Theme Of Death In Their Eyes Were Watching God

The concept of death is a concept that most, if not, all humans fear. Yet, in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie sees death differently; she doesn’t only view death in fear. We humans desire to live our lives and accomplish our dreams as does Janie who accomplishes her vision of love in her relationship with Tea Cake. She, however, is a unique kind of human among us and sees beyond the humane fear of death. The way Hurston utilizes fragmentation to unification in Janie creates a movement within her to perceive death not with fear but with acceptance. The love Tea Cake gives and accepts from her allows for her once divided selves that sought affection become unified, blossoming within her a passion that shines for her

As we see in the storm, Janie tells Tea Cake, “Once upon uh time, ah never ‘spected nothin’, Tea Cake, but bein’ dead from the standin’ still and tryin’ tuh laugh. But you come ‘long and made somethin’ outa me. So Ah’m thankful fuh anything we come through together” (158). Despite having gone through a deadly situation that nearly killed her due to Tea Cake’s ignorance to the warnings of the storm, she still loves him. He endangers her life, yet, rather than expressing anger or disappointment, she expresses appreciation toward him for being in her life and giving her a life to live—a life of joy. The joyful life she can live because of him gives her the courage to simply put the fear of death aside and accept it since whenever he comes to mind, she becomes reminded of her life’s happiness. The thought of Tea Cake alone allows her to no longer have her mind set on worrying for her life since love found her happiness and that happiness makes her feel no regret in life. As Daphne says, “The storm confirms Tea Cake’s doubt of her happiness with him, allowing her to see that he truly loves her,” Janie being able to hear his doubts lets her know and understand the love he has for her, enabling her more to accept dying for not only getting the chance to love him but also knowing that he loves her back. Now then, why does she kill him if she accepts death? Of course, I do agree in Sheri’s argument that the desire to survive takes into account of the reason why she killed him, but I disagree that it is the only reason she kills him. I believe that because she understands the love he has for her, she knows that he “wouldn’t hurt her” (173). She has to kill him so that he does not bear the burden and grief of killing her lover because the thought of him feeling regretful of killing her pains her heart. We know that he wants to make