Maturing

Throughout my reading of Their Eyes Were Watching God I've been wondering to myself what lesson or message will I glean from this book. Perhaps by the end of the book I will have realized more than one thing about the book, but right now the thing that strikes me is how Janie matures throughout the book. Similar to Invisible Man, the story starts with Janie, at the end of her story, recalling how she came to be in the position she is in now. As a coming of age novel, I think the matter of how the main character develops throughout the book is a central topic.

To start her story off Janie tells us of her experience under the peach tree. She is just starting to go through puberty, and is fantasizing of all things love. This is when she happens across Johnny Taylor who manages to coax her into sharing some kisses with him. Her grandmother, seeing this, marries her off to Logan Killicks in order to provide a good home for her. As any sixteen year-old in her position would be, she is miserable. While perhaps Killicks would provide a good home for a woman, he also expects his wife to work hard. At sixteen years of age no one dreams of a marriage that involves mutual hard-work. Janie is simply not mature enough at this point to be happy in a relationship that defies her expectations of what love and marriage should be. As a result she leaves him for her new love interest, Joe Stark.

For Janie Joe represents at first what she embodies as a picturesque marriage. Joe tells her of how he'll worship her, and put her on a pedestal above all other women. Janie sees this as wonderful and goes along with Joe to Eatonsville. In Eatonsville Joe immediately sets out to take charge of things. He sets himself as mayor, and establishes land, and various institutions in Eatonsville. He pampers Janie, and buys the finest piece of land in the area for them to live on. Janie loves it. Things do start to go downhill, however. Joe truly believes that Janie needs to be put on a pedestal above everyone else. What this means, though, is that Joe does not believe in Janie taking part in conversation or other activities with the common folk, specifically the men. Janie longs to take part in the acts that take place on the porch of the store, but Joe will have none of it. He controls and limits Janie, and this makes Janie very depressed at times, and their marriage is often not very happy. She stays with him, however, which shows that she has matured enough to realize the life that Joe provides for her. None the less she is often unhappy with her life. Joe passes away, though, and eventually Janie starts to move on.

About nine months after Joe's death, Janie meets a charming young man by the name of Tea Cake. Aware of the sizable amount of money left to her by Joe, she is at first very cautious of him. Tea Cake, despite this is very friendly and forward and encourages her to be happy and do things that make her happy in spite of what others may think of her. He takes her out to do stuff with him where they can both be seen together. Such things are seen as very scandalous, but for Janie the amount of freedom and happiness makes her very happy, and regardless of Tea Cakes lack of money she agrees to marry him.


Through janie's maturing throughout the story I think that Zora Neale Hurston gives a message of what she thinks true love should be about. Janie couldn't be happy with either Logan Killicks, or Joe Stark, because neither of them could provide her with the sense of freedom and love that she sought in marriage. So far only Tea Cakes who is so open and free with her has truly given her what she desires from a lover.