Jonah's Gourd Vine by Zora Neale Hurston
Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God provided a gourd and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the gourd. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the gourd so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live."-Jonah 4:5-8 (TNIV)
As my
Haiku indicates, I spent most of the novel trying to figure out whether John, the main character, is supposed to represent Jonah or the Gourd Vine.
John is the adopted son of a shiftless, scam-prone sharecropper. His biological father is the white owner of a plantation where he goes to work and flourishes. He is given an education and new clothes, and he is treated better than he was at home. At this point, John's circumstances are largely beyond his control, and he seems more like the gourd vine. He considers himself a victim, but often rightly so.
However, he soon falls in love with and wins the hand of Lucy, who encourages him to rise above his circumstances and make something of himself. She is a foil for John--loyal when he is unfaithful (time after time), calm when he is hot-headed and patient through difficulties when he, like Jonah, displays a propensity to run away when life gets tough. He finally finds himself preaching at a Florida congregation and doing quite well, despite his indiscretions. He and Lucy have seven children and, overall, a happy life.
But after his years of flourishing with Lucy, she dies. This leaves John (again like Jonah) with the sun blazing on his head and without the "protection" that Lucy provided. Or, you could say, this is the point where John (like the gourd vine) begins to wither.
He once again becomes a victim--to the politics of his congregation and to the hoodoo-based schemes of his second wife. And he must ultimately decide whether he is strong enough to take actions to escape his circumstances or whether he will always be a victim.
Jonah's Gourd Vine is Hurston's first novel, and it is a linguistic treasure. She writes in the black dialect of the time, which enlivens the characters and gives even more heat to the Florida setting. It does take some getting used to--you almost have to hear the dialogue, rather than just reading it word-for-word. Also, Hurston occasionally interjects clarifications, which breaks up the narration a bit. But it is still a novel that begs to be enjoyed and dissected.
So, which is it? Is John Jonah, or is he the Gourd Vine? Maybe a bit of both. Why don't you read it and let me know your thoughts?
Favorite quotes:
We's free folks now. De big bell done rung! Us chillun is ourn. Ah doan know, mebbe hit'll take some of us generations, but us got tuh 'gin tuh practise on treasurin' our younguns. Ah loves dese heah already uh whole heap.
"Whuss de news?"
"Oh de white folks is still in de lead."
"Whut you doin' settin' on top uh dat boy?"
"Ah ain't settin' on top of 'im. Uh milk cow could git between us."
If she make her bed hard, she de one got tuh lay on it.
Jes' 'cause women folks ain't got no big muscled arm and fistes lak jugs, folks claims they's weak vessels, but dass uh lie. Dat piece uh red flannel she got hung 'tween her jaws is equal tuh all de fistes God ever made and man ever seen.
Poor mules. As Maggie and others have pointed out, they don't fare well in Southern literature. (This photo is from pbase.com.)
Fred liked it...
