"Their Eyes were Watching God"

One day, Janie sees several Native Americans leaving the Everglades to head for Palm Beach. Janie is puzzled to see them leave, so she asks them why they are going. They say that there is a hurricane coming. Over the next few days, more people as well as animals flock from the Everglades to find safety. Tea Cake decides to stay behind. The other people who decide to stay gather together at Tea Cake’s house, and they have a party. As the party goes on, the weather gets even worse. All of the men return home to their respective houses, except a man named Motor Boat stays behind. The three of them, Janie, Motorboat, and Tea Cake, all stay together as the storm picks up. This is when the narrator states how “their eyes were watching God.” This quote implies how all three of them are in it together and how it is them versus the hurricane. It shows how everything happens according to God’s plan. They personally decided to stay behind and endure the hurricane, so it is now up to God as to what will happen to them.

Life with Tea Cake

With Logan, Janie was expected to work in the fields to help Logan out, and she was expected to prepare meals and take care of the house. Logan even went as far as to buy Janie a mule, so she can help out with the fieldwork even more than she already was. Then, when Janie and Jody were together, Jody wanted Janie to stay in the house or the store all day. He said that women should not be out in the fields working. Plus, since Jody was the mayor of the town, he expected Janie to be Mrs. Mayor. In this role, Janie had to be refined, and she was never allowed to work outside or hang out with Jody and his friends. Finally, Janie stumbles upon Tea Cake. So far, Tea Cake has been the best husband. He reimbursed her when he took her money to buy his friends dinner. He also taught Janie how to shoot a gun and played checkers with her. Playing checkers with Janie was a big deal to her because checkers was considered a “man’s game,” so it was something she had never been allowed to do. Tea Cake treated Janie as an equal.

Janie vs. The Man

In chapter nine, Janie told us a story. When God made The Man, he made him cheerful and glittered all over. The angels became jealous of this man so they chopped him up into millions of pieces; however, the Man continued to hum and glitter. The angels decided to beat him into nothing but sparks, but even each individual spark continued to shine. The angels then covered the sparks with mud. Because the sparks are lonesome, they hunt for one another because the mud is “deaf and dumb.” Like the mud, Janie tried to shine through but was unable to. At first, she was forced into marriage with Logan, which covered up some of her shine. Then, she found Jody, who completely covered Janie's "shine." He even tried to make her wear her long, beautiful hair up in a rag. She was being weighed down by people like Jody who were telling her what to do and not letting her be herself. The mud that covers Janie is an example of the different criticism that Janie receives from people like Jody.

Mule and Janie

In chapter six, the author introduces us to a mule. The mule’s owner is a man named Matt Bonner. People are not very nice to the mule and abuse him. Bonner does not feed the mule, so he is very skinny. I think Janie cares about the mule so much because she can relate to him. Both the mule and Janie get made fun of and mistreated and both of them are fed up with it. Bonner does not take care of the mule, does not feed it, and does not respect it. It is the same way for Janie. Jody does not treat Janie very well. He does not even let Janie make a speech in front of the town because he thought that women were not supposed to make speeches and that she did not know how. He thought that all women were good for was taking care of the home. Also, the mule really has no say and what he does because Bonner is his owner and controls what he does. It is the same way for Janie. Jody “controls” her and decides what she can and cannot do.

Jody in Eatonville

When Janie first met Jody, he was a very polite and chivalrous man. He would say nice things to Janie and would treat her well. When Jody arrived in Eatonville, his personality did a complete twist. He put Janie second and did what he thought was best for him. Because the town was small and still forming, Jody wanted to be “the big man on campus” and take total control. A good example of how Jody put Janie aside in his life was on page 51.
‘“And now we’ll listen tuh uh few words uh encouragement from Mrs. Mayor Starks.’ The burst of applause was cut short by Joe taking the floor himself. ‘Thank yuh fuh yo’ compliments, but mah wife don’’t know nothin’ ‘bout no speech-makin’. Ah never married her for nothin’ lak dat. She’s uh woman and her place is in de home.’”
Jody embarrassed Janie in front of the whole town by saying how she was unable to make a speech and how the only place for Janie was at home. The idea of Jody being in charge of the town is getting to him, and it is starting to affect his relationship with Janie for the worst. Jody only cares about himself and making himself more powerful. Janie comes second behind that.

Nature Imagery

Their Eyes Were Watching God is full of several different examples of nature imagery. Janie even referred to a pear tree as an example of her love. On page 17, Janie said, “The vision of Logan Killicks was desecrating the pear tree…” Janie claimed how Logan was ruining the pear tree. At the end of chapter four, another example of nature imagery is used. “They sat on the boarding house porch and saw the sun plunge into the same crack in the earth from which the night emerged.” To Janie, the horizon represents her future and the life that Janie wants. The horizon offers something mysterious, yet exciting for Janie. Janie knows how each day is a completely new day. I think this quote is just referring to how she is going to try to make a new life for herself by running off with “Jody.” This quote might also foreshadow what is going to happen in the future. It might represent how her life with Jody will end in the same way that her life with Logan did.

Janie Returns Home

In the first chapter, the main character, Janie, is returning from a mysterious trip with a man named Tea Cake. The townspeople gather around, watching her walk back to her house. They sit on their porches and gossip when Janie returns back to town. They are envious of her looks and the fact that she traveled with a younger man for some time. Janie seems like she is not fazed by the other women’s comments when she is talking to her friend Pheoby. As we continue reading, we learn more about Janie’s past. As a child, Janie grew up with mostly white children. She never even knew that she was black until she saw a photograph of her standing with the other children. She had to ask someone where she was in the picture because the only person left was a small black child, and Janie knew that that could not be her. These two events are different in the fact that I think Janie has learned to live with being different. When she was a child, Janie was devastated to find out that she was black; yet, when she was older and being criticized by the townspeople, she really did not care what they thought. On the other hand, both of these events are similar because Janie is being critiqued in each one. At first, Janie gets criticized for being the only black child in the picture and not even knowing it. Then, she gets criticized for going on a mysterious trip with a man and for her beautiful looks.