Their Eyes Were Watching God

BEFORE LOGAN KILLICKS:

Before Logan Killicks, Janie was very confused on what she was going to do with her life and Nanny feared the same. “’Dat’s what makes me skeered. You don’t mean no harm. You don’t even know where harm is at. Ah’m ole now. Ah can’t be always guidin’ yo’ feet from harm and danger. Ah wants to see you married right away’” (Hurston 13). This is Nanny speaking to Janie about what she wants for her. Nanny’s point proves to be true throughout the whole story. Janie was interested in a man named Johnny Taylor who she had gone out with on a few dates before she set off to marry Logan Killicks. Johnny was a kind of like a pretty boy to Janie. He had no real value to offer her except for his looks and charm. This was exactly what Nanny feared. Nanny knew that Janie’s good looks were very appealing to the men who would come across her and she was also a very pretty, young lady so she knew the burden of receiving attractive attributes. She knew that some men would take her for granted and not treat her the way she should be and that’s what Nanny tried to tell Janie, but as most teenagers are, she was arrogant. “’Tain’t Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have, baby, it’s protection. Ah ain’t gittin’ ole, honey. Ah’m done ole – Mah daily prayer now is tuh let dese golden moments rolls on a few days longer till Ah see you safe in life’” (Hurston 15).

AFTER LOGAN KILLICKS/BEFORE JOE STARKS:

After Logan Killicks had threatened to kill Janie, she ran off with a man named Joe Starks. Before they had gotten married, Janie felt like she had, at last, found the man who she would grow old with. “’De day you puts yo’ hand in mine, Ah wouldn’t let de sun go down on us single. Ah’m uh man wid principles. You ain’t never knowed what is was to be treated lak a lady and Ah wants to be de one tuh show yuh. Call me Jody lak you do sometime’” (Hurston 29). This was the same type of man that Nanny warned Janie about. To me, there seemed to be a trend with Janie and that trend was her being constantly misinformed, and the misinformation was coming from the men she decided to marry. For example, Joe goes on with this long speech about how he knows how to treat women, and in the end, it was all an act. Before Janie and Joe were deep into their relationship, he treated her like a queen. He got her what she wanted, when she wanted it and it all seemed like a fairy tale to Janie. Later, in their relationship Janie starts getting less privileges. Joe has her tie up her hair while she was in the store, he doesn’t allow her to talk with the other people in the town. This eventually starts to tear down their relationship. Joe begins insulting Janie to deflect attention from him because of his growing age. Janie then fights back and insults Joe publicly. Later, Joe falls ill and on his deathbed Janie tells him all the things she’s held back about how Joe was selfish, and why she doesn’t care for him anymore.

AFTER JOE STARKS/BEFORE TEA CAKE:

After Joe Starks, Janie must’ve felt completely lost. She was now through two marriages and the future was blurry. Janie’s persona was much different after the death of Joe. “’ Tain’t dat Ah worries over Joe’s death, Pheoby. Ah jus’ loves dis freedom.’ ‘Sh-sh-sh! Don’t let nobody hear you say dat, Janie. Folks will say you ain’t sorry he’s gone.’ ‘Let ‘em say whut dey wants tuh, Pheoby. To my thinkin’ mourning oughtn’t tuh last longer’n grief’” (Hurston 93). Janie feels no remorse for Joe’s death. In her eyes, it was a just death. I feel like Janie was very desperate going into most of her relationships, especially when she got involved with Tea Cake. She was very eager to find a new partner, and the perfect candidate waltzed right in front of her. Tea Cake was exactly what Janie was looking for, a loose spirited, fun, adventurous man. Tea Cake was full of optimism for himself, and this was seen clear as day by Janie.

AFTER TEA CAKE:

After Tea Cake’s death, Janie returned to Eatonville to tell Pheoby all about her adventures. In the book, Hurston often refers to Janie’s soul. “He drifted off into sleep and Janie looked down on him and felt a self-crushing love. So her soul crawled out from its hiding place” (Hurston 128). The image of her soul coming out from its hiding place is often used as an indicator of Janie’s happiness. This quote was from the beginning of Tea Cake and Janie’s relationship and it shows how Janie was finally able to open her heart to Tea Cake and fully experience his love and affection. “She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net. Pulled it from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder. So much of life in its meshes! She called in her soul to come and see” (Hurston 193). This was the last couple of sentences of the book. She was feeling depressed looking back on the day Tea Cake was killed, but she then remembered that Tea Cake showed her all the great things in the world and what it truly meant to love someone. She was finally at peace, and her soul was there to see it.

By Alexander Lapierre

hunterpseointerprativeproject

Flashback/Childhood: In the beginning of the story, Janie has a flash back to when everything begins. The song, “Childhood” by Rhian Sheehan, portrays not only the flashback but her first young teenage love.

Instrumental

First Marriage: Janie’s first marriage can easily be seem as a mistake, for her reasons for marriage were not right. Her life after this marriage is lonely and broken. The song, “Wounds,” displays emotion that show Janie’s loneliness and wounds.

Instrumental

Song: https://youtu.be/DQaCbYAY5iU

Falling for Jody: The song, “I Will Follow You” by Toulouse can be used for the emotion and excitement Janie was experiencing. The lyrics can show how Janie falls in love with Jody and will follow him to the ends of the earth.

Lyrics: http://genius.com/Toulouse-i-will-follow-you-lyrics

Song: https://youtu.be/9TSusC_wQTo

Janie’s realizations: Janie’s love for Jody begins to wear off as Jody stops treating her in the way he promised he would. After years of this Janie is tired of his cold heart. The song, “Cold as You Are” have powerful lyrics when describing Janie’s feelings toward Jody after awhile in their marriage. The lyrics can also be used in explaining the coldness of Jody and hurt of Janie.

Lyrics & Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-QlwzkFrnU

End of the once “perfect” marriage: The end of this marriage is brought on by the death of Jody, which does not cause grief in Janie’s heart, but rather joy. The song “You Took My Future,”  can be used to explain Janie’s feelings after Jody’s death.

Lyrics: Unavailable

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg8DmHsgISs

Tea Cake, a new love: The song “Your Love,” has not only powerful lyrics, but also excitement and passion in the melody. It can easily be compared to the new love Tea Cake brings Janie.

Lyrics: http://www.songlyrics.com/shane-shane/your-love-lyrics/

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpAI4gpHV40

New places: Janie and Tea Cake move to a new city,  and the song “Go Alone” perfectly goes with their new life in a new place together.

Lyrics: https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/Colin-Caroline/Go-Alone

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3yqdnOQ1Go

Janie & Tea Cake’s love: Janie and Tea Cake are obviously in love. The song, “What Would I Do Without You” by Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, can be used to describe the love that they have. They don’t want to live without each other.

Lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/drewholcombtheneighbors/whatwouldidowithoutyou.html

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFbpKOsNwXA

 

Hurricane: The chaos can be heard in the song “We Are Fine,” which can be compared to the time of the hurricane. Janie and Tea Cake don’t want to recognize the real danger they may be in. When they do flee, it is a lot harder to get through and is harmful to both of them.

Lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/sharonvanetten/wearefine.html

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkwbBZzM6ZE

Tea Cake’s end: “Benediction” is a song in Tea Cakes perspective right before his death. Tea Cake was scared and also hurt by Janie not being able to be near him. He is upset he does not have enough time.

Lyrics: http://www.songlyrics.com/luke-sital-singh/benediction-lyrics/

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBdVcEDWDFA

Hopeless time:  Janie is mourning the loss of her husband Tea Cake. Many people blame her for this death and she is feeling the pain of yet another lost love. The song “Breath Me” can be used in Janie’s role, she feels broken once again. Everywhere Janie turns she can see Tea Cake. The people around begin to realize that Janie had no choice when it came to Tea Cakes death.

Lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/sia/breatheme.html

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFGvmrJ5rjM

Healing: The story closes with Janie in her room taking in everything that has happened to her. This moment is a time of healing for her. The instrumental, “Arctic” goes through the same emotions Janie does. The last line of the book is, “She called in her soul to come and see.” (Hurston 193)

Instrumental

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8xtGXsueXA

Listen to Their Eyes Were Watching God on @AppleMusic.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/playlist/their-eyes-were-watching-god/idpl.fc1822e461654002ac4ef770af69aad3

By Julia Laulunen

Zora Neale Hurston was born on January 7^th of 1891. She was born in Notasulga, Alabama. The actual birth place of Hurston was debated because in her autobiography Dusty Tracks on a Road, she stated that she was born in Eatonville, Florida. Many people think that she simply took some creative license with her actual place of birth. Hurston’s parents were both former slaves. Her mother died when she was very young and her father was a pastor. Hurston lived with many family members in her youth due to her mother’s death.

As she got older, she had dreams of getting an education and a good paying job. To do this, she started making money as a maid for an actress in a Gilbert and Sullivan group. She used this money to get an associate at Howard University. She took a liking to literature at a young age and published her first work in the newspaper at her university. She then moved to NYC to the Harlem neighborhood. There, she became vital to the area’s art community. In Harlem, Hurston became good friends with Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen. Many accounts say that her apartment was a very well-known social spot for many people. During her time in Harlem, she had some success in literature with short-stories and playwriting. Hurston got scholarships to Barnard College where she studied anthropology. She returned to Florida in 1927 and collected black folk tales. She then published a series called Mules and Men. She wrote many articles for newspapers and magazines, too. She worked on a play with Hughes called Mule-Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life as well as writing many other plays. Her first novel in 1934 and it was called Jonah’s Gourd Vine. She spent a year in Jamaica doing anthropological research. She published her autobiography in 1942 called Dust Tracks on a Road. This is a very famous work. Her most famous book, though, is Their Eyes Were Watching God. A book about a search for significance.

In January of 1960, she died. Her legacy lives on strongly through her works of literature, mostly in the African-American category. Before her death she was charged of molesting a 10-year-old boy, even though she could prove herself innocent because she was out of the country. This accusation hurt her legacy a lot and caused her to die poor and alone. It took almost a decade after her death for her works to really pick up popularity.

By Hunter Scott

Janie Crawford: A women never ending up with the love life she deserves. She was a wife to (in order of marriage), Logan Killicks, Jody Starks, and lastly Tea Cake. Granddaughter of Nanny.

Tea Cake: Janie’s last husband. A 12 year age difference does not seem to bother him or Janie, for he wins over Janie’s heart. He ends up being Janie’s only true love, but his life is cut short by a tragic accident, which changes Janie’s view on all things of life.

Jody Starks: Janie’s second husband. In the beginning his love for her was evident, until he began wanting Janie to be someone she wasn’t. They grow extremely far apart before his death caused by sickness.

Nanny Crawford: Once a slave, she can’t help but want the absolute best for her granddaughter, Janie.

Phoeby Watson: A friend of Janie’s who seems to be the only real friend Janie has who will listen. She is the only one who has enough nerve to ask Janie what happened to Tea Cake.

Logan Killicks: Janie’s first husband. A man who was not worthy of Janie’s energy, for all he wanted was help around his home.

Annie Taylor: A women who was robbed by a much younger man who fooled her to think he was in love with her, while he ran off with her money. She is a women who Janie is compared to when people found that Janie and Tea Cake were together.

Mr. & Mrs. Turner: A couple with opposite personalities; both equally driving Tea Cake insane.

Motor Boat: A friend of Tea Cakes who plays card with him. He runs away from the hurricane with Janie and Tea Cake.

Sam Watson: Pheoby Watsons husband. A man who is often seen with Jody Starks; in which he does not help the situation between Jody and Janie.

By Julia Laulunen

In the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie Crawford begins her life living in West Florida with her Nanny. Janie goes through her life, searching for what could be her true love. Nanny believes Janie needs protection in her life, because she was also a very attractive woman in her younger age, and she knew what could happen. The first man Janie married was set up by Nanny. His name was Logan Killicks who was an old, unattractive, and ordinary man. Nanny believed that marrying Killicks would be the safety net to Janie’s life. But when Killicks threatens to kill Janie, she runs off with Joe Starks, who was charming and handsome.

Joe was the second to be married to Janie and the ended up moving to Eatonville together to try and start a new life but that entailed building a town from scratch. Joe started to become a town favorite and is eventually named Mayor. As the town grew increasingly, Janie started to feel distance between Joe and their relationship fell apart. Joe eventually died, leaving Janie independent.

Following Joe’s death, Janie fell in love with a man named Tea Cake. He was the true love Janie had been searching for. They moved to the Everglades to find work, and eventually are married. But when a hurricane hits the Everglades, things take a turn for the worse. Janie is attacked by a dog, and Tea Cake goes to save her but is bit and gets rabies. The symptoms that followed Tea Cake put Janie’s life in danger when he tried to kill her. Janie ends up taking Tea Cake’s life and is put on trial.

During the trial, the black men who were Tea Cake’s close friends, come to condemn Janie. But the white women from the ‘Glades come to support Janie. The all-white jury ends up freeing Janie and she returns to Eatonville to tell her life story to her best friend, Phoeby.

By Alexander Lapierre