Their Eyes Were Watching God

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Summary: Modern Novels
Review: The story starts out with someone talking about death. The author of this book wanted to make it look like a lot of the characters didn't have an education. Chapter two starts out as Janie Starks seeing her life like a great tree leaf with the things suffered. Janie always mentioned sixty-acres when she went to see Logan Killicks. Janie's husband Joe Starks owned a store and a house. Janie spent most of her time working at the store. Joe often criticized Janie because, how she ran the store. He also criticized her on how she cut cigars and cigarettes. He would often come re-cut them for customers, so they wouldn't get any extra. Joe got really sick and eventually ended up dying.

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Summary: Depiction of Life, Love and the Ability to Overcome
Review: In "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston, an African-American woman makes her spiritual and physical journey through prejudice, sexism, and the hardships of love.

From the beginning the author leaves the reader with numerous questions about Janie, the main character, her background and her romantic life, which is made crystal clear to be widely disputed and gossiped in Eaton. From there, Hurston does a spectacular job of keeping the reader interested by jumping to Janie's childhood, leaving all questions unanswered; thusly creating suspense. We learn of Janie's emotional dealings with racism and having to be black, and her own personal ideology of love. Before she knew it, she was married and had moved. Then ran and was married again. Then he died and ran off to, yes, be married yet again.

Through Janie's three different husbands, she comes out in the end the same, independent, beautiful black women she had started as. In each husband scenario she is treated as a possession, a strong statement for Zora Neale Hurston on the mistreatment of women. As well, in each romantic chapter she is tried to be broken and sculpted, much like the stubborn mule that was taunted by the men of Eaton. With the mule, it was only when he was freed that he could finally be content and at peace. Here, Hurston is assimilating the townsmen with sexist men and the half-broken starved mule with the independent women who were constantly being cut down. Unfortunately, no matter how desperately a flower is pruned and beat down, it will sprout and bloom just a vigorously, if not more so, than in the beginning. Dissimilarly, her first husband Logan gives her nothing, but does give her grandmother security in knowing Janie is well taken care of. Joe Starks, hubby no. two gives her wealth and a name in the community, but Tea Cake gives her a sense of adventure and enabled her embrace her beauty as a woman and a living, working human being. None the less, she returns to Eaton, only to discover even more of a buzz had accumulated in her absence.

Likewise to her ability to capture the tone of the community, is the amazing talent of Hurston to depict the emotion and dialect of the people featured in the book. Although the simplistic phonetically-spelled terminology seen throughout the novel is prevalent, the author incorporates 'common' English in the narrative as well, making for a beautifully artistic technique. This method is effective in illustrating the mindset and intellectual capacities of the characters. Mayor Starks is an eloquent orator and this shows through his terminology, while the more common folk are, well, more grammatically challenged. Each character posed some sort of influence on Janie throughout the novel, whether major of minor, constructive or not. Each and every major persons in this book evoked some emotion from Janie; laughter, a sense of inferiority, malice or love.

Janie ends as she starts, only more of a woman, more of a lover, and even more at peace with life, love and herself. Zora Neale Hurston did a spectacular job of portraying the conflicts facing a black female in a white man's world, leaving the reader with a confidence that indeed, we shall overcome.

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Summary: Beautifully Written Tale of a Strong-Willed Woman
Review: Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God" is the story of a strong-willed, African American woman searching to find her place in life. Hurston conveys the struggles of Janie, the main protagonist, as she seeks true love in Florida in the 1930s. At the young age of sixteen, Janie is married off to an older farmer named Logan Killicks whom she does not love. However, rather than remaining miserable for the rest of her life, Janie decides to take the initiative by running off with a young, energetic man named Jody Starks. Soon, however, Janie finds herself in another unhappy situation with a controlling husband. After Jody dies, everyone assumes that Janie will remarry to a respectable townsman. Instead, Janie once again does the unexpected, and she runs away with a man 12 years younger than her, Tea Cake. Finally, she has found the perfect man, and her life is complete.
Janie is an example for all women that true happiness can be found if you look hard enough. She never gave up even when all odds seemed to be going against her. She is a truly independent woman who is not afraid to go against the expectations of society. "Their Eyes Were Watching God" is the perfect book for any woman seeking to find her inner strength.

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Summary: "Their Eyes Were Watching God"
Review: Janie for the first time was alone. She had many suitors who were after her and her property. They spoke of how she couldn't do it alone. They all had their motives of trying to control her. Janie wouldn't stand for it; she politely listened; yet she never accepted their offers. Until she met someone she couldn't turn away.

TeaCake, who was said to have "looked like the love thoughts of women". He awakens her spirit, strengthening her sense of self. TeaCake represented a partner who would allow her to participate. He shhowed her many new and exciting things (how to play checkers), and let her do things she wouldn't have been allowed to do before. he was much younger than janie, but was seen as a teacher to janie. He brings forth a positive vibe in her life, as he motivates and inspires Janie to learn. this was in a sense, "love at first sight". Her words were now inspired by love, they became poetic again.

At first Janie doesn't want to admit to liking TeaCake, because she didn't want it to be misunderstood. Yet, she couldn't hide it for much longer. She fell hard for TeaCake, and soon they were married. Their marriage represented a harmony, and a sense of equality. they both did their fair share of duties. Yet, TeaCake still had this smooth-talking way about him, which made me feel he hadn't quite matured as a man. This is seen as he runs the streets, gambling and throwing parties with Janie's secret stash of money that he found. But he had a way of manipulating the situation so that Janie wouldn't stay mad for long. He was a jealous person, too. He didn't want anyone to have anything to do with Janie, and the idea of that happening, drove him to insanity! He beats Janie to prove this point to others. I felt this was the only way he could prove his inadequacies, by resorting to violence.

Janie was jealous, too. A young girl, Nunkie, who worked out in the muck, was always flirting with TeaCake. She was chunky, and didn't compare to the looks of Janie, but she still had TeaCake's attention. One day Janie found them out in the fields and nearly lost her mind! She immediately questioned their actions, and they both claimed their innocence. I think he would heve kept up with the mischievious behavior had she not kept him in line, punishing his wrongdoings like that of a little boy.

Her identity with TeaCake was seperate for the most part, unlike her non-existent identity with her second husband, Joe. She had much more freedom, besides him choosing her aparallel for her. Although, Janie didn't seem to mind this much. To me, I seen this as a way of treating her as a posession, dressing her as if she was a doll. Throughout this relationship we see Janie constantly changing, and developing.

Unfortunately, Janie and TeaCake's fate at the end was a tragic one. Here is where we see Janie truly alive! Although her partner had passed on, she realized that he wasn't at all dead. "He could never be dead until she herself had finished feeling and thinking." Here Janie finally found peace, here she found herself.

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Summary: Their Eyes Were Watching God
Review: Their Eyes Were Watching God was a very fulfilling book to read. I felt, after having finished it, that it was completely written. What I mean by this is that the reader was not left with any questions in his/her head. The novel also did a good job of portraying the inner struggle of a woman: not only to find true love, but for independence within that love. In the beginning of the novel, it was obvious that Janie was a strong woman. We saw this when she left her first husband. But, after running away with Jody, we begin to see a weaker, submissive side of Janie. This was disappointing to me as a reader because I didn't like to see her take orders from Jody. But, when Janie finally stands up to Jody, we understand how strong she really is. Finally, we find that with Tea Cake, Janie not only finds true love, but true independence. He allows her to express herself, and she is never afraid or ashamed to say anything. She tells him everything, and he in turn loves her for it. Although most people would see this as a sad ending, given the fact that Tea Cake dies in such a tragic way, I saw it much differently. Although Janie loses the love of her life, she finds peace within herself through Tea Cake and his death. She is glad to know what true love is, even if it didn't last as long as she had wanted it to. This book sends a powerful message to women about love and independence.

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Summary: Finding Your True Self
Review: Their Eyes Were Watching God is a great book about a woman struggling to find herself. As an innocent teenager, Janie had dreams of true love being as pure as spring. Janie finds herself married to three different men throughout the novel. Logan, her first husband, treated Janie as if she was his worker. Jody pampered Janie, but kept her from being herself. He put Janie on a level above the town, when all Janie wanted was to fit in. Janie truly finds her spirit as she stands up for herself against Jody. Her final husband, TeaCake helps Janie to live and be herself. Janie represents a good example for women everywhere. The dialogue and description used helps to portray Janie as a strong, independent woman. The book delivers the message that women should let their spirits shine and not be held back by any man. Both men and women would enjoy reading this book.

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Summary: Ambivalent feelings.
Review: "Their Eyes Were Watching God" is probably an overlooked classic, but that is understandable. The plot isn't as strong as I had hoped for, and the hurricane isn't much of a focal point; I did not get a rich sense of history. At times, I struggled through reading the African-American vernacular, and I didn't get the hang of it until more than halfway. I never stopped pitying Janie and her hard times, and I was unhappy with her ending. I can't say I'll walk away with anything from reading this book. I "sorta" recommend.

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Summary: Beautiful language, memorable characters, amazing story
Review: This book was originally published in 1937 and brought back into print because of an article in MS Magazine written by Alice Walker in 1975. It is considered a classic now, and is often required reading in South Florida high schools, and elsewhere I suspect, as well as being the book selected for Read Together Palm Beach County and for Read Together, Florida, a statewide reading project in 2004. Hurston was a member of the Harlem Renaissance movement, but was abhorred by Richard Wright who criticized her severely. Nonetheless, this book was an alternate pick of the Book of the Month Club when originally published. A short time later, some very ugly charges were leveled against Hurston; she eventually cleared her name but she never really got over it. Her books went out of print and she died, penniless, and was buried in an unmarked grave. Alice Walker found what was presumably Hurston's grave and erected a monument that reads, in addition to her name and dates, "Genius of the South."

Their Eyes Were Watching God has quite a bit of Hurston's life, and more importantly, her beliefs invested in the main character of Janie Crawford. The novel is framed by Janie's return to Eatonville, the first all black incorporated city in the United States. Everyone in town is gossiping about her, and Janie tells her story to Pheoby, her best friend, and asks her to tell the townsfolk. Janie was raised by grandmother, Nanny, a former slave, who marries her off to an older farmer, Logan Killicks, when she's 16. She's not happy in that marriage and she leaves and marries Joe Starkes, who takes her to the new town of Eatonville. He becomes mayor there, and builds a store that becomes the center of town life. Twenty years later he dies, and she hooks up with the love of her life, Tea Cake, who is much younger than she is. He takes her to the Everglades where they survive the hurricane of 1928 that wiped out the 'Glades, but Tea Cake gets bitten by a rabid dog in the process. After his death, Janie returns to Eatonville, completing the frame.

This is the story of a strong black woman's search for happiness and independence in a time when neither of those things was easily attainable. It is written in dialect, and is not an easy read. I listened to the beginning of the book on CD, produced by Recorded Books and read by Michele-Denise Woods, which it made it much easier to read on my own. It is also available on audiocassette read by Ruby Dee. Reading it aloud also helps - hearing the dialect makes it much easier to read. It's a terrific story and the language is incredibly beautiful, making the life of Janie Crawford a memorable one.

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Summary: English
Review: In Z.N.H Their Eyes Were Watching God, she exemplified how far a woman would go to find self- satisfaction. When Janie was a mere child, her Nanny instilled in her that the materialistic ideas she needed to be complete. With the next two men to come into her life, Janie was constantly at battle with what she had dreamed of in a marriage, and the reality that her husbands set for her. Being that she was a free soul, trapped in an unhappy life, she could never take her apron off or let her hair flow. Janie's long braided hair was symbolic of her freedom. If she was able to let it down, she was free. When Janie finally met her soul mate, she was happy. She finally wanted to do things for her man because she wanted to not because she had to.
Throughout the story, it is a constant theme how Janie was always looking for some type of fulfillment. It seems like she thought the only way to be happy was to be with a man. After all of the men she went through, Janie was finally able to find the self satisfaction within herself. She dealt with her first husband demanding her work in the fields, her second husband treating her an inferior and her third cheating on her, stealing from her then trying to kill her. It seems like each time Janie fell in love, that love only grew worse.
I think that Their Eyes Were Watching God, was a true example of a woman searching for her soul. This is a woman's book because it is about the power of a woman and how men can have such an effect on our lives. Janie learned something from each man she was with. She learned to have strength, never to let a man belittle you, and not to put up with infidelity. Janie may have been weak when it came to choosing the right man but she was strong when it came to standing up for herself.
What is truly intriguing in the book is that although the man is put into a stereotypical position, the female character puts a twist on the scenario. While all of the male figures were indeed the bread makers and the rulers of the house, Janie supported herself after her husband died. She had the power to move on and not be in fear of what the local towns people would think. In the era that the book was written this was very unlikely.
Hurston puts together a story of full of love and hate, and the search for true self satisfaction. All and all the book was truly enjoyable and will be one that will be around for even more decades to come.

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Summary: One Big Step For Women's Independence
Review: "Their Eyes Were Watching God" is a must-read for all women. This book was written back in the 1930's when women were not recognized or appreciated for who they were. Slavery was still an issue in areas of the world. Janie was raised by her grandmother who always wanted the best for her, even if it wasn't what Janie wanted. I was inspired by Janie's will and grace. This story was about her journey through life as she strived for happiness and contentment. All she ever wanted was to feel and know love. She spent her whole life doing what everyone else thought was right for her. She finally decided that in order to be happy, she must make some decisions on her own. She learned to follow her heart and in doing so, she found the love and happiness that she had always wanted. Love found her when she least expected it. Janie did not care what everyone thought about her new relationship. She was happy and that is all that mattered. She set an example for many women in the world. They did not have to live in homes where they were not appreciated or did not feel loved. Overall, this book will give readers a better understanding of life during these times. Also, it will make you realize how fortunate we are to live in today's world where women are equal. Men do not have to worry about the color of their skin. We all have an opportunity to live our lives to the fullest and make our own decisions. Avid readers and historians alike will get something from this book. This will put your emotions on edge. The author made me feel like I was experiencing her life first-hand. Janie was a very strong woman. This story just goes to show that we can overcome any obstacle as long as we look to God for guidance.