Finding Selfhood: Janie's Journey in Their Eyes Were Watching God

One of the most important things in life is finding one’s self. Although this may be difficult to achieve, it is necessary. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the protagonist, Janie, struggles with finding her true identity. This led to her round and multi-layered character. Janie has trouble finding herself due to other characters depriving her from the opportunities she has; she allows other characters to take advantage of her. Although Janie has a very independent personality in the novel, she is dependent on others to make important decisions for her.

Janie is an independent character in Their Eyes Were Watching God. She tries to find who she is by experimenting and taking risks. Thomas C. Foster states in

How to Read Literature like a professor, “The real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge” (Foster3). Janie is on a quest to find her identity. This shows the audience that Janie is an independent character; Janie can only be an independent character when she is not being tied down by Joe and Logan. Joe and Logan are antagonists in the novel. They are both former husbands of Janie and both make it difficult for Janie to reach her life goals. Janie states, “Tain’t dat ah worries over Joe’s death, Phoebe. Ah jus’ love this freedom” (Hurston93), after Joe dies and she is finally free. Later, Janie marries Tea Cake and she finally has a voice of her own. She can speak out for herself, let her hair down and makes her own decisions without being controlled by another. “And the thing that got everybody was the way Janie caught on” (Huston131), when she goes shooting with Teacake. She finally doesn’t have to live under someone’s shadow and she can be her own independent person. She is self-ruling but at the same time she depends on others.
Janie is dependent on both Joe and Logan to make decisions for her. These antagonists treat Janie with no respect and don’t allow her to participate in everything she wishes to participate in. “There was one of those big blow-out laughs. Then Jody ruined it all for her” (Huston 69), by forcing her to go attend to the store while he sits outside laughing with the men. Logan, her first husband, forces her to work harder than she ever anticipates and does not treat Janie the way she should be treated. She allows herself to be walked all over yet, she stays quiet. Joe, her second husband that strives for power, views Janie as an object in the novel. He is mayor and as mayor, he believes that he should have a good looking wife to make him look good. In How to Read Literature like a professor it states, “Our quester: A young woman, not very happy in her marriage or her life, not too old to learn, not to assertive where men are concerned,” (Foster4). This quote represents Janie’s complex character due to the fact that Janie is not happy with two of her marriages and she isn’t assertive with the controlling men in her life.
Although Janie can be seen as an independent, free spirited and strong character in the book, she can also be seen as a character that depends on others to make important decisions for her. Throughout the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the audience witnesses Janie’s character become more complex. In the beginning of the novel, Janie is mistreated by her first two husbands that do not allow her to make her own decisions. She becomes independent later in the novel after she marries Tea Cake and she has fun without someone telling her she is not allowed to. The way these characters treat Janie led to Janie’s complexity as a character throughout the book.