Seeing the Invisible Man

Throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God , we see Janie defining her life with this imaginary concept of a "perfect" relationship. With Nanny constantly watching over her, wanting her to marry as soon as possible to a man with the material and financial stability to keep her happy, she rushes into relationships, suppressing her desires and following Nanny's instead. But after her traumatic relationships with Logan and Jody, Janie decides to follow her own wants instead, despite the unwanted criticism and opinions on her relationships from the whole town watching her every move. This break from the cycle of relationships and unhappiness represents a turning point for Janie. She is no longer living based off of what others want for her. Picking Tea Cake means she finally chose to let go and put her own happiness over others.  Her relationship with Tea Cake had questionable moments, but she was definitely far happier with him than the first two. The end of Tea Cake meant the ...

I was confused when I read this poem for the first time. And the second time. As well as the third and fourth times, but I gradually understood more with each readthrough. With such complex language and references all throughout the poem, there's a lot to unpack. I realize now, post-poetry recitation, that I should have led with a bit of my analysis before asking for yours. I had a lot of points to cover that I didn't get to, so here's a bit more of my analysis on "Boy Breaking Glass": In the first stanza and title, Brooks describes the foundational point in this poem: the boy breaking a glass window. The window represents expectations, restrictions, and rules from outside perspectives. He is creating something new for his generation by breaking the window and making this loud, shattering statement that will spread, piercing everything around him like glass shards flying everywhere. The outside perspectives criticize his actions, telling him it's "treaso...