Janie Progresses, One Marriage at a Time
Over the course of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie got married to three notable men: Logan Killocks, Joe Starks (Jody), and Vergible Woods (Teacake). Each of these men represents different values (and flaws) in a partner. Janie's character development occurs as she learns more about what she wants in life from each of her marriages.
To start, Janie gets married to Logan when she is still a teenager because it is arranged by Nanny. Nanny believed that this was the best way for Janie to stay safe physically and financially, as Logan was a land-owning man (with a farm). Nanny believes that any additional desirable qualities beyond “can keep you alive” were not nearly as important in a mate, if at all (this is potentially due to Nanny's being raised in slavery and wanting her grandchild to be safe even when Nanny can no longer protect her). Janie saw Logan as repulsive, because he was unattractive, smelly, tried to get her to do farm labor, and threatened to hurt her if he did not get his way. These attributes caused her to quickly realize that she did not share the same values as her grandma, and she instead wanted to be with someone for the adventure. This caused her to run away and marry the next man she saw: Joe Starks.
To Janie, Jody seemed to be an upgrade from Logan. Jody was attractive and ambitious, with big dreams of becoming a mayor. This provided a stark contrast to Logan, who didn't seem to be making any noticeable changes in regard to his job, actions, or lifestyle (to put it plainly, Logan wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but Jody was). Jody also said that he would “make a wife” out of Janie not “a dog”. Originally to Janie that sounded like a good thing (not having to work), but when she found out what his interpretation of a wife was (sitting and looking pretty while not having freedom), she became less thrilled. Janie thought that this marriage was going to be one of love, but she more or less ended up playing the role of a wife, rather than having the sincere emotional experience of being one. This marriage caused her to further value love and freedom, as she did not experience those in the marriage.
After Jody dies, Janie marries Teacake. Teacake is supposedly exactly what she likes: loving, attractive, interesting, and not controlling. Teacake is the first of Janie's husbands to teach her skills for her own benefit (like fishing, chess, and how to shoot). Some readers would view Teacake as too immature and irresponsible though, considering he took $200 from Janie and spent it all on food and a guitar. He is also violent towards Janie--like her previous husbands--but in a seemingly less malicious way (he displayed his love in a territorial manner, which is a topic for another blog). Teacake helps to get Janie to value herself and her independence over her marriages, so much so that she uses the shooting skills taught by Teacake to kill him when he goes crazy.
Hi Sam! I love your analysis of the men Janie becomes involved with, and how they each represent a parts of what Janie lacked, whilst simultaneously depriving her of acquiring said traits. I do think the controversy surrounding Tea Cake's character is justified after the $200 incident, and especially after the territorial demeanor shown after he strikes Janie. Nevertheless his efforts in helping Janie to love and respect herself cannot be denied.
ReplyDeleteHi Sam, I really like how you examined every part of Janie's relationships and didn't leave out the good or the bad. I agree with you that Tea Cake's actions aren't always the most responsible and I do think that a lot of the anger against him is justified, but no relationship is black and white and Janie does grow a lot from it. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHey Sam, this is a great analysis of Janie's marriages and how they helped her grow, even if they were not good for her. Logan Killicks and Joe Starks showed her what she wanted in a marriage by not giving it to her, and her relationship with Tea Cake embodied what she was missing with her previous husbands. I feel like the book was building up to a point of Janie becoming completely independent and self assured, so I love you pointing out how Tea Cake teaching Janie how to shoot gave her the last bit of independence she needed to walk alone and happy in life. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi, I think you do a good job of articulating the symbolism in each of Janie's relationships really well. I like the idea that Janie's marriages were in a way tools for her own character development but still ultimately not completely defining of who she is and has become throughout the book. At the beginning of the book readers get a sense of what she is looking for in life, and as the book progresses we see her go on the adventure of finding that. I think seeing Janie's character evolve slowly throughout the book was really interesting to see, especially how it compares to the relationship she was in at that point.
ReplyDeleteHi! I think you did an amazing job at explaining how her relationships were different and got her to where she is now in her character development. I think her first two relationships showed her what she wanted because they lacked that, and then Tea Cake came along and sort of embodied that image of what she was looking for. I thought it was very interesting how you pointed out that Tea Cake in the end helps Janie get the confidence and independence she needs. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Sam, I think you did a great job of depicting how Janie's character and love life evolves throughout the course of the novel. It's interesting how her expectations usually don't match her reality, and I thought you made a insightful comparison between her marriages and what values they left her with. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteYour blog post was very insightful. I think many readers tend to focus on the negative impact each marriage had on Janie, but everything in life comes with good and bad sides and Janie especially grew from each one. She learned something from every marriage, and eventually developed into the strong woman who had her own values and sense of individuality that was described in the beginning of the book. Nice blog post!
ReplyDeleteHi Sam, great job! I really like how you explore all the aspects of all of Janie's loves. Each experience, while hurt her, also helped her learn and grow as a person. Tea Cake was her 'dream man,' or at least seemed so. Still, he helped her 'blossom' and truly love herself. and not just another man.
ReplyDeleteHey Sam, in this blog post you've done a great job summarizing the pertinent parts of each of Janie's relationships, and analyzing how these relationships influenced Janie as a person. I like how you understand that although Janie's relationships may not have been the best, they all taught her some important aspects of life. Overall, great job!
ReplyDeleteThis post did a really great job of summarizing Janie's life and growth, it's cool reading this and seeing again all the ways her experiences shaped her and her desires in a more condensed and to the point format. I also think you make a really cool observation at the end about Janie developing appreciation for the things her husbands deprived her of, I hadn't really thought about that but I suppose it makes a lot of sense, and now that you point it out I definitely see it throughout the story.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what this means for Janie going forward. Her relationship with Tea Cake was very different from the other two in many ways, but I wonder whether you think maybe the fact that she ends the book in no relationship at all is a continuation of this pattern or breaking it.
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