Index

Synopsis
Author Biogrophy
Cast of Characters
Symbol Chart
Novel Compare and Contrast
Christian Worldview "Day in the Life" Scenario
Three Original Thematic Poems

Synopsis

“Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston tells the story of Janie, an African American woman living in Florida in the 1930s, a time when the black community experienced a lot of racial discrimination.

The primary conflict in this story is Janie's search to discover and experience what it means to love and to be loved. The pattern of arrangement used in this story is Middle to Flashback. The story begins with Janie telling her friend, Pheoby, the story of her life up to that point.

When she is still young, her grandmother forces her to marry Logan Killicks even though she doesn't love him. They are unhappy together because there is no real love in their relationship. He forces her to work for him and mistreats her.

Later she runs away with Joe Starks who speak to her kindly and says he loves her. However, he ends up becoming the mayor of Eatonville and becomes too focused on working and becoming wealthy that he began to ignore her and her needs. They have a huge argument and later he dies of a horrible sickness.

After that, the story has a rise in action when Tea Cake comes along and he and Janie start becoming good friends. They begin to love each other in a way Janie had never known before. They get married and after a while move to the Everglades to live and work in the fields with other people who are also seeking opportunity for wealth through the crop industries in the Everglades.

The story reaches its climax when a terrible hurricane sweeps through Florida, destroying the Everglades and the surrounding area. Janie and Tea Cake just barely escape the storm alive. However, on their way to safety, Tea Cake is bitten by a dog. He comes down with rabies, which drives him insane to the point of shooting at Janie. She kills him out of self-defense. After Tea Cake dies, the jury for Janie's court trial declares Janie innocent because she killed Tea Cake unintentionally to defend herself and the rest of the town.

That is where Janie's story to Pheoby ends. Janie then goes inside her house where she enjoys the peace that comes from knowing that she had truly loved and been loved. She knows that she still loves Tea Cake, even after he had died.

By Katharine Johnson

Author Biography

The book Their Eyes Were Watching God was written by Zora Neale Hurston. Zora was born on January 7, 1981 in Eatonville, an all-black city that began in the 1880's.  She lost her mother when she was a young teenager and was separated from her seven siblings after her father remarried. When Hurston grew up, she went on to study anthropology (the study of humankind) at Barnard College and Columbia University. Zora began writing in college formally for the school newspaper that she helped create and still exists today. In addition to this she wrote a short story during her time at school. Throughout her life Zora was divorced three times and when she was approximately 44 she fell in love with 23 year old Percy Punter who asked her to give up her career and marry him. She refused because she had "Thing clawing inside that must be said." It was around this time she wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston has made many great works in her lifetime including 4 novels and more than 50 published short stories, plays, and essays, but none of them were as popular as Their Eyes Were Watching God. A little later on in life Hurston took part in the Harlem Renaissance, the black movement in the arts that began in 1919 with the return of black soldiers from the Great War. She came into the movement with her publication of a story "Drenched in Light" in 1924. In 1925, at the urging of the editor of the National Urban League, she moved to Harlem and met other writers and intellectuals of Harlem. Later in the 1940’s Hurston went through a little bit of a rough patch. Despite her publication of Their Eyes Were Watching God in 1937 she struggled with financial stability throughout the 40's. At the time of the book’s publication Richard Wright the Author of Native Son and Black Boy condemned her book for carrying no theme or message and being written to make white people laugh. According to one source his comments and review so hurt Zora that she wished she had not written the book. After time, people started realizing how special the book really was and Zora was able to gain back her confidence before she died in 1960. Overall, Zora Hurston lived a great life and had a lot of success and has gone down in history as a great author.

Works Cited

"Harlem Renaissance." History.com. Ed. Eric Foner and John A. Garraty. A&E Television Networks, 1991. Web. 12 May 2014.

Boyd, Valerie. "Zora Neale Hurston." The Official Website of. The Estate of Zora Neale Hurston, n.d. Web. 11 May 2014.

By Katherine Jenson

Cast of Characters

Janie Crawford

            Janie is the central character of this novel. The story follows her life and the struggles she goes through looking to find love along with an ideal husband. Janie has a picture of love in her mind from when she was younger, sitting underneath a pear tree in the springtime. The rest of her life she searches for that same feeling in experiences with her three different husbands.

 Tea Cake

            Tea Cake is Janie’s third and final husband. Of all of her husbands Janie finds him to be the closest to perfect and lives very contently with him. The most attractive part of Tea Cake to Janie is that he allows her to be herself and do things that she wants without forcing her into anything. Along with that she admires the fact that he has big dreams for his own life.

Jody Starks

            Janie’s second husband who she runs away with from her first husband. He aspires to be a successful and powerful man. They move to Eatonville, which is an all black town, where he eventually becomes mayor of.

Logan Killicks

            Janie’s first husband from an arranged marriage by her grandmother. He treated Janie like another one of his servants and eventually she ran away with Jody.

Pheoby Watson

            Supports Janie while the rest of the town critizes her decisions with her husbands. She is the one that Janie is telling her story to for the entire novel.

Nanny Crawford

            Janie’s grandmother who raises her. Eventually marries Janie off to Logan.

Mr. and Mrs. Turner

            Residents of the “muck” where Janie and Tea Cake live together. Mrs. Turner is racist and often talks bad about her own race. Tea Cake does not like this and demands Janie to not invite her to their house anymore.

Sam Watson

            Pheoby’s husband who is a part of the conversation between Janie and his wife at times.

Amos Hicks

            Amos lives in Eatonville and is one of the first people that Janie and Jody meet. He tries to take Janie away from Jody, but fails in his efforts.

Motor Boat

            One of Janie and Tea Cake’s friend in the muck who flees the storm with them. He hides in an abandoned house and survives.

Hezekiah Potts

            Janie’s helper at the store that she runs in Eatonville. He tries to help Janie cope with Jody’s death.

Dr. Simmons

            The doctor who diagnoses Tea Cake’s bite infection as fatal.

Nunkie

            A girl who lives in the muck that tries to flirt with Tea Cake. This leads Janie to become extremely jealous.

By Ty Frazier

Symbol Chart

Throughout the story Their Eyes Were Watching God there are many symbols that are used to help describe what is going on in the book. These symbols also allow the readers to understand the deeper meaning of the story on another level. I believe that the five most important symbols in this book are Janie’s head rag, the rabid dog, guns, the sun, and plants/ flowers. These symbols all have completely different meanings from each other and they all describe very important messages in the book.

I think the most important symbol in this book is the sun. I believe this because of the message it portrays. It allows people to understand that every day is a new day and everything can change. This message can mean many different things. For example, it can mean that if you have a really bad day and nothing is going right then you can always look forward to tomorrow. It can also mean that there is always room for people to have a second chance. Overall, in this book the sun represents a very important message and I appreciate it because it can be can be interpreted in many different ways.

I believe that the next most important symbol in this book would be Janie’s head rags. I think this because it shows her becoming her own person and having the confidence to be who she wants to be. When Janie first takes off her head rag after her husband passes away, the readers see a different side of Janie that they have not seen before. This message shows people that they should not let others tell them what to do and that they should be the person that they want to be.

The fourth most important symbol in this book would be the gun. This symbol is kind of similar to Janie’s head rag because it also show’s Janie becoming her own person. When Janie first learns how to shoot a gun it represents her rebelling against the rules of feminism. At this time period it was unnatural for a woman to shoot a gun and you were looked down upon if you did. In this book when Janie first learns how to shoot the gun it shows that she no longer cares what anyone thinks of her and that she is going to do whatever she wants to do.

The next significant symbol would be the plants/ flowers. I think this because it shows that people do not need much in life to be happy. For example, in the beginning of the story Janie thought she needed a wealthy man and a nice house to be happy. By the end of the story she realized that all she needed was Tea Cake’s love and presence in her life and she would be more than content. Overall, this is a very important message and I think the book did a great job of portraying it.

I think the least important symbol out of the top five symbols I have selected would be the rabid dog. I think this because it was a smaller symbol and it is also a very generic symbol. The dog represented hate. It showed this by the way it attacked Tea Cake. In the end, this symbol was defiantly important, but don’t think it was nearly as important as the others. 

Janie’s Head-Rags- This is a very important symbol in this story because it represents Janie having power over herself. Janie’s second husband was the one who forced her to wear the head-rag because he didn’t want other men to be as attracted to her as he was. Once he died, Janie was quick to take off the head-rag and become her own women again.

The Rabid Dog- This dog is a symbol of hate because of the way it was willing to attack anyone and everything. It showed its hate when it attacked Tea Cake and ended up affecting his health.

Guns- Represent power in this story. When Janie learned to shoot a gun for the first time it showed her gaining power because she no longer let others tell her what she is and isn’t allowed to do. 

The Sun- Is a symbol of rebirth. Throughout this story Zora mentions the sun and the position it’s in multiple times and in the end Janie ends up relating it to Tea Cake. The overall message of the sun is that life goes on and that no matter how bad one day may seem, there is always tomorrow. 

Plants/Flowers- Represents the beauty and fertility of earth. It shows how little things can make you happy in life. For example, Janine finds in the end that she doesn’t need a nice house or things to make her happy, she only needs her and Tea Cake’s love. 

By Katherine Jenson

Novel Compare and Contrast

Their Eyes Were Watching God is a classic novel that is uniquely written by Zora Neale Hurston. Another novel that has a similar themes is Sweat which is also written by Hurston. They are both powerful narratives about the lives of black people struggling to live their lives free of oppression. Both are believed to be based on personal experiences of the author when she was growing up. The shared theme of the novels is finding love and fighting against racism. As well as similar themes we see that the two Hurston novels use similar literary elements.

The theme of love appears repeatedly in books and movies. The difference between these two novels and many others is that the central characters will not be satisfied until they find true love. Although the circumstances of the stories are different the goals of their characters are the same. Janie wants to find an ideal husband for herself much like the image she has in her mind of a younger self laying underneath a blossoming pear tree which to her is a symbol of love. She searches her entire life to find a husband who can recreate that image in a sense. Likewise in Sweat, Delia and Sykes are married but can not find the love they once shared when they were newly wedded. Sometimes love can have low points in relationships which we can clearly see in both novels when the husbands physically abuse their spouses. The wives react differently to these actions; Delia retaliates while Janie chooses to move on from the event immediately.

Race is an underlying issue that surrounds each novel and made the stories somewhat controversial at the time of their release. Janie and Delia are the main characters who live in a time of racism and a time where women hold minimal rights and respect of men. Overcoming these things is difficult for both women to achieve. Slavery is not present in either novel but the sense of racial tension is still there. Janie grows up in the backyard of the home that her grandmother is a servant to. She also has an encounter later in her life during her marriage to Tea Cake in which a woman by the name of Mrs. Turner is strikingly racist towards her own race. Delia does not face such outright racism but the fact that some view her as a slave. This is similar to the experience that Janie had with her first and second husbands as they treated her poorly at times and expect her to serve them as a servant might. Since the treatment that the wives are given is not right they both gain self-confidence and independence as Janie and Delia change to desire more freedom for themselves.

Since the novels share an author it makes sense that the writing styles resemble each other. Both have dialect written as it may have sounded when spoken by African Americans living in the south. This style is very unique and allows the reader to have a more realistic idea of what the conversations would have been like. The setting of both stories is set in Florida and is based on Hurston’s own life growing up in Eatonville, Florida. The time at which the stories are set are similar as well as the locational setting. Symbolism plays a prominent role in Their Eyes Were Watching God and Sweat. The first novel shows this in a number of ways but most significant of all is the ideal picture of love that Janie has. The blossoming pear tree in the springtime which represents love and happiness to her. The second novel shows symbolism in that the church represents the priorities of the main characters and their actions. As soon as Sykes’ actions become violent she chooses to switch her church membership to another church nearby. This shows that she does not wish to be apart of a church that has beliefs not in line with what her husband’s actions reflect.

Janie and Delia are the main focus of both stories and we see a lot of similar traits that each of them possess. These women want to play an important role in their relationships with their husbands in order to feel like they are meaningful to them. Janie struggles to find this over the course of her three marriages. The three men treated her differently and had different personalities but the results were mostly the same. She ran away, one she became unhappy with, and one turned abusive after he wanted to show he held power over Janie. All this to show that none of the men that she were perfect and their flaws hurt Janie in different ways. Each man had certain priorities and not too often did they involve their wives into those things. Jody and Tea Cake dreamed of better lives but later on Jody became increasingly power hungry while Tea Cake wanted Janie to be apart of everything they did together. Delia is not the same in her relationship circumstances as she has only one spouse during the story. Although that it is the case, Delia faces similar problems with her husband. He becomes abusive while also being involved in an affair. Things end badly for them when Delia accidently kills Syke which is the case for Janie and Tea Cake too.

These stories both share plot, theme, and literary device similarities. The author wrote two excellent novels with comparable ideas that are at the foundation of the book. From both of these books elements of racism and overcoming stereotypes can be learned from and understand more from a personal narrative. Although these books are fiction, each contain events that are real life events or based on real happenings. Hurston is a fantastic author who should be remembered for these classic novels.

By Ty Frazier           

           

Christian Worldview “Day in the Life” Scenario

As I slept in the stillness and quiet of the night, my mind wandered down a narrow dirt road, past the rows of small houses, some shabby, some neat and orderly, but all covered in patches of sunlight with shadow scattered across. The quiet was almost stunning, enveloping the entire town. There were no cars, no traffic lights, none of the common sights in the cities where I live. I saw several black men and women dressed neatly but humbly. Some walked in silence while others were talking and laughing loudly. In the distance I saw a woman walking in the opposite direction, gazing straight ahead, her long black hair flowing down her back in a braid. As I approached her, I greeted her with a smile. She looked back at me, her clear dark eyes showing slight confusion and surprise.

“What business brings uh white woman lak you here dis mornin'? Seems mighty strange tuh me.”

“I don't know. I must have lost my way as I walked. What town is this?”

“Dis is Eatonville. Ah run uh store here,” she said pointing down the road. “Ah'm headed dat way right now. If you lak tuh come wid me, you'se welcome. Mah name is Janie.”

“My name is Katharine. Nice to meet you.”

“Mah pleasure.”

We walked further down the road, and as we walked we admired the morning sunrise.

“It's de lov'liest thing Ah've seen. Yuh ever wonder how God kin make it lak dat?” she asked.

“It's a mystery to us, but He had the power to create not only that but also everything else we see in nature.”

She nodded in agreement, but at the same time her expression seemed to question what I had said.

“If God kin make all dat, why don' He make everyone have uh happy life?”

“Would you say that you do?”

“Well, Ah'm free now so now Ah'm happy. Dat's because mah husband Jody died, and wid him I had no freedom or happiness of mah own. He was de mayor, and he had uh lot uh burden an' responsibility, too. I dunno if he had uh happy life either.”

“I'm so sorry. That must have been tough for both of you.”

“It was. But Ah'm through it now, and now I live mah own life for myself. I needs tuh find mah way to happiness now dat Ah got mah freedom back. Why does yuh think God don't give everyone uh happy life?”

“I believe God gives everyone the freedom to make their own choices, but often the choices that we make bring us unhappiness. Other times life is just unfair,  even to those who make good choices. The evil in the world is persistent, but patience is rewarded. The struggles in life don't mean that God is not good and kind or powerful enough, they simply give us the opportunity to trust Him.”

“How does yuh know dis?”

“I believe it because of what I've read in the Bible and what I have observed about myself and the way the world works.”

“Ah'm not exactly sure what I believe. Ah'm a black woman who's got tuh fend fuh mahself now. Us blacks have uh hard time heah. Most uh dem people look at us as less den dey, an' I dunno how dere's love out dere for people lak me. We'se seen as unvaluable. Ah know Ah'm valuable, but how does Ah go an' prove it tuh dem?”

“You are not any less valuable than anyone else in the world. You don't have to prove it to anyone. If they don't see it, then their blindness is their own issue.”

By that time we had reached the store. Janie opened the door and entered the shop, going over to the counter immediately where she washed her hands, moved a couple of barrels over to the wall, and pulled out a chair and sat down. I sat down on a chair in a corner.

“Dis is mah store. Jody used tuh run it wid me.” She sighed. “Do yuh lak it?”

“Yes, it's nice! How do you feel about working here?”

“I knows dat God was de one who made me tuh get born into de world, but I didn't ever guess He woulda had me in dis store working by mahself. What's true is dat Ah always needed tuh love somebody, and dere's nothin' more false den de idea dat I could be happy widout love. Ah knows Ah'm going to heaven someday because dat's where mah grandma went. She always knew what God said tuh her, but she was also de one who made me marry de man Ah never loved. If dat was what God said, and if dis empty life in dis store is what God had fuh me, den Ah dunno if Ah even wants tuh go tuh heaven and see God. Ah needs to be here and learn tuh love uh man. But Ah'm alone now. Ah know Ah gotta do de things dat are right and good so that Ah stay outa trouble and so dat God won't be angry. Ah always done what Ah knows best, but Ah sometimes don' see de purpose of it.”

“I believe that God doesn't look at you with dissatisfaction or scorn. He won't let you struggle alone. I know that I was made in His image to do His work. He created me to live on this earth for a good purpose. You also were made in His image for a good purpose.”

“What could dat purpose be?”

“Part of His purpose for you is that you belong to Him. I belong to Him because through His great love for me He adopted me to be His daughter. He loves you in exactly the same way He loves me. I know I will be with Him forever in heaven. Heaven is a real place where there is eternal happiness as we live with God. And living with God is not dreadful because He wants to pour out His love and blessings on His children. The perfect love of God is true, but the idea that we are worthless and should just give up is a lie that can only destroy and make us blind to the truth of God's love. I always try to be wise with my decisions and loving toward others not to win His love, which I already have, but because I love Him. I know He is real, and I want to respond to Him by giving Him my whole life.”

I paused for a moment, looking out through the open door at the quiet, peaceful town where the breezes blew softly through the trees. I could see her behind the counter with a faint smile on her face, her eyes glistening with tears. I hoped that what I said had helped her in some way.

Just then a woman came into the store asking for some flour. Janie knelt behind the counter to scoop it for her, and I looked around the shop observing the dusty, rough woodwork, the furniture, and the simplicity with admiration. I thought back to what my own house looked like, with computers and cell phones, clutter and complexity.

Outside there were no traffic noises or pollution. Neighbors were chatting and laughing in a friendly manner, and I thought of the seclusion of our suburban neighborhood where hardly anyone ever talked to each other. The technology we had back at home did not help us as much as it hindered us from personal friendships, distracted us from our work and chores, and took away from the beauty of nature in the simple, perfect way God made it. 

I thought about how in the future there would be freedom for blacks, how they would be given more rights and experience less discrimination. I thought about how black women would be able to get good educations and find well-paying jobs to support their families.

There were a lot of things that Janie didn't know about that would happen one day. There would be new opportunities, new technology, new ways of thinking. I wondered if Janie would like it as much if she could visit me in my life as I enjoyed visiting her for a day in her life. She would be amazed by our technological devices, but also a little disgusted at their complexity as well as the lack of interaction and kindness shown between neighbors. On the other hand she would be delighted by the new freedom she would find for herself and the other women of her race. Her descendants would be the ones to experience that life, but they would not be able to make a comparison because they would miss out on the beauty of the quiet life in the town of Eatonville. I wondered myself which lifestyle I liked better.

The customer left the store and Janie and I exchanged one last glance with a tender smile before the dimly lit store, the view of the dirt road and the trees blowing in the breeze, and Janie's beautiful, dear face faded from my view. I opened my eyes and found myself looking at my bedroom where my school books lay in a heap and a computer sat on my desk. The dream lingered in my mind as I pondered my visit with Janie. A new realization struck me just then. Technology would change and history would always be moving forward, but God's love would never change and my future with Him would never end.

  

  By Katharine Johnson

Three Original Thematic Poems

Suppression

She’s the one

Locked deep inside,

With angry thorns

Pressed into the

Softness of her heart.

Every day words

Fall as a torrent of

Shrapnel bloated pride.

With each insult said

She tucks hope into

The depths of her soul,

Waiting for spring to soothe

Her frostbitten spirit.

For summer to thaw

Walls that breathe

Only lies.

Spring creeps forward

Gentle rains trailing down,

Smile cracking from the

Weight of her mask.

Fingers of sunlight

Tiptoe under the door,

Unlatching the bolt.

Shy blossoms unfurl,

Uncertain wings catch

Summer breeze and suddenly

Freedom! Flight! Song!

She had a voice.

Feet safe, roots of hope

Starting to grow.

Pedestal

Unseen,

Unheard,

Unwanted.

My Nanny always felt

Invisible, a footstool

Fuh white folks wants.

Neglected,

Abused,

Rejected.

Long years of misery

Made grand dis pedestal

She set fuh me tuh reside.

Respectability

Safety,

Lonliness.

She didn’t know it

Was lak de emptiness of

De day without de sun.

Chilled,

Dark,

Dead.

Different With Every Shore

Moonlight filters down

Beading on two fishing lines.

One cast for dreams, one for love.

She feels the tugging inside

Softly at first, easily dismissed

Stronger then, the dream stuck fast.

He finds his hook snagged

On the vision in her heart

Captured by who she is.

They laugh and talk, sharing

Cornbread and fish, breathing

thoughts for the other to see.

They break tradition,

Vowing their lives to each other

Living an ordinary adventure.

They stand a shoreline, changing

The shape of the sea, knowing love is

Different with every shore.

By Kate Pankratz