lies crafted by the pathological liar herself. This elaborate documentary follows the story of the infamous Norma Khouri from all possible angles, while subsequently proving the words of Christopher Nolan. That "the 'truth' is indeed stranger than fiction."

All through the novel Janie travels through valuable life experiences allowing her to grow as a woman. Janie at first has a difficult time understanding her needs rather than wants, but as she continues to experience new situations she realizes she values respect. Janie’s first two marriages turned out to be tragic mistakes, but with each marriage Janie gained something valuable. When Janie is disrespected in her second marriage with Joe Starks, he publicly humiliates her, disrespecting her as a wife and woman. This experience forced Janie to come out of her comfort zone and stand up for herself.

Instead of treating Janie like the beautiful woman that she is, he uses her as an object. Joe was a man who “treasured [Janie] as a posession” (Berridge). Joe’s demanding nature suppresses Janie’s urge to grow and develop, thus causing her journey to self-realization to take steps backward rather than forward. In Janie’s opinion, “he needs to “have [his] way all [his] life, trample and mash down and then die ruther than tuh let [him]self heah 'bout it” (Hurston 122). It is almost as if Janie loses sense of her own self-consciousness due to the fact that she becomes like a puppy being told what to do by her master. The death of Jody is actually a positive thing. Joe’s controlling nature stifles Janie’s inner voice. While married to Jody, Janie became closer to others, however, she did not become closer to herself. Being on her own again gave her another chance to embark on her journey and realize who Janie Crawford really is.

The death of Joe Starks characterizes Janie’s freedom and growth into self-love. Joe Starks’ cruelty and high expectations of Janie kill their marriage before love has anytime to be born, forcing Janie to gain a sense of self-preservation. Before the couple are married for a month, Joe publically degrades Janie at his mayoral commensuration. Joe tells the public Janie is too simple to give a speech, and “[i]t must have been the way Joe spoke out without giving her a chance to say anything one way or another that took the bloom off of things” (Hurston 43). Janie realizes Joe Starks is not the man who will lead her to her horizon. She laments after years of marriage, “[s]he got nothing from Jody except what money could buy…” (Hurston 76). Those years of constant battering “…took all the fight out of Janie’s face… Plenty of fight beneath the surface but it was kept beaten down by the wheels” (Hurston 76). As quickly as Janie wants to reach her horizon, early into her second marriage she realizes the excitement she had for Joe’s “love” was all for naught. Gurleen Grewal goes so far to state, “…the ‘high ruling chair’ Joe Starks sat on is incompatible with flower dust… No less than Killicks, Starks stifled Eros” (Grewal 107-8). Janie’s marriage with Joe taught her to not fight a losing battle. Janie learned there is no point to fighting what you cannot change. Consequently, Janie maintained silence for most of her marriage with Joe, just like he wanted. He had married Janie for a

Most directly, Janie was alienated by her Grandmother. Janie sought after a natural and passionate relationship with a man from the beginning, believing that marriage was the only option for a young woman such as herself. Throughout her journey she desired a perfect relationship. She thought that a mutual love would quench her desire, while her grandmother sought for her merely a good man, which caused resentment to arise inside Janie. “Please don’t make me marry Mr. Killicks… Lemme wait, Nanny, please, jus’ a lil bit mo,” ( Hurston 15). Her Grandmother forced upon her a marriage she did not want. “Neither can you stand lone by yo’self,” a statement that her grandmother made quite evident (Hurston 15). It is from her grandmother that she

Janie’s relationship with her second husband, Joe Starks, is perhaps the most damaging. In the beginning of their marriage, Janie is proud and admiring of the successful, strong man she marries and runs off with. At first, it seems as though Janie has executed a successful breakaway from her unfulfilling life with Logan Killicks, and transitioned to an exciting, happy life with Joe Starks. Unfortunately, Janie and Joe’s marriage retracts from the infatuated love it once was, into a

The blues have deep roots embedded within American history—particularly that of African American history. The history of the blues originated on Southern plantations in the 19th century and was created by slaves, ex-slaves, and descendants of slaves. They were created by individuals who endured great hardship while performing endless hours of arduous labor and blues served as a form of escapism. To these individuals, songs provided them with the strength to persevere through their struggles. Blues songs depicted individuals who persevered in the face of adversity. They were symbols of hope to those squandering in the depths of oppression. In relations to the blues, every song has a story behind it and within every story, there is something to be said. Blues artists, through their struggles, detail how they overcame hardship and laughed at the face of oppression. They defied the rules and in doing so, showed African Americans that they too are beacons of hope for the hopeless. The best blues is instinctive, cathartic, and intensely emotional. From irrepressible bliss to deep sadness, no form of music communicates more genuine emotion than that of the blues. Like many bluesmen of his day, Robert Johnson applied his craft as a lonely traveling musician on street corners and in juke joints. He was a lonely man whose songs romanticized that existence. With Johnson’s unique vocal style, haunting lyrics, and creative guitar techniques, Johnson’s innovation embodied the essence of

When the documentary was produced, media exposure was limited to private and expensive mediums such as television, movies and radio. These outlets were plagued with marketing agendas designed to sell products under the guise of authentic music and entertainment. Formerly non-existent cultural archetypes such as the

It is said that this hard lifestyle began to affect her work. Her songs were no longer filled with youthful emotions, but a sort of bitter regret. Even with the change in her music still had a great impact on other artists of her time and later. (www.numberonestars.com, 2010)