I really liked this quote:The years took all the fight out of Janie's face. No matter what Jody did, she did nothing...she was a rut in the road. Plenty of life beneath the surface but it was kept beaten down by the wheels... (72).
In this quote Hurston describes Janie during her marriage with Joe. Joe verbally abuses her continuously, as if she represents the "rut" in Joe's road and controls her oppressively. Although Janie has plenty of life and determination inside her, she is unable to let it all come out because of Joe's oppressive nature. Of course, a prime example of this is the way Joe forbids Janie to let down her hair in public. Janie's straight hair represents her spirit and individuality - it makes her unique in the midst of all the other black woman. I felt that everytime Joe reproved her with verbal or physical abuse a little part of her soul wept in sadness and submission. Thus Joe's vitriolic attacks keep beating Janie down, like the wheels of a wagon perhaps.
I suppose that this attitude of Janie's was very common in the 1920s to the 30s. In fact, women were given suffrage rights only in 1919 - so before that, women were not even in an equal footing! So even though this subservient nature is not typical of Janie, I am sure that it was typical for many women of that time period.
In chapters seventeen to twenty, there are several accounts where Zora Neale Hurston's lifestyle, opinions, beliefs, influences, and attitudes were shown. An important belief that Hurston always believed in was how she opposed desegregation. She believed that blacks were as good as whites that there was no need to even put them together. Why should they have to be put into together? She did not need segregation to tell her she was just as good or better than whites. Being black was something intrinsic to Hurston so she did not feel the need to prove herself.
This belief is shown in certain chapters. An example of this belief in chapter 17, when all the black men ruin items in the Turners house. Hurston says "You see dese no count niggers come in heah and break up mah place" (152) and Hurston also says "We'se goin' back tuh Miami where folks is civilized," (153) and this shows that Mrs. Turner does believes that she is better than the men because she has lighter skin and is more civilized. Hurston made sure that these quotes were added to emphasize how certain colored folks do not need to be put together and its actually better off if they are separated. It also shows that certain people may believe they are better due to their skin color, but in fact they are all the same.
Another example of Hurston's belief of opposing desegregation was in chapter eighteen. Chapter eighteen is the chapter that Tea Cake is forced to bury the dead. At one point when he was burying the dead he "got orders from headquarters. They makin' coffins fuh all de white folks" (171). This order that was demanded shows that Hurston wanted to show how white and black people should not be together. The way they were buried should be separate, just like the way they are going to heaven should be different. Hurston makes it known in many incidents throughout the novel that blacks and whites do not need to be together because blacks do not need to prove to anyone how intelligent, useful, and valuable they can be.
Throughout the course of TEEWG, I have realized that Janie is constantly trying to find her place in society. Janie never feels like she is entirely apart of the black community and at the same time cannot join the white community either. The reader has to keep in mind that Janie is not fully black and therefore has some physical Caucasian traits (her straight hair). One example of this is seen through the character Mrs. Turner who “didn’t cling to Janie Woods the woman. She paid homage to Janie’s Caucasian characteristics and such. And when she was with Janie, she had a feeling of transmutation, as if she herself had become whiter and with straighter hair” (145). *this once again also ties into the idea that Janie’s hair makes her a powerful individual. I also don't believe that Janie ever truly felt that she fit in with the Eatonville community. She always seemed distant from the rest of the community. It was almost as if her white qualities (her hair) make people in the black community look at her in a different way. Everyone seems infactuated with it as I said before in my symbol post about her hair.
Also, during the trial that Janie was put in after she shot Teacake, the black community at first ostracized her feeling that she had done wrong and was a horrible person: " They were all against her, she could see. So many were there against her that a light slap from each one would have beat her death" (185). The white community however supported her. She was tried in front of an all white court that determined that she was not guilty. I wonder if Hurston is trying to prove how difficult it is to figure out where one belongs or if she feels that one needs to find their place in a community.
I feel like this idea is a relatively big one so feel free to add onto it :) -Erin :)
Something that occurred to me constantly throughout the novel was this idea of divine forces. I hesitate to say "God," because I don't believe that God is discussed in the traditional sense in this novel. Rather, Hurston brings up the concept of Death and Fate. The entire novel, in fact, is Janie's quest to reach a spiritual unity with herself. I don't think anyone on this blog has attempted to tackle a motif yet. I'm not 100% sure this is a motif, so I'd like to hear input from others about what you think.
As a motif, we now need to examine how it supports a theme. Ultimately, what Janie learns at the end of the novel is that there are "two things everybody's got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin' fuh theyselves" (192). In essence, a major theme of TEWWG is that one has not lived a complete life until one has taken risks to discover the world for oneself.
Notice how the novel begins: "Ships at a distance have every man's wish 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 Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time" (1). "Time" is capitalized, indicating that Hurston is portraying Time as a deity that has control over human lives. Since Time is mocking an individual's dreams to death, it is the ultimate destroyer of life. The tide coming in is controlled by forces of nature. The horizon is a symbol of Janie's aspirations. I'm not sure if I'm interpreting this quote correctly, but I believe that the ships coming in with the tide are those that have accomplished their goals. In returning, they have taken a piece of the horizon with them. Those that sail forever on the horizon are lost, and the dreams that they carry are mocked to death. In the end, Janie "pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net. Pulled it from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder. So much of life in its meshes! She called in her soul to come and see" (193). Janie feels that she has genuinely lived life because her ship has sailed back to shore. She has seen the effect of fate on her life, but has taken a step further to come back to shore by allowing herself to become enlightened. Unlike the ships that are lost at sea, forever drifting toward the horizon, allowing themselves to be owned by the sea, Janie sails back in with the tide, applying the understanding she has gained from living with Joe and Tea Cake. She has brought her life back to a full circle upon discovering life for herself, thus bringing about the sense of enlightenment and fulfillment learned from the divine forces she encountered and defied.
Another example in which we see divine forces mentioned occurs in Sam and Lige's brawl over whether nature or caution prevents a baby from touching a hot stove: "it's nature, cause nature makes caution. It's de strongest thing dat God ever made, now. Fact is it's de onliest thing God ever made. He made nature and nature made everything else" (65). It is important to notice that this argument takes place after Janie expresses her discontent about not being able to attend the mule's burial. The hot stove represents a life of adventure that Joe forbids Janie from living. Nature, or fate, is holding Janie back. When she goes to defy her fate of a dull life, she is ultimately burned by the death of Tea Cake. However, in this encounter with the wrathful forces of fate, Janie truly discovers herself and feels satisfied with her life.
"Rumor, that wingless bird, had shadowed over the town." (84)
When I was looking over my notes for TEWWG, I noticed I had taken down this quote. The personification Hurston displays in her writing is phenominal and this is a prime example. Of course, rumors aren't tangible things, and wingless birds cannot fly, but the way Hurston shows the upcoming death of Joe, makes it all seem very possible. A bird of course can fly, anywhere and everywhere. The rumor of the impending death also spread everywhere in town, making people flock to the big house to find out the real story for themselves. A wingless bird, however, provides the image of something unnatural, something unbelievable. Joe Stark's death was exactly this. Joe, though he had many faults, still made the town what it was. He built it from the ground up and made it thrive. The fact that such an inflential man was dying was such an odd and unnatural notion, that it alarmed the townsfolk. When Hurston describes it as a shadow over the town, you can almost sense the darkness of the whole idea. It is almost like the calm before the storm where you know something bad is going to happen, but you dont know when it is going to come along. The shadow shows that something is coming, it is in the town's presence, but has yet to make itself known. It is like a terrible sense of foreshadowing in that way. The fact that it covers the whole town really shows the significance of such an event.
(By the way, after some research, I have discovered that a wingless bird actually exists. Its called a Kiwi Bird. Interesting.)
(This contains some plot spoilers, so if you have not finished reading the book, you probably should not read this post yet.)
While trying to save Janie, Tea Cake is bitten by a dog with rabies, and he himself ends up getting the disease. Although Janie tries to take care of him, Tea Cake becomes mentally deranged. This leads to a confrontation which results in Janie killing Tea Cake. I found it interesting that Zora Neale Hurston does not describe Janie’s thoughts as she makes her decision to kill Tea Cake. The narrator describes why Tea Cake shoots Janie. But for Janie, this choice is not explained directly.
The sign of a strong internal conflict when Janie is facing the mad Tea Cake is apparent because Janie does not run after Tea Cake first points the gun at her. She has already set up the gun so that it will not actually shoot until after the third click. She probably can outrun the gun (especially while Tea Cake is in the outhouse). Instead, Janie chooses to stay home, partially due to her concern about his health.
On one side of this conflict is Janie’s love for Tea Cake. When Tea Cake hits her because he is jealous about Mrs. Turner’s brother, Janie can only cling onto him. Similarly, after Janie learns that Tea Cake has rabies, she refuses the doctor’s suggestion to place Tea Cake in a hospital. Even when she discovers that Tea Cake has a pistol under his pillow, Janie is concerned about his health and thinks “she ought not to let poor sick Tea Cake do something that would run him crazy when he found out what he had done” (182). Killing Tea Cake will probably be like killing a part of herself.
Opposed to Janie’s love for Tea Cake is probably her desire to protect herself. However little importance she places on this mentally, I imagine that as a human, she has a propensity for caring about herself. In addition to this, Janie probably realizes how serious the disease is. Although she has sent for medicine, the doctor tells her that Tea Cake should have had those shots right after the bite. Since it is already three weeks after the event, there is a likely possibility that he will die. Perhaps Janie also thinks that she should put him out of his misery. The judge suggests this motive when he says Janie “did a great act of mercy” (188) when she kills Tea Cake. Lastly, there is the possibility that she realizes that however difficult it will be, she can live without Tea Cake. Beforehand, Tea Cake makes many of the decisions when they are together. He chooses to go to the Everglades. He suggests that she learn how to shoot. However, I think by shooting Tea Cake, Janie is demonstrating her personal growth. It would probably be easier for her to be killed by Tea Cake if she is not mentally strong. If she depends on Tea Cake to live, she certainly would not be having such an intense internal conflict. If she can shoot Tea Cake (whom she knows is suffering), she will be showing her independence from others.
By examining these two opposing sides, it is apparent that Janie’s decision to kill Tea Cake is very difficult to make. In the end, Janie and Tea Cake both shoot at about the same time, and Tea Cake ends up dying. This obviously has an impact on Janie, who decides to return to Eatonville because the Everglades become simply muck when Tea Cake is not there. However, I feel that Janie is really able to become independent with this act. As she herself says, by the end of the book, she has had many experiences and is now able to find peace.
After reading Their Eyes were Watching God, it is clear how the different settings throughout the story apply to the plot of the story and the changes in Janie's life. Hurston does a fantastic job of changing the setting from Janie's time with Joe to her time with Tea Cake. In Eatonville, Janie is "civilized" yet unhappy because she is removed from all that is exciting and enjoyable. There is plenty of excitement in Eatonville, from large social gatherings to simple conversations that take place outside the store. The once sleepy town is booming. Yet Janie cannot enjoy any of it because Joe restrains he, wishing to use her as a symbol of his power and not have her intermingle with the more base residents of Eatonville. And so Eatonville promises excitement and happiness, but it is out of Janie's reach. Sound familiar? With his clever words, Joe promised Janie a happy life with him. He seemed to be the perfect man for Janie, one who would treat her as an equal and love her passionately. But such beliefs turn out not to be true, and so do the promises that Eatonville offers. The Everglades are completely different from Eatonville. The "muck" as the Everglades are called have all of the raw, uncivilized excitement that Eatonville lacks. Janie takes a liking to outdoor activities like hunting and fishing. Her life on the muck is far from civilized, yet it is as close to bliss as she has ever come: just like her life with Tea Cake. With Tea Cake in her new home, she is free to do what she pleases without worrying about what society thinks. She and Tea Cake are the first to join in on the Bahaman dances. It is things like these that she could not have done in Eatonville that make her happiest. Janie is much more happy with a crude, dirty (dare I say mucky), but free lifestyle with Tea Cake than she is in the civilized confines of Eatonville with Joe
