Hurston Blurb

“Ah’m born but Ah ain’t dead. No tellin’ whut Ah’m liable tuh do yet.” (Hurston 106)
This quote relates to the role and theme of women in this book. In this book the role of women was to be submissive to the male role. They were dominated by male figures, simply because they didn’t stand up for themselves. They were submissive to them; they were treated a little better than animals. Jody thought that he put Janie on a golden pedestal but in all actuality he was smothering her. When she finally decided to take a stand and realize for herself that she needed to live, think, and do for herself, she came to this conclusion.
This quote relates to many women then and now. Many people feel as though they are sheltered by many things in life. It may be people, things, or situations that they face in their daily life. So many people may eventually think of this same quote or come to this same conclusion as Janie did. This quote is significant to my life because, I like many others, have come to a point in my life where I have decided that I will no longer live through the eyes of other people. I will live for me. I need to come to terms with myself and there is no limit to what it is that I can accomplish in life if I set my mind to it. Coming to this conclusion in the time of Janie, was very important. Women had been put through a lot in their lives and need to realize that if they put their minds together and stand up for themselves they can accomplish great things in life.
“Ah’m born but Ah ain’t dead” shows that she is frustrated with her current situation and she realizes that time is running out. She is alive and has time to live so she must do something about it as soon as possible. She must live for the moment and cherish it all. Many women realize this but for some they realize it when it’s too late. A lot of women realize this when they reach a major life crisis. Some people realize how much of their lives have past when they reach menopause, or if they find out something as tragic as cancer. At this time their lives change forever, and they realize how much of their life has past them by and how little they have accomplished in their life. They were born and are not dead yet so they still have time to accomplish things that they desire.
“No tellin’ whut Ah’m liable tuh do yet.” This is a very powerful part of this quote. It shows that Janie realizes how much she can do with herself if she only had the opportunity. She would have never imagined herself walking out of a marriage like she did, but she did it. Janie, like all the women in the world, is oppressed by some factor of life but with determination and realization we can accomplish great wonders.
This quote is significant to this story and to the lives of many women, because it portrays our realization that there is more to life than just living and dying. There is a time where we must live for ourselves. We are not dead yet so therefore we owe it to ourselves to live our lives to the fullest. We are not dead yet and therefore there is no telling what we are capable of doing. This quote applies to everyone. There is no limit to what humans are capable of doing. We should not live our lives in the dark and hide from possibilities. We are not dead yet, and there is no telling what we are liable to do yet!