Their Eyes Are Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston

“Now, women forget all those things they don’t want to remember, and remember everything they don’t want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly”. This quoted from Zora Neal Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Are Watching God, explains that women let the non-important things go easily, but if it is important, then women will make sure to obtain it. This can be seen in the novel with Janie. At first, her grandmother pressures her to marry Logan, then she runs from her marriage to marry Jody, but ultimately finds true love with Tea Cake. By the end of the novel Janie forgot what she did not want to remember and remembered everything she didn’t want to forget and with that she built a “rich” life.

In the beginning of the novel, Nanny, who is Janie’s grandmother, wants the best for Janie. Nanny is old and is dying and wants to see Janie married and taken care of before she dies. So, she tells Janie to marry Logan, a wealthy farmer that can take care of her. “Dat’s what makes me skeered. You don’t mean no harm. You don’t even know where harm is at. Ah’m ole now. Ah can’t be always guidin’ yo’ feet from harm and danger. Ah wants to see you you married right away” (Hurston 13). With Nanny dying, Janie is compelled into marrying Logan Stalks. From the beginning of their marriage Janie felt miserable. Logan was not romantic, and treated her like a pack mule. However, one day Janie is working out on the farm and spots a well dressed good looking guy walking down the road. They start talking. After a couple of weeks their talks turns into flirting.

Fed up with her miserable marriage, Janie decides to go against her grandmother’s wish and runs away with Jody. Jody opens up a new world for Janie, thus th...

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...atever she is given, even if she is miserable. But by the end of the novel, it becomes evident that Janie is her own person and actually takes herself and her happiness in to consideration. She achieves this by ending her relationship with Logan, facing off with Jody and finding love and freedom in her relationship with Tea Cake. She gave up Logan who had money, a home, and a stable job; and gave up on Jody who placed her on a pedestal, had money and status in a community. She gave up on all the power and financial stability for a poor man like Tea Cakes simply because he provided her with actual love, respect and freedom. By the end of the book Janie is seen as a confident and independent individual who does not care what anyone thinks about her. She lived her life the way she chose to because as Janie said before she’s already been to the “horizon and back.”