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How Does Janie Change Throughout The Book Their Eyes Were Watching God

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Recommended: Janie's characterization in their eyes were watching god

Throughout the book Their Eyes Were Watching God, the eyes of individuals started opening to God’s work that occurred, but Janie’s eyes became open to God’s gift that he held for her for decades; which portrays itself as self-revelation. The exposition of Janie has already formed her to become unknowledgeable to her worth. The care that Janie intended to have for people allowed her to maintain betrayal and internal damage through years at a time. Dramatic events Janie briefly went through gave her permanent feelings about living for herself, instead of living for others and seasonal expectations. Citizens of Eatonville felt that God’s gift led them to destruction; however, the gift of God led Janie to reconstruction of progress, self-love, …show more content…

Younger in age, Tea Cake teaches Janie how to live again without any worries of the past. “…and eventually Janie’s heart is won over by his fun-loving, egalitarian nature-he respects her as an equal and takes her on midnight fishing trips(win-win)” (Shmoop). Despite Janie’s middle-age status, she felt younger again because of Tea Cake’s younger age and how he felt about that days of life living to the absolute fullest. “Tea Cake, on the other hand, engages her speech, conversing with her and putting himself on equal terms with her; her love for him stems from his respect for her individually (SparkNotes-Themes). Feelings for one another falls deeply that Janie becomes so impatient to love and complete the lifetime expectation role once again. Janie’s mindset rests at a peaceful sensing of one self, embracement by Tea Cake forms the growth of happiness, life, and spirit. Patience for Tea Cake remained at a complete high through his gambling issues, physical altercations, and indulgent antics with another woman. Temporary emotions of resentment never allowed her feelings to change because of locked independence she placed into herself through her uplifting experiences. Any occurrence could appear, but Janie keeps hope because she knows that there lies no challenge that cannot have a possibility of …show more content…

Janie’s courtroom case showed that lack of respect her fellow town mates tend to obtain. “…the courtroom scene, in Chapter 19, after which Janie is comforted by white women but scorned by her black friends” (SparkNotes-Themes). Despite feeling disowned, Janie kept faith internally because her independence and care for herself made her realize that whatever effect comes along the way, she will have closure. Living for one-self motivates Janie to live the life that she never had the opportunity to live due to living under individuals that betrayed her destination for

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439 Words | 2 Pages

“It was generally assumed that she thought herself too good to work like the rest of the women and that Tea Cake “pomped her up tuh dat.” But all day long the romping and playing they carried on behind the boss’s back made her popular right away” (Hurston 157). Men on the field were surprised to see her pick of the basket to pick beans, but as time went on they grew fond of her and their opinions of her changed. TeaCake and Janie’s relationship is going so strong and so well, and Janie starts to reflect on her previous relationships and how they compare to hers with TeaCake. He makes dinner with her, respects her, and see’s her as equal to him, whereas the men in past relationships have not treated her, or seen her, like that.

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445 Words | 2 Pages

Jody often puts down Janie for being a woman. She felt like she was always looked down upon. “Somebody got to think for woman and chillun and chickens and cows. I god, they sho don’t think none theirselves.” (Page 71).

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1041 Words | 5 Pages

Janie has been through hard times, even as a young girl. She lived with her grandmother who took care of her because her mother ran off when she was young. It is because of her grandmother, who wants to be in control of Janie’s life and wants the best for her, that Janie ends up marrying a rich man and getting a good education. However, this is not what Janie really wants. Janie is more interested in happiness and love than being rich, high class, and educated.

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1785 Words | 8 Pages

After Joe’s death, Janie meets Tea Cake. Tea Cake is younger, but he is kind to Janie, unlike Joe. At first, Janie thinks he may be using her for her money, but this is proven false when he promises to be the sole wage earner and never touch her savings. Tea Cake and Janie’s relationship are drastically different from Janie’s past relationships. She is treated as an equal, rather than as a lesser human being.

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1253 Words | 6 Pages

But as time goes on Tea cake and Janie start to develop a stronger relationship. Tea cake takes on a whole new role in Janie's life and helps to push her to achieving her dreams. Unlike all the other men that Janie had been with Tea Cake was more of a supporter. Most of all Tea Cake actually loved her and Janie loved

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1109 Words | 5 Pages

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie’s flaws about love continuously brought her to the same ending with all of her husbands, no matter how long the marriage lasted. In The Odyssey, Calypso was trapped on an island to fall in love with men who washed ashore. The fatality of her faults was her over affection and her need for love while being so alone on her island, Ogygia. Their weaknesses are exact opposites, specifically in their relationships with men. The flaws are role in relationship, attachment to men, and lastly, their submissiveness to men.

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660 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the protagonist Janie, is influenced by others to change her ideals. Hurston vividly portrays Janie’s outward struggle while emphasising her inward struggle by expressing Janie’s thoughts and emotions. In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening the protagonist is concisely characterized as having “that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions,” as Janie does. Janie conforms outwardly to her life but questions inwardly to her marriages with Logan Killicks, her first husband, and Joe Starks, her second husband; Janie also questions her grandmother's influence on what love and marriage is.

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639 Words | 3 Pages

(Hurston, 72) Janie realizes that she has a sense of self, and that she does not want to be defined solely by her husband's desires. She begins to develop her own voice, and she begins to assert

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1490 Words | 6 Pages

Though Janie faces loss multiple times through the deaths of these people that she loves dearly, she gains qualities in herself which she can use later in her life. In her first relationship with Joe, Janie is continually oppressed in terms of when she’s allowed to speak and how she controls her own appearance but this oppression only works to shape her personality into one that can speak back and be more assertive in front of anyone. By having to be in a situation where she has to choose whether to shoot Tea Cake, she becomes more resilient and proactive. Only through the loss of youthfulness and two loved ones is Janie able to truly discover who she, conveying Hurston’s larger message that self-discovery is fueled through loss and

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175 Words | 1 Pages

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie’s happiness and self-fulfillment greatly depended on the man whom she was in a relationship with. From, the beginning of the novel, Janie never followed the path that had the utmost value to herself; She always settled for what other people thought was best for her. This made Janie never quite content with her situation and caused her happiness and self-fulfillment to be hindered by her circumstances. The horizon, a motif representing dreams, wishes, the possibility of change, and improvement of ones’ self, is the point in which Janie’s journey of self-discovery is illustrated by.

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920 Words | 4 Pages

Janie Crawford Killiks Starks Woods is the main character in the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, where she learns what's it's like to go from marriage to marriage looking for love. In the novel, Hurston utilizes the pivotal moment when Janie realizes that marriage doesn’t always mean love to show Janie's coming of age and psychological development which is used to show that love doesn't always come first. Logan Killicks was Janie's first marriage, which was brought about after Nanny (her grandmother) decided that she need to be married after she caught Janie and a young boy kissing when she was 16. After that Janie finds herself being thrown into some random marriage with some man she barely knew, and for a reason

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1220 Words | 5 Pages

Therefore, when he dies, Janie feels a sense of liberation and freedom. Hurston showcases Janie’s independence as she takes over management of the store. In the succeeding months, Janie meets a younger man named Tea Cake, who helps Janie discover herself. Hurston uses Tea Cake to demonstrate a healthy, balanced relationship between a married couple. Tea Cake never forces Janie to do anything against her own free will and encourages her to try

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734 Words | 3 Pages

Tea Cake knew he had to win Janie love and that she wasn’t going to give in that easy even though Tea Cake is independent as Joe and is willing to take care of his wife also. When Janie went to Everglades with Tea Cake they had setup a house together and she stayed at home and he worked planting beans (Caldwell, Tracy M). “Tea Cake unlike her previous husband he treated her equal” (Caldwell, Tracy M). They got along well as all her other husbands, but they weren't her type or didn't pay her enough attention or just treated her wrong. Tea Cake was the man of her dreams but he hurt her feeling when the money she had pinned to her shirt was gone.

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713 Words | 3 Pages

When tea cake shows up janie 's feels something she has never felt before, she is set free but the townspeople don 't think so. “‘Ain’t you skeered he’s jes after yo’ money him bein’ younger than you?’” (Hurston pg.133)Janie is in love with Tea Cake because he loves her for her youthful young side that was forced into hiding for so long because of her previous husbands. However the rest of the community is discouraging her and trying to keep her in the image as a mayor 's wife. They told Janie that Tea Cake was after her money

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1506 Words | 7 Pages

When Janie meets Tea Cake and slowly fall in love with him, she sees the fulfillment of the pear-tree love, which is mutually beneficial and allows Janie to explore herself. Nanny forced Janie to marry at a young age in order to protect herself from the dangers of being a black woman. Because of this she was not able to have a childhood and fall in love for herself. Tea Cake enamors her with his charm and youth, allowing Janie to express herself along with him. Tea Cake’s best quality is the fact that he never forces anything on to Janie.

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