By clinging to what one is accustomed to rather than accepting modern views on questionable topics, one hinders development of the younger generations. Such is the case in Zora Neale Hurstons revolutionary novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, in which the protagonist, Janie Crawford, defies her characterization as both a woman and a member of the African American community in a quest to find her true self. In an effort to give Janie maximum security and protection, Janies grandmother marries her off to Logan Killicks, a man whose family owns a substantial amount of land and can provide Janie with stability. Janie, however, has particular ideals of what a marriage should feel like, and upon realizing that she is nothing more than a working mule for Logan, she leaves him for Jody Starks in hopes that his far-reaching dreams and aspirations will finally allow her to live the life that she always wanted. Jody, however, treats her as a trophy wife, and upon his death, Janie quickly finds love in the free-spirited Tea Cake, her third and final husband who allows her to finally experience the same sensation that she felt under the pear tree. After being subject to and forced into complying with the many different ideals of what an African American woman should be, Janie grows as a person, finding pieces of her inner voice in each one of her failed marriages until she finds Tea Cake and is treated as an equal, ultimately becoming an individual who understands the fulfillment of a loving relationship. Janies growth can be traced with the intensidty of Hurstons language.
Janies grandmother (Nanny) holds the belief that a woman should marry one who can provide her with safety and protection and inflicts her view on Janie, who she forces into marriage with Logan Killicks at an early age simply because she does not believe that she can provide for her anymore. As someone who was subject to the harsh treatment of African Americans during the time of slavery, Nanny believes that a woman of color is lucky to find someone who can provide for her. Janie, on the other hand believes that marriage is an equal partnership between a man and a woman who love each other, which can be mirrored by a pear trees thousand sister-calyxes arch[ing] to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch frothing with delight (Hurston 11). The image is of the tree (the female) waiting for the bee (the male) to penetrate its flowers, which represents that a woman has to want a man as much as he wants her in order for a marriage to be successful. Hurstons powerful metaphor conveys Janies belief that a woman in a relationship as just as much a right to decision-making as the man, which is why Nanny hits her when she initially objects to marriage. Nanny, who is grateful that Janie will have a stable provider, is angered by Janies pouting at the vision of Logan Killicks [that] desecrat[es] the pear tree and will not provide her with the love that she dreams of (Hurston 14). Hurstons choice of the word desecrate portrays the magnitude of the harm that Logan is doing to Janies perfect vision of a loving and sexual relationship. Nanny thus slap[s] [Janies] face violently, and force[s] her head back so that [a] huge tear well[s] up from Janies heart and [stands] in each eye (Hurston 14). In personifying the tear, Hurston expresses how hurtful Nannys oppression of Janie for being ungrateful for the fact that she has a suitor simply because as one who has seen horrors through an African American womans eyes, she believes that it is a blessing to even have one person who is willing to provide for Janie for the rest of her life. Janie has no option but to give up her vision of the perfect pear tree marriage, but nevertheless enters her relationship with Logan ready to make an effort at loving him.
Janie is passed from Nannys hands into Logans, where she is treated like nothing more than a working mule, expected to do physical work in return for the favor that Logan did her by marrying her. Initially, Logan is sweet to Janie, which gives their marriage potential to match Janies sensations under the pear tree. However, within a year being married, Logan ceases to wonder at her beauty and begins to order her to do the work that he believes wives are made for, telling her that she aint got no particular place. Its wherever [he] need[s] her (Hurston 31). Logan thus reveals that he married Janie in order to have another mule to attend to his sixty acres of land. His relationship with Janie is neither one of love nor one that is synonymous to the equality represented by the pear tree. Logan attempts to control all aspects of Janies life, hindering her from expressing her opinions. He is only interested in her as a working mule. Janies dissatisfaction with him is apparent in her description of his physical appearance. Hurstons use of a derogatory similie to describe Janies opinion that his belly is too big and his toe-nails look lak mule foots, perfectly expresses her oppression to her grandmother, who does not care for her complaints and foreshadows Logans treatment of Janie like a mule (Hurston 24) Janie is trapped in a loveless marriage, and despite her attempts to love Logan, he makes it increasingly difficult to do so, at times going so far as to say that he would not care if she left him. Janie thus takes interest in Jody, a man who promises that he does not aim to tole [her] off and make a dog outa [her], [but he] wants to make a wife outa [her] (Hurston 29). Janies marriage to Logan thus contributes to her overall development as an independent woman in that it allows her to grow enough courage to talk back to someone when she is being treated unfairly and to walk out on her husband, a feat that her grandmother would deem shocking.
In turning to Jody as a way out of her downward spiral that she calls a marriage, Janie is fascinated with his dreams and aspirations, but has no way of knowing that she will not be much better off with him than she was with Logan. To Jody, Janie is a trophy wife that he brings to a developing town that he takes initiative to become the mayor of. Janie comes to realize that Jodys power in Eatonville as well has his overbearing need for control limits her freedom. Initially Janie takes a pang to the heart when the town wants her to give a speech at the store as the wife of the mayor, and Jody prevents her from doing so. Jody claims that his wife dont know nothing bout no speech-makin. Shes uh woman and her place is in de home in a powerfully derogatory tone, conveying the accepted ideal in southern communities of the woman being inferior to the man (Hurston 43). Despite that Janie has never thought about making a speech before, the fact that Jody takes away her opportunity to do so makes her angry. She keeps all of her anger inside of her, while Jody remains unconscious of her thoughts (Hurston 62). Another passage that represents Janies power struggle and Jodys constant need to be in charge of everything occurs when Janie argues with Jody in order for him to let her attend the funeral. It is evident by the fact that Janie finds enough inner strength to argue back to Jody that Janie is growing and understand how to deal with the power struggle of her relationship a little more than she did before. However, she does not break out of her shell and cannot question the mayors authority. The argument over the mules funeral best represents situations when Janie fought back with her tongue as best she could, but it didnt do her any good (Hurston 71). Thus she realizes that she had an inside an and outside and know how not to mix them (Hurston 71). She must accept the fact that Jody is highly demanding, which he proves by making her tie her hair into a rag when she is working in the store so as not to attract the attention of other men, but she must take her place and fight her war internally so as not to anger her husband. Her internal war between self-constraint and speaking her mind is a part of the process that helps her realize who she truly is.
Upon Jodys death comes along the questionable Tea Cake, whose intentions prove to be nothing more than innocent and loving. However, by treating Janie as an equal, Tea Cake allows her to grow into an independent woman by listening to her self-expressions. Janie is neither forced into her relationship nor reliant on it as an only way out. Rather, she is attracted to Tea Cake because of what he proves to be through conversing with her. On their first date, Janie look[s] him over and [gets] thrills from everyone of his good points (Hurston 96). Before marrying him, Janie allows herself to fall in love with him, firmly clinging on to her vision of the pear tree and her belief that marriage is a loving union between two people that share a mutual attraction. In her relationship with Tea Cake, she finds that her vision of what marriage is really like is finally fulfilled. She realizes that her grandmother was wrong about how she is supposed to act. She finds a true companion in Tea Cake. Despite the fact that he dies, Janies life is fulfilled because she was given the chance to experience what true love feels like, outside the parameters of her grandmothers vision that marriage should be a safety net. After Tea Cakes death, Janie is able to live with a sense of accomplishment in harmony with nature, similar to her experiences under the pear tree. To Janie, Tea Cake could never be dead until she herself had finished thinking, which signifies his importance in allowing Janie to be the independent woman that she is and that he will forever life in her thoughts (Hurston 193). Hurstons impressively insightful portrayal of how Janie does not grieve heavily over her late husband, but she accepts the fact that he is dead and chooses to remember him as someone who filled the void in her life perfectly captures the essence of Tea Cakes true affect on her. She chooses to take the benefits that she received from the relationship and move on, now confident and able to pull in her horizon like a great fish-net (Hurston 178). With a simile that was alluded to previously in the novel, Hurston conveys thatJanie is in unison with her new world one in which she is a compassionate woman who has lived her life to her own satisfaction. Her relationship with Tea Cake is the reason why Janie is able to speak her mind.
The oppression that Janie suffers under the control of Nanny, Logan, and Jody allow her to seek love in Tea Cake, a man who treats her as an equal and is significant in that he allows her to blossom into an independent woman. Through a series of extended metaphors and powerful similes, Hurston intensifies the magnitude of every insight Janie gains on her journey to discover her true self. Hurston introduces Janies desires in her description of the pear tree. By comparing Janies idealistic view of love to the lack of passion in her actual relationships, Hurston amplifies Janies disappointment in her previous marriages. However, Janies feelings towards Tea Cake are so powerful that they allow her to realize that love is lak de sea. Its uh movin thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and its different with every shore. (Hurston 191). Janie is finally able to break free from believing that love is synonymous with the pear tree because her relationship with Tea Cake allowed her to realize that love is so much more than a representation. It fosters growth, independence, and self-actualization.
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