“I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.” Jane Austen. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston depicted the travels of Janie Crawford and her understanding of womanhood and freedom through her several marriages. Throughout the book, Hurston portrays the growth of Janie and her ideals, her hair being a major recurring symbol. Growing up, Janie was taught to keep quiet by society due to not only her race, but her gender. Keeping her hair from Society's eye was, in a way, keeping her voice from it, as well. “How about playin’ you some checkers? You looks hard tug beat.’’Ah is, ‘cause At can't play uh lick.’’You don’t cherish …show more content…
"Thank yuh fuh yo’ compliments, but mah wife don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no speech-makin’. Ah never married her for nothin’ lak dat. She’s uh woman and her place is in de home." (Hurston ?) Joe Starks treated Janie as an accessory, someone who belongs in a home with the kids, and is not worthy of doing the things he does. In this quote, Jody refuses to let Janie recite a speech due to his belief of her status. This must way down on Janie and her emotional state, as Jody eventually treated her like an object. "I god, Janie," Starks said impatiently, "why don’t you go on and see whut Mrs. Bogle want? Whut you waitin’ on?" Janie wanted to hear the rest of the play-acting and how it ended, but she got up sullenly and went inside. She came back to the porch with her bristles sticking out all over her and with dissatisfaction written all over her face. Joe saw it and lifted his own hackles a bit.” (6.168-169) The line with the bristles sticking over Janie’s face may represent disheveled hair sticking out from hiding. This quote represents the tie emotions slowly pulling apart, as Jody is referred to as ‘Starks,’ "Maybe he [Joe] make her [Janie] do it [tie up her hair]. Maybe he skeered de rest of us mens might touch it round dat store." (5.144) A catty townsfolk is shown here gossiping about Janie and Jody’s relationship. He infers how Jody may be forcing Janie to tie her …show more content…
“Before she slept that night she burnt up every one of her head rags and went about the house next morning with her hair in one thick braid swinging well below her waist.” (9.3) Following the death of Joe Starks, Janie gets a sense of freedom from burning her head rags. This is symbolic not only literally, but figuratively as well, as Jody kept her in an unfit relationship where jealousy and unequalness between the two played a role. “Besides she liked being lonesome for a change. This freedom feeling was fine.” (9.7) The idea of being single struck a chord with the main character, as she’s now not tied down to other men, and she can feel what it’s like to be a woman again. "Naw, Pheoby, Tea Cake ain’t draggin’ me off nowhere Ah don’t want tuh go. Ah always did want tuh git round uh whole heap, but Jody wouldn’t ‘low me tuh. When Ah wasn’t in de store he wanted me tuh jes sit wid folded hands and sit dere. And Ah’d sit dere wid de walls creepin’ up on me and squeezin’ all de life outa me. Pheoby, dese educated women got uh heap of things to sit down and consider. Somebody done tole ‘em what to set down for. Nobody ain’t told poor me, so sittin’ still worries me. Ah wants tuh utilize mahself all over." (12.16) This quote alludes to Janie’s realization of the way Jody treated her during their relationship compared to how Tea Cake treated her. This is a vital milestone in the book as it
Their marriage was not passionate. It did not entail a complete commitment. “Naw, Jody, its jus’ looks lak it keeps us in someway we ain’t natural wid one ‘nother. You’se always off talkin’ and fixin’ things, and ah feels lak Ah’m jus’ markin’ time”(Page 46). Jody hardly ever spent time with Janie.
The novel tells readers that she was teased for her clothes, hair and skin complexion in school. It says that Janie thought she was white until she
Throughout Janie’s life, she searched for real love, which she first envisioned under a pear tree at sixteen. Her kiss with Johnny Taylor started her journey of finding that love. It was then followed by her marriage with Logan Killicks, then Jody Starks, and finally Tea Cake Woods. Through her journey, she makes many sacrifices which are all worth it when she achieves her dream with Tea Cake. Although Tea Cake dies, Janie is at peace because she accomplished what she had dreamed of finding her entire life with him.
In the store “the more his back ached and his muscle dissolved into fat and the fat melted off his bones, the more fractious he became with Janie” (Hurston 78). He made a point of pointing out her flaws in front of customers. On time when Janie was cutting tobacco for Steve Mixon she missed her mark. Steve teased Janie a little but it caused Jody to criticize Janie. He harshly commented on her figure which caused Janie to lash out at him.
In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie Crawford proves she is a weak woman by sucking herself into a bad relationship and not doing anything to get out. Jody, Janie’s second husband tried to control her more than anyone else, and he does so successfully. A few reasons why he was overly controlling of her include refusing to let her go do things she wants to do, will not let her talk and enjoy herself with the town’s people, and believes that all women are inferior. Although she does grow to realize that the way he treats her is not right, she keeps her mouth shut and puts up with it.
She was twenty-four and seven years married when she knew. She found that out one day when he slapped her face in the kitchen” (Hurston 91). As Jody reaches his ambitions he begins to beat and neglect his wife. Beating his wife is clearly not a good thing for him to do in his personal life. Clearly, Jody neglected his personal life and his wife by focusing singularly on his ambitions and
It was at this point when she had started seeing Jody, for whom she had felt love. However, as the years went by, Jody had repeatedly suppressed Janie’s true self, although unknowingly. Due to this, Janie had bottled up her feelings of resentment despite Jody even lashing out at her on several occasions. She had kept those emotions pent up inside her not because she was scared of Jody but as a sign of strength to be able to persevere under such circumstances. The situation had worsened between them as years went by, and Jody had even passed away due to an illness.
This passage serves to emphasize the extent of the sacrifices Tea Cake makes to give Janie the loving life she long yearned
Janie 's marriage with Jody showed her how to gain her self confidence and stand for what she believes. Hurston explains, “That night he ordered Janie to tie up her hair around the store… she was there for him to look at not the others.” Janie 's beauty was always a mark of distinction; Jody binding Janie 's hair was one way that Jody showed ownership of Janie.
Tea Cake also appreciated Janie for who she is “Not only does he appreciate Janie’s beauty, intelligence, and independence, but he also shows her tenderness, trust and respect.” (Dilbeck 102). Tea Cake allowed Janie to speak freely and be herself around him. When Janie went to court after killing Tea Cake,
In The Eyes are Watching God, the author Zora Neale Hurston expresses the struggles of women and black societies of the time period. When Hurston published the book, communities were segregated and black communities were full of stereotypes from the outside world. Janie, who represents the main protagonist and hero, explores these communities on her journey in the novel. Janie shows the ideals of feminism, love, and heroism in her rough life in The Eyes. Janie, as the hero of the novel, shows the heroic qualities of determination, empathy, and bravery.
Janie reacts in different ways to people in her life trying to control her, and this can be seen with Grannie, Jody, and Tea Cake. Grannie forces her to marry Logan, but Janie stands up for herself when she decides to leave him after Grannie dies. Throughout the novel Janie is looking for love, and she
The head rag helped reveal both Joe’s personality and how he wanted Janie to himself. The head rag helped Janie find her true beauty and capabilities even though being held back. The head rag overall was to show men’s power and how they can restrain women from growing and Jaie served as the one to break that
As a biracial woman living in the 1930’s, Janie faces racism all throughout her life. She grows up with a white family and does
In her epiphany from Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie realizes her intrinsic capacity as an individual, and frees herself from Jody’s covetous ways in the act of letting down her hair. In the quote, “She tore off the kerchief from her plentiful hair... the glory was there,” Janie’s hair symbolizes her power and strength because it holds glory. By Janie releasing her hair, she finally notices the greatness that she has, which allows her to now view herself as eminent individual whom has independence. Because Jody made her tie her hair up as a device to hinder her individuality and identity in their marriage, he is intimidated by her reluctance to comply with his controlling demands.