This theme seems to be the theme of the year...don't quote me on this, but I believe it comes up in every major work that we'll read this year (mainly because we're going to be reading about some oppressive and corrupt societies from which people feel the need to break free...). It is, as you know, a great problem of everyday life as well; what we want to do doesn't always neatly line up with our social responsibilities. For example, I feel like eating four doughnuts but I have a track meet in twenty minutes. Hmmm, what should I do? Okay, not the best example because I also risk stomach upset on a massive scale.
Let's have you come up with the example. Let's say you want to become the greatest [fill in blank of your dream job here] but society, or the powers that be, will not allow you access to this career because you are (too young, too old, too female, too male, etc). What should you do? In this case, we need to ask the question: Who is right in this situation? You or society? Are you a moral person living in an immoral society? If that's the case, what should you do? On the other hand, does society ask us to make sacrifices that are actually beneficial to us in the long run? Is there a middle ground? When living in groups of people, will we always have to make individual sacrifices in order to live together? How do we know when we've sacrificed too much (to society, a community, or a relationship)? Are there some things that should never be sacrificed? Where do we draw the line?
Getting back to our novel, does Janie do what she wants to do or what others or society thinks she should do? Does she make some mistakes? Does this change throughout the course of the novel? How do her three marriage illustrate this theme? When is she happiest? When is she most successful in society's eyes? Do these match up? Hmmmm, what do you conclude from all of this? What is the message, according to Hurston? You could ask her; she's right there-----> with a very cool feather on her hat. Where do you weigh in on this discussion?
In the beginning, Janie does what she wants to do, but her grandmother, Nanny, does not agree with her actions and feelings. Janie does what Nanny tells her to do just to make her happy, and she is later found obeying to the rules and beliefs of the society. There have been moments when Janie feels that she should not have taken the advise from Nanny and could have avoided the pain she already went through. However, she liberates herself from her unpleasant and disappointing relationships with Logan and Joe, and through her relationship with Tea Cake, Janie experiences true fulfillment and becomes secure in her independence. To society, Janie has been acknowledged and successful when she was married to Joe Starks as the Mayor's Wife in Eatonville. When Joe died, and Janie marries Tea Cake, she leaves Eatonville just to be happy, and that was frowned upon in society. It does not matter what society thinks of you, it's what you think of yourself.
ReplyDeleteMaddie, these are wise words! It is really great that you have this figured out at a relatively young age. This may be a good topic to explore for your essay if you feel strongly about it.
DeleteJanie is a character that constantly changes her mind, this much I feel, is indisputable. In the beginning of the retelling of her life Janie feels as if her marriage to Logan will make her love him, because that is the way that marriage is. But only a few pages later, we learn that Janie’s new perception is that marriage does not make love. When she was younger, Janie was compliant with the idea of marrying the man that her grandmother had picked for her, but as her life continues, she marries the men that society would initially think are wrong for her. Therefore, she begins to sacrifice more political correctness for her own happiness. She leaves Logan for Joe Starks and remarries to Tea Cake shortly after Jody’s passing. Her decisions revolved less around society and more around her happiness the older that she gets. Janie is the happiest when she is not following societal norms, an example would be when she ran away with Jody she was incredibly happy, but as he made them into a respectable family that everyone looked up to, she began to lose her joy in life. Another example would be when she began hanging out with Tea Cake shortly after Joe’s death, when society did not approve, she was at her happiest point. I believe the underlying message is that society should not be in charge of your life decisions, and I agree; we should not have to change ourselves because a person a really long time ago thought that certain life choices were more respectable than others.
ReplyDeleteMorgan,
ReplyDeleteYou have some great insights here about individual desire vs. social responsibility. This may be a good paper topic for you to explore in greater depth since you already have a nice headstart. Hmmmm...
As a round and dynamic character, Janie evolves throughout the novel. She begins her life by doing what she think is the right way of living. When she sees how her decisions affect others, especially her grandmother, Janie begins to act the way society would see fit. After her roller coaster ride of relationships, Janie changes her view on living life. Previously, she thought submitting to others' wants and needs was good enough. Now, she has figured out that to live life to the fullest, one's own wants and needs must be met. In this aspect, I agree that society should not control individuals. Janie is at her happiest point when society view her life as at its lowest. The mistakes that society points out in Janie's life are the very things that made Janie into the woman she was the happiest with. Janie makes a full circle on her views on life, and Hurston shows readers to never let others change them and to always learn from mistakes. The other side of this argues that for the common good, one should sacrifice anything. Janie sacrificed her happiness for her grandmother's eternal happiness, for Eatonsville's success, and for perfect picture of the mayor's wife. Some sacrifices result in great outcomes, but as the name implies, it is a sacrifice. Ultimately, there is a nice medium of give and take. Its just that... someone has yet to find it.
ReplyDeleteJanie really wants to be her own person but so many people just want her to go along with everyone else. She doesn’t like to be held down by society’s expectations. Janie goes along with her grandmother’s dying wish to put her at ease. She was okay with going along with Nanny’s ideas until it didn’t work out and she could never be happy if she stayed with Logan. Then Janie thought that her second marriage was what she really wanted but that turned out bad too. When Janie and Tea Cake got married Janie was probably the happiest because it was what she wanted, and the townsfolk were against her on this. Janie had experienced something she never felt, and that was true love. There’s only one problem she could never be both happy and successful at the same time. In the end, Janie was happier when she wasn’t highly respected as Jody or Logan’s wife. They may have been successful but money can’t buy happiness.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the novel, Janie does what her heart pleases. She plays with the white children she lives with without a care in the world. Her grandmother soon realizes this doesn’t match what society wants, and moves her and Jamie to their own house. From there, Janie finds herself listening to Nanny, and slowly conforming to society. She has an issue with this, because it's not allowing her to live life the way she wants to. She marries Logan like society and her grandmother wanted thinking she will love him after marriage. She soon feels discontent with her life doing what others want her to. She runs off leaving Logan for Jody. This is one of the points where she is happiest. She is living life the way she wants to. Society frowns on her choice, but it doesn’t stop her from trying to fulfill her life. But, once she starts settling down with the new mayor of Eatonville, she finds she is back to having to conform to society's rules. It is frowned upon for her to pretty much be doing anything but watch over the store. Though, she is successful to society, she feels trapped and unfulfilled. She feels she is always missing out on something in her life. But soon after Jody dies, society is upset with her yet again. She is talking to Tea Cake and doing things society thinks are unfit. Coincidentally, this is when she is another point where she is happy with herself. Though, she subconsciously knows that society thinks this is wrong and she knows that she probably shouldn't do it, she does it anyways because it makes her feel fulfilled and happy with her life. Through all of this, I think the message is clear, that you should be doing what makes you happy and not conforming to the mold that society wants everyone to fit into.
ReplyDeleteJanie marries her first husband Logan. This bondage is most smiled upon by society out of the three, however it makes Janie the most miserable. Janie’s grandmother says how by marrying this well off man she’ll be content, protected, and well cared for. Janie first opposed this marriage because she thinks the only thing that will make her happy is love. She finally gives in and plays the role as the obedient, fragile, young woman by marrying him. Janie goes into the marriage in hopes to learn how to love him one day. Days past and Janie is still not happy. The marriage was a mistake because now she is trapped in a lifestyle she doesn't want to be in. When Janie complains to her grandmother about her unhappiness she states how she should be grateful and that any young woman would be content in marrying such a man, however she fails to see that Janie is an independent woman with ideas of her own. Her next marriage is a little bit better than the last. She runs off with Joe thinking that it was the love she once dreamed of. This shows progress because she made the decision herself but still succumbs to the influences of her new husband. She becomes sort of a trophy wife. Society again says she should be happy because he’s such a great man but Janie is not satisfied and is left with the feeling of loneliness. He oppresses her by making her tie up her hair, which is a very unique quality of hers. By making her pin back her hair he’s squashing the individuality out of her. After Joe’s death she marries Tea Cake. This marriage makes her the most happy society questioned why such a beautiful girl would pick a low class man like him. She doesn't care that her beauty can get her money and comfort. What Janie desires is love and acceptance which Tea Cake provides. He embraces her individuality. Hurston is trying to say embrace who you are and don’t worry so much about what things you’re going to get in life. Enjoy the simple pleasures and remember that not all good things in life are extravagant.
ReplyDeleteSo far in the novel it has become apparent that Janie has made decisions that may not have been for her own benefit, but from her selflessness for the sole benefit of others. Yet putting these decisions aside Janie has also acted in such ways that fulfilled her own happiness yet were frowned upon by society. As we all do throughout the course of our lives, Janie has made some mistakes. These mistakes can be viewed in multiple differentiating ways. Society would perceive Janie's actions performed for her own happiness as mistakes, because she was not in the moment conforming to the rest of society. In Janie's eyes her mistakes made only happened when she was correct in society's viewpoint. Janie's happiness was never of the equivalent of society's wishes for her.I personally believe that for one to be truly happy you must never disregard what your soul says to you for what others request of you.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the novel, Janie conforms to what society wants her to be. She takes Nanny’s advice by marrying Logan right away. She allows herself to be ordered around by Joe because it would be unacceptable if she didn’t cooperate. In her first two marriages, society was satisfied with Janie’s decisions but Janie was not satisfied with the decisions that she was making. Once her third marriage came along, Janie was finally able to please herself and not care about how society felt about her decisions. Conforming to society in her first two marriages by being ordered around and restricted from being herself was acceptable to society because she was not standing out. However, she was not fulfilling her individual desire. Wearing overalls and working out in the fields with her third husband Tea Cake was unpleasant and wrong to the eyes of society because she was not conforming the way that she was in her first two marriages. She was happiest in her third marriage because she was finally able to fulfill her individual desire while being with someone who didn’t try to force her into her “social responsibility”. But in society’s eyes, she was most successful in her marriage with Joe. I conclude that these do not match up because there is no way to please everyone along with yourself. I think that Hurston’s message is that in the end, it doesn't matter what society thinks of you because when all is said and done, all you have left is yourself.
ReplyDeleteIn Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie has a constant battle with society vs. herself. In the beginning, she tries to find herself through experimentation with kissing, and then is scolded by her grandmother. Her grandmother represents a big part of society’s beliefs – begging Janie to get married to a nice man and be a no-fuss wife. Her grandmother thinks this is the way it should be. Janie tries to please her grandmother, but once she passes and her new husband, Logan, isn’t satisfying her, she runs off with Joe Starks. Here, Janie is doing what she wants, but is later put back into place when Joe tries to mold her into the perfect “Mayor’s Wife” figure. To save her marriage, she goes along with Joe’s requests despite how wrong it feels. When Joe dies, she defies all aspects of society that she has come to know and runs off with Tea Cake. Tea Cake is younger, poorer, and less defined in society than Janie is, but she realizes that through tried-and-failed marriages, her happiness is essentially more important. Though she is more successful and vital to society as Joe Starks’ wife, she is by far most happy living a simple life with Tea Cake. Hurston is trying to show that you can try to please other people as much as you want, but when it comes down to it, doing what is right for YOU makes for a fulfilling life.
ReplyDeleteJanie started out her life as a married adult woman doing what society expected of her. Married off to a man that can support her and she should be happy. But doing what was expected of her rather than what she wanted left her unsatisfied with Logan and their marriage. Leaving Logan was one of the few choices Janie made that weren't influenced by the society she lived in, leaving him for Joe. But it's not too long before she realizes Joe just wants her to sit around and look pretty, doing nothing but what he tells her. Thats when society looked at her as most successful. When Janie finally does what she wants and runs off with Tea Cake its a decision she made against the norms of her society, and thats when she was happiest.
ReplyDeletemy advice for everyone in life has always been, that you should do what ever makes you happy and not listen to anyone who tells you other wise because either they feel bad because you either are more ambitious than them or actually have dreams and they don't, and i think that this book is parallel to my beliefs in the end when jane decides to run off with tea cake and not to listen to anyone else. at that point in the book she furthest isolates her self from society by not listening to the uppity citizens of the town. but realizes that she is most happiest in the most looked down of her husbands and saddest with the most "successful" of her husbands. And to me that was the greatest crime of the book the illumination of success is equal to sadness and suffering. In my opinion a simpler less political life like that of tea cake is much more pleasurable than that of joe. I also liked that you never knew what was to happen with tea cake, his life was a meandering stream full of twists and turns while joes was straight forward and boring.
ReplyDeleteSo I kind of mentioned this subject in a post I did earlier because I hadn’t read this one yet so opps, but I will try to go more in depth and use more examples from the book because I enjoy this topic. At first Janie does what others think she should do. Janie listens to Nanny when Nanny tells Janie to marry Logan, because she wants to make Nanny happy and cares for Nanny even though she doesn’t want to marry Logan. Janie feels obligated to marry Logan because its Nanny’s wishes not because she wants to. But as she begins to grow as a person/character she sees that she needs more of what she wants and less of what society wants. You can see these changes through her three marriages. The first one was because she was told to marry Logan. Her second marriage with Joe was because she wanted to but that changed into her doing what he wanted. Her third marriage with Tea Cake was totally controlled by their own choices. So it starts out with her being controlled and it slowly turns into them doing what they want and not caring what society things of them. She is happiest with Tea Cake when she’s not caring about what society wants of her or what they think. In society’s eyes she is most successful when she is with Joe and when she is the mayor’s wife. They believe that she has everything, but this is when she is most unhappy. So doing what society wants and doing what you want are two very different subjects. If you please others you are not always pleasing yourself and if you please yourself you are not always going to please others. I believe that Hurston’s message is to do what makes you happy.
ReplyDeleteIn Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie alternates between doing what she wants and what society/others thinks she should do. Her three marriages illustrate these changes throughout her life. To begin with, Janie marries Logan Killicks, but not because she wants to. Her grandmother basically forces her into what turns out to be an unhappy marriage. This is an instance where Janie conforms to what others tell her to do. Fast forward a few years, and along comes Joe Starks. Finally, Janie sees her chance to find love, and runs away with this man she hardly knows, despite what her grandmother had hoped for her. Here is where Janie chooses to follow her own heart. But, as her new marriage to Mr. Starks wears on, she doesn’t find what she has been looking for. As Joe gains more control over his town, he also tightens his control over Janie. He forces her to conform to what he thinks a mayor’s wife should be, and once again, Janie is not happy. After Joe passes away, Janie mourns for a time, but discards her mourning clothes faster than the women in her town think she ought to, but Janie is done worrying about what society thinks she should do. For once, she is allowed to partake in all the interesting happenings in her store, without being sent to the back by her overbearing husband. Janie begins to know what happiness is. The Tea Cake enters her life, and Janie falls madly in love. The women in her town consider it scandalous, because of the age difference and the short time that has passed since Joe’s death. Janie could care less about what society thinks she should do, because now she is truly and sincerely happy. In conclusion, I believe Hurston feels that a person should do whatever makes them happy, and if society doesn’t like it, then that’s society’s problem.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the novel, Nanny guides Janie into what she and society think is the right direction for a young woman like Janie. Janie listens to Nanny and marries Logan. Janie is not happy with Logan so she marries Joe. Janie is happy with Joe at the beginning of her marriage but finds that she is unhappy again because Joe lets Janie have little control over what she can do. I think one mistake she made was not speaking up when Joe told her she shouldn’t join in the conversations on the porch. In her first two marriages, Janie does what society wants to see. After Joe dies Janie has more freedom to do what she wants. Janie meats Tea Cake and marries him. Tea Cake lets Janie have more freedom than Logan and Joe let her have. Out of her three marriages she is happiest with Tea Cake. Janie is most successful in society’s eyes when she is married to Joe and known as the mayor’s wife. I think Hurston is trying to say that what society wants and what you want are two very different things. You have to choose what makes you happiest and not care what society thinks.
ReplyDeleteAs others have stated, Janie is a character that changes many times throughout the book. In the very beginning when she was kissing Johnny Taylor she was following her own rules. However, Nanny put a stop to that quickly and decides to take over. Nanny pushes her into being married to Logan where Janie thinks love and happiness will find her, but soon realizes that is not the case. In her next marriage it seems that she is making her own choices, but then Jody forces her to become just a silly Mayors wife. The rest of the town often agrees that she should act a certain way because of her class. She made her mistakes when she let others run her life, but she also stood up for herself at the end of those stages in her life. Such as in her first marriage when she finally decided to leave Logan, and in her second marriage when Jody was on his death bed and she told him what she felt. In her third marriage to Tea Cake she is finally doing what she wants. She dresses how she pleases, lets her hair down, and works on the field with Tea Cake even when he said she did not have to. Even though this is when she is happiest society thinks this is the worst situation. In their eyes being a mayors wife is very prestigious, and being a farmhand is trashy. Hurston's message is that people should do what makes themselves happy even if it does not match up with what society thinks should make them happy.
ReplyDeleteI believe that while you should always focus on what you want and strive toward that goal, don't rule society out. It can help you as much as it can hurt you. For example, part of me is very lazy and prone to procrastination. That part of me wants to just sit around and do nothing of importance. That is not what society wants me to do; society wants me to do assignments and essays and work. And doing work is better for me. Though I would be enjoying myself while doing nothing, this work is setting up a future that I would enjoy more than a lazy present. Hurston believes that striving toward what we want as opposed to what society wants for us will make us happier. This is shown in all three marriages. In Janie's first two unhappy marriages, she listens to society. In her first marriage with Logan, she listens to her Grandmother, who told her to marry Logan for protection. This did not end well. Janie starts her second marriage with Joe, she first listens to herself, and then once she finds out what Joe is like, she listens to what she thinks society will like: for her to stay with him. She lies to herself about who Joe is so that she still has something to live for. In her third marriage, she goes against what society says and comes out successful. Many people tell her not to go with Tea Cake, because he could be taking advantage of her. Even when she marries him, people like Mrs. Turner still try to split them up. But she is the happiest in this marriage.
ReplyDeleteJanie is clearly a dynamic character, seeing as she often fluctuates between doing as she pleases and doing what society expects from her. It's clear that Janie does as she feels when the novel first describes her because she is wearing men's overalls in a time where women are meant to wear dresses and skirts. However, when she begins telling her story, readers learn that she isn't completely defying what mainstream society expects of her. Janie kisses Johnny Taylor, though she isn't sure if she wants to marry him or not. She does know that she doesn't want to marry Logan Killicks like Nanny wants her to. However, she finally agrees to marry Mr. Killicks because he can provide a secure future with a home and money for her like a husband in those times was pictured to be. Janie, again, does as she pleases after she is wed by not preforming "wifely" duties and refuses to listen to her husband's commands. Janie once again goes against the flow by leaving her husband for Jody and marrying him. Janie conforms when Jody's reign as mayor of the Floridian town grows, becoming a silenced and picture-esque wife of the mayor. Janie isn't happy about it, but she follows because she knows that is what Jody and the townsfolk expect of her.
ReplyDeleteJanie finally does as her heart desires when she marries Tea Cake. Her husband is who she wants to be, her clothes are what she wants to be, and looks how she wants to look. And she's a much happier person, even if people are judging her for not being a "woman of society". I believe that the author of this book is trying to say be yourself, despite any limitations that are thrown your way, because if you limit yourself, you won't be happy and you'll think of what could have been.
Up till Janie’s third marriage she does exactly what society wants her to do. She dresses, speaks and acts only as the people in town and her husband Mr. Stark want her to. However in her third marriage Janie does what does wants and this is when she finds true happiness and love. She is finally able to stop thinking about what other people think of her, and finally does something for herself; however society sees her most successful in her second marriage. She allows herself to be influenced by society for over twenty years and was completely unhappy. The message according to Hurston is that in life you need to do what makes you happy. When trying to please society, it is practically impossible and most likely you will find yourself unhappy. . You need to break out and do what makes you happy. I personally agree with Hurston. I think you can never please society. Society has always seemed to have outlandish ideas of what a person should look or act like. There is never pleasing everybody, and you will only find yourself miserable trying to. To be truly happy you need to be yourself and do what makes you happy and not worry about other people.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel, Their Eyes Were watching God, Janie is faced with many moral dilemmas. Every person she encounters has a different opinion on how she should live her life according to societal rules and standards.Her Nanny lived most of her life as a slave, and because of this she tried her best to raise Janie to be better than her own daughter, who took to drinking as a way of coping after being raped. She wished for Janie to "Take a stand on high ground" and couldn't die peacefully until she knew that her granddaughter was safe. So Janie married Logan Killicks to appease her Nanny. She never loved Logan and was not happy in her marriage. Soon enough, the next best thing came to town with big dreams and a fancy suit. Joe Starks immediately swept Janie off of her feet with his high hopes and so they ran away together. Things were better for Janie, she was married to the Mayor of an all black community and she was spoiled. She had figured that this was where she was supposed to be and that she shouldn't be complaining because many people would be grateful to be in her shoes. Joe expected Janie to stay in her place and not talk out of turn. The stresses of success had drowned Jody, and Janie became a widow. She was unsure of her future and whether or not she would ever be truly content. Tea Cake is then introduced and Janie is smitten. Even in her past two relationships, Janie had never been completely in love. Janie had finally found her happiness by listening to her heart and running away with Tea Cake against everyone's opinions.
ReplyDeleteFrom this novel I have gathered that Listening to the popular belief and following their guidence will not bring true satisfaction. In order to become happy, it is key to follow your heart and your own way rather than letting others tell you what is best for you. Pure content comes from knowing what is best for yourself and finding a way to make it a reality.
In Zora Neale Hurston's novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, its pretty obvious that the main theme of the book is Janie's Individual desire vs. her own social responsibility. In the book, Janie evidently goes back and forth between what she has always dreamed about and what other people think what's best for her future. Janie grew up with her grandmother, a former slave, who has always had the mindset that Janie will grow up into a well-rounded young women who will marry well-off and hold somewhat of a higher social status. Janie tries to convince herself that's what's best for her but when her first marriage ends up being somewhat boring and undesirable Janie can't wait to take off with the new and exciting bachelor Joe Starks. Janie decided to do what she's always dreamed off and take off with some complete stranger feeling some excitement for once in her life. At the beginning, living with Jody was everything she imagined it would be. She gets to encounter new experiences and meet many new people, eventually setting her social status up high on the totem pole. As always every marriage has it's ups and downs. Janie enjoys having money and being able to call herself Mrs. Starks, but she has to sacrifice her own independent thoughts and ideas because that's not the ideal way the mayor's wife should act. With her new identity and somewhat great of a fortune, as seen in society's eyes, Janie should have been the happiest women in the world. But every family has it's problems and the Stark household had quite a few, both Janie and Jody knew things were becoming tense and nothing was like how it had been in the beginning. So eventually, when Jody passed away Janie felt a new sense of freedom and independence withing herself. Even a spark of happiness when she met an unexpected visitor in her shop that went by the name of Tea Cake. The novel took a one hundred and eighty degree turn in tone when Janie and Tea Cake first encountered each other. It was obvious that Janie had never been happier and when she was with Tea Cake she was able to be who she wanted to be, say what she wanted to say, and live life with pure enjoyment knowing that her thoughts and herself were always valued. Janie's social acceptance never quite matched up to the times she was truly happy with herself, but in the end she was finally at peace with herself and her life. In conclusion, Nora's message is be who you want to be, don't let anything ever hold you back, and shoot for the stars because eventually you can make anything happen if you set your mind to it.
ReplyDeleteWhen Janie is growing up she basically does what she wants and doesn’t care what else anyone is doing. When her grandma tells her that she has to marry Logan she does even though she could probably think of 100 better things to do, but she honors one of her grandmother’s wishes because that is how she was raised which basically society is telling her how to live because they are the ones telling her to respect her elders. When she runs off with Stark she does what she wants. Running off with another man while you are married to a different was most definitely frowned upon, but Janie just wanted to be happy and find love. As she and Stark begin to get situated in the town of Eatonville she does everything that a wife is supposed to do she takes care of the home and her husband and listens to what he say, which would be society telling her how to live her life. When Stark dies and she leaves to marry Teacake society says she was married too soon and too happy after her beloved husband had died, but she didn’t care. Janie was the happiest when she didn’t have to conform to society’s way of life. From this novel I can conclude that Hurston was trying to show the reader that when you try to be a cookie cutter in a society your life will be boring and you won’t be happy, but when you live by your rules you will be much happier and less stressed. I agree with this thinking to a certain extent. There are certain things in society that make a lot of sense and are in place for the well-being of everyone. Other things society says though completely contradicts with my morals and the way I feel about things just in general.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the novel, Janie conforms to the wishes of the society that surrounds her by marrying Logan. However, as the novel progresses, her outlook on life quickly evolves from being "just another Mrs. Jones" to being herself, she quickly learns to do what makes her happy, not what satisfies the wishes of society as a whole. Once Janie decides to follow her own dreams, she quickly flees from Logan to marry Stark and help him settle Eatonville. Once could reach the conclusion that Hurston felts that if one chose to live with the "plain-Jane" mindset and approach to life they would not be nearly as happy or fulfilled as if they were living based on their own beliefs, wants or needs.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post relates to the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”.
ReplyDeleteJanie does what she wants throughout the novel without thinking about what could happen from society and their opinions. In the beginning, Janie does marry Logan Killicks because her Nanny thinks the marriage will provide her with security for life with his land and not actually thinking about what Janie actually wants. However, when Janie leaves Logan it shows that Janie does not care about what society wants her to do and that she will do what she feels is right. It is hard to say when Janie was happiest during anyone of her marriages because she was never happy with Logan, but became happy when she left him for Joe, but when Joe began to treat her like an object she left him, and in her third marriage she loved Tea Cake. Janie’s three marriages all are similar because she starts out by doing what others want but then listens to herself and does what she feels is the best thing to do. I think the message from this novel is that society can be wrong and trusting your decisions is what is most important in life.