In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, the protagonist Janie faces many struggles in her life. As the offspring of rape in the south, she never really had a choice in who she was or wanted to be. She became trapped within the social ladder where she, as a black woman, hung at the very bottom. Also, her aspirations are shaped by her grandmother, Nannie, who only wanted her to have a life of money, security, and protection, a life she never got to have. However, as Janie moves from one marriage to the next, she begins to discover her independence, voice, and conscience as she moves from one marriage to the next. The first quality Janie reveals is her independence. This occurs after she decides to take charge of her life and happiness …show more content…
When they were together, Joe would not allow her to speak after he became mayor, or with the other people in town as he kept her alone inside their store. However, when Joe is dying and unable to restrain her, Janie releases all of her pent up thoughts and defies the common behavior of women who will not stand up for themselves. She finds the courage to voice her opinion where before “[her] own mind had duh be squeezed and crowded out duh make room for [Joe’s] in [her]”(86). This reveals how the women in that time period were not thought to have a mind of their own, so the men would take the liberty to fill women’s heads with the opinions and thoughts of others. However, in Janie’s case, she had opinions and ideas pent up inside her, but she could not release them into the world. This continues until, like releasing a caged animal, she vents to Joe on his deathbed, “You done lives with me for twenty years and you don't half know me atall. And you could have but you was so busy worshippin’ de works of yo’ own hands, and cuffin’ folks around their minds till you didn’t see uh whole heap uh things yuh could have” (86). In this release of pent up emotion, Janie reveals how she felt for the twenty years she was married to Joe while also discovering her voice. After Joe’s death, Janie symbolically releases her hair from its wrap and …show more content…
Unfortunately, the relationship is short lived as Tea Cake falls ill to a disease contracted during a massive hurricane and flood. In his final moments, Janie learns when to let someone or an idea go. She had hope that her love would survive until “[She] saw the ferocious look In his eyes and went mad with fear as she had done in the water that time” (184). At this point, Janie recognizes that he was no longer the Tea Cake she loved, but just a shell of something that once was human in a state of madness. Love is madness, but not this kind. As she fires the bullet that saves her life, Janie ultimately decided to let go of the love for which she had been searching, and the idea that he would survive. “She wanted him alive so much and he was dead”(184). The love she felt for him was so strong that she pulled the trigger to not only save herself, but also rescue him from his delirium. Up until this point in her life, Janie has either wanted to control her own life or was controlled by others. The loss of Tea Cake taught her that sometimes there is no control and that letting go is necessary for
After a year of pampering, Logan becomes demanding and rude, he went as far to try to force Janie to do farm work. It was when this happened that Janie decided to take a stand and run away with Joe. At this time, Janie appears to have found a part of her voice and strong will. In a way, she gains a sense of independence and realizes she has the power to walk away from an unhealthy situation and does not have to be a slave to her own husband. After moving to Eatonville and marrying Joe, Janie discovers that people are not always who they seem to be.
If Ah ever gits tuh messin’ round another woman it won’t be on account of her age. It’ll be because she got me in de same way you got me—so Ah can’t help mahself." Tea Cake professes his love to Janie by saying that she is the only woman he thought of marrying. Tea Cake knows that he will be loyal to Janie, but can not control other women's urges to flirt with him. When Tea Cake tells Janie that he is the man in her life he says:"You don’t have tuh say, if it wuzn’t fuh me, baby, cause Ah’m heah, and then Ah want yuh tuh know it’s uh man heah." (Ch.18). Tea Cake wants Janie to know that he is nothing like her other husbands, but is perfect for her. Tea Cake is essentially perfect for Janie because he helped her accomplish her her ultimate dream of love. Janie and Tea Cake’s marriage is the key to a good marriage because they treat each other with equality and
..., she found her identity. It did not come easy for Janie. It took her years to find out who she really was.
Janie then leaves Joe and doesn’t speak to him again until he is on his death bed. After Joe’s passing Janie meets a young man called Tea Cake. The town’s people feared that Tea Cake was only with Janie to attempt to steal her money. Janie ignored these warnings and runs away with Tea Cake anyway; Tea Cake soon gambles all of Janie’s money away. Not wanting Janie to provide for the two of them, Tea Cake moves the two of them to the everglades to harvest crops. Tea Cake allows Janie to be his equal and even lets her work in the fields with him. A hurricane rolls into Florida and instead of leaving with everyone else Tea Cake and Janie stay. During the storm while trying to protect Janie, Joe is bitten by a rabid dog and contracts rabies which eventually leads Janie to shoot him in self-defense. After buying an extravagant funeral for Tea Cake Janie returns to Eatonville to tell her story. Throughout Janie’s life her care takers/husbands have played four very different roles in molding Janie into the strong woman she becomes: Nanny wan an overbearing parental figure, Logan was her first husband that treated Janie like his slave, Joe was her second husband who held Janie as a trophy, and Tea Cake her third and final husband was Janie’s
But Janie is young and her will has not yet been broken. She has enough strength to say "No" and to leave him by running away with Joe. At this point, Janie has found a part of her voice, which is her not willing to be like a slave in her husband's hands. After Janie marries Joe, I think that she discovers that he is not the person she thought he was.
Janie does so by choosing her new found love with Joe of the security that Logan provides. Hurston demonstrates Janie's new found ‘independence’ by the immediate marriage of Joe and Janie. Janie mistakenly chooses the pursuit of love over her pursuit of happiness and by doing so gave her independence to Joe, a man who believes a woman is a mere object; a doll. By choosing love over her own happiness Janie silences her voice. The realization of Janie's new reality is first realized when Joe states, “...nah wife don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no speech-makin’. Ah never married her for nothin’ lak dat. She’s uh woman and her place is in de home()" Joe is undermining Janie, cutting short any chance for Janie to make herself heard. Joe continues to hide Janie away from society keeping her dependent and voiceless. As Janie matures, she continues to be submissive to her husband, “He wanted her submission and he’d keep on fighting until he felt he had it. So gradually, she pressed her teeth together and learned to hush (71).” Though Janie ‘learned to hush’, and suppress herself, Janie still urges for her voice. When the opportunity came for Janie to reclaim her voice, "But Ah ain’t goin’ outa here and Ah ain’t gointuh hush. Naw, you gointuh listen tuh me one time befo’ you die. Have yo’ way all yo’ life, trample and mash down and then die ruther than tuh let yo’self heah ‘bout
By doing this, she has shown the community that a person can not always be happy with material things when she or he is not in love. Janie says, "Ah want things sweet wid mah marriage lak when you sit under a pear tree and think." She shows her grandma that she is not happy with her Janie's next husband, Joe Starks was very nice to her and gave her everything she wanted. When it came to Janie wanting to talk or speak her mind, he would not let her, and that made her feel like she was less of a person than he.
When Janie is with Tea Cake she feels complete in all aspects of life, and feels no need to depend on anyone else but him. When Tea Cake passes away we see Janie almost dependent soley upon herself, but she still confides in her best friend Pheoby when she returns
... Janie is a strong independent woman, who lives in a society that does not encourage that kind of behavior in women. During the novel she is told what to do, how to do it and at one point who to marry. She struggles with her growing unhappiness until she finally meets her true love. Bibliography Shmoop Editorial Team.
Janie found what she was looking for. She searched all her life to find what was within herself, and one special person was all that was needed to bring it out in her. Even though her and Tea Cake’s relationship ended in a tragedy, she knew that he really loved her for who she was. She didn’t need to be with him for protection, or she didn’t need to be the leading lady of a town or a mayor’s wife, she just needed the right kind of love and affection to bring out what was best in her.
The Towns people and Janie’s best friend Pheoby are skeptical of Tea Cake’s intentions. They think Tea Cake is after Janie’s money and widowhood. However, Janie explains to Pheoby, “Tea Cake ain’t draggin me off nowhere Ah don’t want tuh go. Ah always did want tuh git round uh whole heap, but Jody wouldn’t ‘low me tuh. When Ah wasn’t in de store he wanted me tuh jes sit wid folded hand and sit dere.” Janie admitted her desire to get up and go wherever she pleased. Joe, however, did not want his woman to be wise or conscious of the world around them so he kept her confined and immobile in the store. Janie loved Tea Cake because he was not threatened by her desire to be adventurous. Janie loved the fact that Tea Cake treated her with class as an equal and intelligent person. “He set it (the checkers) up and began to show her and she found herself glowing inside. Somebody wanted her to play. Somebody thought it natural for her to play.” Tea Cake proved he was not self-absorbed like Logan or Joe. He presented Janie with a chance to finally experience the love she has been pursuing her entire life. Janie had only known men who took pleasure in pleasing themselves; however, Tea Cake took pleasure in pleasing her. This endeared him to her and brought them mutual happiness. Janie loved Tea Cake because he was open with her. He was determined to do anything to please her if he saw she was unhappy. Unlike Logan and Joe,
The beginning of Janie’s marriage to Joe shows promise and adventure, something that young Janie is quickly attracted to. She longs to get out of her loveless marriage to Logan Killicks and Joe’s big dreams captivate Janie. Once again she hopes to find the true love she’s always dreamed of. Joe and Janie’s life is first blissful. He gives her whatever she wants and after he becomes the mayor of a small African American town called Eatonville, they are the most respected couple in town. Joe uses his newfound power to control Janie. When she is asked to make a speech at a town event, she can’t even get out a word before Joe denies her the privilege. He starts making her work in the store he opens and punishes her for any mistakes she makes. He enjoys the power and respect her gets when o...
Tea Cake's death strains Janie emotionally. It takes a lot of bravery and courage for Janie to make such a tragic decision. Should she go with her heart, to not kill the love of her life? Her other choice is to go with her head. Should she kill an insane person who is trying to kill her first? Many times, a hero is encountered with such a life or death decision similar to Janie's.
She realized that she married him only because of Nanny’s wishes, and she did not - and was never going to - love him. It was with this realization that her “first dream was dead, so she became a woman” (25) And although the “memory of Nanny was still powerful and strong”, (29) Janie left with Joe Starks. However her marriage to Jody was no better than her marriage to Logan. Jody was powerful and demanding, and although at first he seemed amazing, Jody forced Janie into a domestic lifestyle that was worse than the one that she escaped. Jody abused Janie both emotionally and physically, and belittled her to nothing more than a trophy wife. But Janie never left him. This time Janie stayed in the abusive marriage until he died, because Janie did not then know how to the tools capable of making her a sovereign person. She once again chose caution over nature, because caution was the safest option. And overtime she became less and less Janie, and less and less of her sovereign self, and eventually, “the years took all the fight out of Janie’s face. For a while she thought it was gone from her soul...she had learned how to talk some and leave some. She was a rut in the road. Plenty of life beneath the surface but it was kept beaten down by the wheels” (76). During her marriage to Jody, Janie never got it right. She was trapped under Jodi’s command and because of this she never
Janie’s first attempt at love does not turn out quite like she hopes. Her grandmother forces her into marrying Logan Killicks. As the year passes, Janie grows unhappy and miserable. By pure fate, Janie meets Joe Starks and immediately lusts after him. With the knowledge of being wrong and expecting to be ridiculed, she leaves Logan and runs off with Joe to start a new marriage. This is the first time that Janie does what she wants in her search of happiness: “Even if Joe was not waiting for her, the change was bound to do her good…From now on until death she was going to have flower dust and springtime sprinkled over everything” (32). Janie’s new outlook on life, although somewhat shadowed by blind love, will keep her satisfied momentarily, but soon she will return to the loneliness she is running from.