Their Eyes Were
Watching God
Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston
She was born January 7, 1891 in Eatonville, Florida.
She was raised by her father and mother until
her mother passed. Her father remarried and
sent her away to boarding school in Jacksonville,
Florida. She was eventually kicked out due to
failure to pay tuition. She later attended
Howard University and later left after winning a
scholarship at Barnard College. Later in life she
taught at North Carolina Central University, and
she traveled all around the world. She is known
for being a famous writer during the Harlem
Renaissance. She died of hypertensive heart
disease in January 28, 1960.
Zora Neale
Hurston
In The Beginning…
The book opens with Janie and her
Nanny. Nanny is grandmother. They
live together. Janie is at a point in life
where she is extremely interest in
boys. She gets caught kissing one of
the local boys and her grandmother
sends her off to marry an old man,
Logan. Janie is very unhappy with
Logan and ends up running off with
another man-Joe Starks.
Later on…
Janie runs off with Joe. He sells her this
dream of becoming a mayor and starting a
town for black people. Janie is in love with
his ambition and his cleverness. She also
loves how he adores her. Janie feels like
herself around Joe until he catches
another man rubbing her hair. They get
into a horrible argument. Janie is forced
to hide her hair, her beauty, and her
womanhood. She lives a very unhappy life
until Joe dies.
In the end…
After Joe dies, Janie meets a man named
Teacake. They play chess, he makes her
laugh, and he is a breath of fresh air for Janie.
With Teacake, she can finally be the woman
she wants to be. The town warns her about
him because he is young, but she doesn’t
listen nor care. Janie later leaves town with
Teacake. Once they leave, they work together.
Teacake ends up getting rabies from a dog
and Janie kills him to save him from himself.
Janie goes back home to the house she and Joe
Starks built. Even though she is alone, she
find happiness within herself.
Key Players
• Janie
– Woman the reader sees grow. She
desires to be loved for who she is.
• Nanny
– Janie’s grandmother who wants the best
for her
• Logan
– Janie’s first husband that was much older
than her. He wanted to make Janie an
old woman before her time.
Key Players
• Joe Starks
– Janie’s second husband. He loved the idea of
being a powerful black man. He was also overpossessive of his wife.
• Teacake
– Janie’s third husband. He was 12 years younger
than her. He was also very much in love with
Janie. He loved to gamble.
• Pheoby
– Janie’s best friend. She is there for Janie when
she returns.
Lessons to Learn…
• Never settle for anything but your
best.
• Life and people are never what you
expect them to be, but never be
afraid to experience things.
• It isn’t wise to listen to everyone
else. What is good for them may
not be good for you.
Messages & Insight
The role of men and women is one of several themes in the novel. Women were
to depend on their men and not speak out. Women were to only do
housework, but Janie wanted to be different. She wanted to speak her
mind and work. Another theme in the novel deals with romantic love.
Janie is in search of love. She could have given up and settled for Logan or
Joe Starks, but she kept going. Even though things ended in a sour manner
between Janie and Teacake, she was happy because for the first time she
found love.
Quotes to Live By…
• An envious heart makes a treacherous ear.
• Love is lak de sea. It’s uh movin’ thing, but
still and all, it takes its shape form de shore
it meets, and it’s different with every shore.
• Two things everybody’s got tuh do fuh
theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and
they got tuh find out about livin’ fuh
theyselves.
Imagine That…
Throughout the text, Zora Neale Hurston uses very
detailed vivid imagery. I enjoyed this book
because there were times when I could actually
see some of things she was writing. For example,
when says, “She was stretched on her back
beneath the pear tree soaking in the alto chant of
the visiting bees, the gold of the sun and the
panting breath of the breeze when the inaudible
voice of it all came to her.” I can imagine Janie
under a tree and I can see the golden rays of the
sun beaming down on her.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
In the beginning the title seems irrelevant to the
book, but once I finished the book, I realized
the connection. Janie spends a lot of her time
outside with nature. It is a place where she
can reflect on the things she is going through.
She stares up at the sky for answer as if to say
she is waiting on God to send her the right
answer for life.
My Critique
Out of five stars, this book receives
five. I absolutely love this book! It
is a great book about a girl
blossoming into womanhood
through love and life. The book
uses vivid imagery. As a reader
you can find a way to relate to the
Janie and the things she goes
through as she searches for her
womanhood.
Citations
• Zora Neale Hurston
• https://www.zoranealehurston.net
The End…
• D. Patterson
• April 25, 2011
• 2nd period