Janie Crawford
Their Eyes Were Watching God provides an enlightening look at the journey of a "complete, complex, undiminished human being", Janie Crawford. Her story, based on self-exploration, self-empowerment, and self-liberation, details her loss and attainment of her innocence and freedom as she constantly learns and grows from her experiences with gender issues, racism, and life. The story centers around an important theme; that personal discoveries and life experiences help a person find themselves. Nanny was determined that Janie would break the cycle of oppression of black women, who were "mules for the world". (Both of Janie's first two husbands owned mules and the way they treated their mules paralleled to the way they treated Janie. Logan Killicks worked his mule demandingly and Joe Starks bought Matt Bonner's mule and put it out to pasture as a status symbol.) After joyfully discovering an archetype for sensuality, love, and marriage under a pear tree at sixteen, Janie quickly comes to understand the reality of marriage in her first two marriages. Both Logan Killicks and Joe
Turner who was a symbol of internalized racism. She fought his tyranny by telling him off just before he died and reclaiming her identity by burning up "everyone of her head rags". Her love became real and her horizon became her own as the novel progressed. Once she broke down the confining walls she held a tight grip on her identity. Eventually her innocence was again replaced with a harsh reality, death. Her fair complexion attracted Starks and also contributed to his objectification of her. Starks attempt to coerce her into submission by treating her like a possession (Killicks worked her like a mule and Starks used her like a medal around his neck). Rather than self-destruct under the constant harsh realities she received throughout her life, Janie does the opposite at the close of the novel. Her story is of a beautiful black women who found out about life. Again, Janie remains true to herself and continued to form her own identity by refusing to leave Tea Cake and class off as Mrs. In her defining moment of identity formation, Janie "pulled in her horizon like a great fish net. She experienced true happiness with Tea Cake while taking in new lessons of life. She had come full circle in her life and learned that there are "two things everybody's got tuh do fuh theyselves. The novel's final image states what Janie does throughout the story, taking her difficult past and growing stronger and wiser as a result of it.
Common topics in this essay:
Tea Cake,
Janie Crawford,
Joe Starks,
Matt Bonner's,
Watching God,
Logan Killicks,
tea cake,
fuh theyselves,
killicks mule,
logan killicks,
love marriage,
black women,
joe starks,
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Acceptance Essays
