Analysis Of Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

Anthony Liccione once said "Money spent, will never out value time spent" in this novel Janie struggles to understand the meaning of love because many of her lovers have a price tag and a social standing on it. Their Eyes Were Watching God was authored in 1937 and was one of Zora Neale Hurston’s best pieces of literature the focus point in this novel was on the life of Janie and the struggle to find satisfaction within love. The true meaning of love soon becomes perfectly clear through the lessons learned from her multiple marriages. Soon Janie will learn that love does not come out of price tags, social standings or fancy things but out of the heart where all true love rest.

The story starts off with Janie who is our protagonist and dynamic

character she is shaped and molded from the many situations within her relationships. Her views on love changed from the beginning of the novel to the end her attitude and personality is shaped and transformed from her previous relationships. As she learns lessons about life and love she learns that love cannot just grow from nowhere just because she's married, she learns that marriages have nothing to do with the social standings of a person or the money in their pocket but the natural attraction between one person and another. Throughout the book you see her go from day dreaming and kicking her feet up to being forced to work, to working because she is trying to be submissive to her husband, to working because she does not want to leave the side of her lover. Every marriage taught Janie a different message and opens her eyes to the realization of life and love.
Janie is raised by her grandmother commonly referred to as nanny in this book. Janie is black and white with nice long, fine hair which is usually the main attraction about her. For most of her childhood Janie lives in the backyard of a white family, her nanny works for named the Washburn's. The fact that Janie is a mulatto child already places her above the average black back in this time frame. She is not made to work and is allowed to play with the Washburn kids who treat her no differently. It is not until she got to school that she realizes that there is a "problem" with her staying in the backyard of white folks and playing with their kids. She tells Pheoby while she is explaining her life to her in the beginning of the book that “Us lived dere havin’ fun till de chillun at school go to teasin’ me’ bout livin’ in de white folks’ backyard” (page9). Nanny knows the Janie is being teased for this so nanny saves up money and moves them to a house of their own.
Next we see Logan Killicks who is introduced as a picked love interest for Janie by her nanny who believes he will protect Janie financially. Logan is a flat character described as a wealthy older black man who owns sixty acres of land along with smelly feet, and a big belly not even somewhat appealing to Janie she reluctantly marries him because that is her nanny's wishes and she feels that the love will grow on them as the time passes. At the beginning of the marriage Logan shows Janie a little attention he butters her up with sweet nothings but that soon comes to an end when Logan gets to thinking Janie is ungrateful, spoiled, and never really had to put in much hard work. After a while Logan tells Janie “if ah kin haul de wood heah and chop it fuh yuh, look lak you ought be able tuh tote it inside” (page26). The fact that Janie is not interested in Logan and is treated more as property than as a wife pushes her away along with the fact that Logan believes that no matter how he treats or talks to her that by telling her that after he is gone that she will inherit all that was once his will keep her and he is sadly mistaken. This marriage teaches Janie not to settle for loveless “love” regardless of what is promised financially.
After Logan Killicks she runs away with our round character Joe Starks, who is described to have a suave and stylish look about him that catches Janie's eye along with his charm. His flirtatious ways and promises to treat her like lady is supposed to be treated catches the heart of Janie. He clothes her in the finest and gives her attention at first, but once his name begins to spread across the town and he rises on the social ladder, his jealousy and pride take over their marriage he unknowingly begins to mistreat Janie. He forces her to wrap her hair “This business of the head-rag irked her endlessly. But Jody was set on it. Her hair was NOT going to show in the store.” (page55) He also made her stop the conversation with the common people in the town “He wanted her submission and he’d keep on fighting until he felt he had it.” (Page71) with this being stated in the book she allows him to put boundaries on her. Things in their relationship drastically change for the worst once he lays his hand on her in front of the townsfolk “A feeling of coldness and fear took hold of her. She felt far away from things and lonely” (page 46). This pushes Janie away, she could no longer sees the man she once knew “So Janie had another day. And every day had a store in it, except Sundays” (page51) she lived by this schedule and she followed it daily never changing it until Joe passes. Her lesson from this was no matter who you think you married things can always change and jealousy, money and power can take over someone she once loved.
Once Joe died Janie felt a sense of freedom again, she tells Pheoby “’Tain’t dat Ah worries over Joe’s death, Pheoby.

Ah jus’ loves dis freedom” (page93). She ran the store as usual and even though she was not looking for it she was still open to the thought of love. Then came along Tea cake the protagonist character who is younger than Janie but charms her with his good looks and a playful spirit. Although he didn't have money and a very high social ranking as Janie's past husbands, she could appreciate his good heart and kind spirit more than the money or social rankings. He treated Janie as equal not as a trophy to be showed off he laughed joked and even played checkers with her the first time he came in contact with her he said “How bout playin’ you some checkers? You looks hard tuh beat.” (Page95) He shows her that his with her because he found comfort in her not because she was wealthy. Janie tells Pheoby “He ain’t never ast de first penny from me” (Page 112). Janie finally fells all the symptoms of true love in Tea cake she felt comfort, listening ears and even jealousy which was something she was not use to as the book tells us on page 136 “Janie learned what it felt like to be jealous”. Their love for one another was proven even though Janie did not leave in a big fancy house like she was use to and did have the finer things she was fine with that because his love and affection was constantly there. Their love is truly proven once Tea cake got bite by a dog with rabies “They fought and somehow he managed to bite Tea Cake high up on his check-bone once” (Page166). After this bite Tea Cake changed he was more aggressive and controlling. Even through this Janie stayed because she knew the actions were from illness not from the heart. Both of these actions ultimately shows their love for one another, and that no matter the social standing or the age that love is love and once you have experienced true love, you will be satisfied no matter the condition of

things.
By the end of the book Janie no longer cared about how she was viewed and who said what about her. Janie experienced true love which is something half of them could not even imagine doing. Yes she did have to go through three marriages to find it, but at the end of each marriage taught her a lesson and flipped the page to the next chapter of her life. She realized that social standings and money had nothing to do with what's in your heart.