ipl-logo

Character Analysis: Their Eyes Were Watching God

825 Words4 Pages

Sophitia A. LaVoy
Lauren Crosby
American Literature
8 May 2023
Their Eyes were watching God essay

The novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston follows the narrative of Janie Crawford, a young Black woman living in Florida in the early twentieth century. Janie's struggle to find love and self-discovery through three marriages is explored in the story. Janie feels stuck in her first two marriages, which stop her personality and desires, throughout the novel. This paper will look at why Janie feels bound in her first two marriages, what components of her personality Logan and Joe conceal, and how Janie defines freedom following Joe's death.
Nanny, Janie's grandmother, arranges her first marriage to Logan Killicks. Logan, Nanny …show more content…

Joe is not physically cruel to Janie in the same way that Logan is, but he is emotionally and verbally aggressive. Joe sees Janie as an extension of himself, and he wants her to act in a way that represents his social standing. In Joe's company, Janie's personality is stifled since he discourages her from expressing herself and sharing her opinions. “You're getting too moufy, Janie. Too moufy for common folks, let alone your own.” (Hurston 42). Joe's behavior echoes the novel's patriarchal culture, in which women are expected to be submissive and obedient to their husbands. Janie's yearning for self-expression and originality is stifled in her second marriage, leaving her feeling confined once more.
Janie feels a sense of liberation and self-discovery following Joe's death. Tea Cake, a younger man who is passionate and affectionate towards her, enters her life. Janie's relationship with Tea Cake differs from her previous two marriages in that Tea Cake allows her to be herself and encourages her to communicate her views and feelings. Tea Cake considers Janie to be an equal partner in their relationship, as evidenced by his words, “Ah never did want yuh to do dat, honey. It wuzn’t for nothin’. Ah just wanted yuh to know whut it wuz lak.” (Hurston

Show More
Related
588 Words | 3 Pages

Logan Killicks represents the stable and comfortable life every black man or woman dreams of. It is the life Nanny wished for herself, for Leafy, and forced it upon Janie. Janie, however, wants the exact opposite. She wants a life full of ambition and passion, which she finds in Jody Starks and soon after in Tea Cake. The last relationship we see Janie in is with Tea Cake.

Read More
1262 Words | 6 Pages

Hurston’s metaphors help the reader to understand the great deal of oppression that the handkerchief symbolizes. The author’s metaphors such as “girl was gone”, “woman had taken her place”, and “the glory was there” emphasize that Janie is able to reveal her true beauty in overcoming her struggles. The author implies that by Janie uncovering her hair, she is revealing the constant shadow that has prevented her from her self-examination and in finding her true identity. The author’s metaphors are used to help the reader understand that the moment for an individual to overcome a struggle is profoundly beautiful and

Read More
642 Words | 3 Pages

As time pass Janie grows tired of waiting and being with Joe. Still she stays with him because she has the hope that he will change. Joe Starks in the other hand sees Janie as his ticket to get know by more people, including the porch people, and to recieve more property. He like demanding Janie, “Janie, Ah reekon you better go fetch me dem old black gaiters,”(C.6 P.57) but deep inside he still feels something for Janie. Their respected because Joe is mayor and Janie is Mrs.Mayor Janie.

Read More
884 Words | 4 Pages

Janie tries to forget the chance to give a speech being taken, “but it wasn’t too easy. She had never thought of making a speech and didn’t know if she cared to make one at all. It must have been the way Joe spoke out without giving her a chance”(Hurston 43). Hurston uses Janie’s negative reaction of being deprived a chance to express herself to show her support of the value of self expression. Janie’s feeling sad when not being able to express herself shows she truly values the ideas of self expression.

Read More
746 Words | 3 Pages

Janie’s relationship with Nanny affects Janie’s vision and voice in a distinctive way. Nanny goes through a life of turmoil and sees Janie’s life as a gateway for her to the unforeseen freedom and happiness which she never had. Nanny says, “Ah wants to see you married right away” (Hurston 12). She forces Janie to marry Logan Killicks, who is

Read More
918 Words | 4 Pages

First he tells Janie that she is the mayor’s wife so she must act like one. And second, Joe ridicules Janie and insults her in front of townspeople. In a way, Joe’s male supremacy is worse than Logan’s in that it plays with Janie

Read More
1836 Words | 8 Pages

He only told her what was needed to be done and how she should act, when and who she could talk to. Joe Starks dies in his bed, but instead of feeling torn, Janie felt relieved. Janie escaped from a love she did not have. Joe had turned into a man she could not love. Although she did not find true love with Joe Starks, she did find self-determination and self-worth.

Read More
1660 Words | 7 Pages

Next, Janie continues on her determined journey for love when she goes off to marry Tea Cake. In the quote,

Read More
1826 Words | 8 Pages

Later in the novel, some faults within their relationship began to form. Tea Cake felt threatened by Mrs. Turner’s idea of setting Janie up with her brother, and so he beats Janie in front of them to assert his dominance and let them know that Janie belongs to him. “Janie is wherever Ah wants tuh be. Dat’s de kind uh wife she is and Ah love her for it.

Read More
528 Words | 3 Pages

Their Eyes Were Watching God is a widely known novel written by Zora Neale Hurston, one of America’s most fascinating authors. Their Eyes Were Watching God was published in 1937 and was quickly forgotten but has recently received a renewal of interest by many scholars. The novel has been praised as a unique contribution to African-American literature and admired by various people such as African Americanists for its commemoration of the black culture and dialect and by feminists for its portrayal of a woman’s path toward becoming self-aware and fulfilling her life. Although there are those that criticize the book in one way or another, there is, without a doubt, that the novel has many impressive uses metaphor, dialect, and folklore of southern

Read More
1000 Words | 4 Pages

Instead, she works extremely hard to bring this to Janie. Nanny did not want to see Janie taken advantage of in the same way that she was; instead choosing to work as a nanny to a white woman in order to provide food and land for her granddaughter. Because of her early life experience, her value of stability was very rational. In her mind, Logan Killicks was an ideal candidate to be Janie’s husband, because he was wealthy, had plenty of land, and had a stable career. He would be able to provide for Janie, which Nanny never had.

Read More
697 Words | 3 Pages

Women are confined to single roles and are expected to be submissive and respectful. When Joe married Janie, he forced her into a role of subservience. Hurston indicates that Joe attempted to mold Janie into what white women do on a daily basis which is to “sit on their high stools on the porches of their house and relax.” Doing this, Joe believes he is granting his wife all the wishes she ever wanted while neglecting the fact that Janie takes pleasure in the simple things in life like chatting, laughing, fishing and dancing. “Janie [especially] loved the conversation[s]” that took place on the porch and sometimes “she thought up good stories on the mule, but Joe had forbidden her to indulge” because he didn’t want her to talk after those “trashy people” (Page 104).

Read More
750 Words | 3 Pages

(Hurston

Read More
713 Words | 3 Pages

Zora Neale Hurston’s writing in Their Eyes Were Watching God, reflects the Harlem Renaissance through Janie 's individuality, and departs from the Harlem Renaissance with the common recurrence of black woman empowerment. In the novel, Hurston reflects the ideas of the Harlem renaissance with the ways in which Janie rebels and goes against norms for women.

Read More
1012 Words | 5 Pages

She questions why Janie would marry a dark man like Tea Cake. Mrs. Turner falsely assumes, like the rest of the people form the town, that Janie only married Tea Cake for his money because she could not possibly love him. Janie informs Mrs. Turner that her assumption is incorrect because Tea Cake was not wealthy when they met, and he is the only person that has made her truly

Read More

More about Character Analysis: Their Eyes Were Watching God

Related Topics

Open Document