Journal 10

Theme: In any case of societal oppression the effects are elongated and caused in equal part by the oppressed as the oppressor. 
(I may clarify types of societal oppression (sexist, racist,)
I will not be referring completely to slavery because while touching on it in Their Eyes Were Watching God, I believe Hurston was talking about all types of oppression, whether it be between husband and wife or slave and slave owner. 

1.  ""Us colored folks is too envious of one 'nother.  Dat's how come us don't git no further than us do.  Us talks about de white man keepin' us down!  Shucks!  He don't have tuh.  Us keeps our own selves down."" [39]

2.  ""So de white man throw down de load and tell de nigger man tuh pick it up. He pick it up because he have to, but he don’t tote it. He hand it to his womenfolks. De nigger woman is de mule ud de world so fur as Ah can see."" [14]

3.  "Six months back he had told her, "If Ah kin haul de wood heah and chop it fuh yuh, look lak you oughta be able tuh tote it inside. Mah fust wife never bothered me ‘bout choppin’ no wood nohow. She’d grab dat ax and sling chips lak uh man. You done been spoilt rotten."  So Janie had told him, "Ah’m just as stiff as you is stout. If you can stand not to chop and tote wood Ah reckon you can stand not to git no dinner. ‘Scuse mah freezolity, Mist’ Killicks, but Ah don’t mean to chop de first chip."" [26]

4.  ""You behind a plow! You ain’t got no mo’ business wid uh plow than uh hog is got wid uh holiday! You ain’t got no business cuttin’ up no seed p’taters neither. A pretty doll-baby lak you is made to sit on de front porch and rock and fan yo’self and eat p’taters dat other folks plant just special for you."" [29]

5.  "Janie got up with him the next morning and had the breakfast halfway done when he bellowed from the barn.  "Janie!" Logan called harshly. "Come help me move dis manure pile befo’ de sun gits hot. You don’t take a bit of interest in dis place. ‘Tain’t no use in foolin’ round in dat kitchen all day long…" "You don’t need mah help out dere, Logan. Youse in yo’ place and Ah’m in mine." "You ain’t got no particular place. It’s wherever Ah need yuh. Git uh move on yuh, and dat quick." [31]   6.  "This business of the head-rag irked her endlessly. But Jody was set on it. Her hair was NOT going to show in the store. It didn’t seem sensible at all. That was because Joe never told Janie how jealous he was. He never told her how often he had seen the other men figuratively wallowing in it as she went about things in the store. And one night he had caught Walter standing behind and brushing the back of his hand back and forth across the loose end of her braid ever so lightly so as to enjoy the feel of it without Janie knowing what he was doing. Joe was at the back of the store and Walter didn’t see him. He felt like rushing forth with the meat knife and chopping off the offending hand. That night he ordered Janie to tie up her hair around the store. That was all. She was there in the store for him to look at, not those others." [55] 7.  ""I god, Janie," Starks said impatiently, "why don’t you go on and see whut Mrs. Bogle want? Whut you waitin’ on?"  Janie wanted to hear the rest of the play-acting and how it ended, but she got up sullenly and went inside. She came back to the porch with her bristles sticking out all over her and with dissatisfaction written all over her face. Joe saw it and lifted his own hackles a bit. [70] 8.  ""Somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows. I god, they sho don’t think none theirselves." "Ah knows uh few things, and womenfolks thinks sometimes too!" "Aw naw they don’t. They just think they’s thinkin’. When Ah see one thing Ah understands ten. You see ten things and don’t understand one."" [71] 9.  "He wanted her submission and he’d keep on fighting until he felt he had it.  So gradually, she pressed her teeth together and learned to hush. The spirit of the marriage left the bedroom and took to living in the parlor. It was there to shake hands whenever company came to visit, but it never went back inside the bedroom again."  [71] 10.  "Janie did what she had never done before, that is, thrust herself into the conversation. "Sometimes God gits familiar wid us womenfolks too and talks His inside business. He told me how surprised He was ‘bout y’all turning out so smart after Him makin’ yuh different; and how surprised y’all is goin’ tuh be if you ever find out you don’t know half as much ‘bout us as you think you do. It’s so easy to make yo’self out God Almighty when you ain’t got nothin’ tuh strain against but women and chickens." "You getting’ too moufy, Janie," Starks told her. "Go fetch me de checker-board and de checkers.""  [75]