In this world, there is no such thing as a perfect husband, they can have a lot of good traits but also some bad ones. In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, their were a lot of examples of how a husband should and shouldn’t act. The character Janie gets married two different times before she married the guy she really felt infatuated for. Although he wasn’t the perfect husband, his traits outweighed the other two guys. In her first marriage with a gentleman named Logan Killicks, she was not allowed to have any input in the marriage, therefore did not have the feelings which a relationship really needs. Her second marriage was a lot better than the one with Logan Killicks, but with Joe Starks, he was completely …show more content…
controlling over her and she was rarely allowed to go outside the shop as well as her home.
In her third and final marriage with Tea Cake, he made her feel euphoric compared to the way she had been treated, which made him the best one overall. Some qualities that make up a good husband were in all of these guys, but some had more than the other. Hurston describes each husband differently, but in a good husband they need to be selfless, caring, and nice; Unfortunately Tea Cake in the novel is the only one of the three who has these qualities.
In order to be a good husband having selfless qualities is a really important to have when dealing with a long relationship. If someone is not selfless and they only think about themselves on things, the two people will soon start to lose feelings for eachother and the relationship will not work out. In the novel, Joe Starks is a perfect example of a guy that is a egotistical person.
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When Janie was asked to speak at a town gathering, Joe prevents her from doing so by saying, “‘Thank yuh fuh yo’ compliments, but mah wife don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no speech-makin’. Ah never married her for nothin’ lak dat. She’s a woman and her place is in de home”” (Hurston 43). Joe is controlling of Janie and only wants her to be at home and look pretty as a trophy wife. He is so caught up with how the townspeople viewed his insecurities, it contributes to him becoming more selfish. On the other hand, Janie’s third husband Tea Cake was the complete opposite of selfish and insecure man. Tea Cake would have done anything for Janie, while Joe wouldn’t even let her speak. For example, Hurston says, “Tea Cake split the water like an otter, opening his knife as he dived. The dog raced down the backbone of the cow to attack and Janie screamed and slipped far back on the tail of the cow, just out of reach of the dog’s angry jaws” (166). This act of selflessness describes Tea Cakes character perfectly. When he is faced with a perilous situation, he does not even hesitate and he immediately goes after Janie in an instant. Not a concern or fear, all he was thinking about was keeping Janie safe. While Joe Starks is only worried about his self image, Tea Cake would give his life to the one he loves. Other than having to be selfless to be a good husband, you also have to be caring.
Being caring shows the person that you would do anything they need for them, whether you need money, a favor, or even just being someone that they can talk to. In chapter four, Logan and Janie gets into an argument, when he threatens to kill her saying, “Ah’ll take holt uh dat ax and come in dere and kill yuh!” (31). All Janie did was argue to Logan, because he was trying to control her, commanding that she needs to help shovel the manure. Once she argued that it was not his decision on what she does Logan gets furious and then threatens her with her life. If he really felt compassionate about her, he definitely would not have threatened to kill her. Although he did do this, it also was a forced relationship resulting in failure. For Tea Cake on the other hand, he cares for Janie very much more than anyone Janie has ever met. One example of this is when Janie thanks Tea Cake for all he has done for her, and Tea Cake responds by saying, “You don’t have tuh say, if it wuzn’t fuh me, baby, cause Ah’m heah, and then Ah want yuh tuh know it’s uh man heah” (167). Tea Cake is saying he is going to always be there through anything that comes their way and he wants her to know that there is a man looking out for her. Logan and Joe both had good intentions but never cared for Janie as much as Tea Cake
did. Being nice is a simple yet meaningful trait to have in a relationship, because if they are not nice love can not grow nor a relationship can not build. Joe Starks was nice to Janie at first, but that was just for show. On the outside to the town he was this great, superior, kind man, but when him and Janie are alone his true self reveals. In chapter six, an argument erupts between Joe and Janie by Joe saying, “Don’t stand dere rollin’ yo’ pop eyes at me wid yo’ rump hangin’ nearly to yo’ knees!” (78). Joe makes fun of her for the way she looks, causing a scene in the store. His rude remarks makes him a terrible husband to Janie, and a terrible husband in general. Janie then learns that looks can be deceiving, and to not judge a book by it’s cover because it may come back to get you in the end. Shortly after Joe’s death Tea Cake couldn’t have been any nicer than he was to Janie. From the day they met to the day he died, Tea Cake was so pleasant and courteous to Janie. Right when they met Janie says, “Tea Cake! So you sweet as all dat?” (96). When she says this it is in a somewhat flirty manner towards Tea Cake when Janie starts to gain feelings for the newly met stranger. Once Tea Cake gets done playing checkers with Janie tells him this for being so nice to her, and she feels the need to tell him he is as sweet as tea cake. Joe and her were usually in a constant battle because of a mean, abusive relationship, but Tea Cake and Janie were in love right from the start, til’ their very last words to each other. Janie’s best husband was clearly Tea Cake because of the selfless acts that he portrayed. Tea Cake also showed many examples of being a good husband during the novel, while the others did not. Joe got caught up with his narcissists qualities, image and Logan did not treat Janie the way she thought she should have been treated. Although they were not that good of husbands, Tea Cake showed Janie how she should be treated and what her other husbands did wrong. Joe and Logan failed as husbands because their lack of selflessness, will to care, and to be nice, but Tea Cake shows that he has every one of those qualities in the end.
All three husbands are similar in the way that they all have expectations of Janie as a wife. Logan Killicks, Janies first husband, has expectations of Janie. His motives for his expectations though, are because he wants her to help out on the farm. Logan shows this expectation by saying, “ Naw Ah needs two mules dis yeah. Taters is goin’ tuh be taters in de fall. Bringin’ big prices. Ah aims tuh run two plows, and dis man Ah’m talkin’ ‘bout is got uh mule all gentled up so even uh woman kin handle ‘im” (21). He has the idea that Janie can work with him, Logan makes her carry wood to the house, cut seeds from potatoes, and even move piles of manure. In the same way, Joe Starks expects much from Janie as well. He is motivated by improving his image however, by making Janie Mrs. Mayor Starks she is now Joe’s eye candy. His vision for being a big voice is mainly in Janie’s perfect looks, like in this quote that states, “ Everybody was coming sort of fixed up, and he didn’t mean for nobody else’s wife to rank with her” (34). He expected Janie to be his trophy wife and just look better than everyone else. Tea Cake Woods’ expectations of Janie as a wife is the same as well. He had a different approach on it though, all Tea Cake wanted is for Janie to be his equal and nothing more. His motivation, is love. Tea Cake loves Janie and the way he expresses this is when he says, “Put dat two hundred back wid de rest, Janie. Mah dice. Ah...
All over the world, marriage is one of the main things that define a woman’s life. In fact, for women, marriage goes a long way to determine much in their lives including happiness, overall quality of life whether or not they are able to set and achieve their life goals. Some women go into marriages that allow them to follow the paths they have chosen and achieve their goals while for other women, marriage could mean the end of their life goals. For Janie, the lead character in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, who was married twice first to Joe sparks, and to Vergile Tea Cake, her two marriages to these men greatly affected her happiness, quality of life and pursuit of her life goals in various ways, based on the personality of each of the men. Although both men were very different from each other, they were also similar in some ways.
If Ah ever gits tuh messin’ round another woman it won’t be on account of her age. It’ll be because she got me in de same way you got me—so Ah can’t help mahself." Tea Cake professes his love to Janie by saying that she is the only woman he thought of marrying. Tea Cake knows that he will be loyal to Janie, but can not control other women's urges to flirt with him. When Tea Cake tells Janie that he is the man in her life he says:"You don’t have tuh say, if it wuzn’t fuh me, baby, cause Ah’m heah, and then Ah want yuh tuh know it’s uh man heah." (Ch.18). Tea Cake wants Janie to know that he is nothing like her other husbands, but is perfect for her. Tea Cake is essentially perfect for Janie because he helped her accomplish her her ultimate dream of love. Janie and Tea Cake’s marriage is the key to a good marriage because they treat each other with equality and
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, ...
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.
By doing this, she has shown the community that a person can not always be happy with material things when she or he is not in love. Janie says, "Ah want things sweet wid mah marriage lak when you sit under a pear tree and think." She shows her grandma that she is not happy with her Janie's next husband, Joe Starks was very nice to her and gave her everything she wanted. When it came to Janie wanting to talk or speak her mind, he would not let her, and that made her feel like she was less of a person than he.
Janie gained this experience in love as she discovered that the promises of love are not always true. Janie was promised many things in her life and most of them were the promise of finding love and obtaining it. Janie’s grandmother promised her that even if she did not like Logan Killicks that she would find love in her marriage with him, but Janie discovered that no love was to be found in her marriage and that those more elderly than her would think she was wrong for her values (Hurston 21-25). Then after her marriage with Logan, her luck did not change with her next husband Joe who promised her nothing, but lies. Yet again promises persuaded her into another marriage where she was not happy as Joe went back on the words he promised her
When Janie is with Tea Cake she feels complete in all aspects of life, and feels no need to depend on anyone else but him. When Tea Cake passes away we see Janie almost dependent soley upon herself, but she still confides in her best friend Pheoby when she returns
In the beginning of the story, Janie is stifled and does not truly reveal her identity. When caught kissing Johnny Taylor, a local boy, her nanny marries her off to Logan Killicks. While with Killicks, the reader never learns who the real Janie is. Janie does not make any decisions for herself and displays no personality. Janie takes a brave leap by leaving Killicks for Jody Starks. Starks is a smooth talking power hungry man who never allows Janie express her real self. The Eatonville community views Janie as the typical woman who tends to her husband and their house. Janie does not want to be accepted into the society as the average wife. Before Jody dies, Janie is able to let her suppressed anger out.
...d feels that she is lucky to have him. Joe Starks, Janie's second husband, seems to be her singing bee when they first meet but she realizes that he is not. When Joe becomes what he strived to be, he tried to control Janie and change her into what he expected and thought for her to be. Only Tea Cake, Janie's final husband, truly cared for the person that she really was and treated her as his equal. He encouraged her to speak her mind and tell him her opinion so that they can gain a better understanding of each other. In the course of these marriages, Janie is lead toward a development of self and when she arrives back in her hometown she has grown into a mature, independent woman who was still left with the warm memories of love and laughter with Tea Cake.
In Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God” and “Sweat,” Hurston uses the characters Janie Crawford and Delia Jones to symbolize African-American women as the mules of the world and their only alternative were through their words, in order to illustrate the conditions women suffered and the actions they had to take to maintain or establish their self-esteem.
Perceptions of Marriage in Their Eyes Were Watching God & nbsp; For generations marriage has been accepted as a bond between two people. However, the ideals involved in marriage differ by the individuals. involved. The book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston. clearly demonstrates these differences. In the book a girl by the name Janie was raised by her grandmother and then married to her grandmother. Originally all Janie knew of marriage and love was her grandmother. tells her. As Janie moves on in her life and re-marries, she finds that everybody has their own idea about the role of their spouses in marriage.
...women he has seen walk seven full miles. But at the same time he still wants to feel like the man. In chapter 13, nstead of hitting her to show that, he just wants to be able to support his wife. "Put dat two hundred back wid de rest, Janie. Mah dice. Ah no need no assistance tuh help me feed mah woman. From now on, you gointuh eat whutever mah money can buy uh and wear de same. When Ah ain’t got nothin’ you don’t git nothin’." Tea Cake demonstrates his strong sense of masculinity by making "his woman," Janie, financially dependent on him. He takes pride in being able to provide for a woman who has lived such a privileged life. Although Janie never seems conflicted about living a poor life with Tea Cake, she kind of has to agree to live by what he provides or severely damage his pride. Also Janie likes that feeling of finally having someone who wants to support her.
Zora Neale Hurston has been married and divorced twice, which assisted her in developing Joe and Missy May’s marriage. Hurston’s rocky marriage occurred just prior to the writing of “The Gilded Six-Bits” which portrays a marriage replete with infidelity and hatred. Missy May’s infidelity tests the strength of her marriage with Joe, which ultimately succeeds the trials and tribulations. Perhaps Hurston spared Joe and Missy May’s marriage to prove to herself that marriages can stand through infidelity, because neither of her marriages continued through the hardships. Hurston saw marriage as an important commitment capable of forgiveness and recommitment. Hurston creates Joe, as the character that forgives and forgets, possibly this is what she expected or desired in her own husbands. Hurston uses her own life experiences to depict her characters a...
Starks interpretation on women proper role is that women are valuable objects to look at not to be utilized. The naive Janie falls for Starks words and begins to fall in love with him. Janie ends up leaving Logan Killicks for Joe Starks and starts a whole life in Eatonville as the Mayor 's wife. Janie divorcing Killicks for Starks proves that Janie puts her happiness first in situations simply because she likes the way Starks treats and talks to her. But by Janie marrying twice, this goes against The American Dream myth because the woman is never supposed to leave their husbands. The women are supposed to marry once, and if issues are encountered, they are to be worked out between the husband and