It has suddenly struck me that I have left no room for people to create their own topics, ideas, questions, and interpretations outside of the topics provided. Since that is usually where the magic happens, consider this post that place. Please use this post to comment on your thoughts as you read the novel. Ask questions, begin discussions, provoke thoughts...your choice!!
I just finished reading "Their Eyes Were Watchiong God" and thought it was interesting how Janie changed her way of mourning. When Starks died, she wore the common mourning outfit, black gown and black everything. She even tells her friend Phoebe that she wore that outfit to satisfy the town. This all changes when Tea Cake dies. She wears her overalls to mourn instead of black. These are the overalls that she wore while working in the bean fields with Tea Cake. Hurston shows that Janie is truly grieving by this outfit. She is mourning for her and nobody else.
ReplyDeleteI also found this to be interesting. Janie had finally found someone she cared about and now that he was gone, she didn't really care what anybody else thought. She just wanted to respect him and his death and get through it any way she possibly could. The earlier deaths were more just to satisfy the town so that people thought she was mourning which is no way to treat somebody that you were married to. Very disrespectful but I'm glad when she found somebody that she cared about she mourned for herself to get her through the tough time.
DeleteThroughout the book "Their Eyes Were Watching God", I found it extremely sad that when Janie finally falls in love with someone, it was only for a short period of time. The first man she was with kept bringing up how useless she was and she began to feel useless. When she was with Stark, he treated her like an employee. He controlled her by making her cover her hair, had her work in the store and he had her barley talk to anyone. But when she was with Tea Cake, the whole world stopped. They had some good times but there were bad times also. It was sad to read how little time she was with him.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sarilyn, it was very sad to see Janie finally find her love, just to have to kill him. the fact that she was the one who had to shoot him was even worse. To lose him was one thing, but to be the one to kill him? that would just be a haunting memory. Although her happiest marriage, I think this one ended the worst. The first two men we are just people, but Tea Cake was something more to her.
DeleteIn responce to John Apardian's comment:
DeleteOne of the reasons for Janie killing Tea Cake, besides in self-defense, was also to put her husband out of his misery. Yes the main reason for the murder was self-defense. However, the doctor said that Tea Cake would be in great pain from the sickness. Even if Janie did not shoot Tea Cake, he would have endured the pain even longer. Sometimes when people are in great pain, they have to be set free.
Janie Crawford is a strong-willed human being. Her life has been moving at a rapid pace with multiple adjustments. Throughout these changes Janie has not been able to make her own decisions. As the novel progresses, the reader notices that Janie knows what is best for herself. The first example of this awareness is when Janie leaves her first husband, Logan Killicks. The second evident example is before Joe Starks breathes his last breath. Janie finally builds up the courage to talk to Joe before it is too late. Janie gets frustrated during the conversation and begins to say, "...And now you got tuh die tuh find out dat you got tuh pacify somebody besides yo'self if you wants any love and sympathy in dis world." I think that these examples are only the beginning stages. I believe Janie has a feeling building up inside of her. This feeling could dramatically change her life and the lives of those around her.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tara F. on how Janie's life is changed by how she becomes strong-willed. If Janie did not find courage to stand up for herself, she might never end up with Tea Cup. Many people tell Janie that he is not right for her and that he is trying to take her money. However, she stands up against them for what she believes in, wich is true love.
DeleteI agree with Sarilyn. It is very disheartening that the relationship that was the best for Janie was cut short by horrible circumstances. Janie's other relationships were with men who held her back from her true potential. Both treated her with little respect and constantly degraded her. Joe Starks was the worse of the two relationships previous to Tea Cake. While he provided more material things for Janie, he still wasn't respectful, and treated her as bad if not worse than Logan. Joe's need to control Janie, prohibit her from socializing, and making her cover her hair, nullified any positive aspects of their relationship. The fact that Janie found Tea Cake, despite the short time of the relationship, helped her discover herself as a person, and become a more confident woman. While it is sad that their relationship was so short, I feel that it had the best outcome for Janie compared to the endings of the other relationships.
ReplyDeleteIn "Their eyes were watching God", I thought that Jody Starks was a cruel, rude man. First off, he treated her like a dog and not a lovely wife, who does that? Secondly, he forced her to work his store, and wouldn't allow her to talk to anyone! Thirdly, he made her cover her long, beautiful hair, which was her pride and joy, and it was the one thing that made her seem beautiful in her own eyes. He was not a good husband and I don't believe he ever could have been.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Dianna is saying here. Jody Stark was obviously was a very rude controlling man who did not know what he had with Janie. Instead he treated Janie like a pack mule making her work all the time while not being able to talk to anyone! If I was Janie I would have hated Jody Stark too regretting the marriage.
DeleteI totally agree with Dianna. When Joe first met Janie, he saw her as something he could show off, so he wooed her with his words, telling her what she wanted to hear. He said she shouldn't have to work out on the farm, and she deserved to be treated with respect; he then offered for her to run away with him and get married. Once they were married, he treated her worse than Logan did, as if she were less of a being because she was a woman. He wouldn't let her talk to people and she couldn't play games such as checkers because he believed she wasn't smart enough. It must have been terrible to remain quiet throughout the entire marriage. I feel like she would've been better off staying with Logan, but then again, she would've never met Tea Cake.
DeleteI agree! Most of this book I would say out loud, "Why haven't you left him?!" His excuse may have been that he was jealous, but he most certainly should not have hit her, made her cover her hair, or not speak to anyone! I know it was a different world but come on.
DeleteFrom the very beginning of the story, “Their Eyes were Watching God,” Janie states to Pheoby that she was in a state of full happiness when she left town and married a younger man named Tea Cake. Her next statement is, Tea Cake is now “gone”. These two statements then foreshadow the entire novel because you know she will become happy eventually, but Tea Cake will leave. It leaves you wondering how he departs. As Sarilyn and Conner said Janie finally lives for her own beliefs and becomes happy for herself and not Nanny, but then it is sadly all just ruined. It is almost unfair to Janie because Tea Cake was everything she looked for to find peace with herself and he vanished.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sarilyn and Conner as well. While reading I was wondering how happy Janie would become leaving Mr. Killicks to be with Joe. It saddened me when Joe changed once he had his "big voice" and didn't really listen to Janie at all. Janie couldn't really express who she was with Joe controlling her like that, especially her hair. After Joe died Janie didn't have to deal with him anymore, and soon Tea Cake came into her life. However, some of the men in the store were saying you shouldn't be with a man like Tea Cake since he wouldn't treat a women like yourself with respect. Those men were just jealous of Tea Cake. At least towards the end of the book Janie found out who she is as a person and was happy with her relationship with Tea Cake for the period of time she was with him.
ReplyDeleteI agree Maddie, Tea Cake was perfect for Janie. He treated her how she should of been treated long all along. Mr.Killicks and Jody didn't even care for Janie. It seemed like Jody only married her so no one else could have her. And Mr.Killicks treated her as a servant.
DeleteI agree... those men were jealous and just wanted Janie for themselves. I found Janie to be a strong character, and I appreciate the fact that she was not swayed easily.
DeleteI agree with Connor and Sarilyn that it is sad how little time she spends with Tea Cake. It was exactly what she needed to find herself and how she wants to fit in to society and life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ana in the sense that the novel's ending was almost completely revealed at the beginning. When Janie is conversing with Pheoby, she tells her how happy she was with Tea Cake. This lead me to believe that Janie successfully finds happiness after seeking it for so long. As soon as I read their conversation, I wanted more. I basically knew what the plot was going to be, yet I wanted to hear Janie's struggles of how she got to where she wanted to go to find true happiness. I think Janie deserved it after all she had been through with Logan Killicks and Joe Starks mistreating her and treating her with little respect.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the novel the quote "...but he spoke for far horizon. He spoke for change and chance" stuck in my head. Janie's relationship with Logan Killicks and Joe Starks didn't turn out to be what she imagined when she first met them. Janie wanted to live a happy life with someone that respected her and met her expectations; she wanted to find love. Janie was never completely satisfied with the life she had because she wasn't happy with the person she was with. Throughout the novel, in my thoughts, Janie discovers what lies beyond the horizon and finds true love in the end with Tea Cake.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the novel Janie was looking for someone that truly loved her for who she was. She was forced to love and marry Logan Killicks which was why their marriage didn't last, a person can't force someone to love someone else. Then Joe Starks came along and promised Janie a comfortable life if she left Killicks and came with him. In my mind I viewed Joe Starks a fake in the sense of being a husband, he was more of a slave driver than a husband. She put up with Starks for a long time and was glad when he finally died, she was free in the sense she could do what she wanted. After being in two marriages, Janie knew what she was looking for in a relationship. Then Tea Cake comes along and just "plays it cool" with Janie for awhile. The relationship between Janie and Tea Cake sparks conversation in the town because Janie is in her fifties while Tea Cake is young. She doesn't mind though because she is having the time of her life, she has found true love by this time in the book. She furthers confirms this find when they move down to the everglades. Janie and Tea Cake do everything together which only makes their marriage stronger. Even when Tea Cake was bed stricken from being bitten by the dog, Janie was still there. Overall it took Janie over 50 years to find what she was looking for, even if she only experienced for a short amount of time.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of what Jake R. says, however, I disagree with what he says about Janie looking for a relationship after Starks' death. After Starks passed, Janie never put herself out there. If she really was looking for a relationship she would have gone to another town or started dating someone within the town whom she had already known. One of the things that sparked the relationship between Janie and Tea Cake was that it just happened on its own. This is what makes Janie's last relationship true love. People cannot go looking for true love, because fate is what makes true love. This is also why her first two relationships did not work out. Janie's first marriage was set up by her grandmother; her second marriage happened because she was looking to get away from her first marriage and it was build on the promise of money, not by love.
DeleteI just wanted to point out that this novel shows how important Love really is to some people.Also,how some people take it for granted or confuse control or getting what they want as love. Society also plays an important role in the novel by showing the difference of what is expected from Janie, and what Janie does in spite of it. Without showing the rules of society or the normal actions of society, this book would not show the struggle of Janie against her former partners.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI totally agree! I also think that this book shows how the idea of love can change from person to person. For example, eternal love was shown when Nanny made sure Janie had a husband (Mr. Killicks) before she passed away so that Janie would have a secure life. Forbidden love was shown when the hunters were looking for Janie's father and killed him before he could marry her mother. Secret love was portrayed when Janie flirts with Jody and ends up running off to marry him. True love was clearly defined when Janie fell for Tea Cake. She felt like he accepted the real her and everything she stood for.
DeleteI agree with Dianna, Jody Starks was a cruel rude man to such a beautiful woman such as Janie. The way Janie would take all the rude comments and abuse from Jody just shows how strong Janie really is. How Jody would make Janie hide her beautiful hair, make her work in his store just because he told her to, and be so controlling as to not let her talk to anyone is just wrong. This book, "Their Eyes Were Watching God", really highlights the true struggles of a young woman trying to find true love. And when Janie finally does finds true love with Tea Cake, the unthinkable happens, and it is truly heartbreaking. I think this book is a very inspiring books for all young women emerging into society today.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading "Their Eyes Were Watching God" I noticed some characters were quite power thirsty. For instance Jody Stark constantly wanted to feel powerful. Jody ended up feeling powerful when he could control Janie throughout their marriage. Janie also wanted to feel powerful, she was tired of feeling powerless against Jody and wanted to feel the way he felt.
ReplyDeleteGood thought Abbey! I completely agree that Jody was abusing his power. He did not care what Janie wanted. I also agree that Janie wanted to find power for herself. She wanted to be her own person and was tired of getting bossed around.
DeleteI think that is interesting how much Janie talks about the pear tree that she sat under while she lived at her grandmother's house. She describes it quite vividly. On one such occasion she got up from watching the bees that were flying around the tree and compared herself to the tree. In chapter two she is described as a tree: "Oh to be a pear tree-any tree in bloom! She was sixteen. She had glossy leaves and bursting buds and she wanted to struggle with life but it seemed to elude her. Where were the singing bees for her?" I believe this passage reveals that she is looking for true love and that she was to be as strong and as beutiful a tree.
ReplyDeleteI agree that she wants to be strong and beautiful like the tree, but throughout the book she keeps looking back to the pear tree thinking of her youth and living with her grandmother. Once she meets TeaCake she never goes back to the pear tree because she is finally happy. With TeaCake she feels like she is young because she rarely looks at the fact that she is much older than him, except for when they first meet. Once she finally is with TeaCake she is the pear tree young and beautiful again.
DeleteSometimes people, such as Jody Stark, just can't handle having power. He should have been the last person to become major of Eatonville. Jody was smart, but he was a mean man who liked to be in control. Controlling the townspeople and Janie was easy because some were not even literate let alone strong enough to say to everyone else that this is wrong what he is doing.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with Emily throughout Janie's time in Eatonville she was pushed around along with all the other people living there. Not once did anyone ever say anything to Starks because they just didn't know any better. Janie always knew she was just being treated as a mule because all Starks wanted her for was to use her as an employee. Finally she mustered up the courage to tell him other wise but no one else ever did.
DeleteI agree with you Emily, Joe Starks was a crotchety old man who liked to bully people, but that doesn’t mean that the people were too weak to stand up to him. Joe simply harnessed what wit had he, sought out want among the people and turned it against them. The market store was that “want”, all the town people’s money came through that store and went straight to Starks. Once an individual depends upon a resource, it is difficult to simply pull away. They gave Starks that power and they could do nothing about it. So overall, Joe did the right things for the wrong reasons.
DeleteWhy do people allow themselves to be mistreated by others? Are they weak? Or maybe too strong?
ReplyDeleteI think they allow themselves to be mistreated because its easier to go along with it and not retort then it is to treat others as badly. They're not weak for not defending themselves, it makes them strong enough to not care what other people say or think and be happy in their own skin.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn their eyes were watching god the dialogue was very strong and at points hard to comprehend. I didnt really know some of the slang that was used in the book. After reading a couple chapters i flet that it did get easier to undertsnad what was going on and feel apart of the book after you read and got used to the words they were using, which is good.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAs both Jake and Bryce noted, at her second husband Joe’s funeral, Janie fulfills the roles of a distressed wife but only for society. In reality she is actually relieved to be free again. On the other hand during Tea Cake’s funeral the narrator defends her overalls by stating that “she was too busy feeling grief to dress like grief.” She mourned because she wanted to, not to follow the guidelines that others set for her. This difference in Janie’s mourning at Joe’s funeral versus her mourning at Tea Cake’s funeral is another piece of evidence that Janie is developing her own identity instead of allowing society to define who she is as a person and a wife. She had concluded her journey and finally discovered true love, happiness, and her own identity.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Yatri. The novel poses the challenge of going with society or going against it and Janie's disregard for what other people think. In the end, Janie is able to realize true love or how love changes, that its okay to be putting your own happiness before someone else's, and discovering herself.
DeleteThroughout "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Janie had the courage to take life changing risks. One of the first risks she takes is running away with Joe Starks to escape a loveless marriage. Janie had to work the nerve to leave Logan Killicks, it was not an easy thing for her to do. Janie again has to work up courage to face Joe on his death bed. After not allowing Janie to see him she finally decided that she was going to take the risk because she needed to talk to him. After Joe's death Janie takes a risk when she stops wearing mourning clothes of black and starts to wear clothes that had actually colors. She did this even though she knew that the town would talk about it. Finally Janie takes the biggest risk when she falls in love with Tea Cakes and everything that comes with it like leaving town. Throughout the novel Janie is courageous and takes risks that change her life.
ReplyDeleteLove is a reoccurring topic in this novel. It all started out With Janie Kissing under a tree. Her grandma didn't approve so she made Janie marry Mr. Killicks. There wasn't much love there, it was a forced marriage and Janie wasn't in love with him and she admitted it. She then left that man to marry Joe Starks. She loved this man and everything about him. He took over her life and took the fun out of living together. Joe became to in love with his work around the town and made Janie sit in the town store and work. Later Joe died, and Tea Cake arrived. Tea Cake and Janie Fell in love and sold everything she owned with Joe. At the end of the novel Janie found her true love and praised god for it. Tea Cake did everything he could for Janie, as she in return did everything she could for him. They had the best of times and yet the worst of times together but they still stayed together until the end. Janie loved him so much that she freed Tea Cake From his mad dog disease by shooting him. She couldn't stand him suffering so she did what she had to do. Her life was revolved around love, some good, some bad but in the end she found what she was looking for.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mackenzie that love is a prominent theme in "Their Eyes Were Watching God". She doesn't want to marry Logan Killicks because she doesn't love him, but she goes with it, thinking that with marriage comes love. But soon realizes that that isn't true. When Joe Starks comes along, and tells her she deserves to be treated with respect, and shouldn't be working the farm. He is telling her something he knows she wants to hear, and she begins to fall for him. after they get married, she realizes that he's not the man that she thought he was; that she fell in love with his words, not him. He wouldn't let her engage in conversations, and indulge in activities that men would. He would belittle her in public to show that he was better than her, and to show dominance. He would ridicule her when she did something wrong; for example, when she cut the tobacco incorrectly. She would remain quiet, and hold her anger inside. She was a rubber band being stretched every time he would treat her wrong, and was ready to snap. After his death, she was relieved. When Tea Cake came along, she fell for him. But he wasn't like the others, he treated her with respect, and let her take part in activities she wasn't allowed to in her past marriages, such as checkers. She fell in love with him, and he fell for her. Age didn't matter to them, they liked each other for the right reasons, unlike in her past marriages. She finally knows what it's like to truly be in love, but it doesn't last long. Which I find to be really sad. She's finally happy and it all gets ripped away from her when he gets bitten by a rabid dog, and gets so sick that there's nothing anyone can do to save him.
DeleteThe language in both these books are very interesting. They ae both culturally different. It makes it a little more interesting to read I think. It makes you think, and sometimes I'll come across a word, and it will take me a minute to figure out what it means. Hurston and Hemmingway were both very good authors, and included quite a few things in their books that makes them unique. I really like how in Hurston's novel that the narrator rarely interrupts the character, and when they do, they follow the dialect to a certain degree. It makes you feel like your actually with the characters. Hurston does a fantastic job with imagery. When I first started this book, I could actually picture it in my mind and it was really cool.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Amanda, about Hurston's unique style and portrayal of imagery. I have to say she has quite the way with words. When she describes something, I can just feel how she wants me to feel, such as when Janie was underneath the pear tree... "She was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree soaking in the alto chant of the visiting bees, the gold of the sun and the panting breath of the breeze when the inaudible voice of it all came to her." (pg 11) I believe that a strong author is an author that conveys feeling well, and Hurston is a great example.
DeleteI agree that Hurston’s style of writing made the novel unique. Hurston wrote the majority of “Their Eyes Were Watching God” in a southern dialect. At first, I found it inconvenient and irritating to read, but I soon realized how much it added to the novel. It really brought life into the story and characters. It was the dialogue, and the dialect it was written in, that made the characters so realistic and easy to imagine. I could picture the characters in my mind and hear them talking in the familiar dialect without effort. With one of the novel’s main themes being “language”, it was appropriate for the dialogue to be written as it’s spoken.
DeleteI was kind of disappointed while I read about Tea Cake because I knew something was going to happen to him. I wanted Janie to be happy after all the bad relationships she'd had. Then comes Tea Cake and the happiness that brings Janie and then, too soon, he is gone.
ReplyDeleteTea Cake is not gone too soon. He passed when it was his time. Yes the relationship between Janie and Tea Cake was short compared to Janie's other relationships, but the memories and love from her last relationship overpowered the other relationships because it had more meaning and purpose. A good thing about the relationship between Tea Cake and Janie is that they both finally found true love, which does not happen to many people. Even though the relationship only lasted a short time, the fact that it happened is worth more than anything.
DeleteI like how Hurston used a storm as the climax in her book, "Their Eyes Were Watching God". Instead of something human related or some improbable random freak accident. A storm is that ultimate, god-like force that can't be stoped. Its also logical, since the setting was in Florida. Its just a personal perfernce for me.
ReplyDeleteI would like to point out how this story is relatable to real life. The main character Janie reminds me of my grandmother. My grandmother never met her father and neither did Janie. Also, both Janie and my grandmother where raised by their grandparents. My grandma was raised by her grandmother because her mother was too poor to raise children of her own and worked in Canada. My grandma also had three husbands. My grandma was widowed twice just like Janie. I found it interesting how closely related a character in a book is to a person I know.
ReplyDeleteI don't mean to be impolite, but I cannot understand why this is supposed to be a great book. It seems rather dull, the dialect can be kinda annoying, and the story doesn't really go anywhere. Why is this a "great" book?
ReplyDeleteI think I totally underestimated Zora Neale Hurston; she was called a libertarian, who was against FDR, the New Deal, the Soviet Union, the atomic bombings, "Brown v. The Board of Education", and she even called taxation "theft" and the government "a mafia-like protectionist racket". I've gained so much more respect for this woman!
ReplyDelete