Journal 2

"' He's uh whirlwind among breezes," Jeff Bruce threw in.
Speakin'n of winds, he's de wind and we'se de grass. We bend
which ever way he blows," Sam Watson agreed, "but at dat us
needs him. De town wouldn't be nothin' if it wasn't for him. He
can't help bein' sorta bossy. Some folks needs thrones and ru
ling-chairs and crowns tuh make they influence felt. He don't.
He's got uh throne in de seat of his pants."
"Whut Ah don't lak 'bout de man is, he talks tuh unlettered
folks wid books in his jaws," Hicks complained. "Showin' off
learnin"(40).

This passage that Hurston writes after Stark's newly formed society, describes the opinions of the civilians towards Stark's leadership. The importance of this passage is to highlight the impoverished situation of the civilians, and to express the envy they have towards Starks. One of the many literary devices I encountered while reading this passage is the most obvious: dialect. By using this dialect, it adds additional understanding to their impoverished lifestyle. By the slang they use, it suggests the characters lack education, which is usually the cause of lack of money. To add a contrast to this way of living, Jeff Bruce states Starks as "uh whirlwind among breezes", which is an allusion to Psalms 104:4 and 107.25. This allusion amplifies Stark's character, almost making him seem godly amongst the civilians. This evokes an envious mood throughout the passage between the civilians. Their lack of leadership and education acts as a foil to Starks' higher education and intense ambition. Yet they agree that without Starks, they would be in the same situation as their life began. The envy they share is a repetition of the envy from the sitters in chapter one. They envy the one who broke past the barrier, and actually attempted to build something from their life. But yet, they do not try to evoke ambition from this envy. They simply "chewed the back parts of their mind" and carried on.