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Coming of age in popular literature
Janie's character development
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Recommended: Coming of age in popular literature
The book I read was Their Eyes were Watching God. The genre of this story was a coming-of-age novel,with an American Southern spiritual journey. The general setting of this story is the early twentieth century, presumably the 1920s or 1930s, in the Rural area of Florida. The main character is Janie. She is sixteen years old and is pursuing passion as she goes through three different marriages. She is an independent individual that never gives up on her dreams and is willing to defy social norms. I can relate to the main character, Janie, because just like her I am also independent. What basically happens throughout this story, the main character, Janie, gets married to three men. The reason for this is because the first marriage did not …show more content…
So this first marriage Janie’s grandmother marries her off to an older farmer Logan Killicks. After Janie moves in with Logan he treats her like she’s nothing. So one day Janie finds an ambitious man named Joe Starks. Janie and Joe start to flirt, and soon enough they run off and get married. They travel to Eatonville, but there Janie and Joe start to have issues in their marriage. Joe would never allow Janie to interact with “common people.” After two decades of their marriage Janie defends herself after Joe insults her appearance. They then get into a huge fight in front of the townspeople and after he severely beats her. Their marriage into shambles and Joe becomes ill. After some months Janie visits Joe at his death bed. She confronts him of they way he treated her and after that he dies. After that Janie meets a man named Tea Cake who is twelve years younger than her. They immediately become attracted to each other and get married, they then move to Jacksonville. After the first week of their marriage Tea Cake steals her money and runs away, after the two encounter some struggles in their marriage. He returns a day later and they discuss their difficulties. Janie and Tea Cake then move to …show more content…
The impact that the conflict has on the main character is that it interferes with her trying to find peace within herself. For example, her first husband thought that Janie would be great value to him and his appearance. These were one of the conflicts that affected Janie. Another example is how Janie’s first husband did the same. Logan, in the beginning of their marriage took advantage of Janie and treated her like she was
Janie's first marriage was to Logan Killicks when she was just a young girl at the age of seventeen. Janie?s wardrobe mainly consisted of aprons and work clothes. Logan was very demanding and controlling over Janie, he made her work in the field and cook all day. Most of her time was spent cooking and she almost always wore her apron. ?That made her feel the apron tied around her waist. She untied it and flung it on a low bush beside the road an walked on??(page 32). Janie threw off her apron while she was leaving Logan, symbolizing how she was no longer under his control and she was now back on her journey for love.
Janie Crawford’s Quest in Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie Crawford, the main character of Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, strives to find her own voice throughout the novel and, in my opinion, she succeeds even though it takes her over thirty years to do it. Each one of her husbands has a different effect on her ability to find that voice. Janie discovers her will to find her voice when she is living with Logan. Since she did not marry him for love, tensions arise as time moves on and Logan begins to order her around.
Self-esteem is confidence in one’s own worth or abilities or self-respect. Janie from Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston and Jefferson from A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines both struggle with establishing a positive self-esteem or a sense of self-worth. Both characters get so overwhelmed by the supremacy of someone or something around them that they doubt their own power, thus, creating a feeling of doubt for themselves and the voice that they have. In order to gain a sense of high self-esteem, a person must endure points of self-doubt.
In, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the author takes you on the journey of a woman, Janie, and her search for love, independence, and the pursuit of happiness. This pursuit seems to constantly be disregarded, yet Janie continues to hold on to the potential of grasping all that she desires. In, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the author, Zora Hurston illustrates the ambiguity of Janie’s voice; the submissiveness of her silence and the independence she reclaims when regaining her voice. The reclaiming of Janie's independence, in the novel, correlates with the development and maturation Janie undergoes during her self discovery.
There are a lot of good husbands out there, but there are also a lot of bad ones too. A good husband needs to be honest, loyal, and kind. Janie has to marry her first husband, Logan, because her grandma made her because he has money. Then she ran off with Joe who becomes the mayor of the first black town. After Joe dies she marries Tea Cake, who is younger than her. Which one of the husbands is the best for Janie.
I believe Janie depended on her past husbands for financial security, and protection from the outside world that she could not make a mends with. Janie's dependence on Tea Cake was a dependence on love, Tea Cake treats her the way she has always wanted to be treated, like the blossom to the bee. When Joe died, he left Janie with money and the store, but she had no one to love nor anyone to keep her company. She needed Tea Cake to fill this void in her life, I believe Janie realizes this when she says, "Tea Cake ain't no Jody Starks...but de minute Ah marries `im gointuh be makin' comparison. Dis ain't no business proposition...
The beginning of Janie’s journey is with her marriage to Logan Killicks, a man with tons acres of land to his name, but to Janie’s knowledge, is just an ugly old bag that has a huge lack of any love or companionship for her. For example, when Janie talks to Logan one night about their relationship he only says “Considerin’ youse born in a carriage ‘thout no top to it, and yo’ mama and you bein’ born and raised in de white folks back-yard” (30). Logan is emotionally destitute towards Janie in the beginning of the marriage. She cannot relate to him in any way what so ever and they both know it as well. In addition, at a point later on in the marriage Logan asks Janie to help him with chores outside, she replies “you don’t need mah help out dere, Logan. Youse in yo’ place and ah’m in mine,” (31). Not only does Logan have an absence of emotion, he also has an absence of love and he expresses the exact opposite of it through his bitterness and anger for Janie. She can now understand that Logan sees himself as supposedly “higher” than her and she loathes it even more. The marriage between Logan and Janie isn’t equal...
what she pleased after Jody, as in she kept herself high even though at the very end she had killed Tea Cake. One quote that has always stuck to be in this book is when the author shows how Janie is alive.
In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the character of Janie Crawford experiences severe ideological conflicts with her grandmother, and the effects of these conflicts are far-reaching indeed. Hurston’s novel of manners, noted for its exploration of the black female experience, fully shows how a conflict with one’s elders can alter one’s self image. In the case of Janie and Nanny, it is Janie’s perception of men that is altered, as well as her perception of self. The conflict between the two women is largely generational in nature, and appears heart-breakingly inevitable.
Janie’s first marriage was to Logan Killicks, an accomplished middle aged farmer. Her grandmother wanted Janie to be financially set and be protected, so she pretty much forced Janie into marrying Logan. With her grandmothers rough past of being a slave and all she did not wa...
Their Eyes were Watching God tells the story of a young adult struggling to find who she is. Janie has had to deal with a lot of struggles. In the novel, it talks about how her family has struggled to get to the point to where they are (pg. 8-20). Later on, in chapter 2, Janie discovers she will be marrying an older man name Logan Killicks, after she was caught kissing Johnny Taylor (pg.15). He is very rich and he has land. Nanny wanted to make sure Janie was set up with the right person. One who would treat her well and one who doesn’t have to struggle for money or land. Janie has to struggle with being controlled. Her feelings are also very suppressed and she can’t be the real Janie she used to be. She also has her own way of defining her freedom. Janie meets a young man they call Tea Cake and she realizes so much in that time of being with him. Death also plays a huge factor in this novel and movie.
A woman is a goddess, a raging storm, and a powerful figure. A woman also is supposed to be kind, gracious, reserved, and respectful, especially in previous centuries. People had to act their class once upon a time. Why is that? In this time, it does not matter what someone’s social class, financial standing, or family name is. However, in the early nineteen hundreds, it meant everything. Janie, from the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, was considered much higher than the rest of the town of Eatonville due to her husband’s stature as the mayor. While many would have appreciated the prosperity, Jody being mayor caused Janie more strife than happiness. She is unwilling to allow herself to be, “classed off,” from the townsfolk she knows and loves. However, what does, “ Janie is a free-spirit, an important social figure, and a courageous goddess of a woman who knows no boundary whether it be social or personal.
Though Janie had three marriages in total, each one drew her in for a different reason. She was married off to Logan Killicks by her Grandmother who wanted her to have protection and security. “Tain’t Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have baby, its protection.” (Hurston 15) says Janie’s grandmother when Janie said she did not want to marry Logan. Though Janie did not agree with her grandmother, she knew that she just wanted what’s best for her. Next, she married Joe Starks, Janie was unsatisfied with her marriage to Logan so Joe came in and swept her off her feet. Janie did not like the fact that Logan was trying to make her work, so Joe’s proposition, “You ain’t never knowed what it was to be treated like a lady and ah want to be de one tuh show yuh.” (Hurston 29) was too good to pass up, so she left Logan and married Joe. Janie’s last marriage was to Tea Cake. Fed up after having been treated poorly by Joe, Janie finally found someone who liked her for who she was. “Naw, ...
Their Eyes Were Watching God, written by Zora Neale Hurston, revolves around the small town world of Janie, a vibrant yet oppressed woman. The reader is taken through Janie’s experiences, which elicit tremendous emotional growth in the heroine. Their Eyes Were Watching God is teeming with symbols; however, one of the most prevalent symbols is Janie’s hair. Her hair conveys far deeper themes that the novel is imbued with. Described as long and flowing, Janie’s hair symbolizes her vivacity and free will; however, it also conveys the theme of being ostracized from a community you belong in. Janie’s hair, although lauded, gives her an appearance that is of stark contrast to the rest of her community.
color of her eyes. Janie was worked hard by Logan. He made her do all