Lakin Starling
Their Eyes Watching God
AP Note Card
Title: Their Eyes Watching God
Author: Zora Neal Hurston
Setting: Early 1900’s in Eatonville, Florida and Jacksonville, Florida.
Characters: Janie Mae Crawford- the protagonist in the novel whose curiosity drives her decisions in life.
Tea Cake- Janie’s third and much younger husband, who teaches her to love genuinely and zeal. He also serves as
the most realistic character in the novel.
Jody Starks- Janie’s second husband, who is more of her age, captures her with his professionalism, promises and
clean-cut appearance. He is the mayor of Eatonville and the biggest politician in the town, but he begins to treat
Janie as a trophy as their marriage begins to fall apart.
Logan Killicks, Janie’s first husband who is very old but their marriage is arranged by her grandmother who wants
nothing more but for Janie to get married for every other reason than love. Logan treats Janie very well for a year
until he makes her do all of the farm work with him, soon after she leaves him for Jody Starks.
Phoebe,-Janie’s best friend in Eatonville who shushes the townspeople after Janie comes back to the town without
Tea Cake and looking ragged. She recounts the whole story to Phoebe.
Nanny - Janie’s grandmother whom she raised by. Nanny was in slavery so she has strong values about financial
responsibilities and progression, which clashes with Janie’s free-spirit and desire to explore life.
Mr. & Mrs. Turner and The Washburns.
Plot: The beginning of the novel starts off with the ending result of all the events later explained. In the start, a
young woman (Janie Crawford) returns to Eatonville, Florida after a long leave. The townspeople begin to talk
about her wonder about her young husband Tea Cake’s whereabouts. Her friend Phoebe shushes them and takes
her in and the conversation they have serves a framework for the plot. Janie’s mother had her and ran off after
the civil war, so Janie is raised by her grandmother, Nanny, who was a slave. Janie is a product of rape by a white
man, so she is biracial. Her grandmother wants her to get married quickly before she experiences the outside
world, so she finds her a much older farmer for a husband, Logan Killicks. Janie is miserable after moving in with
Logan because he is unromantic and affectionless. Janie describes him as treating her as a “packing mule”.
A handsome young man by the name of Jody Starks rides down the rode one day and he and Janie flirt in secret for
a while Logan is in town. After a few weeks of flirting, they elope and Janie leaves Logan Killicks. Jody has dreams
of being a leader and spreading his voice. He finds the perfect opportunity and becomes the mayor of Eatonville,
Florida. Although Jody is this big and strong politician who is supposedly helping the citizens of the town, Janie
grows uninterested as he begins treating her as if she is an object. Janie wishes that she could be apart of the
townspeople and engage in conversations with the people there, but Jody does not want her mixing with the
“common people.” Jody’s perception of Janie is that she is the perfect peace to his vision of monetary success and
the dream lifestyle for any man, let alone a black one. Janie knows she is not happy but she holds her dreams and
passions inside. Janie has finally had enough after almost 20years of marriage to Jody. One day, Jody tries to
humiliate Janie in front of the townspeople by attacking her aging appearance. Janie replies by tearing him to
shreds and telling everyone of how ugly and incapable he is, and says he looks like “de change uh life” when he’s
naked. As a result, Jody beats Janie. Soon after beating her, his becomes sick and Janie goes to visit him after not
talking to him for months. Even on his deathbed, she upbraids him for the way he treated her throughout the
majority of their marriage. After Jody’s death, she unwraps her hair, lets her imprisoned hair go and yells out the
window that he has died.
After Jody’s elaborate funeral she begins to fell liberated and free, wearing her hair in one long braid. She also
begins reflecting on how much she hates the values that Nanny has taught her about life because she feels she
taught her to value the superficial things instead of chasing her dreams. Meanwhile she is getting offers by many
suitors but she refuses and chooses to value her independence. One day, after playing checkers for the first time
with the men, Janie strikes up a conversation with a man named Tea Cake who makes her laugh. They begin
dating, much to the disapproval of the town and get married 9 months later. Janie sells Jody’s store and she goes
to Jacksonville with Tea Cake. During the first days of their marriage, Tea Cake steals Janie’s money and beats her.
They make up and move on. After the fight, they promise to share everything with each other. The two move to
The Everglades and do work during the harvest season, and make many friends because of Tea Cake’s charm and
friendliness. Their shack becomes the place of entertainment. A terrible Hurricane bursts into town after two years
and in rising waters a rabid dog bites Tea Cake. He begins mad is convinced that Janie is cheating and starts firing a
pistol at him and Janie has to kill him self defense. She is put on trial for murder but she beats the case and returns
to Eatonville, Florida to the assumptions of her old neighbors and the embrace of her friend Phoebe.
Themes: True love and Love for the Superficial, The role of Women (Nanny, Janie, Janie’s mother), Finding true
self-identity, the role of men, Racism in the black community.
Motifs: Janie’s hair, the hurricane, marriage, the community