Gender is something that defines everyday life. It is an unavoidable topic for many. The author of Their Eyes were watching God uses gender to define her characters in many ways. For some she uses it to fit the mold of gender stereotypes but for others she breaks the boundaries that has been set for them. There are many things in this novel that fit the stereotypes of each gender. The men in this novel talk about women as though they are objects and they can beat them when they want. Janie does fit the stereotypes of women in many instances. She is a naive young girl that has a different view of romance than a woman would. Although Janie does fit the stereotypes of women, she also breaks many as well. Through her marriages she does things that …show more content…
The male stereotype is a broad spectrum that covers beating his wife all the way to protecting the fragile woman in his life. Although they all fit the male stereotypes, only Logan and Joe would fit the description of toxic masculinity on the male stereotype spectrum. Tea Cake fits on the other side of the spectrum. He only wants to protect the woman that he has. Logan is a man that works outside all day and expects his wife to keep the house clean. He expects that his wife will do what he tells her to do and will do it without question. Joe fits the male stereotype in a different way. He tries to keep his woman in line by beating her and brags to the others about it. Although they had a good marriage at the start, the minute that he starts to beat her, her feelings change. She just wants to stick up for herself, “So he struck Janie with all of his might and drove her from the store” (80). This is another way that he fits the male stereotype. He does not care what she feels, rather he only cares about what the other guys in the town thinks about his marriage. Tea Cake is the last of her marriages, and is also a male that fits the stereotypes that are thrown onto men. Tea Cake, however, does not have the stereotype of what some would call toxic masculinity. He is sweet to Janie and tries to win her over, not caring what the town thinks about the relationship. This make Janie also want to stick up for their relationship. She tells the others in the town, “ ‘Still and all Ah’d ruther be wid Tea Cake’ ” (113). He wants to have her love him, and forget about the world around them. Rather than beating Janie, he tries to take care of her and gives her what he knows that she needs. He does not beat her to control her, but to show her who is boss. That is the only time that he strays from being the good man to her. All three of the men that she marries fit the male stereotype in a different way, from
Characters in Their Eyes Were Watching God Their Eyes Were Watching God is a narrative that showed the life of Janie Mae Crawford and went in the direction beginning with showing her life from the present, then then the majority of the book was a flashback, finally at the very last chapters the present was bought back to the reader. The publication had 1 consistent character throughout the book, and previously mentioned it was Janie Mae Crawford. The other important characters in the book were Jody Starks and Tea Cake, they both came into her life in and in respect, in a way effected her in major ways. The development of Janie thought the novel was greatly impacted by Jody, Tea Cake, even herself with making a change in her identity.
The black culture is very diverse in different parts of the world-even in different parts of the state. Janie as moved throughout Florida to places such as West Florida, Eatonville, and the Everglades. Residing in these different places helps develop and define the character of Janie. Throughout Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie experiences many variations of black culture that helps build her character as she travels through Florida.
The “Rock Pile” by James Baldwin and “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston are two stories that examined black male resistance to emasculation. The men in these stories lived in patriarchal societies, and they reaped the benefits of a structure that favored men. In both of these stories, the male characters are dominant figures in their households, and when they felt like their manhood was being attacked, they retaliate viciously. In “Their eyes were watching god”
Janie would be able to choose to have a relationship with Tea Cake instead of it just being a step up of what she previously had this relationship would be her own decision and it would not be used as a getaway from other marriages. When Janie decides that she can trust Tea Cake this could also suggest that this thought about Tea Cake could be challenged and he will do things that could possibly break Janie’s trust that she has created with him. With this you can see how much Janie has grown from her past relationships and how she has taken something from each one. This helps her come into womanhood and really grow overall as a
Unlike Jody, he was a straightforward man who wasn't wealthy. He was everything Janie wanted in a man. Tea-Cake gave Janie the independence to do whatever she wanted. he first met Janie when Hezekiah asked for the day off, so he could go play baseball. No one was at the store since everyone went to the ballgame, then Tea-cake showed up.
He strolls into Janie’s shop after Joe’s death to begin his courtship, however, Janie doesn’t believe he is being sincere and brushes off his advances. This all changes after Tea Cake does something no one ever considered for Janie, he teaches her to play checkers. With this he planted the first seed of love in Janie’s heart without her recognizing it. Tea Cake and Janie eventually fall for each other and decide to move to the Muck where Janie begins to work alongside Tea Cake. This provides an excellent example on the true love Janie holds for Tea Cake because she refused to work in the fields with Logan Killicks, her first husband, for even a day.
During the time period, women were considered as nothing more than what they could do for a man and their house. If a woman were to step outside the margins of society during that period they were cast out and abused and it never went without a fight. From this quote, Hurston writes to women in society who still succumb to these gender roles forcing them to struggle with their identity by showing Janie’s decisions that what she says doesn’t need to be completely true. This way she could say things she didn’t mean in order to keep the peace in her marriage. This adds to who she is as a person by using language within the text that explains to readers the kind of person Janie has grown to become.
She questions why Janie would marry a dark man like Tea Cake. Mrs. Turner falsely assumes, like the rest of the people form the town, that Janie only married Tea Cake for his money because she could not possibly love him. Janie informs Mrs. Turner that her assumption is incorrect because Tea Cake was not wealthy when they met, and he is the only person that has made her truly
As we see in the storm, Janie tells Tea Cake, “Once upon uh time, ah never ‘spected nothin’, Tea Cake, but bein’ dead from the standin’ still and tryin’ tuh laugh. But you come ‘long and made somethin’ outa me. So Ah’m thankful fuh anything we come through together” (158). Despite having gone through a deadly situation that nearly killed her due to Tea Cake’s ignorance to the warnings of the storm, she still loves him. He endangers her life, yet, rather than expressing anger or disappointment, she expresses appreciation toward him for being in her life and giving her a life to live—a life of joy.
When tea cake shows up janie 's feels something she has never felt before, she is set free but the townspeople don 't think so. “‘Ain’t you skeered he’s jes after yo’ money him bein’ younger than you?’” (Hurston pg.133)Janie is in love with Tea Cake because he loves her for her youthful young side that was forced into hiding for so long because of her previous husbands. However the rest of the community is discouraging her and trying to keep her in the image as a mayor 's wife. They told Janie that Tea Cake was after her money
In the beginning Janie feels as if Tea Cake’s age would effect their relationship. She has strong feelings for him, but on the other hand people are saying he will run off with her money. Janie proves them wrong and runs off and gets married to Tea Cake. He makes Janie feel wanted, she feels like she could be herself. Janie states, "We been tuhgether round two years.
Janie also demonstrates racial pride after her husband died because she expressed her true beauty, in which she was forced to hide in Joe's efforts to control Janie. During the Harlem Renaissance, women like Janie began to showcase their skills and break off from being controlled over. They began to work, creating books, singing, making music, and accomplishing more than an average person does in their lifetime. This was done all from an increase in determination and pride. Although their initial feelings of gaining pride can never be truly understood by
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston acknowledges the idea of sexism when she addresses that Janie Starks, the protagonist, never got to fulfill her dreams. Janie’s grandmother, Nanny, wanted the best for her granddaughter so she married her off to a man named Logan Killicks, a man who had a small farm and good wealth “Janie and Logan got married in Nanny’s parlor of a Saturday evening with three cakes and big platters of fried rabbit and chicken,” (Hurston 3). Years has passed within the marriage and Janie never found love for Logan. Logan comparing her to his ex-wife, discriminated Janie’s place of position, “Mah fust wife never bothered me ‘bout choppin’ no wood nohow. She’d grab dat ax and sling chips lak
Being a woman of color in the 1920’s was no easy task. Gender and racial inequalities have made progress throughout history, however during the time of this novel, and even in our modern day world they are still present and causing conflict. This is an issue that should be focused on and taken more seriously. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie does a fantastic job overcoming several of these inequalities in order to pursue her own happiness, overall depicting her as an extremely powerful role model for young
Toni Morrison’s A Mercy portrays a young slave, Florens, struggles with her past as well as her life as a slave. Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God shows a woman, Janie, who struggles through various relationships in her life, but in the end, they help her find her freedom and individualism. Both stories have different story lines, but upon a closer look, it is easy to see that Florens and Janie have common factors in their lives; which includes, both characters are isolated by others, both characters want to love someone, both character’s guardians make decisions for them that they do not understand which causes conflict, and finally, both characters commit difficult actions which ends up changing their lives.