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Mrs. Vestal
English 1 Pre-AP
10 May 2017
All stable married couples have financial security. Financial security can cause social norms
within the relationship to be changed. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston,
Janies amount of wealth influences her ability and inability to make decisions, which impacts the
As Janie blossoms into womanhood, Nanny decides for her to marry Logan because of his wealth
and status, despite Janies ability to make decisions for herself. Nanny believes that a well-off man is best
for Janie, and since she is the legal guardian of Janie, she can decide for her to marry him. Nanny states,
Taint Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have, baby, its protection (Hurston 15). While Janie is unable
to make decisions, Nanny decides for her with a favorable outcome in mind. Janie will have financial
protection & security, but as revealed when she marries Logan, not the romantic stability she longed for
under the blooming pear tree. He provides a home & relative protection for Janie, but he is without
romantic substance. Now that Nanny is gone, Janie makes decisions for herself, but she does so under
Logans watchful eyes. Logan states, YoGrandma and me myself done spoil yuh now, and Ah reckon
Ah have tuh keep on wid it (Hurston 26). This displays that Logan will judge her for the decisions she
makes if it isnt in his favor. The decisions he wants her to make, like for her to decide to chop the wood
or haul with the mule, would benefit him through gained wealth. For Janie, this creates reason for her to
run off with Jody. When Janie first meets Jody, he says, You aint got no mo business wid uh plow than
uh hog is got wid uh holiday (Hurston 29). This shows that he does not want to gain resources from her
work because he does not believe she belongs doing labor. Logan does believe Janie belongs doing labor,
which is the main issue she has with him. Janie decides to leave with Joe, who only has three hundred
dollars in his pocket, because he offers her ladyship, something she wasnt receiving while working with
Logan.
When Joe is mayor and gets richer, Janie becomes unable to make decisions due to the limiting
expectations Joe has for her. When Eatonville is about to celebrate Joes new mayoral position, he tells
Janie that She must look on herself as the bell-cow (Hurston 41). Already, Joe wants Janie to dress &
think a certain way that would display her wealth and importance. While talking to Joe about their new
positions, Janie says that we aint natural wid one nother (Hurston 46). This shows that Janie does not
care about looking high class or good in front of others, so she wouldnt make the decision to dress high-
class or not interact with others herself. When Janie starts hearing the mule talk, Joe does not allow her to
talk with the others because they were trashy people (Hurston 54). Once again, the wealth Joe gains
from being mayor causes Janie to have less self-power. When the mule has a funeral & Janie asks to go,
Jody replies, But you aint goin off in all dat mess uh commonness (Hurston 60). This expresses that
the expectations Jody has for Janie doesnt allow for her to make decisions for herself. The wealth causes
the expectations, and therefore causes her lack of freedom. Janie reveals her true feelings when Jody dies
and she says, you wasnt satisfied wid me de way Ah was (Hurston 86). All along, she wanted a
romantic relationship, but she still wanted to have some decisions of her own. Unfortunately, Joes wealth
While Janie is with Tea Cake, her wealth provides its own stability and allows her to make
decisions for herself. When she is single, she thinks, Besides she likes being lonesome for a change. This
freedom feeling was fine (Hurston 90). Janie now has complete self-control without a husband telling
her what to do. She also has wealth left over from Joe, which means she has money and self-
responsibility. This is the most powerful shes been, and she still makes the decision to marry Tea Cake.
Hezekiah, whos greatly influenced by Joe, says, He aint got no business maikn hisself familiar wid
nobody lak you (Hurston 103). This shows that the people around Janie dont believe that she would go
off with another man, much less a poor man like Tea Cake. Fortunately, Janie loves Tea Cake, and
describes Tea Cake as He could be a bee to a blossoma pear tree blossom in the spring (Hurston 106)
This shows that Tea Cake offers her the stability of a relationship shes always wanted, but he also allows
Finance plays a role in all of Janies relationships, and it plays a role in how she acts herself. Joe
associates money with power, and forces that power onto Janie, while Logans money acts as protection
for Janie. Tea Cake, perhaps the only man that truly loved her, did not act on the money she receives from
Joes death. This explains why she was so much closer to Tea Cake then Joe or Logan, because they did