In Their Eyes Were Watching God Literary Analysis
In their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie states “Love is like the sea. It's uh movin' thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and it's different with every shore.” What Janie means by this statement is that love is something that changes form with every person one meets, and that love is never the same with someone else. What Janie fails to realize is that she is both the sea and the shore and that the love she is looking for is inside herself.
Janie sees her life as a tree that's full of life. In Chapter 2, a teenage Janie lies beneath a pear tree watching the visiting bees. She then watches as a “dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to tiniest …show more content…
branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight “ (Hurston 11). Under the pear tree is where Janie learns what love is. To her love something that's picture perfect. She wants a love that fulfills both her and the “shore”.
Janie gets married to Logan Killicks with the idea of this picture perfect love that she is searching for. But instead, In chapter 4 Janie finds a life of being compared to Logan's first wife. “ Mah fust wife never bothered me 'bout choppin' no wood nohow. She'd grab dat ax and sling chips lak uh man”(Hurston 26). Logan states that his first wife never asked him to do anything for her, how she always did them herself. Unlike Janie who to Logan is just a spoiled little girl and he feels that he has to keep spoiling her. Other then being married to someone she does not love and being compared to Logan's first wife, she was also blamed for her grandmother and her mother's mistakes. A bit later in chapter 4 Logan calls for Janie to come and help move manure pile before sundown, Janie then reply's that he does not need her help, that their both where their suppose to be. They exchanged a couple words, then Logan gets angry and says “...Ah'm too honest and hard workin' for anybody in yo'family, dat's de reason you don't want me!”(Hurston 32). By saying this Logan accuses Janie her mother ,grandmother, and her feelings, and their was nothing she could do about it. So with out saying a word Janie left.
After leaving Logan, Janie gets married to Joe starks.
Who in chapter 4 states “ De day you puts yo hand in mine, Ah wouldn't let de sun go down on us single. Ah'm uh man wide principles. You ain't never knowed what it was to be treated lak a lady and ah wants to be de one tuh show yuh....” (Hurston 29). And just like he said as soon as Janie gave him her hand, Joe married Janie and headed to Eatonville, where Joe wanted to me a big Voice. Janie figured that the life Joe promised her sounded better then the one she had before. But what she wasn't ready for was a being with someone who could care less about what she had to say. One day Janie starts to notice that Joe was getting old and Joe noticed it as well. So to keep eyes off him he starts to harass Janie about her age and the way she looked. But Janie's had enough and stands up for herself. In chapter 7 Janie states “ You big-billies round here and put out a lot of brag, but 'tain't nothin' to it but yo' big voice. Humph! Talkin' 'bout me lookin' old! When you pull down yo' britches, you look lak de change uh life.” (Hurtson 79). Janie was getting tired of being insulted about her age and looks in front of everyone in the store, so she attacks Joe insult him about his looks and she also attack his man hood. He then get sick and blames Janie. He stops eat her food thinking that she's poisoning him and he's consoling with quacks to find a cure for his illness. Janie send for a real doctor to find out what wrong with Joe. The doctor checks Joe and come to the conclusion that his kidneys have stopped working and that Joe will soon die. Janie felt sorry for Joe and decides to see him before he dies but Joe was being distant and cold. Janie tried to talk to him but it escalated into and argument, then suddenly Joe
dies.
After being married to Joe for so many years Janie finally felt free and she enjoyed every bit of it. She then meets Teacake while at the store. Everyone had gone to the game. Teacake taught Janie how to play chess, shot a gun. He toke her fishing, toke her on picnics, Janie was happy. Janie found the picture perfect love that she's been searching for all her life with Teacake. Janie decides to run away with Tea Cake. So the next morning Janie left for Jacksonville. She arrives in Jacksonville to find Tea Cake in a blue suit and straw hat and he quickly took her to the preacher's house to marry her. So then Tea Cake takes her to the Everglades, when Janie gets their she is overwhelmed by the fields of the Everglades. Before the season's migrant workers arrive, Janie and Tea Cake make themselves comfortable. They planted beans, and went hunting together. While Tea Cake was in the field, Janie stayed home cooking, but Tea Cake started to get lonely and began leaving work just to see her. So Janie decided that she'd work on the munk along side Tea Cake. One day the Native American told them that their was going to be a storm coming and that they were headed to high grounds. Tea Cake decides to stay, everyone that stay were at Tea Cakes house until the storm started. In Chapter 18 Janie says “...People don't die till dey time come nohow, don't keer where you at. Ah'm wid mah husband in un storm, dat's all” (Hurston159). Janie doesn't care about what happens as long as she's with Tea cake. During the storm Tea Cake get bit by a dog. The wound heals and Tea Cake starts rebuilding the dike. Four weeks after he comes home with a headache. He was unable to eat. He woke up in the middle of the night in a choking fit, He tried to drink water but couldn't. Janie gets a doctor to check Tea Cake. He tells her that Tea Cake has rabies, and that it might be to late to save him but the doctored ordered medicine from Palm Beach just in case. The rabies messes with Tea Cakes mind. Janie sneaks off to see if the medicine arrive. Janie gets scared when she finds the pistol under Tea Cakes pillow. Janie tells him that she's going to see the doctor and Tea Cake get angry. While he's out in the outhouse, Janie checks the pistol, she removed three bullets instead of unloading it. Even crazier then before Tea Cake grabs the pistol and Janie took her rifle hoping to scare him. Tea Cake shoot three times before Janie realized that she was going to have to shoot him. Tea Cake dies, Janie give him a royal burial. Stayed on the munk for awhile, then headed back home to Eatonville taking with her a packet of seeds, she planed to plant in memory of Tea Cake.
Janie then realized that the love she was searching for was in side herself but she also found it with Tea Cake. She could care less about everyone in town, and she new that they'd talk about her behind her back. In Chapter 20 Janie states “Two things everybody's got tuh do fuh themselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin' fun themselves”(Hurston 192). Janie found how to do both of those thing, she found God, and she also found out how to live and love herself.
Janie sees her life as a tree that's full of life. In Chapter 2, a teenage Janie lies beneath a pear tree watching the visiting bees. She then watches as a “dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to tiniest …show more content…
branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight “ (Hurston 11). Under the pear tree is where Janie learns what love is. To her love something that's picture perfect. She wants a love that fulfills both her and the “shore”.
Janie gets married to Logan Killicks with the idea of this picture perfect love that she is searching for. But instead, In chapter 4 Janie finds a life of being compared to Logan's first wife. “ Mah fust wife never bothered me 'bout choppin' no wood nohow. She'd grab dat ax and sling chips lak uh man”(Hurston 26). Logan states that his first wife never asked him to do anything for her, how she always did them herself. Unlike Janie who to Logan is just a spoiled little girl and he feels that he has to keep spoiling her. Other then being married to someone she does not love and being compared to Logan's first wife, she was also blamed for her grandmother and her mother's mistakes. A bit later in chapter 4 Logan calls for Janie to come and help move manure pile before sundown, Janie then reply's that he does not need her help, that their both where their suppose to be. They exchanged a couple words, then Logan gets angry and says “...Ah'm too honest and hard workin' for anybody in yo'family, dat's de reason you don't want me!”(Hurston 32). By saying this Logan accuses Janie her mother ,grandmother, and her feelings, and their was nothing she could do about it. So with out saying a word Janie left.
After leaving Logan, Janie gets married to Joe starks.
Who in chapter 4 states “ De day you puts yo hand in mine, Ah wouldn't let de sun go down on us single. Ah'm uh man wide principles. You ain't never knowed what it was to be treated lak a lady and ah wants to be de one tuh show yuh....” (Hurston 29). And just like he said as soon as Janie gave him her hand, Joe married Janie and headed to Eatonville, where Joe wanted to me a big Voice. Janie figured that the life Joe promised her sounded better then the one she had before. But what she wasn't ready for was a being with someone who could care less about what she had to say. One day Janie starts to notice that Joe was getting old and Joe noticed it as well. So to keep eyes off him he starts to harass Janie about her age and the way she looked. But Janie's had enough and stands up for herself. In chapter 7 Janie states “ You big-billies round here and put out a lot of brag, but 'tain't nothin' to it but yo' big voice. Humph! Talkin' 'bout me lookin' old! When you pull down yo' britches, you look lak de change uh life.” (Hurtson 79). Janie was getting tired of being insulted about her age and looks in front of everyone in the store, so she attacks Joe insult him about his looks and she also attack his man hood. He then get sick and blames Janie. He stops eat her food thinking that she's poisoning him and he's consoling with quacks to find a cure for his illness. Janie send for a real doctor to find out what wrong with Joe. The doctor checks Joe and come to the conclusion that his kidneys have stopped working and that Joe will soon die. Janie felt sorry for Joe and decides to see him before he dies but Joe was being distant and cold. Janie tried to talk to him but it escalated into and argument, then suddenly Joe
dies.
After being married to Joe for so many years Janie finally felt free and she enjoyed every bit of it. She then meets Teacake while at the store. Everyone had gone to the game. Teacake taught Janie how to play chess, shot a gun. He toke her fishing, toke her on picnics, Janie was happy. Janie found the picture perfect love that she's been searching for all her life with Teacake. Janie decides to run away with Tea Cake. So the next morning Janie left for Jacksonville. She arrives in Jacksonville to find Tea Cake in a blue suit and straw hat and he quickly took her to the preacher's house to marry her. So then Tea Cake takes her to the Everglades, when Janie gets their she is overwhelmed by the fields of the Everglades. Before the season's migrant workers arrive, Janie and Tea Cake make themselves comfortable. They planted beans, and went hunting together. While Tea Cake was in the field, Janie stayed home cooking, but Tea Cake started to get lonely and began leaving work just to see her. So Janie decided that she'd work on the munk along side Tea Cake. One day the Native American told them that their was going to be a storm coming and that they were headed to high grounds. Tea Cake decides to stay, everyone that stay were at Tea Cakes house until the storm started. In Chapter 18 Janie says “...People don't die till dey time come nohow, don't keer where you at. Ah'm wid mah husband in un storm, dat's all” (Hurston159). Janie doesn't care about what happens as long as she's with Tea cake. During the storm Tea Cake get bit by a dog. The wound heals and Tea Cake starts rebuilding the dike. Four weeks after he comes home with a headache. He was unable to eat. He woke up in the middle of the night in a choking fit, He tried to drink water but couldn't. Janie gets a doctor to check Tea Cake. He tells her that Tea Cake has rabies, and that it might be to late to save him but the doctored ordered medicine from Palm Beach just in case. The rabies messes with Tea Cakes mind. Janie sneaks off to see if the medicine arrive. Janie gets scared when she finds the pistol under Tea Cakes pillow. Janie tells him that she's going to see the doctor and Tea Cake get angry. While he's out in the outhouse, Janie checks the pistol, she removed three bullets instead of unloading it. Even crazier then before Tea Cake grabs the pistol and Janie took her rifle hoping to scare him. Tea Cake shoot three times before Janie realized that she was going to have to shoot him. Tea Cake dies, Janie give him a royal burial. Stayed on the munk for awhile, then headed back home to Eatonville taking with her a packet of seeds, she planed to plant in memory of Tea Cake.
Janie then realized that the love she was searching for was in side herself but she also found it with Tea Cake. She could care less about everyone in town, and she new that they'd talk about her behind her back. In Chapter 20 Janie states “Two things everybody's got tuh do fuh themselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin' fun themselves”(Hurston 192). Janie found how to do both of those thing, she found God, and she also found out how to live and love herself.