5 Literary Techniques

Page 26
Simile
"Mah fust wife never bothered me 'bout choppin' no wood no how. She'd grab dat ax and sling chips lak uh man."
The author used this simile to compare Janie with Logan's first wife. Janie is seen as not hard working and the author is expressing this by contrasting Janie's unwillingness to work with Logan's former wife who did a lot of work.

Page 26
Figurative Language
"Long before the year was up, Janie noticed that her husband had stopped talking in rhymes to her. He had ceased to wonder at her long black ha ir and finger it"
The author does not really mean that Logan talked to her in rhymes. The author is trying to portray the idea that the love was gone in their relationship already. This style is effective because it highlights Janies attitude toward the marrige.

Page 27
Foil
"It was a cityfied, stylish dressed man with his hat set at an angle that didn't belong in these partys. His coat was over his arm, but he didn't need it to represent his clothes."
Hurston describes this man as the exact opposite of Logan. Joe is a well dressed and well spoken person compared to Logan. This style of writing demonstrates the total difference between the two men and Janie's thoughts towards them.

Page 29
Metaphor
"You behind a plow! You ain't got no mo' business wid uh plow than uh hog is got wid uh holiday!" The author uses this metaphor to compare Janie's work with a plow with a pig having a holiday. Hurston uses this literary term to convey the idea that Joe thinks she should not be using a plow because she is still a young girl.

Page 32
Epiphany
"What was she losing so much time for? A feeling of sudden newness and change came over her." The author could be using this sentence to forshadow change in Janie's life. This works well because she is unhappy with her current marrige and she just met a new man. This sentence could also be the start of a new plot in the book.