Their Eyes Were Watching God Summary

In the Book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston the main character is a black woman named Janie. The setting of this story takes place in the southern part of america in either the late 1800’s or early 1900’s. At this day in age the black woman was looked at as the mule of the world, having less rights and respect then a man would, and being treated differently because she is black. The book begins at the end of the story, she meets up with an old friend in her hometown after running off with a man that went by the name of Tea Cake. She then begins to tell her friend Pheoby her whole life story. Janie was raised by her grandmother, Nanny, she raises janie by herself and hopes one day Janie will grow and find a wealthy man that

will take care of her. Before Nanny dies she arranges a marriage with a local wealthy farmer. Janie’s problem with the situation is that she doesn’t love the man, she fears she never will.

Nanny calms her and pretty much tells her to tough through it, but the woman in Janie seeks love and happiness this isn’t how she wants to live her life. She begins meeting with another man that goes by the name of Jody in secret to fulfill the woman in her and find a life with happiness. After Janie and the farmer get into a huge argument she runs off with Jody to live in a small town in florida called Eatonville where there is no mayor and only 50 acres of land. Jody expands the town by 200 more acres and builds a store and begins to lead the town in a better direction and is soon given the title of Mayor. The town is poor and Jordy’s wealth makes him appear as a giant among ants, he designates Janie to run the store but he wants her to cover up her beautiful hair as he becomes jealous that other men will be attracted to it. He begins to restrict her from doing things in public, due to her being a female. This angers her but she keeps quiet, Janie doesn't believe that she should be caged at all, she's a flower, let her bloom. As Jordy grows old and begins to decay in age he insults the appearance of Janie to change the topic, but Janie isn't fooled she has aged but her beauty is still very

evident. This is a good self confidence booster in the sense of Janie's womanhood, being able to disregard other opinions and see the true her. After Jordy passes, Janie begins to realize that what her grandmother told her when she was younger wasn't true. You don't need extreme wealth and a man to take care of you to be happy. This is also a big step in her womanhood, she is able to view herself as an independent person. Not an independent woman, but an independent person, she can be happy with herself and now that Jody is gone she feels free. Even months after his death she is ready to put herself back on the market, even though the town would judge her because of how fast she moved on she doesn't care. She has a right to feel the way she does, and she will express it regardless to the opinion of others. This is another defining factor of who Janie is as a woman.