5th,+Opening

opening, 5th period



“It was the time to hear things and talk. These sitters had been tongueless, earless, eyeless conveniences all day long. Mules and other brutes had occupied their skins. But now, the sun and the bossman were gone, so the skins felt powerful and human. They became lords of sounds and lesser things. They passed nations through their mouths. They sat in judgment.” p.1

Through the ability to speak, the porch undergoes a transformation from passive “sitters” who are “tongueless, earless, eyeless conveniences” that are controlled by the bossman, to “Lords of sounds” who are in charge of “nations”. Once the people on the porch have the ability to speak, they feel human again.
 * Tongueless, earless, eyeless: dehumanizes, takes away senses
 * Sun and bossman: both oppressive, taxing, bossman=like slavery, colloquialism
 * Felt human: humanity restored BUT only a feeling?
 * Nations: expresses power – like kings, also sarcastic – they pass the final judgment on everything but really just petty issues.
 * Lords of sounds vs. tongueless conveniences: major part of humanity is ability to speak and communicate. By day, animals, no voice, just muscle, after work they share stories and culture

From the article: “The transformation from tongueless brutes to lords of sounds is revealed in the grandiose speech in which ‘They passed nations through their mouth. They say in judgment.’ Hurston’s use of ‘nations’ implies legacies, heritage, and universal experiences passed down via stories. It also indicates speaking for and of many individuals. This imagery again recalls the communal focus of the transformation from silence to speech and from mules to men in this passage.”
 * connection between mules and silence; contrast between silent mules all day with no senses and “sitters.”
 * Transformation from mules to people and even more to Lords
 * These “lords” pass “nations” through their mouths, signifying on the porch and representing past and future generations (giving everyone a voice)