dealism leads her to believe that this intense sensuality must be similar to the intimacy between lovers, and she wishes "to be a pear tree - any tree in bloom!" (11). The image suggests a wholeness - as bees pollinate blossoms paralleling human sexual intercourse - which Janie finds missing in her marriages to both Logan Killicks and Joe Starks, but finally discovers in her relationship with Tea Cake.
             After joyfully discovering an archetype for sensuality and love under the pear tree at age sixteen, Janie quickly comes to understand the reality of marriage when she marries Logan Killicks, then Joe Starks. Both men attempt to coerce Janie into submission to them by treating her like a possession: where Killicks works Janie like a mule, Joe objectifies her like a medal around his neck. In addition, Janie learns that passion and love are tied to violence, as Killicks threatens to kill her, and both Joe and Tea Cake beat her to assert their dominance. Yet Janie continually struggles to keep her inner Self-intact and strong, remaining resilient in spite of her husbands' physical, verbal, and mental abuse. Janie's resilience is rewarded when she finally meets and marries Tea Cake, who represents the closest semblance to her youthful idealism regarding love and marriage.
             Rather than self-destruct under the constant realities of racism and misogyny she receives throughout her life, Janie Cr
             ...