Janie Crawford's Journey In Their Eyes Were Watching God

Their Eyes Were Watching God is the story of Janie Crawford and her search and adventure to find love. Throughout the book we meet many characters that have a range of personality. In the novel there are three main characters that fuel the story line of the book. The protagonist of the book is Janie Crawford Killicks Starks Woods. Janie’s story is her quest for what she considers to be love, but also her journey to find her own identity. As the book progresses the reader can see that Janie develops her use of language and the connection she has with her own voice. At the beginning of her journey Janie is quite unsure of whom she is or what she wants to do with her life. However, at the end of the book Janie returns to the town of Eatonville …show more content…
Under the tree, she observed “a perfect union of harmony” within nature, in the form of a bee pollinating a bloom. After watching the relationship between the bee and the bloom, she realizes that this is the kind of love she wants to achieve. A cooperation that contributes to oneness with the world, but she is unsure of how to go about finding this love. At this point in the story Janie isn’t even able to explain to herself exactly what she wants. In Janie’s first marriage, her grandmother arranged for her to marry a farmer by the name of Logan Killicks. Janie believes that she will learn to love Logan as she had imagined love should be. However, Logan fails to show Janie respect as a wife, and she therefore desires a better life. A life that she believes Joe Starks could provide for her. When Joe Starks first enters her life, Janie believes that he would be the perfect alternative to the dull and hardheaded Logan Killicks. With his eager and determined talk Joe convinces Janie that he will use his ambitions to help her with her dreams, no matter what they may be. …show more content…
Tea Cake is the spark, or catalyst, that aide Janie toward her goals. Before Tea Cake’s arrival into Janie’s life she had just begun to find her true voice, which was demonstrated when she finally stood up to Joe. At the end of the novel, after Tea Cake’s death, we see that Janie continues to be strong and hopeful of the life ahead of her. Therefore Tea Cake plays an essential role in Janie’s life development. When she first meets Tea Cake, Janie had begun to feel the release from being under the strict repression of Joe Sparks, and was beginning to form a strong, proud sense of self. Tea Cake greatly advances this growth for herself. Janie saw the love she had imagined under the pear tree in Tea Cake. Logan had treated her like a farm animal, and Joe silenced her to display as a trophy, but Tea Cake conversed and played with her; he was a whole different personality that was creative and alive, and one that respected Janie’s need to develop. Instead of smothering her own personality, he encouraged it, and he introduced her to new skills and experiences. Even though Tea Cake was the “love” that Janie had imagined, he wasn’t the main thing that she would revolve her life around. For example, by teaching her to shoot a gun, he ironically provided her with the tools and skills that killed him. Janie’s decision to save herself rather than give her life up to the now deranged Tea Cake leads toward her

Show More

Janie Crawford's Journey In Their Eyes Were Watching God