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Their Eyes Were Watching God Transformation

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Everyone wants to say they lived their life to the fullest. Janie, the main character in “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston is no different. With the help of finding love, Janie reaches her horizon when she feels comfortable with her life experiences and realizes her self-worth. Janie goes through a spiritual reassessment after having unique occurrences with three different husbands. At the end of the novel, she can sit back, reflect on her life and truly be satisfied. From the beginning, Janie’s goal was to feel real love. When she is sixteen, she “[beholds] a revelation” (Hurston 11) as she witnesses bees interact. After this realization, Jane comes to terms with her sexuality and kisses Johnny Taylor. This is the start of Janie’s internal growth because she acknowledges her attraction to boys and realizes what it is like to feel amorous. Nanny watches through the window and decides that Janie is now a woman and wants to see her married right away. Janie is then forced to marry “some old skullhead in the graveyard”(13) - Logan Killicks. Janie and Logan have marriage that lacks love. Janie …show more content…

With Teacake, Janie finally feels real emotion. When Teacake goes out on the town without Janie, she feels distraught and worried. During Nunkie and Teacake's innocent wrestling sprawl, Janie learns “what it [feels] like to be jealous” (136). Teacake is able to enhance Janie’s spiritual growth by encouraging her to undergo new experiences and enjoy life along the way. They play checkers and he introduces gambling to Janie. Teacake even provides her with the knowledge and skills needed to shoot a gun which ultimately leads Janie to kill the “trashy rascal” (130) that Joe becomes when he gets the disease of rabies. Janie’s ability to pull the trigger on Joe despite her affection for him portrays her new found self-awareness and

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