Janie Crawford's Contradictions

The world is full of contradictions in which joys and sorrows are woven fine and human character, by nature, is unpredictable. At times people desire to follow a dominant inner dream to fly, sour, and drift off with dragons in a faraway fairy land, only to wake up to face harsh reality. However, dreams never fade away, but reality is also there at the same time. Contradictions exist everywhere in life, and literature attempts to grasp and portray these contradictions in human character to create complex characteristics. Being a black women in a stubborn male-dominated American society right after the civil war, Janie Crawford was a complex character full of confidence and self-reliance, but also with a weakness and desire of finding true love

This is logical, since Janie still needed someone so sustain her life, no matter how self-reliant she may have been. This idea of Janie needing a man in her life has been instilled in herself ever since her childhood. For example, when Janie’s grandmother Nanny requested for her to be married to an old man named Logan, she said, “T’aint Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have,baby, it’s protection” (Hurston 15). Society expects that women must always be protected by a man. For example, the princess never saves the knight in fairy tales. So, even though it is against her nature, Janie endured these two men for safety and shelter for an extended period of time. For example, she sacrificed her self-esteem and endured sheer humiliation all through these years, like when Joe made fun of her in front of his friends or when Logan ridiculed Janie’s family. However, another reason why Janie needed to depend on all of these men throughout her life was because they were all stages to her quest for a satisfying life, or to reach the “horizon”. By depending on each of these men, Janie gained valuable lessons and skills acting as footsteps to her paradise. By depending on Logan, Janie learned how to toil at fields, but ultimately was treated as a slave to him. Disappointed, Janie finds out “that marriage did not make love” (Hurston 25), changing

Janie’s life was a quest for heavenly love. She did not give up her search for love even though she faced hardcore reality and constant challenges. This dream about true love became her main weakness! Her hardships and experiences made her more and more matured and patient. Yet, her loving nature made her weak and submissive. There was a free bird in her mind that made her rebellious and revolt time and again, yet her romantic mind forced her to become obedient to her oppressive husbands. She learned that life is not always a bed of roses and even so, she did not fear to step out of her comfort zone to fulfill her quest. In that sense Janie’s life was complete. Janie’s life was varied and accomplished because it was full of contrasting colors. As pear trees find harmony, nature fills human life with dreams by adding a multitude of contrasting colors in a canvas to paint a beautiful picture of love and peace day by day. Life is the canvas, and nature is the