Trials And Tribulations In Their Eyes Were Watching God

Did you know that 74% of girls say that they are under pressure to please everyone (Girls Inc, The Supergirl Dilemma)? In our society, young girls are not taught to give to themselves, for that is being selfish. But instead to give themselves to others. We are socially enforced to give time, energy and love to people, specifically men, but not taught to provide that same energy and love to ourselves. Their Eyes Were Watching God, a novel written by Zora Neale Hurston, perfectly articulates this concept. Zora tells a tale of a young woman in the midst of a spiritual Odyssey for love and self-knowledge. Janie, the main character, goes through trials and tribulations to achieve an inner strength and self-confidence that is unwavering by none. These trials and tribulations came in the form of men. Janie’s first

In this stage of her life is where she met Vergible “Tea Cake” Woods. Free-spirited Janie and carefree Tea Cake fall upon a love at first sight moment. The love they had for each other was right, not forced or opportunistic. He is fun and respects her as an equal, which he proves by playing checkers with her and wanting her to work with him. Logan Killicks wanted her to work like a worker that he can control and dominate. Joe Starks wanted her to work to display her beauty to the townspeople, as a trophy wife. Tea Cake listens to Janie, he talks to Janie. He doesn’t order he around or shut her out. They’re partners. With Tea Cake, Janie fully finds her inner strength. She is strong for herself, out of self-love. This is proven when she had to kill the love of her life to save her own life. If she had not pulled the trigger on rabies-infested Tea Cake, he would have pulled his trigger on her. In this moment, we understand that Janie’s character has developed into her own being. With Tea Cake’s love, she flourished into a strong and self-confident