There is something about walking thigh high through the
Everglades that just makes for an exciting day. Watching an artistic
interpretation of an Everglades experience, avoiding two turtles that were
crossing the road, choosing a broom stick to use for balance, finding anoles
trying to camouflage themselves against a bald cypress, identifying the
grasshopper hanging from a saw grass, reaching down into the 'muck' for periphyton,
chewing on saw grass, picking up and investigating apple snails, discovering sea
weed and learning that it is actually Bladder Wart, making a necklace out of it,
running into spider webs, encountering a big spider nursing her egg pouch, glaring
at someone trying to 'hydrate' the spider, exploring bald cypress trees strung
with snake skins, looking for a twig to hang backpacks on, searching for a knee to
sit on to eat lunch or just eating lunch standing almost waist deep in water,
arguing about the importance of not breaking parts off a tree, discussing the
relevance of a literary cclassic, wanting to continue the adventure in the
direction opposite of the cars, realizing that everyone else is heading toward
the cars, hoping the day could last a little longer, and enjoying the little
things already experienced, are what made Friday's Everglades class exciting.
It is funny how I try to describe a day in words and run out
of words in the process. Even if we could pull words from languages all over the
world and make up words when we run out, at some point, the words are not enough. If I have to point out only one thing that I realized in Friday's class, it is that words are not enough because they require interpretation (the emphasis of Ranger Maureen's lecture). Indeed, words are useless unless we understand them, and we can only understand them if we understand the language and the context of the word. I love to read literary works like Their
Eyes Were Watching God, and I am an English major because of my love of words and detailed descriptions, but I find that what ultimately captures my attention is the picture painted by the words, or, in other words, my interpretation of those words. To me, the pictures painted by words are always pieces of nature, experiences, ideas, and emotions all swirled into a paragraph, a page, a paper, or a book.
The pictures painted throughout Their Eyes Were Watching
Godare made up of a little bit of each of these. Nature arrives with a "dust-bearing
bee sink[ing] into the sanctum of a bloom" (11). Nature is the mule who "almost
got fat" (58) and the birds feasting on its remains (62). Nature takes form
through the 'saw-grass bloom', and the scurrying rabbits, possums, and snakes that
foreshadow the approaching storm (155). The hurricane, the flood, the rabid dog,
and death are all descriptions that paint a picture of nature to readers. Nature
is a living entity that breathes life to Hurston's words, but it is our individual
relationship with nature that gives us a basis for interpretation of those words. Some, who are distant from nature and would rather be at home watching TV than out in the Everglades, bypass the natural element of the book by saying, "Nice, but who cares?" Others, who have experienced nature with a different attitude, have a completely different interpretation.
Experiences, ideas, and emotions also help to create the
overall effect of the words in the novel. A young girl experiences surprise when
she realizes that she is not white like the other children. She longs to be a
tree in bloom and waits for the world to be made. She goes through the pain of
losing her childhood and is thrown into a relationship without love. The readers
travel with her through her experiences and share in her emotions. She becomes
like the mule she felt sorry for, who "done had his disposition ruint wid
mistreatment" (56). The story of Janie's character is just a story unless it is
interpreted by readers. When readers add their own thoughts, emotions, and
experiences, the words take on a completely different interpretation.
Zora Neal Hurston, like most writers, does not visibly say
why or what she means to write about in the course of the novel. Of course,
biographies and interviews usually clue readers into the suggested meaning, but
either way, readers take words and apply their own interpretation. There is the
feminist interpretation, the black interpretation, Biblical interpretation,
psychological interpretation, etc... and even a combination of all. In the end,
however, the author gives readers words and we, in turn, apply our own
interpretation based on our personal experiences. That is the beauty of words and
interpretation.
So, the enthusiasm I feel when walking through the Everglades
is part of who I am and how I interpret. Not everyone interprets in the same way
or has the knowledge or experience necessary for interpretation, which is why we
need individuals like Ranger Maureen, who shares her interpretation of nature with
others, hoping that they too can see beauty in it or at least understand the
importance of it. (We all need water to survive!)
I had several encounters with classmates during this last
class that made me realize that interpretation has everything to do with the
individual. It appalled me when someone actually tried to drown the spider that
I was admiring! Needless to say, no one picked on the spider again... I even
picked a spider off of someone's shirt, to 'set it free' on a bald cypress, only
to have someone else knock the spider out of my hand with a notebook. We were
definitely not on the same page of interpretation. I saw the spider as a creature
needing help before it was squashed. The other person saw the little bitty spider
as a threat that needed to be eliminated... It is pretty funny now that I think about
it, though I definitely did not find it funny at the time. Interpretation can be
quite entertaining as well as confusing. But then again, that is my
interpretation of interpretation.
