The Unimportance of Riches in a Relationship, Portrayed in Zora Neale Hurston's, Their Eyes Were Watching God

967 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Narrative on domestic violence

Leo Rosten once said, "Money can't buy happiness." Janie from Zora Neale Hurston's, Their Eyes Were Watching God, would agree with this famous quote. Janie's first husband is financially stable and her second husband is powerful; but it is with her third marriage where she finally experiences happiness and receives respect. Through the first two marriages, we see how worldly desires and pride can ruin a relationship. Ultimately, Hurston portrays that equality in a relationship truly nourishes a bond far more valuable that materialistic possessions or reputations. Janie in her first marriage is her far from mesmerized with her husband's 60 acre land. The incompatibility between her and Logan ultimately cause the marriage to fail. Logan being described as old and ugly is in contrast to the beautiful young Janie. With the age difference comes the difference in perspectives. Logan's first wife obviously held her own weight: "Mah fust wife never bothered me 'bout choppin' no wood nohow. She'd grab dat ax and sling chaps lak uh man" (Hurston 26). He implies that Janie should be more like his first wife and that she needs to be more helpful around the house. Janie thinks otherwise: "You don't need mah help out dere, Logan. Youse in yo' place and Ah'm in mine" (Hurston 31). Janie thinks this way because that is the way she was taught. At this point, she starts realizing that he is seeing her more as an object rather than a person. Granny really took care of her and so Logan implying that she needs to work harder is something that bothers her. Janie fails to experience the love that she expects comes with marriage especially when Logan stops "talking in rhymes" (Hurston, 26 ) to her not far into the relationship. As a young woman, feeling... ... middle of paper ... ...he difference is that is that Logan wants her to work because he sees her as an object who should be grateful and Joe wants her to work in the store so that he can display her. Tea Cake wants her to work alongside him because he genuinely wants to be with her: "Ah gits lonesome out dere all day 'thout yuh" (Hurston 133). Instead of demanding her to work, he asks her. This gives her a chance to actually do something of her own free will; which is a huge thing for Janie. Hurston uses Janie and Tea Cake's relationship to establish the message that respect can do wonders in a marriage. When there is understanding and equality, a healthy relationship will surely form. Money and power will provide temporary happiness; whereas, Tea Cake makes Janie feel the type of happiness only true love can bring. She's finally getting to feel the idealized love she has always wanted.

Show More
Related

  • Perceptions of Marriage in Their Eyes Were Watching God

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    & nbsp;          &nbsp ; Second, Janie sees Logan Killicks' perception of marriage.  In the beginning it appears to Janie that Logan is a very nice gentleman, who is. constantly treating her well.  However, as time goes on, Janie sees Logan's the "true colors" of the.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Happiness In Hurston's 'Their Eyes Were Watching God'

    898 Words  | 2 Pages

    Of least significance to Janie is her first husband, Logan Killicks. Hurston uses pathos to show that Janie and her first husband are not meant to be even though society thinks otherwise. Nanny thinks that Logan is really made for Janie, but Janie doesn’t love Logan. Janie tells Nanny, “Cause you told me Ah

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    While conversing with the naive Janie, Nanny declares, “Tain’t Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have, baby, it’s protection” (15). By referring to Janie as “baby,” Hurston utilizes a childish connotation to exaggerate Janie’s ignorance of marriage. Preparing for the potentially disastrous future, Nanny impregnates security as a top priority for Janie instilling that a prudent marriage will lead to love. Accommodating to her grandmother’s desires, Janie marries Logan. Through this union, Janie assumes an emotional attraction will coincide; however, Janie’s perception of love depreciates as Nanny equates affection to material wealth explaining how Logan “got a house bought and paid for and sixty acres uh land right on de big road... Dis

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God

    1112 Words  | 3 Pages

    Janie’s nanny always gave Janie advice on life and men. Nanny is the one who convinced and persuaded Janie to marry Logan Killicks. Nanny believed that Logan was a hard working man who would respect Janie and take care of her. Janie was very skeptical of marrying Logan but eventually she did. Janie is a beautiful and youthful women who is married to an old and ugly man. The dearth of material on Logan in the novel is appropriate given the despair and emptiness that he symbolizes to Janie. Logan does not show much affection towards Janie. He has a hard time channeling his anger and he automatically assumes the the ideal of a marriage is for men to have the superiourness and the urge to dominate the woman, in other words, Janie. Logan feels Janie i...

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston: Literary Analysis

    2599 Words  | 6 Pages

    Throughout the novel Janie must discover what she thinks is important in regards to love such as innocence, understanding and openness, which she associates with the actual meaning of true love. Through the various marriages in Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, the novel suggests that stability is irrelevant in comparison to true love.

    Read More

  • Love in Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Autobiography of My Mother

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    Zora Hurston's character, Janie has already had two husbands. After being widowed by Joe, her second husband, Janie is content to be alone and says, “This freedom feeling is fine. These men didn't represent a thing she wanted to know about. She had already experienced them through Logan and Joe.” (Hurston 90). Janie is content being single and she does not plan on entering into another relationship. She finally achieves independence and is enjoying all the freedom that it encompasses. All of the appreciation that Janie has for her liberty is quickly abandoned for love when Janie meets Tea Cake, who is twelve years her junior. Now, Janie is married for the third time and her relationship with Tea Cake is the only marriage is actually if full of true love. The novel describes, “He drifted off into sl...

    Read More

  • Janie's Marriages and Personal Growth in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    Janie’s first marriage was to Logan Killicks, an accomplished middle aged farmer. Her grandmother wanted Janie to be financially set and be protected, so she pretty much forced Janie into marrying Logan. With her grandmothers rough past of being a slave and all she did not wa...

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Joe Sparks And Vergile Tea Cakes

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    All over the world, marriage is one of the main things that define a woman’s life. In fact, for women, marriage goes a long way to determine much in their lives including happiness, overall quality of life whether or not they are able to set and achieve their life goals. Some women go into marriages that allow them to follow the paths they have chosen and achieve their goals while for other women, marriage could mean the end of their life goals. For Janie, the lead character in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, who was married twice first to Joe sparks, and to Vergile Tea Cake, her two marriages to these men greatly affected her happiness, quality of life and pursuit of her life goals in various ways, based on the personality of each of the men. Although both men were very different from each other, they were also similar in some ways.

    Read More

  • Janie's Three Marriages in Hurston's There Eyes Were Watching God

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    Though Janie had three marriages in total, each one drew her in for a different reason. She was married off to Logan Killicks by her Grandmother who wanted her to have protection and security. “Tain’t Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have baby, its protection.” (Hurston 15) says Janie’s grandmother when Janie said she did not want to marry Logan. Though Janie did not agree with her grandmother, she knew that she just wanted what’s best for her. Next, she married Joe Starks, Janie was unsatisfied with her marriage to Logan so Joe came in and swept her off her feet. Janie did not like the fact that Logan was trying to make her work, so Joe’s proposition, “You ain’t never knowed what it was to be treated like a lady and ah want to be de one tuh show yuh.” (Hurston 29) was too good to pass up, so she left Logan and married Joe. Janie’s last marriage was to Tea Cake. Fed up after having been treated poorly by Joe, Janie finally found someone who liked her for who she was. “Naw, ...

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God Literary Analysis

    594 Words  | 2 Pages

    During her first marriage to Logan Killicks, Janie is young and naive. Her Grandmother notices her growing romantic curiosity and forces Janie to marry in an effort to avoid a young pregnancy. She voices her opinions to her Grandmother:

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    Janie’s first relationship was with Logan Killicks. She married him only because she wanted to appease her grandmother. Logan did not truly love Janie, but saw her as an asset to increase his own power. Logan expressed this through several actions. He first tries to use her to "increase his profits" rather than treating her as a wife when he travels to Lake City to buy a second mule so Janie can use it to plow in the potato field because potatoes were "bringin' big prices”. When Janie later refused to work at his command, stating that it was not her place to do so, Logan told her, "You ain't got no particular place. It's wherever Ah need yuh". After Logan told her this, Janie decided she had to either escape or face becoming her husband's mule for life. Janie stood up to her husband. This is a feminist action because Janie is willing to leave a husband who makes her unhappy, which was rare act of independence and defiance for women living in the 1930’s. To free herself from her marriage with Logan Killicks, she only needed to invalidate the elements of his symbolic vision. She recognized that for Killicks marriage was primarily a financial arrangement, and his sixty acres acted both as a sign and guarantee of matrimonial un...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

    595 Words  | 2 Pages

    First, Janie married Logan Killicks. Janie never wanted to marry Logan she only did it to keep nanny satisfied. Janie believes, “Some folks never were meant to be loved and he’s one of them” (Hurston 24). Janie felt as that Logan just wasn’t the person that she wanted to love. Logan was old and not attractive enough for Janie. When Nanny was still alive, Logan tried to treat Janie the best way he could, but, right after Nanny died, the pampering stopped and the emotional and mental abuse started. Later, he started expecting more from her. Logan cared about Janie but in his own abusive way. He saw Janie as someone who was to work for him on the farm. Logan always wanted Janie to help him with everything he was supposed to do and then he still wanted her to make dinner for

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

    412 Words  | 1 Pages

    Janie’s first marriage, to farmer Logan Killicks, is planned and executed by Janie’s well-intentioned grandmother, Nanny. Unfortunately, Nanny's plan doesn't go so well. In this marriage, Janie chafes under the uninspired but reliable Logan. The author Zora shows feminist by saying, "Janie!" Logan called harshly. "Come help me move dis manure pile befo’ de sun gits hot. You don’t take a bit of interest in dis place. ‘Tain’t no use in foolin’ round in dat kitchen all day long…" (chapter 5). Despite her chafing under Logan’s rule, Janie does indeed want boundaries. She likes to think of her I"place" in the house, reigning over a domestic sphere. This is her comfort zone. However, Logan’s definition of her place is, ironically, far more confining. He says that her place is wherever he needs her. So, in effect, he wants to strip her identity and freedom.

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston Essay

    1417 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout Zora Neale Hurston’s, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie’s pursuit of true love remains crucial in her life. A summer-time fantasy, a pear blossom and a bee, imprint within her mind a vision beyond the futility of riches and reality. This natural beauty becomes her lifelong quest – to find within her life true love. Two men leave her fruitless, having not given to her that which is her heart’s pursuit. However, one man, poor and unknown, actually bestows upon her the beauty that remained shrouded in mystery so long. Janie does find true love, and it is not only a detail in her life.

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God Love Theme

    2466 Words  | 5 Pages

    Janie was married to three unlike husband wish all of them were not the same and but in one way or another help Janie to find her own needs and objectives in life. Hurston state that Janie was only sixteen when she married her first husband Logan Killicks. Janie’s grandmother tucks Janie in believing that love will come in time. Janie was not interested in Mr. Killicks. “an ain’t gointuh do it no mo’ Nanny. Please don’t ‘make me marry Mr. Killicks. She begs her grandmother not to marry her with Mr. Killicks but, her request was in vein Nanny did not listen to Janie. Janie spoke with disgust about Mr. Killicks when her grandmother mentions his name this is one of those not admired by Janie, his appearance did not call Janie’s attention and his huge age difference and because “He look like som ole skullhead inde grave yard.” (Hurston 13) Despite the fact that Janie didn’t wanted that marriage Hurston stated that Janie “finally out of Nanny’s talk and her own conjectures she made a sort of comfort for herself. Yes, she would love Logan after they were married.” (Hurston 21) Janie convinces with the story her grandmother told her give in to getting married to Mr. Killicks. The marriage was arranged and Janie and Logon got married in Nanny’s parlor. Janie was not receiving the love that a married couple would have but she did receive verbal and treats from her first husband.

    Read More

More about The Unimportance of Riches in a Relationship, Portrayed in Zora Neale Hurston's, Their Eyes Were Watching God

Open Document