Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie Sacrifice

What a person values becomes apparent when you see what they are willing to sacrifice. Their morals and needs come to the surface as they are forced to decide what they want to preserve. In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” the main character, a woman named Janie, faces trials and tribulations on life’s path chasing her idea of what happiness is. In this novel, as well as most stories featuring a journey, Janie leaves the safety and comfort of her home to complete her “quest” for love and after learning and growing she returns home to recount the adventure and wrap up the journey. Janie matures and begins to find herself and eventually she unveils a passion for the truth. Her values truly as shine as she decides to leave

the life she knows for a younger man, Teacake. While Teacake doesn’t hold land or money he holds her heart and with that he embodies everything she wants out of her life. As a result of her growth she realizes the value of the truth in love and works to create her own happiness, sacrificing her financial and physical safety as well as risking her reputation in the name of love.
Sacrifice is not a stranger in “Their Eyes Were Watching God” as Janie’s life is altered and shaped by the sacrifices made by herself and the people around her.

After years of surrendering her dignity in the name of a constructed love she is free to be and to find herself after the death of her second husband Joe Starks, or “Jody”. Her hair symbolising her woman-hood is let down to be free after she burns the head scarves that symbolically and literally hid a piece of herself from the world she wanted to be a part of. While janie sacrificed her dignity and her morals for Jody she was not sacrificing in order to live by what she values most, it was for survival more than want. However, we see her true need for real love when she begins seeing Teacake and risking multiple aspects of her life for him. Janie is a lighter skinned woman, putting her in a higher social rank due to the racism infringed on people even in the African American community. She has a good amount of money in the bank and she has a rather high social ranking due to her deceased husband Jody being the mayor of the town prior to his death. These factors all lead to Janie not only being an upstanding member of the community but also a very desirable woman for a number of men in the town. Teacake on the other hand is nearly the opposite. He is very dark skinned causing bias’ against him and his relations with Janie. While much of the town judged behind her back on this aspect one character, Mrs. Turner,

brought the “concerns” straight to janie, saying “I hates to see folks like you and me mixed up with them (darker men). Us oughta class off.” He doesn’t have much money or land and he is years younger than Janie, causing further discontent from observers. Engaging with Teacake could potentially lead to Janie being robbed of all that she has, soiling her reputation as well as her pride. Leaving with Teacake means leaving her house and her money to trust this man with her needs and her life, hoping that he will take it all and return the love and satisfaction she’s been seeking. In order to leave with Teacake and pursue her most desperate wants she has to leave the security of her life in the financial and social aspects of it. In abandoning all that she knows and has just to be with a man that loves her we see that Janie places a real relationship founded on true love above money and reputation.
The physical loss of money and condescending opinions from the community are not the only repercussions Janie has to fear in a relationship with Teacake. While waiting for Teacake Janie feels doubt and anxiety eat away at her. She says “Bet he’s livin with some woman or ‘nother and takin’ me for a fool” while trying to convince herself that he’s gone and she’s lucky for it. Teacake, being a younger man whose very charming and mysterious even, fills Janie with fears of unfaithfulness and manipulation on his part. When Janie leaves her home she has no way of knowing whether Teacake is truly being sincere with his feelings for her or if he is only tricking Janie for his own personal gain. She feels secure when he is there to reassure her, but when he is gone the suspicions begin to get the best of her. Insecurities and fears stem from the woman in her town who was in a near identical situation. An older woman ran away with a younger man she thought loved her but when the man had taken all of her money he abandon her, so she returned home “broken and her pride was gone.” To overlook this cautionary tale is nearly impossible for Janie as everyone in town is warning her to beware. She’s sacrificing her mental health in leaving with Teacake as her worries and doubt start to flood her head unlike before. She leaves the sanctity and the safety of her normal life as she takes the leap of faith with Teacake, trusting his intentions and words to be true in spite of the towns warnings.