Opinion

In my opinion, I'd give this book a 8.5/10. It's a great book, but at times it got confusing and I'd have to reread some paragraphs over again. Overall I'd recommend this book if you are willing to take the time to reread some lines and be MIND BLOWN/INSPIRED.

I learned that you don't need to be dependent to have power within yourself. And you must surround yourself with friends who actually care about you in order to achieve high a self-esteem instead of them using you as a status booster. Self empowerment; it's there, but you must find it.

Theme

The overall theme in the book is the control of language as the source of identity and  spiritual awakening. When Janie is in a relationship with Jody, he does not allow Janie to freely speak her mind and suppresses Janie's individuality, whereas Tea Cake engages her speech and appreciates her outside and inside. Janie discovers herself through her speech interactions with other and learns that silence too can be a source of empowerment; having found her voice, she learns to control it as well.

We learn that, through our daily interactions with the surrounding people, we could either hide or embrace our individual personalities.

Literary Device

The author uses a lot of strong diction and imagery to create an awe and contemplative tone. Janie observes a pear tree and the horizon to idealize her views of nature and how perfect the moment was when the bees went to pollinate the pear flowers. That setting adds to the full effect of Janie reflecting on her self-worth and find herself. It was a bit ironic because Tea Cake taught Janie how to shoot a gun, but ended up getting shot by her towards the climax. This book also had foreshadowing in it. In the beginning of the book, it describes Janie coming back to Eatonville and starts talking to Pheoby about her journey. That story paves the way for the whole story to begin and at the very end, she describes how she goes back to Eatonville and talks to Pheoby.

Plot Summary

It starts off with Janie returning to Eatonville, Florida after a long absence. The black townspeople start gossiping and try to speculate what had happened to her young husband, Tea Cake. They don’t take her seriously, but her friend Pheoby Watson sticks up for her. She goes to Janie to try to figure out what happened and the conversation they have frames the story.

Janie was raised by her grandmother after her mother left. The grandmother loves Janie dearly, but since her life was a slave the experience with her own daughter (Janie’s mother), her worldview changes. The grandmother’s desire is to marry Janie to a husband as soon as possible so Janie could get security and social status for herself. She finds a much older farmer named Logan Killicks and insists Janie to marry him. After they get married and settled together, Janie is miserable. All Logan does is treating her like a work slave. One day, Joe Starks or “Jody”, strolls down the road in front of the farm and starts to flirt with Janie. They flirt for a couple of weeks before Janie runs off and marries him.

                

Janie and Jody travel back to Eatonville where Jody tries to be the mayor. He soon becomes mayor owning stores, postmaster and is the biggest landlord in the town. Even though Jody becomes rich and mayor; Janie searches for something more. She becomes unattached to her relationship she and Jody share. She wants to be part of the social life in town, but Jody restricts her every move. All Jody sees Janie as is a collection to his wealth and power and tries to change her. Janie quietly submits to Jody; however, she remains passionate and full of dreams inside.

                

After lasting two decades or marriage, Janie finally asserts herself. When Jody says she looks bad, Janie starts to insult him telling the townspeople how ugly he really is. He savagely beats her and their marriage fall apart. Jody becomes very ill and after months without interaction, Janie visits him on his deathbed. As she scolds him, Jody dies.

                

After he died, Janie feels really free for the first time in all her years. She rejects all the suitors because she just loves her new found independence. But when Tea Cake, 12 years younger than she, enters her life, Janie is immediately attracted to him. She begins to date him and the whole town criticizes her. Nine months later she sells all the land Jody used to own and leaves town with Tea Cake for Jacksonville. Long story short, they get married and they encounter difficulties. Tea Cake steals her money and leaves her, making Janie think he married her for money. He later returns and explains he never meant to leave her, but it was only because he was weak. After, they share all the experiences and opinions together. They move to the Everglades, where they work during the harvest season and socialize during the off season. Tea Cake’s friendly vibe makes their shack the center of entertainment and social life.

                
But then a hurricane comes to the Everglades only two years after their marriage. As they try to escape flooding waters, a rabid dog bites Tea Cake. Not knowing the dog’s condition; three weeks later, Tea Cake falls ill. Because he has rabies, he got mad and that started to control his judgment entirely. He starts thinking she’s cheating on him with other guys and then Tea Cake starts shooting his pistol which left Janie no choice but to kill him in order to live. Janie is immediately put on trial, but the all-white and all-male jury finds her not guilty. She returns to Eatonville and the townspeople start to gossip about her again thinking Tea Cake has left her and took all her money. Janie wraps up her tale to Pheoby and later that night she feels one with Tea Cake and at peace with herself.

Main Characters

Janie: I believe that the story is centered on Janie’s relationships with other people, but that’s only a cover up for her search for spiritual enlightenment and to search for her own identity. It’s not about her finding a partner, but rather a quest for a secure sense of independence.

Tea Cake: He functions as the first step to help drive Janie toward her goals. Unlike the other men in Janie’s life, Tea Cake plays only a supporting role that helps Janie develop. I feel his purpose for teaching her how to shoot a gun and how to better understand herself was help Janie fine happiness and security within herself and not in someone else.

Jody Starks: Jody is the exact opposite of Tea Cake. He’s cruel, conceited, and uninterested in Janie as a person. Although they do marry each other, Jody only sees Janie as an object he could use for schemes. All Jody wants is to have his way all the time. I believe it’s just a reflection of the values he holds and the way he understands his relation to the world.

Historical Context of the Book and Setting

Zora Neale Hurston wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God in 1937. She was born in January 7th, 1891 and the Civil War ended roughly 30 years prior to her birth. Even after that, she grew up in the south where there were still a bunch of segregation, tension and lynching. Sadly, all these attributes in the south were part of her everyday life and were viewed as second class citizens during that time period. The books takes place in Eatonville, Florida, which was the first black town, created after the emancipation proclamation was signed by Abraham Lincoln.