Essay Questions For Their Eyes Were Watching God

Anisha Thomas

Mrs. Moreci

AP Literature, Period 2 8 March 2018

Their Eyes Were Watching God Study Questions

Chapters 1-4

What are some of the early influences in Janie’s life; how do they affect her decisions?

One of the largest influences in her life is her Grandmother. Her Grandmother serves as the substitute for her actual mother, and she even says that she loved Janie more than her actual daughter. Another large influence on her early life was the Washburn family. Being surrounded by people who were of a higher status than her made her unaware of the prejudices that colored people faced. This is why she was able to develop a confidence early in her life that she utilized throughout the rest of her life. This may have even contributed

For example, Hurston says, “She knew now that marriage did not make love. Janie’s first dream was dead, so she became a woman” (25). Janie can be described as a very independent woman, and she is trying to find the most efficient ways to find success. When she learned that love is very difficult to obtain from marriage, she was slightly disappointed, but she quickly moved on to find the next way to find success. This may have explained why her marriage to Jody Starks may have seemed rushed. She almost instinctively knew that marrying Jody Starks would bring instant success, but she had yet to find whether it was the success that she was looking

’Cause dey just naturally wouldn’t touch it. But dey sho will. So it’s caution.” “Naw it ain’t, it’s nature, cause nature makes caution. It’s de strongest thing dat God ever made, now. Fact is it’s de onliest thing God every made. He made nature and nature made everything else” (Hurston 64). This interchange speaks to Janie’s developing understanding of herself in relation to the world. Here, Sam and Lige contend about the connection amongst humanity and God and amongst themselves and their general surroundings. In present day terms, it is a talk of nature versus nurtur. Lige contends that people are instructed everything that they know; such a viewpoint infers an essential enmity amongst humankind and the characteristic world. In Lige's terms, there are hot stoves everywhere, and individuals need to learn and be careful to continue. Sam, then again, contends that people are normally careful; such a viewpoint suggests a central concordance amongst humankind and the characteristic world. According to Sam, individuals, as creatures made by God, are normally part of nature. Throughout the novel, Janie advances through the snags that the world introduces her until she at last, agreeably, achieves the horizon that she has long looked