Their Eyes Were Watching God Character Analysis

Janie met Jody Sparks when she was still married to Logan. Janie was immediately intrigued by Jody given his nice clothing and ambitions. shortly after meeting Jody, she left Logan and married Jody. Their marriage started out as very nice. Janie admired Jody’s ambition and strength in building the town of Eatonville and also becoming the town’s mayor. And Jody loved pleasing Janie and making her happy. Janie was happy in her marriage and she thought that she found real love with Jody, making this marriage very different from her marriage with Logan. though the two marriages were different, they were also very similar. For example, both men were controlling and kept trying to change Janie and make her become someone who she is not. For example, Logan tried to make Janie work outside and he also tried to change her by trying to make something out of her. Jody tried to turn Janie into something that she is not by trying to control

Later on, Janie marries a man Joe Starks (Jody), and they move to a Florida town named Eatonville. Jody hears the town is small and buys more land and orders a store and post office to be built. While the store is being built, Jody is elected Mayor, gives a speech and tells Janie not to give one because she is not allowed, following this, she is angered but keeps quiet Along with the store, Jody wants to put in a street lamp and gathers folks from other towns to gather for the lighting of the street lamp, then celebrates with a feast. Janie complains she misses Jody, since he is mayor and has other duties but Jody states that is just the beginning. Later on, Jody builds this two story house and buys two spittoons, where the residents believe

Instead of treating Janie like the beautiful woman that she is, he uses her as an object. Joe was a man who “treasured [Janie] as a posession” (Berridge). Joe’s demanding nature suppresses Janie’s urge to grow and develop, thus causing her journey to self-realization to take steps backward rather than forward. In Janie’s opinion, “he needs to “have [his] way all [his] life, trample and mash down and then die ruther than tuh let [him]self heah 'bout it” (Hurston 122). It is almost as if Janie loses sense of her own self-consciousness due to the fact that she becomes like a puppy being told what to do by her master. The death of Jody is actually a positive thing. Joe’s controlling nature stifles Janie’s inner voice. While married to Jody, Janie became closer to others, however, she did not become closer to herself. Being on her own again gave her another chance to embark on her journey and realize who Janie Crawford really is.

Joe Starks is an admirable person. He promises Janie beautiful material things and happiness unlike Logan who only tried to control her and offered her no love. Janie is overwhelmed by this proposal and believes that Joe may be the bee that has come to fertilize her and make her happy, but she is proven wrong. After she runs away from Logan, Joe and Janie travel to a new town that is only occupied by African Americans. There, Joe becomes mayor and is well respected by all. He gains wealth and gives Janie the material things that he promised her, but forces her to work in his local store all day long. He does not allow her to attend parties or have any fun and makes negative comments about her constantly. He says,

In chapter five, Jody and Janie escape to Eatonville, Florida where Mr. Jody Starks becomes Mayor Jody Starks of Eatonville. He becomes mayor by benefiting the town. At first, he buys an additional two-hundred acres of land, from Captain Eaton, to the original fifty acres. After buying the land, Jody plans to build a store and a post office and calls a town meeting to discuss. At his store, Jody is quickly named mayor and says that wives shouldn’t make speeches. His opinion angers Janie, but she remains silent. After becoming mayor, Jody decides that the town needs a street lamp. After the lamp arrives, Jody puts it on display for a week, and it becomes a source of pride for the whole town. Janie hints that she wants to spend more time

Jody had to ask the towns people what the name of the town was. After discovering the lack of amenities offered in the town, Jody took it upon himself to turn this all black ghost town into a thriving town. He did this by boasting his masculinity, and using his self-determined power he built up the town and became mayor. This began after he discovered that Eatonville had no town. He immediately went to Captain Eaton to buy more land. “‘He sho did. Come off wid de papers in his pocket. He done called a meetin’ on his porch tomorrow’” (45). Immediately Jody takes a position of authority in the town. Not only does he buy land, build a store and promotes the town, he eventually is named the mayor of the town. One day after being named mayor he takes it upon himself to buy street lamps for the town. Dissatisfied that he cannot control when it will be light and when it will be dark. “Us poor weak humans can’t do nothin’ tuh hurry it up nor to slow it down. All we can do, if we want any light after de settin’ or befo’ de risin’, is tuh make some light ourselves” (53). Jody’s inability to let fate occur was one of his most attractive qualities, consequently it was also one of his most unappealing

Joe Starks is a “quick-thinking, fast-talking, ambitious man, headed for a newly founded all black community, where he plans to make a fortune” (Rosenblatt 30). Jody offers up a new start to Janie and she leaps at the opportunity of marrying him, “committing bigamy” (Rosenblatt 30). Jody becomes the mayor of Eatonville and provides Janie with a middle-class furnished house that does not provide her “with the felicity and self-fulfillment that she needs” (Ha 33). Janie is treated no more or less than that of the mayor’s wife.

As a child, Janie was raised by her grandmother, Nanny. Nanny decides for Janie to marry Logan Killicks at a young age. When Joe Starks enters Janie’s life, Janie decides she doesn’t and never loved Logan or the life she lived with him. Janie leaves with Joe, a man with big dreams and plans for his future unlike the dull and

When Janie's Nanny was aging and felt her life ending, she saw Janie maturing quickly and she thought that it would be only proper for her to have a man for protection after she leaves. After Janie was told this, she immediately didn’t want to accept it, but she did anyway. At age 17, she was married with the man named Logan Killicks who was 50 years old. Logan was a lonely man before he met Janie, the only thing he had to offer for her in marrying Janie was his protection, and a 60 acre potato

Janie’s first relationship was not at all what she dreamed of one day having. Janie was forced into her first marriage by her Nanny. She wanted Janie to marry a man named Logan Killicks whom Nanny thought was a “good man”(Hurston 13).

Jody was supposed to be a better husband than Logan, but in the end, when Janie made a mistake, it was not good enough for him. Janie wants to be able to make mistakes, but that cannot happen. He also wants her to wear a head rag while working at the store because he is jealous of other guys looking at her hair. Again the townspeople make a comment and say, “Whut make her keep her head tied up lak some ole ‘oman round de store? Nobody couldn’t git me tuh tie no rag on mah head if Ah had hair lak dat” (49).

Of course, all journeys have ups and downs and depending on the person, they can choose to keep going or to stop. Throughout the book, we witness two low points in Janie's journey. Her marriages to two different men that treated her the same. Her first low point was her marriage to Logan killicks.When Janie's nanny caught her kissing a boy, the nanny immediately sets her up with a man she thinks is much more suitable for Janie since he can provide protection for her. Janie straightaway refuses the arranged marriage to Logan killicks backing it up by saying that she does not love him. Janie’s nanny was able to persuade her to marry Logan Killicks because she believes that once she's dead, janie would need protection. Also, Logan would be able to provide for Janie economically. Janie went into the marriage thinking that she would come to love Logan but as time went on, she couldn't find it in herself to love him. Janie was visiting her nanny with a sad complexion so she asked Janie what was wrong and Janie said that she can not stay with Logan since she does not love him. Her nanny was astonished by Janie wanting love in her marriage since that was not the norm of things so she sent

Janie learns to value and accept herself throughout the many relationships in which she is involved. Through each relationship where she is controlled, Janie’s reaction shows the freedom and independence that she gains. Janie’s grandmother arranges Janie’s first marriage to Logan Killicks and assures Janie that “yes, she would love Logan after they were married” (21). In her marriage to Logan Killicks, Janie discovers that marriage, in fact, does “not make love” (25). Janie finds independence and freedom by realizing that she does not love Logan even though she is married to him; she finds independence and freedom by realizing that her grandmother is wrong, and that she does not have to stay in a marriage where she is unhappy only because her grandmother has forced her to marry. Janie finds independence and freedom by deciding to leave her husband because marriage is not about “protection” like her grandmother believes, but about being valued and loved for who she is (15). In her marriage to Jody Starks, Janie realizes that she should be treated as an equal, not as inferior. Janie is angry that he is “mad with her for making him look small when he did it to her all the time” (81). She wanted Jody to “act like somebody towards her” (81). Rather than accepting Jody’s treatment towards her, she demands that she be treated respectfully. She finds the confidence to stand up against Jody’s disrespectful treatment that is directed at her because she is a woman. Janie finds freedom in her marriage to Jody because she allows herself to be seen as valuable and important. She does not allow her husband’s treatment to degrade her self worth or rob her of her freedom to be an independent woman. Janie’s first two marriages help determine the attributes she discovered were essential for her happiness in a partnership. Because she

At first, Janie thought that loving someone meant you were married to them. Janie believed that she would love Logan because they were married as that was what Nanny had told her. In the few days before she would be with Killicks, Janie thought “Yes, she would love Logan after they were married… Husbands and wives always loved each other” (Hurston 21). Since Nanny had always told her that a marriage would make her happy, that’s what Janie thought. She had no feelings towards Logan, yet she held on to the hope that they appear once they were husband and wife.

“Why must Joe be so mad with her for making him look small when he did it to her all the time?” (101). In chapter eight, Janie recognizes the unfair double standards set by men, especially her husband. Men can sometimes be quite hypocritical, and when the woman goes to stand up to him, he will publicly humiliate her and expect her to stand there and take it. Unlike most women, Janie decides to take a stand on this unnecessary abuse, confronting Jody.