Bri Susco
April 4, 2011
AP Literature
Vogt
Their Eyes Where Watching God Essay
In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie grows and
develops as an individual through her marriages. Her first marriage was arranged by her
Nanny after she saw, “…Janie letting Johnny Taylor kiss her over the gatepost” (Hurston
10). Janie’s first marriage was to Logan Killicks, Janie objected to the marriage and
wanted to marry Johnny Taylor. Janie’s first marriage had, “desecrat[ed] the pear tree,”
the pear tree being a symbol of Janie’s sexuality and womanhood (Hurston 14). Logan
Killicks “…stopped talking in rhymes to her,” and began treating her like a mule
(Hurston 26). Janie’s youthful zeal still remained through her first marriage and because
of Logan’s treatment towards her she left him for Joe Starks; a city man who was going
to make a name for himself in a town mad of all “colored folks” (Hurston 28). Joe Starks
and Janie talked for a days and he spoke to her like and equal and spun ideas of a good
work free life if she was his wife. Starks tells Janie that he is leaving the next day and that
they could be married and live a life together, but Janie is still faithful to Logan until he
tries to make her work in the fields.
Joe Starks and Janie married before sundown of the day she left her first husband
Logan Killicks. When the new couple arrived at the town of all colored folks, Eatonville,
Florida, they found out it was nothing more than a few houses and did not have a mayor
or a store. Joe started working on buying land and was appointed mayor within a year.
Janie became Joes trophy wife, she was years younger and had beautiful long hair and he
was already a powerful figure in the town, “You oughta know you can’t take no’oman lak
dat from no man lak him” (Huston 38). Janie’s voice and identity is repressed by Starks
the first example of this is when Starks is first being named Mayor of Eatonville: “‘And
now we’ll listen tuh uh few words uh encouragement from Mrs. Mayor Starks.’ The burst
of applause was cut short by Joe taking the floor himself. ‘…She’s uh woman and her
place is in de home’” (Hurston 43). Janie does not in fact stay in the home but work in the
store or post office that Joe owns. Joe constantly puts her down about her math skills and
even makes her start wearing a head wrap to hide her hair from other men. Others in the
town noticed and wondered why Janie would hide such beautiful hair, “Maybe he make
her do it. Maybe he skeered some de rest of us mens might touch it round dat store. It sho
is uh hidden mystery tuh me” (Hurston 50). Janie became a humble woman while she
was with Joe she hid within herself like a flower waiting to bloom. “He [Starks] wanted
her submission and he’d keep on fighting until he felt he had it. So gradually, she pressed
her teeth together and learned to hush” (Hurston 71). After “twenty-four and seven years
married” Janie had lost her love for Starks and began longing for the love of, “some man
she had never seen” (Hurston 71,72). When Joe died one of the first things Janie did was,
“burn[ed] up every one of her head rags and went about the house the next morning with
her hair in one thick braid swinging well below her waist” she did not want to be
repressed any longer, but she also did not know what else to do with her life and keep
doing what she had been doing while Joe was alive (Hurston 89).
One night while at the store a man walked in that looked familiar to Janie; this
man was Tea Cake, her future husband number three. Tea Cake took interest in Janie and
taught her how to play checkers pg 95