Palomares 1

Jordan Palomares
Mrs. Hodgins
Advanced English 11
May 5, 2016
Their Eyes Were Watching God
During the early part of the 19th century, life in the United States, had several structured
class divisions and each had its own behavior code. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, the
author, Zora Neale Hurston, describes the standards for men and women, rich and poor, as well
as blacks and whites. In a flashback, the main character Janie Mae Crawford, shares her life story
with her best friend, Phoeby, and allows the reader to enter this world. A mulatto, Janie was
abandoned by her mother and was raised by her grandmother. They lived in Florida, in the
backyard of a white family and Janie often played with their children. At the age of six, while
looking at a photo, she noticed she was different and was surprised to discover, Aw! Aw! Ahm
colored! Before looking at the picture Ah thought I was just like the rest. (Hurston p.9) From
this moment, Janie searches for own identity and Hurston shows the struggles that Janie endures
in order to find equality, happiness, and her own voice in a male-dominated society.
Janie, a beautiful, intelligent girl, was a true romantic who loved nature. She often sat
under a pear tree in the back of her grandmothers small log cabin. She imagined herself as one
of the blossoms, and one day she saw a bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom. (Hurston p.11)
She interpreted this as a perfect marriage in nature, and realized the fulfillment of her dreams

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would come with love. However, at that point she did not know that in her world, unlike nature,
love and marriage meant women were inferior, submissive, and their main role was to care for
their husbands and keep them happy.
Janies grandmother, a former slave, was raped by the plantation owner. She gave birth to
a daughter, Leafy, who was also raped by her school master. After giving birth to Janie, she ran
away and was never heard from again. Her grandmother wanted a secure and comfortable life for
her granddaughter. When she saw Janie kissing a young boy, she decided it was time for her to
marry someone stable. She encourages Jane to marry an older man, Logan Killicks, who owns
his own house and sixty acres of farm land. Janie resists, but out of love and respect for her
grandmother, a part of her southern, black culture, she agreed.
At first, Logan treated Janie well but she knew this was not a loving relationship. He was
old, unattractive, and lacked feelings and emotions. Their conversations, in fact, are not intimate
in either a loving or heated fashion. (p.2/5 Literature Resource Center) As time passed, he began
to treat her as an object and a work-mule. He expected her to obey him and reminded her that,
You aint got no particular place. Its wherever I need yuh. (Hurston p.31) The only gift he
planned on giving Janie was a mule. Janie is reminded of her grandmothers words, honey, de
white man is de ruler of everything, as fur as Ah been able tuh find outSo de white man throw
down de load and tell the nigger man to pick it up. He pick it up because he have to, but he dont
tote it. He hand it to his womenfolk. De nigger woman is de mule of the world so fur as I can
see. (Hurston p.14)

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Logan was more concerned with materialistic objects and security than he was with love
and the sharing of emotions. Hurston shows that, true to the behavior of the men of his time, he
saw his job was to work hard and provide while the wife obeyed and appreciated her status,
because he was the boss. In addition, because he was a black man, he had work twice as hard as
a white man to be successful. Janie silently accepted this situation for a while but, not a woman
of her times, she began to speak out, and when she told Logan she was going to leave him, he
threatened to kill her with an axe. While Logan was away to get the mule, Janie sat by the side of
the road and thought about her life. She was extremely depressed with her marriage where,
neither one was capable of full expression, (p. 2/9 LRC) and now she also feared for her life.
She realized her dream was dead, so she became a woman. (Hurston p. 25)
A well-dressed black man, Joe Starks, passed by and stopped to talk. Definitely
impressed by his good looks, confidence, and his dreams she readily accepted his proposal, she
threw off her apron, a symbol of her hard life with Logan, eloped with Joe, and Janie Mae
Crawford Killicks became Mrs. Starks. They settled in an area, Eatonvlle, where Joe worked
hard to build a general store, established the town as an incorporated, all black community, and
was elected mayor. He built a beautiful home and gave Janie many beautiful clothes, and other
luxuries. Although she was not sure if Joe was the bee in her blossom, she was more content.
However, as Joe became more wealthy and arrogant, he began to dominate Janie and
control what she could say and do. Jealous of other men admiring her beautiful, Caucasian hair,
he made her wear a head rag, He began to belittle her by saying things like, Ah see one thing,
Ah understand ten, you see ten things and dont understand one. (Hurston p.49) Joe treated her
as a trophy-wife and felt she was above the other black women, He did not let her join the porch

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sitters in their gossip and stories, and only allowed her to work in the store. Just as on the farm,
Janie again was separated from any community activity, Again Janie had no voice. When Joe was
elected mayor and people wanted Janie to speak he interrupted announcing mah wife don
know nothin bout no speech-makin, Ah never married her for nothinlak dat. Shes uh woman
and her place is in de home.(Hurston p.43)
Janie also did not like the way Joe treated the other black people. He made money from
them in the store and lived in a nice house, yet he criticized the shacks others had but did not do
anything to help improve the situation. She would have agreed with many of the men when they
made comments like You kin feel a switch in his hand when hes talkin to yuh (Hurston
p.49) and hes de wind and were the grass. We bend whichever way he blows. (Hurston
p.49) Hurston showed that Starks was another black man only interested in security and prestige.
The relationship between Joe and Janie was one of order and traditional white materialistic
success. (LRC hep.3/9) Janie, again, silently endured the physical and verbal abuse as well as
well as the domination and lack of real love, although she felt as if she traded a physical
prison for an emotional one.(LRCp.3/9) Eventually, before the years took all the fight out of
Janies fire, (Hurston p.76) she found her voice. She turned on Starks and verbally abused him,
even insulting his manhood, in front of his friends.
The twenty year marriage began to dissolve and Joes health began to fail. Before dying,
Janie told him he never accepted her as she was and not as an equal. As she explained to him,
Mah own mind had to be squeezed out and crowded out tuh make room for yours in me.
(Hp.80) After he died, Janie shouted out the window that her husband was dead and burned all
the head rags, a symbol of her submission to Starks. For the first time, Janie was a free and also

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wealthy woman. She had many suitors but as she told Phoeby, Ah jus enjoy dis freedom.
(Hurston p.93) The lessons from these two unhappy marriages made Janie a more confident
person and when she looked in the mirror she saw herself as she is strong and beautiful. (LRC
p.5/9)
One day, a man Tea Cake Woods entered the store. He was a traveling salesman without
many materialistic possessions, was from a lower class than Starks or Killicks, and was twelve
years younger than Janie. Yet, she felt an immediate attraction to him and thought she may have
found the bee in her blossom. He did not expect her to behave or speak in certain ways. When
Tea Cake invited her to a picnic, Janie suggested he might want to take another lady, Tea Cake
told her,
Naw it aint all right wid you. If it was you wouldnt be sayin dat. Have de nerve to say
what you mean.(Hp.109) Janie knew this man would allow her to have a voice. He taught her
how to play checkers and Janie was thrilled that he enjoyed playing the game with her. He also
taught her to fish and shot and included her in all his activities. With Tea Cakes encouragement
and support, Janie grew even more confident and much to the surprise of everyone in the town,
Janie Mae Crawford Killicks Starks became Mrs. Woods.
They decided to leave Eatonvile and they moved to the Everglades, There they worked in
the fields together during the day and played games and socialized with friends in the evening.
There were a few rough spots. One night Tea Cake went out gambling with some of Janies
money but he thought she not approve of that activity. Another time, out of jealousy, he did slap
her, but Janie seemed to know he was afraid he might lose her. Unlike her other two marriages,

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Janie and Tea Cake talked to each other and worked through their problems. There was a time
when Tea Cake asked Janie if she had any regrets about leaving Eatonville and she told him,
Once upon uh time, Ah never spected nothing, Tea Cake, but bein dead from the standin still,
and tryin to laugh. But you come long and made somethin outa of me. So Ahm thankful fuh
anthing we come through togrther.(p.167) Hurston showed the African American men who were
controlled by white society. She then showed how some, like Tea Cake, who did not follow the
traditional behavior code just as Janie fulfilled her dream as a forerunner for the liberated black
women. (lrc p. 2/6)
When a strong hurricane hit the Glades, Tea Cake and Janie escaped to the inland area of
Palm Sprimgs. During their escape, Tea Cake saved Janie from drowning but, in doing so, a mad
dog bit him. As the disease worsened, Tea cake tried to kill Janie. She knew he would die soon
and when she made the decision to kill him she showed she had a life worth living. (LRCp.7/9)
Janie is acquitted of murder based on self-defense. However, she was devastated by killing her
one soul-mate and the man who gave his life for hers. Janie cleared everything from the Glades
except a package of seeds that Tea Cake wanted to plant. She took those with her as she returned
to Eatonville, wearing her denim overalls that she wore every day when she worked side by side
with her one true love Perhaps as the flowers grew, she would see a bee enter the sanctum of a
blossom.
Hurston began her book with a quote describing the differences between men and women:
Ships at a distance have every mans dreams on board. For some they come in with the
tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the

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Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked by Time. That is the life of men.
Now, women forget all those things they dont want to remember, and remember all the things
they dont want to forget. The dream is the truth.(Hp1)
Despite her struggles in a patriarchal society, Janie was able to bring her dream to shore.
As she told her story to Phoeby, she knew there was hope for women as Phoeby said, Lawd!...
Ah done growed ten feet higher from just listenintuh you, Janie. Ah aint satisfied wid myself no
mo. Ah means tuh make Sam take me fishinwid him after this.(H.p.192)

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Works Cited
Wu, Hongzhi. "Mules and Women: Identify and Rebel - Janie's Identity Quest in "Their Eyes
Were Watching God" | Wu | Theory and Practice in Language Studies." Mules and Women:
Identify and Rebel - Janie's Identity Quest in "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Literature
Resource Center, May 2014. Web. 09 May 2016.
Bealer, Tracy L. ""The Kiss of Memory": The Problem of Love in Hurston's Their Eyes Were
Watching God." ResearchGate. Literature Resource Center, Dec. 2008. Web. 09 May 2016.
Racine, Maria J. "Voice and Interiority in Zora Neale Hurston's 'Their Eyes Were Watching God.'
(Black Women's Culture Issue)." Free Online Library. African American Review, 22 June 1994.
Web. 09 May 2016.
Hurston, ZoRa N. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Place of Publication Not Identified: Virago,
1995. Web. 8 May 2016.