What is love? When my technological skills advance, I will certainly add links to a multitude of quality pop and country songs (as well as rock ballads) that explore this very question. You may have a Heart ballad stuck in your head right now just from reading the title (or that might just be me, '80s lady...).
Again, Hurston and Hemingway have struck a major chord with all of human existance when they each attempt to present a vision of love within their novels' pages. One of the questions that seems to come up when attempting to define love (or really anything, for that matter) is: what is it not? How does Hurston define love? How does she show what it is not? Do you agree or disagree? We'd love to hear your thoughts...
Love is the tender feeling of affection toward somebody such as a close relative or friend, or for something such as an idea or an animal. Love is not something that comes naturally with time, Hurston shows this through Janie as she finds out to late, and after she was married to Logan Killicks she will never truly love him. Hurston defines love as caring for someone else more than you care for yourself. Janie finally finds this idea of true love in Tea Cake. It doesn’t matter to Janie if he doesn’t have any money she loves him for who he is, not what he has. I agree that to love someone means that you would do anything for them. I believe that if you really love someone you would put yourself in harm’s way if you could save them.
ReplyDeleteLove is a feeling towards family members or friends where you show your affection for them. Love could also be used to describe your passion for something or an interest you have. In the book, Hurston shows Janie and Logan Killicks getting married, but although Janie doesn't love him, she thinks that she will soon grow fond of him over time. Later on, Janie meets a man named Jody Starks and quickly becomes fascinated by him. After running away with him to start a new life, she slowly finds out that Jody is always trying to change the way she is and never appreciates the real Janie. A few years later, Jody dies and Janie meets another man named Tea Cake. Janie soon realizes that Tea Cake was the man that she really loved and that although he wasn't wealthy or high class, he treated her right and showed that he loved her. I agree that love should be something that shouldn't be forced and should come naturally. I also think that when you love someone, their status shouldn't matter and you can always be yourself around them.
ReplyDeleteLove is a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend. Love is something that can come as quick first sight or take numerous years to develop that special kind of bond between people. Hurston describes love as showing more compassion for others than yourself. Janie finds this bond in a man names Tea Cake. Although it takes Janie awhile to realize the love she had for this gentleman, she is glad to have him in the end. I do agree that if you really someone you will find a way to end up with them in the end. Love isn't something that should be arranged, it should just sort of happen. I believe that Janie is happy with the choices that she made in her life time but is overjoyed to end up with her true love.
ReplyDeleteLove is a personal feeling you get when you're around someone and feel totally comfortable being yourself. When Janie is a young girl, her grandma tells her to marry Logan Killicks. Her grandma says this so she knows when she dies, Janie will have a good man to support her. Janie agrees, assuming that she will learn to love Logan over time. After marrying him, she realizes she can't force herself to fall in love with him. Then she meets and man named Joe Starks and runs away to live with him. She eventually realizes that she is not really in love with him either when he tries to change the way she acts. She finally falls truly in love with Tea Cake, and they are always comfortable being themselves around each other. Nora Zeale Hurtson really focuses on how you'll only be happy when you truly love someone, and wealth and status should make no difference. I agree that if you just act in love with someone, you can never be truly happy. In the end of the novel, Janie realized what real love feels like.
ReplyDeleteLove is an unconditional feeling in which a person develops a strong affection of devotion for another. It could also relate to something they like to do. Love is definitely not something that is forced. Since everyone has different interests, people have opposing possessions that they love. In Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie’s grandmother thought it would be best to have her marry Logan Killicks, a wealthy farmer. Janie did her best to try and fall in love with the set-up marriage but it was not possible. She did not like his personality and the way he treated her. Joe Starks, her second husband, included a forced love because Janie thought their relationship would be better than her and Logan Killicks’. Janie could not be herself around Joe Starks, so she did not love him either even when she tried to make herself. Finally, her last husband Tea Cake was someone she could be incredibly happy around and her love for him came naturally. Zora Neale Hurston, the author of Their Eyes Were Watching God, describes love as the most important thing on Earth and an essential experience one must go through to feel affection. I would have to agree with Hurston because people should fall in love over time and it shouldn’t be obligated.
ReplyDeleteLove is the realization that you cannot live without someone or something. Without consciously knowing it, your mind wanders to that person, or thing; when you think about your life, you are always sure to include that need to survive. You would do anything to obtain it and make it last.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it is possible for someone's love to be material possessions or wealth, Janie concluded that all of those things left her feeling empty; she wanted something to make her feel alive. Proving this, she left her comfortable lifestyle of being a well-know, wealthy woman, for being a slave of her own heart's longing of being with her true love, Tea Cake. This man absolutely filled Janie up with the vibes she wanted.
Love is a physical pull to a person, animal, or object. It is a chemical balance in your brain that helps you understand who or what you can't live without. Some people love material possessions or money, but Janie did not. She was one of those people who don't care if they have a big house or fancy things, if she is with the one person who love her she won't care if she lived in a shack. Janie made it so in the book that she would leave her life of comfort to take an adventure with someone that she truely has feelings for. Sometimes things like this could back fire but sometimes, like with Tea Cake, love will find a way to make things work.
ReplyDeleteLove is when you care for someone or something more than yourself and you never want to be without it. It is not a forced feeling that you can push yourself into. Hurston defines love as something that makes Janie realize her dreams and feel happy. This is shown through the transformation Janie undergoes after meeting Tea Cake. With her previous two husbands, Janie felt the need to conform herself to a mold and eventually break free from it. Once Janie found Tea Cake, she felt there was no need to look for anything else in life because her dream of finding true love came true. Janie's marriages to Logan Killicks and Joe Starks are clear demonstrations of what love is not. She never had feelings for Killicks, but hoped they would develop with time. Of course, she never did end up loving him because it would have been forced. As for Starks, he did not allow Janie to be herself, therefore she could never be happy. Although it seemed they loved each other at first, once Starks became controlling Janie fell out of love. I believe Hurston's portrayal of love is accurate.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Hurtson's beliefs of love is completely accurate. Hurston shows that true love is blind to the imperfections one has. Love is criticized; to strengthen or break the bonds of truth and trust. Love is painful to open room for compromise. Love is tender to help the couple grow together. Love is uncontrollable, unstoppable, and undeniable. Love is not about money, looks, ethnicity, race, intelligence, or popularity. Janie's previous, failed marriages are great examples of situations where love cannot flourish.
ReplyDeleteThe definition of love, according to Wikipedia, is "Love is an emotion of a strong affection and personal attachment. Love is also a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection". What Wikipedia doesn't say is that when you are in love, a person would go great lengths to be with that person. You would do anything for that person and would only see the good in the person you love. Hurtson represented love perfectly. Janie stuck by Tea cake to the very end: his gambling, his injuries and his illness. At the very end of it all, Janie loved him to no extent. "Love is blind" because love does not see what race, religion or gender you are. Love also makes everything blind to you and the only thing you see, is that one person.
ReplyDeleteLove is feelings of affection or fondness towards a certain person. Hurtson believes that Janie is finally happy when she finds love. She had been married two times before to Logan Killicks who she did not have any true feelings for and Joe Starks who became controlling of their relationship but she was never truly happy. She would change the way she acted to make them happy. But when she finally met Tea Cake she realized that if someone truly loves you, then you wouldn't have to change yourself for them to fall in love with you, and that they will love you for you. This is why I think that Hurtson's belief on love is true and accurate.
ReplyDeleteI think that in "Their Eyes Were Watching God" love is something that happens without warning. Love is something beautiful and natural and accepting. It is not something that anyone could control. Love is not learned, it is something that people have or do not. Just as between Janie and Logan, Janie did not love him and she never would have loved him. When Janie met Joe she was attacked to him but did not love him. As they grew older Joe pushed Janie away and was mean to her. Love however is not mean. But with Tea Cake, Janie was finally did love some one and they loved her back. Tea Cake was good to Janie and loved her no matter what. I think that Hurston was showing that love is kind and accepts people for who they are and love happens on its own. I agree with Hurston's views on love.
ReplyDeleteLove for Hurston is about truly connecting with someone, being worried for them, and enjoying their presence. Love is not a superficial thing, like when Janie and Logan were together, it was only superficial, she never loved him. When Jody and Janie were together, she thought at first she was in live but then it faded and it turns out she wasn't. But when Janie and Tea Cakes were together, she was truly 100% in love with him, she forgave him every time he did her wrong, she trusted him, wholeheartedly.
ReplyDeleteLove is a feeling of affection towards a person, like a friend or family member, idea, or animal. Love isn’t something that can be forced or created by choice. Hurston defines love as something that takes time to find. Hurston shows what love isn’t through Janie’s first two marriages. Her first marriage to Logan Killicks shows how love can’t be forced. Janie was told she had to marry Killicks even though it went against what she believed in. This marriage however didn’t last because she didn’t truly love Killicks. Janie’s next marriage was to Joe Starks. At first Janie thought she loved Jody or that she would be able to love him. Farther into their marriage, however, she realized that she wouldn’t love him and never truly loved him. Janie’s final marriage was to Tea Cake, in which she truly loved him from the start. I agree, and believe that love can’t be forced and can take time to find.
ReplyDeleteIn “Their Eyes were Watching God,” I think Hurston’s definition or idea of love is precise and accurate. Love is portrayed in the novel as something that just kind of hits you, unexpectedly, or catches you off guard. Love is never forced it is your own matter of opinion. Janie’s grandmother, Nanny, tried to force Janie to fall in love with Logan and that explains in itself why the relationship did not work out. Then again Janie tries to make herself love Joe Starks, but just can’t seem to find happiness. Is this because the love was forced or unnatural? Well, probably yes, because love happens on its own. When you love someone you enjoy having them around, spending quality time with them, and even revealing all you secrets to one another. I believe love will come to those who will wait for it which is what Hurston shows. Janie finally comes to find “real” love when she finds her own man, Tea Cake, and falls for him on her own.
ReplyDeleteLove is a feeling of strong attachment on a personal level toward an idea, person, or place. In “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, Hurston showed many examples of what love is and what it is not. At the beginning of the novel, Nanny had Janie marry Logan Killicks so that she would make sure that Janie was well off when she passed away. Janie was trying to make herself love Logan, but she couldn’t. Nanny told her it would come with time, but the feelings were never there. She left Logan after they got into an argument and ran off with Joe Starks. At first, Joe was telling her how wonderful he would make her feel. As time went on, Joe began to belittle Janie and try to change who she was as a person. He would make her pin her hair up, which was a very important part of her identity and her confidence. He also wouldn’t allow her to express herself or her ideas. Janie was finally happy when she met Tea Cake. He never tried to change her and he accepted her for who she was. Love is something that should come naturally to two people, and shouldn’t be forced upon them. “Their Eyes Were Watching God” clearly shows this throughout the course of Janie’s relationships.
ReplyDeleteLove can have different meanings depending on what the person believes it can mean. Love is an emotion of a personal attachment for an idea, thing, place, or (of coarse)a person. Hurston had a lot of examples in Their Eyes Were Watching God about love and what it's not. Love isn't when you are forced to marry someone just to please someone else. Nanny did that to Janie with Mr. Killicks. You can't have love that way! It doesn't work. You can't control someone's feelings to make them fall in love with someone. Then Joe Starks came along and Janie started to like what he was saying. She left Mr. Killicks to go with Joe to hopefully have a better life. Once married to Joe he was very controlling of her. Telling her what to do, like a boss to an employee. There was no love in that relationship since Janie couldn't really talk to Joe at all, and when she would he wouldn't listen. Once Joe died Tea Cake came into her life. Janie married Tea Cake and was finally happy in love with a man that loved her back. I agree with what Hurston defined as love and what isn't.
ReplyDeleteLove has a different meaning to each person.Love also comes in many different forms. For example, there is a different love that a person has for their parents and the love they have for their favorite song. When Janie first has the though of love she compares it to a blooming pear tree. The mysterious ways that nature works stirred up questions and feelings in her that she could not explain. Her Nanny described when she was taught love was stability through finances, which resulted in Janie's first marriage. When Janie met Joe Starks she thought that she felt love. It was more a lust for compassion that she was not getting from her current husband. Joe saw love as being able to support his woman, but she had to respect him and obey his rules. After Joe passed Janie realized that she did not miss him like you would miss someone that you would love. She didn't miss the feeling that he gave her when he was around her. I think that she finally finds her idea of love when she meets Tea Cake. She is able to be her youthful self and she starts to be happy again. Of all of her husbands he is the one who treats her as a complete equal which is what she was searching for. I think that Hurston did a fine job with distinguishing the feelings that many have when they are trying to find what they think love is.
ReplyDeleteThe meaning of love is different for different people. People love a dog differently than their husband/wife. They also love their children a different way than they love their favorite food. Love is when you feel something powerful within your heart instead of mind. Love is also like protection. If you love someone, such as your family, you will want to protect them from any harm that comes their way. You know you’re in love when you look passed someone’s flaws and only see perfection. Love is not the wanting to spend time with someone. People can still love someone if they’re not present in their life, such as a family member who has passed away. Hurston described Janie’s love for each man she married, differently. Her marriage to Logan Killicks was forced upon by Nanny so Janie would become a woman and be financially stable. Janie’s second marriage was lust over love. She thought it was love but realized Joe Starks was more talk than game. Joe had told her that she was very important because she was the wife of a mayor, but she never felt that way. Janie’s third and final marriage to Tea Cake was pure love. She waited days before she ran away with him to the Glades. He always made her feel equal and rarely asked for help. I agree with Hurstons view on love because love isn’t about money, lust, or power.
ReplyDeleteLove is a feeling that everyone expresses differently. Love is not the urge to be obedient. Love is not fear or spite. Love can't be forced nor created. Hurston gives examples of what love isn't through Janie's first marriage. She shows that in marrying someone in hopes of growing to love them you may only find more things not to love about them. With her second marriage to Joe she shows that fear and desperate attempts to feel something for another was mistaken as love. And as she stayed with Joe out of obligation and still fear she never loved him. She shows that love is a connection between two people such as Janie and Tea Cake. An uncontrolled urge to care for the other through everything that stands in the way. Janie and Tea Cake were willing to be together despite what other people may think and what other people feared would happen. They loved each other no matter the age difference and fought for each and felt each others pain. That's what Hurston describes as love and how I would describe it.
ReplyDeleteLove is a strong emotion that can make people do crazy things. People love their friends, family, and even animals. In "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Janie loved Nanny, but she want a husband she loved. Nanny wanted Janie to marry Mr.Killicks, and because Janie wanted to make Nanny happy she did. However, Janie didn't love Mr.Killicks, so when Joe Starks, Jody is what he liked to be called, came around she ran away with him. Janie thought she loved Jody, but when he told her what she can and can't do she realized it wasn't love. When Jody died she didn't feel as sad as everyone said she should be. Then Vergible Woods, or Tea Cake, came and showed Janie how to do things Jody would never let her do like checkers, fishing, hunting, and other stuff. They moved to the Everglades, and began working in the fields and gaining money. One day a hurricane hit the Glades and Janie and Tea Cake were forced to run from the storm. When they finally get away Janie finds herself in a flood holding on to a cow with a mad dog on its back. Tea Cake saves her but is bitten and ends up with a disease and goes crazy. Then Janie was forced to kill him because he was trying to kill her. But Janie loved Tea Cake.
ReplyDeleteHurston portrays love as being something spontaneous and unpredictable. It cannot be controlled or forced. One must feel an emotional attachment to something or someone and feel a significant connection. In "Their Eyes Were Watching God", Janie's nanny forces her into marriage with Logan harmlessly. She just wanted to see her granddaughter married before she passed but it was not what Janie wanted. This was not 'love' and no surprise, it did not end up working out. Love to her meant someone who was accepting of her, respectful of her and truthful. Janie was out on a quest for true love her whole life. Some people truly believe that love can be found in many different and unexpected places but if you go looking, you will never find love. It has to come to you. Janie had a tough time along the way but eventually she came to what she was looking for and found happiness.
ReplyDeleteHurtson defines love as a deep fulfillment that includes physical chemistry and emotional connection. Nanny first married Janie off to Logan Killicks, a successful farmer-someone who can care and support Janie. Janie never really loved Logan, Janie hopes that in time she will learn to love Logan. This never happens because as days go on Logan begins to disappoint her. He doesn’t shower, doesn’t care about his appearance, and he doesn’t spoil Janie with kind words like she has dreamed. I agree with Hurtson’s idea of love. It takes two willing people to be in love. It’s almost crucial to have not only a physical connection, but also an emotional one; it takes to people to fall in love and live happily with one another. Both beings have to accept each other and their values.
ReplyDeleteLove can be described in many different ways. Sometimes people are forced to love each other (family), and sometimes people love each other as individuals and nothing more (friends). Also, love can be described as when two people feel something for one another that they don't feel for anyone else. In "Their Eyes Were Watching God", Janie is forced into marriage. She thinks that as time goes on, she will begin to love her husband, even though that doesn't happen. Love isn't something you can force onto a person. They have to feel it. Love isn't going to last if it doesn't exist between two people. When Janie finally found love she knew it was different than before, and was a lot more happier.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to love there are many ways that people may show it. Some people are comfortable saying how they feel, while others can’t express themselves in a way where they’re comfortable. Janie finds her independence as she goes through these many marriages and loves. Some loves were forced and others were simply fate. Hurston defines love as something you feel and not something that is forced. Sometimes people are in love with the idea of being in love and eventually realize it as their lives go on.
ReplyDeleteHurston defines love as a caring attachment to another person. Through Janie's relationships with Logan and Joe, Hurston makes her point about what love is not. First, Janie learns that love does not automatically come with marriage. Killicks disappoints her dreams about how love should be. Then Joe Starks comes along and says sweet things to her about what their future life would be like and Janie run away with him. She soon learns that life with Stsrks isn't what she thought it was going to be like either. Janie learns that love doesn't happen just because she wants it to. I fully agree that love does not come about solely because of the actions of one person.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel, love is portrayed as something that can't be forced and has to be true and complete. In Janie's first marriage, it is forced and she isn't happy at all. When she meets Joe, his ambition attracts her to him and because she is so unhappy, life with him seems comparatively better. She soon finds out that it really isn't and that his first impression was the only reason she went off with him. It isn't comlete, she only loves a part of him. With Tea Cake it is true and complete and it lasts, and Janie is truly happy for the first time in her life.
ReplyDeleteHurtson defines love as a attachment to another human being, not for social status, or anything else, but the sole feeling of being attached to another person. She shows what love is not through the first marriage, and partially through the second marriage. Janie wasn't attracted to Logan, just his social status. Janie wasn't attracted to Joe, just his ambition and ideas. Then finally, she really loves Tea Cake, even though he is poor. I agree with Hurtson's idea of love because a person should only love another if they are truly attached physically, mentally, and emotionally.
ReplyDeleteLove is how you feel towards a family member, friend, or that special someone. There’s love at first sight, and love that takes time. In some movies they show how love doesn’t have to take a long time to develop; for example “Dear John” she says “It only took two weeks. Two weeks to fall in love with you”. And some movies show two best friends and over time falling in love and being there for each other and then realized that they love each other and then get married. Many people have many interpretations of love, but love is NOT about changing the other person to your liking, if you loved that person you wouldn’t change who they are. Hurston shows compares and contrasts what love is and isn’t by showing how miserable she is within a year of Janie trying to be changed by 2 different guys and then shows how one guy can treat a girl with the upmost respect and love for another human being and how it pays off in the end. Also, love is not about looks either, it’s about loving that person on the inside too, for who they really are. And that’s how Tea cake and Janie are about each other too. Hurston defines love by feeling comfortable around a person, not wanting to change the other person, and loving the person from the inside, not just the outside. When you find love, it can be a beautiful thing; it can also be heartbreaking if one person is not committed to the relationship.
ReplyDeleteIn this novel, love is almost the entire focus of the novel. It really demonstrates Hurston's view's on what is, and isn't, love. Obviously Janie's marriage to Killicks isn't love, and her marriage to Starks was a false sense of love. It isn't until she meets Tea Cake that she finds real love.
ReplyDeleteJanie struggled with the concept of love throughout the entire novel, "Their Eyes Were Watching God." When Janie's Grandmother forces her to marry Logan simply to make sure Janie will be taken care of even after she has passed, her Grandmother doesn't put Janie's dreams of true love into consideration. When Janie expresses her doubts about the marriage, her grandmother assures her that she will learn to love her new husband. Janie soon finds out that you can't learn love nor can you be forced to feel it. When Joe comes around she is overwhelmed by his achievements and the way he makes her feel, she convinces herself she loves him because she wants it so bad. Again, she finds that her new life is not all she thought it would be. She didn't actually fall in love with Joe but just the idea of love itself. She wanted it so bad she gave up everything that made her herself so that she could have love. It isn't until Tea Cake comes along that she realizes that's not what love is about. With Tea Cake she finally understands true love and knows that she has found it. It is then that you learn Hurston's definition of love. Love is not an idea that can be forced or learned but rather a feeling that is spontaneous and uncontrollable and happens when you least expect it. That is what Janie has finally gained with Tea Cake.
ReplyDeleteLove is a special bond and longing two people share for each other. Hurston shows the reader what love is and what love is not with Janie's three marriages. In Janie's first marriage, Hurston shows that you cannot marry someone and expect your love for them to grow. In most cases the exact opposite will end up happening and you will start picking out everything you dislike about your partner. In Janie's second marriage, Hurston shows that you cannot simply act on a quick impulse and marry somenone hoping that it will be better then your other marriages. Again you can get sucked into a horrible relationship and end up finding somethings you do not like about your partner. But in Janie's third marriage is where you get the example of true love. Janie and Tea Cake's relationship really is a one of a kind. It showed how two people can meet and continue to grow their friendship into soemthing more, something that will last. It also shows how sometimes, to be happy, you need to stop caring about what society thinks about the relationship and only care about how you and your partner feel.
ReplyDeleteLove is a feeling that is reached when two people care unconditionally for each other and would do whatever it takes to make the other person happy. In "Their Eyes Were Watching God" love is tested multiple times. In Janies first marriage love is forced and when love is forced it is bound to fall apart. Janie was not happy. Her second marriage is based on what is thought to be love. Janie loved the initial moment with Joe and was kept around by some of his ideas but she never truly loved Joe. Janie's final marriage with Tea Cake was true love. Even though Tea Cake is poor, Janie loves him for him and not the extras. True love doesn't care about all the extra "goodies" that a person has to bring and I agree with Hurston on this interpretation of love.
ReplyDeleteLove is what someone feels when they know they have found the one they are supposed to be with. Sometimes love can be misinterpreted though, some people think love comes with marriage, some think you can grow to love someone, but if someone really loves another they know. Janie has a hard time finding love throughout her marriages. She realized through her first two marriages she had not found love, even though she thought she had at first. Janie finally found love in her third marriage, she didn't have to wonder if she was she just knew.
ReplyDeleteLove is when you get a funny feeling in your tummy every time you're around a special someone or something. Hurston shows that love can't be forced when Janie married Logan. When Janie married Joe, Hurston showed that love isn't about material things, either. Finally, Hurston showed what love truly is when Janie found Tea Cake and got that funny feeling in her tummy. It wasn't for the things Tea Cake had, it was for the time that she spent with him and all that they did for each other.
ReplyDeleteJanie and Tea Cake’s relationship is Hurston’s definition of love. Although Tea Cake was not a rich man, Janie felt unconditional love and devotion towards him for all the right reasons. Janie did not love Tea Cake because of his status or material goods, but because Tea Cake showed his affection for Janie and she felt loved. Hurston demonstrates that love can not be forced. Janie thought that as her marriage with Logan Killicks went on, she would eventually grow to love him. Logan treats Janie as a tool more than a wife, and she eventually leaves him. I agree that love is not a demand, and that love is out of one’s control.
ReplyDeleteIn "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Hurston portrays love as two people are emotionally attached and care unconditionally for eachother. Love can't be forced it just happens. Janie is trying to force love with Killicks after she is married but it doesn't work. Starks flatters Janie, but he cares more about his town than her. Tea Cake loves Janie for who she is, he takes care of her, and lets her be an individual. That's what Janie wants so that is why she loves Tea Cake. I agree with Horston's idea that about love and that the love between Janie and Tea Cake displays what true love actually is.
ReplyDeleteI read the first chapter of this book ready to stop already. I read more chapters thinking how lost Janie was as a character watching her bounce from man to man. Seeing her way of behaving around each man was confusing to me. I took it as she didn't feel love but as many people today feel the want for love and migrate from relationships. Lack of a better term I thought of her in a way whoring around. It wasn't until the very last chapter I saw her definition of love stronger than my own. "Love is lak de sea. It's uh moving thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and it's different with every shore." (191 Janie) Hurston is pointing out love is not a definite force, but more a moving, changing, and growing way of life. Janie felt a strong love for Joe and Tea Cake, I'd even say equally strong. But Janies love grew in different ways with each man, teaching me a lesson I myself have be hung on personally. Love moves from person to person with you, changing with each person, not ever losing it but morphing it. That love is there and strong, always.
ReplyDeleteThe natural force deemed love is something that a person finds for themselves. It is clearly shown in the novel by the way Janie interacts with her three marriages. In Janie's first marriage with Logan she waits for love to find her, but then realizes it never will. As she talked with Joe Starks she thought that maybe she had found love, and once they were married she found she had not found true love. Once Janie meets Tea Cakes, she notices he is different from the others, and she soon falls in a passionate love with him. Tea Cakes treats her differently than her other husbands had and there becomes a strong connection between them. Hurston shows that love cannot happen just from throwing two people together, but you have to wait for it to come to you.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel Their Eyes were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston describes love as something you need in your life. Hurston shows that love is not supposed to be forced, but to happen on its own. Janie and Logan Killicks marriage was set up by Janie's grandmother. Janie searched for a way to love Logan but she found it impossible. Janie ran off with Joe Starks because she believed it would be better than Logan Killicks. Janie liked Joe Starks, but it was not love. He treated her wrong and Janie was never her self around him. Hurston showed two relationships where Janie was not happy and love was forced. In the third marriage, Tea Cake and Janie were as happy as ever. Janie was able to be her self and was not forced to anything. Janie really did love Tea Cake.
ReplyDeleteHurston puts Janie in a series of issues that many, if not, all people experience in their own lifetime. When we are young, we think love is just a simple little word and that there isn't much more to it than the feeling toward each other as Janie had so thought it in her first marriage. It is obvious to see that in the fist few chapters, Janie and Logan are just not ment to be. They never feel any closer than friends and pushing it never helped with time. In her journey with her other marriages, she learns that love is something that takes time and won't happen easily. She shows the readers that it's not what you have or who you are, but what you two are together and how you connect with each other. In the end, she conveys to us, that love isn't easy and you shouldn't settle with what others take love as.
ReplyDeleteI think Hurston's definition of love is an affection that you feel toward another person that you can't explain or control. You don't understand why you love someone but you just know you do and words can't express why. It not something that you can convince yourself you have or that you can be forced into. Janie has a hard time with true love the whole book and finally found it in the end with Tea Cake, but, before that she had to learn what it really was. When her Grandmother forced her to marry Logan in the beginning she had many doubts and didn't want to because she didn't love him. Her Grandmother told her he would grow on her and she would eventually learn to love him. But that's not what Janie dreamed of. When she married Joe she thought she loved him but when he treated her as if she wasn't important she realized that she didn't love him after all. When Tea Cake came along and treated her as an equal, she couldn't help but fall in love with him. She had finally learned what true love really was and knew she had found it.
ReplyDeleteHurston demonstrates through Janie that love changes from person to person and not everyone has the same kind of love or even ever experiences it. Janie's marriage to Logan is not love so she runs off with Joe Starks but finds that the relationship isn't about true love either. When she finally settles down with Tea Cake, she realizes she has found the love she has been looking for. While she may have cared for and had good terms with her former suitors, her love for each of them was different.
ReplyDeleteHurston shows the love of human being through Janie's relatoinship with Tea Cake. By the first impression of these two it's just a feeling that you have connection with this person. On another hand she shows through Janie's previous marriage that the connection is just the tip of the iceberg. That connection needs to be formed into a bond that both partners can be happy with. In her second marriage Janie was obviously not happy with the bond she shared with her husband and being belitted by him. I believe that part of Hurston's idea of love could be right in some cases.
ReplyDeleteI think love is something you feel for another person without actually noticing it. You try to do anything in the world to se that person happy and to see them thrive in their life; and sometimes you make great sacrifices for that person. Love can be the best feeling in the world or it can simply drive a person crazy constantly searching for something we all crave for: the feeling of being wanted. Hurston defines love as sticking with someone through all of the hardships that life throws at you and accepting eachother for their true person. This is excellently portrayed in the relationship of Janie and Tea Cake. Janie sticks by him through his gambling issues, injuries, and still during his final days. Janie and Tea Cake are totally comfortable around eachother and accept one another for who they are; flaws and all. Hurston shows what love isn't with all of Janie's husbands before she found Tea Cake. Being mistreated and bossed around is not love at all. I agree that love comes naturally and it is definitely worth all of the hardships people face for one another. I also agree that inorder to love someone you must accept their flaws no matter how badly they bug you and never bring one another down.
ReplyDeleteHurston has a very clear idea of what she believes love is, and is extremely adamant about that belief. Hurston believes that love is not a way of reaching happiness with another person, she believes love is helping each other achieve individual happiness. Hurston shows this belief throughout Janie’s marriages. Whenever Janie becomes unhappy with how she lives, the marriage quickly falls apart. Each marriage starts with a strong love between the two, but both Logan and Joe Starks attempt to use Janie as a means to achieving their own goals and aspirations, which both lead to the downfall of their love. When Janie meets Tea Cake, they love each other in that they are happy to be together, and at all times both Tea Cake and Janie are advancing their own happiness through the marriage. Even when Tea Cake hits Janie, she knows it is the best for the both of them that it happens. I agree to a point with Hurston’s philosophy. I believe love should be to reach two people’s happiest points, but there should also be some give and take from both sides. One person in a marriage should be prepared to put aside their own aspirations, for at least a short time, to help the other grow to their greatest points.
ReplyDeleteI believe love is similar to being best friends. You and your friend go through a lot of hardships together, but still care for each other at the end. You share your deepest secrets and pet peeves, but after it all you still love them. In the novel, Hurston defines love as something that is inevitable, and you can't control who it is. It didn't matter if Tea Cake was older and/or richer, she was happy as long as she was with him. Hurston defines love as not being forced, like how Janie's grandmother made her marry her first husband, Logan. Also, love doesn't have to be based off of society's thoughts. Janie wasn't happy when she married Joe Starks because he treated her poorly and didn't pay attention to her. Although in the town's eyes, they were perfect and better off than anyone. I agree with Hurston's definition of love. I feel that it shouldn't matter who it is as long as both of them are happy together, and feel as though they can't live without one another
ReplyDeleteLove is not being loved but not loving in return. Hurston believes that if you love someone, you should be willing to set aside your own dreams to help your loved one reach theirs. Hurston shows this concept throughout the novel through the course of Janie’s first and second marriages. When she is married to Logan Killicks, he is too concerned with the betterment of his farm to realize that she is unhappy, and simply wants to be loved. In her marriage to Joe Starks, he is too preoccupied with achieving a higher status within the town of Eatonville and using her as a prop to give her the love that she so desperately wants. However, when she is married to Tea Cake, he gives her the love she wants but yet makes time for himself and that’s what made their relationship work.
ReplyDeleteLove is something you find on your own, and it definitely can not be forced. I believe love is hard to describe, because I feel you do not truly know what it is until you've experienced it. Hurtson does a good job portraying love in her novel. She does this by showing you what love is not before she shows what it is. Janie was in three marriages throughout the novel. Her first two marriages, with Logan Killicks and Joe Starks, help you see what love is not. They do not treat Janie right at all. However, her third marriage with Tea Cake defined love perfectly. They were committed to each other unconditionally and would do anything for each other. They went through struggles sometimes but at the end of the day they always loved each other. I completely agree with the way Hurtson defines love.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has a different definition of love. Everyone receives a different feeling when love is present. In "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Janie is having trouble finding a husband that fulfills her dream of a loving relationship. Janie's marriage to Logan Killicks always seemed to have problems.Janie did not want to marry Logan in the first place. In addition, the marriage did not have any obvious affection. This observation is shown when the narrator states, "She knew now that marriage did not make love. Janie's first dream was dead, so she became a woman." (Hurston 25) This statement leads into Janie meeting her second husband, Joe Starks. Joe Starks only wanted a wife for the feeling of possession and someone to greet him when he came home for the night. As the novel progresses I believe Janie's definition of love became more clear when she married Tea Cake. This marriage had love between the two people and Janie discovered a new love for herself.
ReplyDeleteLove is defined as wanting to be with someone, enjoying one another's company, knowing each others strengths and weaknesses and still wanting to be with them. You don't have to try to make your partner happy; they are happy no matter what, as long they have each other. Janie is forced to marry Logan Killicks, even though she doesn't love him. She feels that marriage brings love, but soon learns otherwise. Since she is unhappy, she runs away, and gets married to Joe Starks. She still finds herself unhappy and without love, but she just keeps quiet and does as she's told. After Joe dies, and she marries Tea Cake, she finds herself in love, and truly happy. She finds out what it's like to be in a relationship for something other than a possession to show off to everyone. I completely agree with Hurston's definition of love.
ReplyDeleteHurston defines love strictly as being the strong mutual connection between two people that make the other happy. Hurston also uses Janie's first two marriages as an example of what love is not. These include Logan, who may have cared about Janie's well-being, but didn't have any real connection to her in the long run. That connection is vital to defining love. The second marriage with Jody was looking promising, but was shot down after Jody became power hungry and used Janie for his own means. That flaw in their "love" was obvious... it was destroyed because of his greed and eventual neglect. When she married Tea Cake, love was defined by Hurston's terms. The two completed each other and made one another happy.
ReplyDeleteLove is a delicate thing, it is also hard to define. Love is different for each person; a strong feeling of affection or attraction, and to some love is so powerful that it is not explainable. Even Janie, herself could not explain the feeling she was longing for. Janie thought she would have love with each of her husbands, but she only found that feeling she was looking for with Tea Cake. She was lead into her first marriage believing that love will come with time; in her second marriage Janie thought what they had was love, but in reality it was a longing to get out from under her first husband. Janie had finally found love and that was with Tea Cake, showing that no matter how long it takes, love is timeless.
ReplyDeleteHurston appears to display true love as a shared happiness: a relationship in which both of the partners strive to make each other happy, without either of the partners sacrificing their own happiness. Janie's first two marriages could be seen as displays of what love is not. Logan Killicks and Joe Starks were both interested in the success of both themselves and Janie, but both of them lost interest in Janie's feelings and desires. Killicks had very little emotional connection to Janie to begin with, and Starks lost his emotional connection to Janie as his responsibilties and priviliges began to grow as a mayor. It was the emotional connection between Janie and Tea Cake that caused their marriage to be successful. From this, readers could conclude that Hurston sees love as an emotional bond that brings joy to both lovers.
ReplyDeleteWhat is love? Love is having feelings for a person you are truly close with, it is wanting to be with a person through the thick and the thin. Hurtson defines love as a mutual interest between two people. Hurtson shows in the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God" what love is not, with Janie's first two marriages. Love is not controlling others and manipulating them. Love is not hitting hitting your wife to show who is boss, that is not love. When you find your true love you will know it, just like Janie did. Tea Cake loved Janie, he gave her everything she could ever want and treated her just like a man should unlike her other two husbands. Love is what brings a husband and wife together.
ReplyDeleteLove is a feeling of affection, passion, and/or attachment that one feels towards something. Hurston defines this love as a feeling of mutual respect that involves not only the positive attributes of passion and affection but also sacrifice. Hurston gives the reader her opinions on love by giving examples of what love is not. Through Logan Killicks and Janie’s failed marriage, the reader learns love cannot be forced. Love must be based off of the couple themselves, not the needs of society. Mr.Killicks and Janie married chiefly to get Janie a firm foot in society, they hardly even knew eachother. Janie tries to force herself into loving the man but finds it cannot be done. Thisis what pushes Janie into her second marriage. Through Joe Starks and Janie’s marriage, Hurston tries to illustrate the critical difference between being in love with the idea of love and actually being in love. Janie has been so mistreated in her last marriage that when an opportunity for love arises, Janies jumps on the love-train blindly. In time, Janie realizes she is not in love with Joe Starks at all, she was in love with the idea of love. These failed love affairs help the reader to get a better grasp on such a complex idea. I agree completely with Hurstons’ idea of love.
ReplyDeleteFor thousands of years, man has been searching for love and to define its meaning. Is it a feeling, a memory, or even a person? To me, Love is not simply a feeling, but an experience. We all see love differently, just as we all might look at a sunset or even feel its warm rays; no two people are the same. Just as Hurston might see it, you cannot say that you Love someone just because they are beautiful or handsome (although it helps); but exposure to people over time leads to an increase of knowledge of whether you do “Love” them. Hurston also shows that love cannot be obtained with soothing words of protection, money, or even being “treated right”. Joe Starks seems like the right man to be with at first, over time, Janie sees that his gentle appearance is a façade. I believe that Hurston and I share very similar beliefs over what love is and what to expect from its toll.
ReplyDeleteLove is when two people care for, and truly respect each other. In “Their eyes were watching God”, Janie doesn’t experience true love until the end part of the story, when she meets Tea Cake. The first two marriages were examples of false love. When she was married to Mr. Killicks , there was no love. That marriage was forced by Janie’s grandmother. Then when she meets Joe Starks, she believes that she loves him, and see’s him as a way out of her first marriage. What she is really in love with is the way he can get her material things, provide for her, and make her a symbol of status. After some time, when Joe gains more power, she realizes that she didn’t want that type of life, and while Joe provides material things, there is no good emotions that are linking the two in the relationship. In the end Janie finds true love with someone who accepts her for who she is, and treats her as an equal, and that is what love is.
ReplyDeleteLove,is so things. The unconditional desire for someone or something. The wanting to protect and care for someone. one of our greatest strengths and weaknesses. It has no time limit, no due date, it happens when it happens. Jaine searches for love, and thinks she found it several times. But they were only shadows of the true love she sought. This true love she found with Tea Cake. True immortal love. I think Hurston's idea of love was acuriate.
ReplyDeleteHurston shows her definition of love through Janie’s three marriages. Janie’s first marriage did not involve any love, which shattered Janie’s belief that marriage brings love. Logan and Janie’s marriage was made purely to satisfy Janie’s grandmother. Janie’s second marriage brought her happiness for a while, but Joe treated her as an object, not a person. Joe would not allow Janie to do anything that was not acceptable, according to him, for a mayor’s wife. Tea Cake treated Janie as a person. He let her be herself and accepted her for who she was. Although they sometimes fought and struggled, they still accepted each other for who they were. Tea Cake and Janie’s relationship showed the best definition of love. Love is not always about happiness. It is also about acceptance.
ReplyDeleteLove is definitely not selfish. When you love someone, their happiness is more important than your own. You accept them for who they are. Hurston defines love as a mutual bond with each other, where you work together in harmony, helping each other out and fulfilling each others needs. She uses Logan and Jody to show what love isn't is. You can't force love, the more you try to search for it and hope for it, the less likely it will come. Janie's grandma tries to force it on her. Logan spoils her at first, and that created an unequal balance between them. There has to physical and emotional connection with someone to love them. With Jody, Hurston showed that you have to let someone be themselves in a relationship. You can't be overcontrolling, because that also creates an unequal power balance. I agree with her on her views of love. It's a partnership where you both enjoy it, and it fulfills your needs. Janie wants to find herself, and she needs someone who will encourage her and support her.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, as a general observation, maybe Janie had such a hard time exploring love because she did not grow up with parents as an example. She did, however, grow up with familial love in the form of her grandmother.
ReplyDeleteLooking at Hurston's novel as a whole, her definition of love seems to be finding a companion that you are not afraid to be yourself around, who appreciates your natural beauty, and who you can do just about anything with. What love is not, according to Hurston, is waiting on your companion hand and foot, taking someone for granted, allowing your partner to hinder you, and conforming to your partner's beliefs just so they will like you or fall in love with someone you are not. She shows this through Janie's relationships with Logan Killicks and Joe Starks. I agree with Hurston's viewpoint on love.
Hurston demonstrates the concept of love through Janie’s experiences at marriage. As an inexperienced teenager, Janie is pressured by her elderly grandmother into marrying Logan Killicks because of his ability to financially support Janie after her grandmother passes. Janie longed to love Logan, but those feelings never surfaced. Eventually, Janie’s desire for love motivated her to run off with Joe Starks, a sharp-looking business man. In the beginning, Janie loved Jody and the adventure they were embarking upon. However, as Jody became more and more successful, Janie, the mayor’s wife, was expected to act a certain way. Janie resented the fact that she wasn’t allowed to play checkers or gossip with the ‘ordinary’ folks on the porch of Jody’s store. Her love turned to resentment. Shortly after Jody died, Janie met Tea Cake. Tea Cake, a poor black man, invited Janie to follow him to Jacksonville. Being the adventurous woman she was, Janie sold the store and began a life with Tea Cake hoping to find true love. In the end, Janie’s marriage to Tea Cake most closely represented true love. Tea Cake treated Janie with respect, and allowed her to make her own individual decisions.
ReplyDeleteIn "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Hurston portrayed love as a physical and emotional attraction, not just a someone providing for life. Logan Killicks, Janie's first husband is not love. He provides for Janie, but the connection between the two is not there. Janie's second husband, Joe Sparks, appeared to be a lover but ended up only being controlling and striving for his own personal goals. He was never concerned with Janie or her emotions. Love is not what Janie experienced in her first two relationships. She was unhappy, her patience and virtues tried, and her identity suppressed. With Tea Cake though, Janie learns that someone can actually care for her, provide what she needs both emotionally and for life, and doesn't control her thoughts and opinions. I completely agree with Hurston's view on love. Love is not something that is forced. It comes with the connections made physically and emotionally. Love is not made, but comes naturally when one's soul fits with another.
ReplyDeleteLove is when two people develop strong feelings for one another and have a unique bond together. It can also be a passion for an activity. Love is not something that can be planned or predicted. In this novel, Hurston captures the image of what love is and is not. Janie finds that love cannot be bought or forced, like in her first two marriages. She simply happens to stumble upon it when she meets Tea Cake. They care about eacother unconditionally and understand one anothers feelings. I agree with Hurston's view of love. I do not think that love can be formally defined because there are so many opinions and everybody feels things differently.
ReplyDeleteLove can mean different things to different people. I personally believe that love is when someone has very strong feelings towards someone or something. Hurston wanted us to know that love is not easy. It may take several people to find your true love but he or she is out there somewhere waiting for you. I also believe that you can’t force love, and I have inferred that Hurston believes the same.
ReplyDeleteThe most obvious theme in Hurston's novel involves Janie's search for fulfilling and unconditional love. Janie often compares love to a bee and a blossom and the pear tree from Nanny's backyard. Hurston shows that love is about being able to be independent and not to settle for less than you desire. Janie finally finds the love she has been searching for. With Tea Cake, she is able to feel free and learn the value of true love. I agree with Hurston's idea of love because I like how she portrays Janie as a strong and independent woman.
ReplyDeleteLove is a mutual feeling between two people that is so unique in the way it works. Unfortunatly, this isnt true for Janie in the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God". Janie was forced into a relationship that she had no say in. She believes a t first that she will eventually find love with her husband but does not happen when she is forced into marriaage. Love and marraiage is something that has to be experienced between two people without pressure aand with the freendom find their love.
ReplyDeleteA big part of Janie's journey in "Their Eyes Were Watching God" is discovering what love is. As a teenager, Janie watches nature and longs for a love, both physical and emotional. She is assured that love comes through marriage. She shouldn't seek a physical attraction, but should be grateful for stability.
ReplyDeleteWith Starks, she falls for his ambiguity and the way he talks to her. She again mistakes this for love. He offers her power, status, and wealth. Janie witnesses the spirit of their marriage leave and Jody begins treating her poorly. She no longer cares for Jody and realizes that love isn’t materialistic.
As Janie is enjoying her independence, Tea Cake comes along. He is the first man who truly makes Janie happy and expects nothing from her. For the first time, the relationship she develops with Tea Cake is with mutual respect for each other. Janie finally finds love on both an emotional and physical level. With Tea Cake’s love, Janie finds her identity, her voice, her place in the world, and happiness.
Love goes hand-in-hand with sacrifice. While Janie was with Logan Hillicks, she thought she felt love but she knew something was missing. she was still dreaming of something more. Logan was too caught up in his farm than he was with Janie. Jody Starks showed love through words not emotion or physical attraction. He used Janie for the authority she had so he could gain it himself. She wanted love from Jody but she felt she was missing more once again. Once Tea Cake came into the picture she finally fell hard. She found the love she had been dreaming of since she has been a small child. She had the happiness she wanted. Love was a sacrifice in everything Janie did in life.
ReplyDeleteHurston seems to define love as a spontaneous and powerful emotion that is created by an intense attraction to the personality and/or physique of another human; she seems to convey the message that love can be incredibly irrational, and that love can lead to horribly stupid mistakes, although Janie seems to bounce back from every severe blunder she makes in the novel. She claims that love is simply appreciating your lover and treating her with respect while making scarifies for him and her. Because I am not fully familiar with the neurological processes that make up love, I will just say from experience that Hurston is spot on. Many a time have I been seduced by love and its irrationality, and every time was I willing to sac rife everything for the person I loved.
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