Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie's Wife Analysis

“They was all cheerin’ and cryin’ and shoutin’ for de men dat was ridin’ off. Ah couldn’t see nothin’ cause yo’ mama wasn’t but a week old, and Ah was flat uh mah back. But pretty soon he let on he forgot somethin’ and run into mah cabin and made me let down mah hair for de last time (Hurston

She ended up living a life full of manipulation and mediocrity. While living with Joe, she had to tend to many different tasks as his wife.  She wasn't independent with him either.  She was Joe's tag-a-long.  'She went through many silent rebellions over things like that.  Such a waste of life and time.  But Joe kept saying that she could do it if she wanted to and he wanted her to use her privileges.  That was the rock she was battered against.' (Hurston, 51)  Janie always had to wear her hair a certain way, always up in a head rag, in order not to attract attention to other men and women. She was always in a state of loneliness with herself.  While married to Janie, he would not allow her to attend the people's gatherings believing that she does not belong to such a group of lower class people.  Joe was depriving Janie of her independence and sanity.  "Naw, Ah ain't no young gal no mo' but den Ah ain't no old woman either.  Ah reckon Ah looks mah age too.  But Ah'm us woman every inch of me, and Ah know it.  Dat's uh whole lot more'n you kin say.  You big-bellies round here and put out a lot of brag, but 'tain't nothin' to it but yo' big voice.  Humph!  Talkin' 'bout me lookin' old!  When you pull down yo' britches, you look lak de change uh life." (Hurston, 75)  This quote spoken by Janie proves that she was getting sick and tired of being pushed around by Joe and his stuck-up ways.  This was a slow

People grow and develop at different rates. The factors that heavily influence a person's growth are heredity and environment. The people you meet and the experiences you have are very important in what makes a person who he/she is. Janie develops as a woman with the three marriages she has. In each marriage she learns precious lessons, has increasingly better relationships, and realizes how a person is to live his/her life. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie's marriages to Logan Killicks, Jody Starks, and Tea Cake are the most vital elements in her growth as a woman.

Often in literature, the author sets the main character on a physical journey to divert attention away from the main character’s spiritual journey. In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the main character, Janie, goes on a physical journey that not only challenges her sense of self, but also is vital in her life-long spiritual journey to personal liberation and self-empowerment. Janie’s relationships mark Janie’s migration toward fulfilling Hurston’s purpose of the piece: Janie becoming empowered and finds personal liberation. Hurston proves Janie’s physical journey plays a central role as Janie completes her spiritual quest to personal liberation and self-empowerment.

Published in 1937 by author Zora Neale Hurston, the novel ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ chronicles an African American woman's journey to find true love in the Deep South. On one hand, an equal balance of power in a relationship leads to equality, fulfilment, and happiness for both partners - as observed in Janie’s relationship with Vergible Woods (Tea Cake). On the other hand, an unequal distribution of power in a marriage with a dominant partner leads to an overall sense of discontent and unhappiness in the relationship, as observed in Janie’s first two marriages to Logan Killicks and Joe Starks respectively. Thus, an equal balance of power in a relationship built on mutual respect and desire is a vital to a stable and healthy relationship.

In many novels, authors have implemented social constructs in order to shape the mood of the books. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Hurston alludes to social class, especially race, subtly. Hurston’s background of anthropology and growing up as an African-American woman clearly plays a role in the social makeup of the novel. The main character of the novel, Janie, has various experiences in which readers can discover the social structures in her life. Through Janie’s story of self-discovery, Hurston reveals social constructs of the time, especially race and wealth, by including anecdotes, complex characters, and thought-provoking scenes that highlight controversial issues.

Oprah Winfrey is a woman with power; power to mess up the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God in her own movie interpretation of the same name. By turning this story of a woman finding herself into a love story, many key points of the plot were left out. Character motifs and morals also dramatically changed.

Instead of treating Janie like the beautiful woman that she is, he uses her as an object. Joe was a man who “treasured [Janie] as a posession” (Berridge). Joe’s demanding nature suppresses Janie’s urge to grow and develop, thus causing her journey to self-realization to take steps backward rather than forward. In Janie’s opinion, “he needs to “have [his] way all [his] life, trample and mash down and then die ruther than tuh let [him]self heah 'bout it” (Hurston 122). It is almost as if Janie loses sense of her own self-consciousness due to the fact that she becomes like a puppy being told what to do by her master. The death of Jody is actually a positive thing. Joe’s controlling nature stifles Janie’s inner voice. While married to Jody, Janie became closer to others, however, she did not become closer to herself. Being on her own again gave her another chance to embark on her journey and realize who Janie Crawford really is.

In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston Janie is on a quest. Janie has been with three men throughout the story- Logan Killicks, Joe starks (Jody), and Tea Cake. Each of these men have helped Janie try and complete her journey. Throughout her relationships she grew more and more independent because she did not have her grandmother to rely on. She is on a journey in hope of becoming an independent women and seeking love.

According to the novel, Janie seemed to be a very sexual young girl from the ways she looked at nature from her kissing Johnny Taylor (Hurston 11-12). So her

In the novel, Their Eyes were watching God, written by Zora Neale Hurston, the main character, Janie, troubles to find true love. Throughout the novel, Janie finds herself getting into three relationships. However, all but one don’t seem to ever workout.

In her article “Tuh de Horzion and Back: The Female Quest in Their Eyes Were Watching God”, Missy Dehn Kubitschek argues against her fellow critics’ common misconception of Janie as “a passive prize” (109), in favor of, recognizing the “the independence and strength” (109) within her. Kubitschek showcases the independence and strength of Janie through outlining her heroine’s quest throughout, Their Eyes Were Watching God, according to the five qualifications, “answering the call to adventure, crossing the threshold into the unknown, facing various trials, finding the reward (either concrete or symbolic), and returning to the community” (110), provided by Joseph Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces. In doing so, Kubitschek expertly contradicts

Throughout the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie the main character has taken upon many different types of persona’s. She was a girl with Nanny; Next she was a married girl with many responsibilities she didn’t know how to handle. After running away with Joe she was free-spirited and fun, but that changed over time and she became shut in and obedient. But in the end she became the person she always wanted to be. Janie always tried to do what she thought was right, but in the standards of others.

I feel that Hurston’s representation of people in Their Eyes Were Watching God showed her training as an Anthropologist. Her use of language and perspectives of the individuals and their interactions with one another and their society added and layer realism to the story. As I read, I perceived the communities as real and shows deep understanding of how people and communities evolve. The use of community to help tell the story is similar to Faulkner, As I lay Dying. Both represented the rural south as a close community where people know each other and their businesses and are bound by customs and duty, but these communities are often just as petty and bitter as it is friendly and helpful. The view of the Janie by her neighbors in similar

In the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” by Zora Neale Hurston, Hurston wants her readers to know that love cannot be forced. It can not be found through marriage or bought with money, love can only be love. In the novel, the protagonist, Janie gets married off to Logan Killicks who was in his sixties when she was only sixteen because her Nanny did not want Janie to be like her mother. Janie’s mother is someone who would plays around with boys and Nanny did not want Janie to be like her, she wanted Janie to have a stable relationship. This was Janie’s first relationship and she tried to find true love in their marriage. In Janie’s second relationship, she had hoped that someone with a dream would be her true love. She runs off with Joe, who later became known as Jody. Joe is someone who has big dreams and a big voice. Joe was able to provide Janie with a high status and financial stability. However, throughout their relationship, Janie realizes that those does not buy true love in their relationship and it is not what she wants. Later on in the story, Janie is alone and she becomes an independent women who made her own choices. Hurston wants her audience to understand that love cannot be easily found and that there is not anything that can buy love. She writes a novel about a girl, Janie who struggles through two relationships before she meets the guy that has true love for her.