Their Eyes Were Watching God Thesis

The Truest Parts Of Oneself

Love is considered to be the center of the universe. From the novels of Jane Austen to movie productions of the Titanic, the love between two characters is a central theme of a moral in a story. Love takes place in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God written by Zora Neale Hurston telling the life story of a young African American woman, Janie Crawford, whose journey of self-identity and love, accompanies her with struggles to assert her voice in her marriage with Logan Killicks and Joe Starks. At the end of her journey, love in her final marriage with Verigible Woods, commonly known as Tea Cake, transforms Janie into a new persona with an assertiveness of power in her voice. Janie's longing for a horizon, a symbolic

After Jody dies Janie encounters Tea Cake, a young man that not only lets her assert her voice but encourages her to do so. Janie's feelings are revealed about Tea Cake when she thinks, “He looked like the love thoughts of women. He could be a bee to a blossom-a pear tree blossoms in the spring.” (Hurston 106) Tea Cake’s relationship is different for Janie for he taught her the value of a healthy relationship where “there is no imbalance of power,” they respected “each other’s independence” letting Janie form her ”own decisions without fear of retribution or relation, and share decisions” as proven in the article “What Does a Healthy Relationship Look Like?” Tea Cake enlivened Janie's growth in her strength and self-pride. In Tea Cake, Janie discovered the creativity of life and an ebullient personality that flourished in life, moments, and friends around her. His charisma plays a crucial role in her character development by finding the truest, honest part of herself. Once Tea Cake dies, she tells Phoebe that she has been to the horizon and back. Her marriage with him signified her encounter of finding her voice in society and marriage. Impacting the readers with the wisdom of her words, “Two things everybody’s got tuh do fuh themselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin’ fuh thyselves.” (Hurston pg 192) Janie has lived her life but most importantly she has lived it the way she wanted it for herself. The journey she has taken through all her marriages are moments that have taught both the character and audience the lessons of finding one's truest