Essay/Term paper: Their eyes were watching god: janie speaks her ideas

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Literary Essays

Their Eyes Were Watching God: Janie Speaks Her Ideas


In life to discover our self-identity a person must show others what
one thinks or feels and speak his or her mind. Sometimes their opinions may be
silenced or even ignored. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the main
character Janie would sometimes speak her ideas and they would often make a
difference. The author, Zora Neale Hurston, gives Janie many chances to speak
and she shows the reader outcomes. When dealing with all of the different
people Jaine faced, she would find a way to speak her ideas, receive a response,
and through this exchange she developed her sense of self-worth.

When Janie found a way to speak her ideas, they would have an impact on
everyone. Though, Janie did not always speak her ideas. She would often do
something that made an impression on someone. The first real action Janie took
was to leave her husband, Logan Killicks. By doing this, she has shown the
community that a person can not always be happy with material things when she
or he is not in love. Janie says, "Ah want things sweet wid mah marriage lak
when you sit under a pear tree and think." She shows her grandma that she is
not happy with her

Janie's next husband, Joe Starks was very nice to her and gave her
everything she wanted. When it came to Janie wanting to talk or speak her mind,
he would not let her, and that made her feel like she was less of a person than
he. Until one day, towards the end of their long marriage, when Jody made a
very mean comment about Janie's body. She came back with, "When you pull down
yo' britches, you look lak de change uh life." After these words came out,
Jody hit her. These harsh words could never be forgiven. At the end of their
marriage, before Jody died she finally told him her feelings. "....And now you
got tuh die tuh find out dat you got tuh pacify somebody besides yo'self if you
wants any love and any sympathy in dis world. You ain't tired to pacify nobody
but yo'self. Too busy listening tuh yo'own big voice," said Janie.

Her final and most loved husband was Vergible "Tea Cake" Woods. She could
talk most openly with him. Once, she accused Tea Cake of having a liking for
Nukie. He quickly reassured her that he didn't, and there was nothing to be
worried about. After Tea Cake's death, Janie was too upset to wear mourning
clothes. She instead wore her normal outfit, overalls and boots. This shows
that her love for Tea Cake was so strong that she could not think about anything
or anyone but him.

Janie received many responses from her family and friends, when she
expressed herself. When she was young her grandma hit her for saying that she
was not interested in Mr. Killicks, and because she was kissing another boy
under the pear tree. At the cost of Jody's embarrassment, Janie got smacked.
There were times when the whole town would not understand her actions,and she
would have to some how explain herself to the community.

Through speaking her mind to her different husbands, she was able to see
who really loved her and was interested in her opinions and ideas. Janie would
speak her ideas and, receive a response and through this exchange she developed
her sense of self-worth. When she spoke her mind, the people in the town were
able to reflect upon what she was saying. Her impact made people see her as
more than a simple house wife. Furthermore, when Tea Cake let her participate
in the work, it made her feel like she was worth something more than just a
wife. Tea Cake had given Janie the self-worth that she needed. He had given
her the confidence to pull the whole world onto her shoulders and she found
great happiness in his memories. She learned a lot through Tea Cake's love and
she was very happy being with him. Janie's marriage with Tea Cake was finally
like "sitting under a pear tree to just think."