“Their Eyes Were Watching God “(a 207 page book, published in 1937) was written by Zora Neale Hurston. She was a novelist, folklorist, and an anthropologist. Attended Howard University, and lived from 1891 to 1960. “Their Eyes Were Watching God” is a classic of black literature, using American slang words in its dialogue. For example, “Well. reckon you never ‘spected tuh come tuh dis when you took up wid me, didja”(158)? As the story begins you get familiar with the main character, Janie. She was raised by her grandmother in Florida. When Janie grew older, she realized that she was colored.
Ah looked at de picture a long time and seen it was mah dress and mah hair so Ah said: ‘Aw, aw! Ah’m colored”(9)! Janie’s grandmother made her marry a man by the name of Logan Killicks. They moved to Georgia, but soon she left him for another man, due to the cruel treatment that Logan had put on her. “Janie, come help me move dis manure pile befo’ de sun gits hot. You don’t take a bit of interest in dis place. ‘Tain’t no use in foolin round in dat kitchen all day long”(30). The man that Janie left Logan for is Joe Starks, a wealthy business man. Joe marries Janie and they moved to a new town called, Green Cove Springs.
This town was bout ten houses big, but Joe Starks changed “everything. ” Joe bought twice the land of the town and became the mayor. He built a post office and a supply store along with twenty other houses. He cared for the people of the town. Joe had become more in love with the town than he did Janie. After twenty years of marriage, Joe died. “Come heah Mark Roslan page 2 people! Jody is dead. Mah Husband is gone from me”(83). After six months of mourning, Janie found a new man, Tea Cake. Tea Cake married Janie, and they moved to Jacksonville. He got a job down there and took care of Janie more than any of her other husbands had.
Tea Cake tried his best to make sure she was happy. Even though Janie had a lot of money (inherited it from Joe Starks), Tea Cake never let her buy him anything. After many years of the best treatment that Janie has ever had, her husband Tea Cake, got sick. Tea Cake got rabies and became mad. The serum that he needed to get better took too long to get to him, and one day he got a rifle and threatened Janie. Janie was prepared and had a gun of her own. “She saw him stiffen himself all over as he leveled and took aim. The fiend in him must kill and Janie was the only thing living he saw. The pistol and the rifle rang out almost together.
The pistol just enough after the rifle to seem its echo. Tea Cake crumpled as his bullet buried itself in the joist over Janie’s head”(175). Tea Cake died and Janie was arrested, but she was set free due to self defense. As the story ends, Janie is an old woman finishing her life story to her best friend, Pheoby. I truly enjoyed “Their Eyes Were Watching God” very much. The book starts off dull but works it’s way up and becomes exciting. It was not very boring and at some parts in the book, I could not put it down.
The story was well written and made you feel as hough you talked, like they talked, all your life. Ah ain’t here tuh blame nobody. Ah’m just tryin’ tuh make you know what kinda person Ah is befo’ it’s too late. ” The most memorable quotation from “Their Eyes Were Watching God, to me is, “Dis ain’t no business proposition, and no race after property and titles. Dis is uh love game. Ah done lived Grandma’s way, now Ah means tuh live mine”(108). This ment to me that someone should not love someone because someone made you, someone should love someone, because they love them. In this story Janie married Logan Killicks because Mark Roslan page 3 of her grandmother told her to do so.
She married Joe Starks because she thought that he would take care of her with his money. But she married Tea Cake because, she loved him. This book made me take a different look at life. It made me realize that I should take it slow in life and to think about what I am going to do, before I do it. “Leave des’ posin’ and everything to me. Ah’ll be down dis road uh little after sunup tomorrow morning’ to wait for you. You come Go wid me”(28). “It might be nice to marry him, at that. No hurry. Such things take time to think about, or rather she pretended to Pheoby that that was what she was doing”(89).
