Their Eyes Were Watching God Dialogue Analysis

Everyone has inner ideas that they wish to expresses, however are unable to put them into words. When people do try to convey their ideas, their dialogue may be misinterpreted. One reason for this is because when you talk to people, emotions take a role in your dialogue. Being unable to express your emotions is what leads to people assuming things in your dialogue, potentially misunderstanding you. In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the main character Janie has many thoughts in her “high” monologue which she expresses; however, was unable to be interpreted in her “low” dialogue because of emotions changing the tone of her speech; which in turn, causes an inability for her audience to comprehend her intentions.

Her inner thoughts are, “Janie learned what it feels like to be jealous (...) Janie knows what [Nunkie] was up to-luring him away from the crowd. (...) A little seed of fear was growing into a tree. Maybe some day Tea Cake would weaken” (136). The “high” narrative exhibits Janie’s inner thoughts and what she is able to deduce, base on the social interactions between Tea Cake and Nunkie. She is using evidence that Tea Cake is playing around with Nunkie, and worries Tea Cake might choose Nunkie over her. She shows fear, however remains calm in her feelings. When confronting Tea Cake, contrary to her initial feelings of jealousy, she angrily claims, “Ah b’lieve you been messin’ round her!” (137). This “low” dialogue of her lashing out shows, when Janie expresses bottled up feelings, instead of basing her accusation on the reasoning she establishes, she expresses frustration while talking to Tea Cake. Had she not let her emotions get the better of her, they could have been peacefully discussing her concerns. She allows her jealousy to become anger, which leads her and Tea Cake into a small fight. This demonstrates a significant difference in Janie’s thinking between her inner thoughts, and what she says in a