Nanny, Logan, and Joe all tried to control Janie in some way. Nanny forced Janie to get married to a man she didn’t love or want. Logan Killicks does almost everything for Janie, and as Nanny points out, “He’s kissin’ yo’ foot and ‘tain’t in uh man tuh kiss foot long. Mouf kissin’ is on uh equal and dat’s natural but when dey got to bow down tuh love, dey soon straighten up.” (p. 23) Joe was constantly controlling Janie, whether it was by making her cover her hair, or by not letting her spend time with the rest of the town. All the while, Janie struggles to gain her independence, so that she can find the one thing that she really wants in life, which is love. One scene from the book that shows Janie becoming more independent is when she stands up to Joe in front of the porch sitters. By doing this, Janie shows everyone that she doesn’t need Joe, and that she has a limit to how many times she will bow before him. …show more content…
She has the freedom and the money to do what she wants, and no people or responsibilities are holding her back. Still, Janie is not fully self- realized. To be fully self realized, Janie needs to fulfill her dream of the pear tree, or of true love. It takes time for Tea Cake and Janie to get to the point of self realization, because they have to learn to trust each other first. Janie isn’t sure that Tea Cake really loves her back. Some examples of her doubt in him include when she thought that he had taken her money and left right after they were married, and then again when she caught him with Nunkie. Both times, Tea Cake is able to convince Janie that he doesn’t love her for her money, and that she is the only woman for him, by saying things like “You’se something tuh make a man forgit tuh git old and forgit tuh die.” (p. 138) Because Janie was already independent, she didn’t need Tea Cake, but she felt that she did because she loved him so