There Eyes Were Watching God

Zora Hurston's “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, followed the life of Janie Crawford through her three marriages and her life experiences. The main characters of the novel were Janie, her Grandmother Nanny, who raised her after her mother left and who had a huge impact on Janie. Janie's friend Phoeby also has a big impact on her and Janie always went to her for advice and to share her stories. Logan Killicks, Janie's first husband who she later leaves for Joe Starks. Joe Starks, Janie's second husband, and Tea Cake, Janie's third and final husband.

The setting of the novel took place in Florida and later in the Everglades where Tea Cake and Janie lived. Janie's marriages caused the conflicts of the novel and were most of her life experiences. Her first marriage to Logan was unhealthy and he did not treat Janie very well and acted like she was his slave. Her second marriage to Joe did not go as planned as he criticized her looks. He later passed away and she felt free after his death. She was the happiest woman and felt her life was the greatest. Janie loved her third marriage to Tea Cake. He cared about her and treated her with respect. She loved being around him and he made her happy. She loved him and he loved her and they had a great, but short marriage.

The climax of the novel happened in Everglades where Tea Cake and Janie experienced the worst thing for their marriage. A massive and destructive hurricane hit which caused them to flee to another city to get away from all the water. Little did they know how dangerous this flee would be. Tea Cake was bit by a viscous dog and later fell ill. During this hurricane it shows Janie and Tea Cake's true relationship with one another. They would do anything for each other and they always made sure the other was safe. They were very protective of each other and made sure nothing happened to the other and dealt with the consequences of their flee. Tea Cake left Janie no choice but to pull a gun on him when he threatened her life with a pistol.

In the end Janie is in court awaiting her sentence for murder. Everyone was there to see what was going to happen and some had strong hatred towards her because of what she had done to her husband. Janie was found not guilty and was set free. She returned to Eatonville and she felt happy and peaceful with Tea Cake. She still feels the love he has for her. Through her three marriages it shows two themes of the novel. Love is not always as important as one's freedom. She felt she needed and wanted her freedom more than she wanted to be loved. Self power was important for Janie. She wanted to control herself and not be controlled. She wanted to make her own decisions whenever and however she wanted. In the end she felt at peace with herself. There Eyes Were Watching God, is a novel written by Zora Neale Hurston in 1937. The book is centered on a free-spirited African woman in the rural south in the early 1900's. The novel takes the reader through Janie Crawford's several marriages as she tries to find what love truly is. A more detailed synopsis will be provided on a separate page.

Written by: Britney Brown