“Ye aspiring ones, listen to the story of the unknown”
I really liked the poem by The Unknown, because it was about redemption, which a lot of people can relate to. This person (presumably a man, since they were hunting), shot a hawk and wounded him. He put him in a cage, maybe to be kept as a prize. But in doing so, he took away the bird’s freedom. I can see the relationship between this and Jody’s need to control Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God. By having her tie back her hair, symbolizing the forced restrain of her independence, Jody is limiting her freedom and, in a sense, putting her in a cage.
Luckily, Janie was able to escape, but the hawk in the poem dies as a captive. The Unknown then says that he searches for the soul of the dead hawk, in hopes of making amends. This shows that the wrongdoings in life can still haunt you even after death. Consequently, you are also able to redeem yourself, and it’s never too late to apologize.
