Do you think the relationship between Janie and Tea Cake would have been different if she had not acquired the fortune from the late Mayor Starks? How so? Consider her past marriages and views on love, what evidence supports your argument?
How did you read Joe’s gesture of buying the mule back? Consider its symbolic importance.
In terms of the socio-economic situation at the time the book was written, what ideological values are implicit or explicit in Their Eyes Were Watching God. What roles do these values play?
18.2.09
Annie Tyler's Allegory
Annie Tyler represents what happens to many Black females who are taken advantage of because they have not claimed themselves as independent free people. Like Janie, Annie was wealthier than most Black women and that could have given her instant autonomy. However, Annie became wrapped up in her economic warfare and foolishly dabbled in multiple love affairs “with boys in their late teens or early twenties for all of whom she spent her money on” (118).
The greed of money and prosperity was ultimately the cause of Annie’s ruin. This is an example of the economic strain in the United States, particularly the strains it put on the Black community.
The greed of money and prosperity was ultimately the cause of Annie’s ruin. This is an example of the economic strain in the United States, particularly the strains it put on the Black community.
The role of Tea Cake
When people start noticing the time she is spending with Tea Cake, she is cautioned that “nobody wouldn’t marry Tea Cake tuh starve tuh death lessen it’s somebody jes lak him—ain’t used to nothin’… Tea Cake ain’t got doodly squat. He ain’t got no business makin’ hissef familiar wid nobody lak you” (102-103). Phoeby warns Janie: “whilst he ain’t no jail bird, he ain’t got uh dime tuh cry. Ain’t you skeeered he’s jes after yo’ money—him bein’ younger than you?” (112) There is an evident class difference between Janie and Tea Cake that stems from many factors. Tea Cake is described as a dark, younger man, who is used to having no possessions; a suitor entirely unsuitable for the attractive lighter-skinned, long-haired Janie who is the sole possessor of a fortune.
Janie Post-Mayor Starks
After the death of Joe Sparks, Janie assumes control of all his possessions and acquires a large fortune; adding that dollar value to her already attractive and desired looks, she becomes a target for many men. Janie “sent her face to Joe’s funeral, and herself went rollicking with the springtime across the world” (88). She burned her head rags, and braided her hair the next morning allowing it to fall naturally below her waist, “she would have the rest of her life to do as she pleased” (89). Soon, she found out that “her widowhood and property was a great challenge in South Florida” (90). The idea of a woman living on her own, especially with such a large fortune was unheard of, and “pitied”. Janie’s thoughts about her wooers fell short, the “men didn’t represent a thing she wanted to know about” because she had already experienced their variations through Logan and Killicks. Her status is regarded as a “condition” which denotes disorder, or a state of repair.
Patriarchal Domination
The belief was that the only way an African-American woman could be wholly stable was if she were dependent on a man that provided her the means.
The power was unevenly distributed between Janie and Joe; Joe maintained all authority and beat Janie when she disappointed him: “Janie was a good cook, and Joe had looked forward to his dinner as a refuge from other things. So when the bread didn’t rise, and the fish wasn’t quite as done at the bone, and the rice was scorched, he slapped Janie until she had a ringing sound in her ears and told her about her brains before he stalked on back to the store” (72).
Janie challenges him up to his death and even engages in a public fight where she humiliates his man-hood after he insults her age and appearance, “Naw, Ah ain’t not young gal no mo’ but den Ah ain’t no old woman neither. Ah reckon Ah looks mah age too. But Ah’m uh woman every inch of me, and Ah know it. Dat’s uh whole lot more’n you kin say. You big-bellies round here and put out a lot of brag, but t’ain’t nothin’ to it but yo’ big voice. Humph! Talkin’ bout me lookin’ old! When you pull down yo’ britches, you look lak de change uh life” (79).
In both marriages, Janie resists being dominated; she ultimately refuses submission to her husbands. To Logan, "Mah mamma didn't tell me Ah wuz born in no hurry. So whut business Ah got rushin' now? Anyhow, dat ain't whut youse mad about. Youse mad 'cause Ah don't fall down and wash-up dese sixty acres uh ground yuh got. You ain't done me no favor by marryin' me. And if dat's what you call yo'self doin', Ah don't thank yuh for it. Youse made 'cause Ah'm tellin' yuh whut you already knowed" (31)
Janie challenges him up to his death and even engages in a public fight where she humiliates his man-hood after he insults her age and appearance, “Naw, Ah ain’t not young gal no mo’ but den Ah ain’t no old woman neither. Ah reckon Ah looks mah age too. But Ah’m uh woman every inch of me, and Ah know it. Dat’s uh whole lot more’n you kin say. You big-bellies round here and put out a lot of brag, but t’ain’t nothin’ to it but yo’ big voice. Humph! Talkin’ bout me lookin’ old! When you pull down yo’ britches, you look lak de change uh life” (79).
The Relationship between possessing beautiful women and being wealthy
Consider the character, Daisy Blunt, who although plays a very brief role in the text, introduces more racial dynamics in terms of what is desired. The description of Daisy is reflective of white characteristics- her “big black eyes with plenty shiny white in them,” her “negro hair, but it’s got a kind of white flavor,” that “was spread down thick and heavy over her shoulders and looked just right under a big white hat” (67-68).
The attributions of Caucasian traits have a positive effect on her physical appeal.
The men of Eatonville attempt to sway her to them by unrealistically promising gifts of expensive grandeur. The question is “what would you be willin’ tuh do for Daisy if she was fool enough tuh marry yuh” and the responses are plentiful: “Ah’d buy her uh steamship and then Ah’d hire some mens tuh run it fur her,” “Ah’ll take uh jub cleanin’ out de Atlantic Ocean,” and finally “Ah’d step backward offa dat earoplane just to walk home wid you” (69).
The attributions of Caucasian traits have a positive effect on her physical appeal.
The men of Eatonville attempt to sway her to them by unrealistically promising gifts of expensive grandeur. The question is “what would you be willin’ tuh do for Daisy if she was fool enough tuh marry yuh” and the responses are plentiful: “Ah’d buy her uh steamship and then Ah’d hire some mens tuh run it fur her,” “Ah’ll take uh jub cleanin’ out de Atlantic Ocean,” and finally “Ah’d step backward offa dat earoplane just to walk home wid you” (69).
Emasculating Mayor Joe Starks
While Joe reveled in the attention he was receiving, he did not appreciate his wife thinking she had the authority to receive recognition as well. Hambo remarks, “Yo’ wife is a born orator, Starks. Us never knowed dat befo’. She put jus’ de right words tuh our thoughts” (58). Even though Janie paid full respect to her husband, even equating his power to that of kings, Joe was uncomfortable with that temporary moment of attention Janie had received. She gave people a new reason to appreciate her because they now knew that she was an educated woman who delivered eloquent speeches.
In an article by Keiko Dilbeck, she states: “Hurston inserts this subplot as a metaphor of Janie and Jody’s marriage. Janie expresses empathy for the animal and this is often seen as Janie’s ‘own sense of gender entrapment’. It is interesting to note that once Jody dies and Janie is free to do as she pleases, there are no further references to mules; Janie is free of her ‘load,’ no longer required to bear the expectations of men or others” (Dilbeck, 102).
Dilbeck, Keiko. “Symbolic Representation of Identity in Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God.” The Explicator. 66.2: p102(3) 2008.
In an article by Keiko Dilbeck, she states: “Hurston inserts this subplot as a metaphor of Janie and Jody’s marriage. Janie expresses empathy for the animal and this is often seen as Janie’s ‘own sense of gender entrapment’. It is interesting to note that once Jody dies and Janie is free to do as she pleases, there are no further references to mules; Janie is free of her ‘load,’ no longer required to bear the expectations of men or others” (Dilbeck, 102).
Dilbeck, Keiko. “Symbolic Representation of Identity in Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God.” The Explicator. 66.2: p102(3) 2008.
The Mule as a metaphor of the Black Female
- The event with the mule is important because of how the animal metaphorically represents the abuse, oppression, and mistreatment of black women.
- Earlier in the novel, Nanny says “De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see” (14).
- In her speech to Janie, Nanny tries explaining that the white man is responsible for oppressing the black man, but while the black man falls under the rule of the white man, it is the white woman who suffers the most because she must submit to both elements of power and carry that weighty “load”. She cries that she wanted a different life for Janie; she wants her to have protection from all of the slavery and oppression that women have been subjected to and she believes that marriage to a good black man can free her of that.
- Similar to a mule, Janie is barren and unable to procreate. Furthermore mules are often animals that are raised for the sole purpose of contributing to work and so far, in both of Janie’s marriages, she is working for her husband.
Economics in Janie's marriage to Joe
Joe gains power over the citizens by using his position as mayor and dominating over them. Similarly, in his marriage, Joe gains power by using his position as a man and dominating over Janie.
- "Thank yuh fuh yo' compliments, but mah wife don't know nothin' bout no speech-makin'. Ah never married her for nothin' lak dat. She's uh woman and her place is in de home" (42)
- "Ah often wonder how dat lil wife uh hisn makes out wid him, 'cause he's uh man dat changes everything, but nothin' dont change him" (49)
- "She sho don't talk much. De way he rears and pitches in de store sometimes when she make uh mistake is sort of ungodly but she don't seem to mind at all. Reckon dey understand one 'nother" (50)
- "This business of the head-rag irked her endlessly. But Jody was set on it. Her hair was NOT going to show in the store. It didn't seem sensible at al. That was because Joe never told Janie how jealous she was... She was there in the store for him to look at, not those others" (54)
The Spittoon
The Spittoon
the spittoons for him and Janie are significant materialistic objects that he uses to distinguish his lifestyle habits from everyone else’s: “he spit in [a] gold-looking vase that anybody else would have been glad to put on their front-room table… he went further than that. He bought a little lady-size spitting pot for Janie to spit in” (47). Joe’s spittoons mock the style of white executives; the heavy value on consumer goods does not make Joe a “good” person in a place of power.
Juxtaposing Stark's possessions against the posessions of White men
Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple
Mayor Starks’ two-story house with porches and banisters and painted a “gloaty, sparkly white” is similar to the houses of prominent White men. The “promenading” shade of white suggests a very showy, formal, and arrogant color that signifies someone of esteemed importance resides within its walls. His office desk and chair allude to the desks that the White male property owners in Maitland have; the behavior he engages in while sitting on the chair intends to intimidate and “weaken” others (47)
The Mayor's Wife
Janie acknowledges the feelings of distance that she starts to acquire as more people recognize the power of her husband:
- "A feeling of coldness and fear took hold of her. She felt far away from things and lonely" (46)
- “Janie soon began to feel the impact of awe and envy against her sensibilities. The wife of the mayor was not just another woman as she had supposed. She slept with authority…” (46)
She has no sense of identity or independence, and there is an absence of love and passion in the marriage.
The God-Like Mayor Starks
- Hicks realizes that he is the average mortal (39)
- Something about him demanded obedience: "There was something about Joe Starks that cowed the town. It was not because of physical fear. He was no fist fighter. His bulk was not even imposing as men go. Neither was it because he was more literate than the rest. Something else made men give way before him. He had a bow-down command in his face, and every step he took made the thing more tangible" (47)
- The epithet "beloved" becomes commonly attached to his name so even though not everyone might believe it they say it anyway, "So when speakers stood up when the occassion demanded and said "Our beloved Mayor," it was one of those statements that everybody says but nobody actually believes like "God is everywhere" (48)
- People also attributed the Mayor with evil qualities: "Give de devil his due" (49)
- His manner towards Janie is ungodly (50)
Intro to Janie
The description of the woman vividly and immediately portrays her as an outcast of the town; someone who never fit in, who is not entirely welcome back now, and who demands the attention and curiosity from those around her. We meet Janie with envious chests, sour mouths, and burning throats.
“What she doin coming back here in dem overhalls? Can’t she find no dress to put on? – Where’s dat blue satin dress she left here in? – Where all dat money her husband took and died and left? – What dat ole fourty year ole ’oman doin’ wid her hair swingin’ down her back lak some young gal? – Where she left dat young lad of a boy she went off here wid? – Thought she was going to marry? – Where he left her? – What he done wid all her money? –Betcha he off wid some gal so young she ain’t even got no hairs – why she don’t stay in her class?—” (2)
“What she doin coming back here in dem overhalls? Can’t she find no dress to put on? – Where’s dat blue satin dress she left here in? – Where all dat money her husband took and died and left? – What dat ole fourty year ole ’oman doin’ wid her hair swingin’ down her back lak some young gal? – Where she left dat young lad of a boy she went off here wid? – Thought she was going to marry? – Where he left her? – What he done wid all her money? –Betcha he off wid some gal so young she ain’t even got no hairs – why she don’t stay in her class?—” (2)
17.2.09
Eatonville: the first all-Black town in the United States
Black Autonomy
Zora Neale Hurston alludes to the construction of Eatonville, her hometown, illustrating the Black man who buys 200 acres of land, becomes mayor, and provides a post office. The conversation between Hicks and Lee Coker and Hicks describes the power behind the new visitor and the woman by his side:
"...You oughta know you can't take no 'oman lak dat from no man lak him. A man dat ups and buys two hundred acres uh land at one whack and pays cash for it."
"Naw! He didn't buy it sho nuff."
"He sho did. Come off wid de papers in his pocket. He done called a meetin' on his porch tomorrow. Ain't never seen no sich uh colored man befo' in all mah bawn days. He's goingtuh put up uh store and git uh post office from de Goven'ment."
That irritated Hicks and he didn't know why. He was the average mortal. (38-39)
Zora Neale Hurston alludes to the construction of Eatonville, her hometown, illustrating the Black man who buys 200 acres of land, becomes mayor, and provides a post office. The conversation between Hicks and Lee Coker and Hicks describes the power behind the new visitor and the woman by his side:
"...You oughta know you can't take no 'oman lak dat from no man lak him. A man dat ups and buys two hundred acres uh land at one whack and pays cash for it."
"Naw! He didn't buy it sho nuff."
"He sho did. Come off wid de papers in his pocket. He done called a meetin' on his porch tomorrow. Ain't never seen no sich uh colored man befo' in all mah bawn days. He's goingtuh put up uh store and git uh post office from de Goven'ment."
That irritated Hicks and he didn't know why. He was the average mortal. (38-39)
The "Jim Crow" laws
inscription on novel: now my brodder niggers, I do not think it right, Dat you should laugh at dem Who happen to be white
- Song and dance caricature of African Americans carried out by Thomas D. Rice (a white actor)
- "Jim Crow" laws enforced segregation in all public areas including the United States Military
Examples of Posters or Signs:
- "No Coloreds"
- "White Men Only"
- "Colored Waiting Room"
Parallels between Hurston and Janie
Zora Neale Hurston
- Born on January 7th, 1891 to a carpenter and a former schoolteacher
- In 1891, Hurston's mother died thrusting her into early maturity
- Left her hometown and family to pursue her dreams of education
- Passionate writer, restless worker, rebellious wanderer
Janie Mae Crawford
-> "Ms Logan Killicks" -> "Ms Joe Starks" -> "Ms 'Tea Cake' Woods"
- Raised by her grandmother, after her mother disappeared when she was born
- Married at a young age forcing her to become a woman
"She knew that marriage did not make love. Janie's first dream was dead, so she became a woman" (25)
- Left her hometown and family to pursue her dreams of finding love
- Passionate lover, restless worker, rebellious wanderer
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York, NY: Harper Collins P, 1990.
- Born on January 7th, 1891 to a carpenter and a former schoolteacher
- In 1891, Hurston's mother died thrusting her into early maturity
- Left her hometown and family to pursue her dreams of education
- Passionate writer, restless worker, rebellious wanderer
Janie Mae Crawford
-> "Ms Logan Killicks" -> "Ms Joe Starks" -> "Ms 'Tea Cake' Woods"
- Raised by her grandmother, after her mother disappeared when she was born
- Married at a young age forcing her to become a woman
"She knew that marriage did not make love. Janie's first dream was dead, so she became a woman" (25)
- Left her hometown and family to pursue her dreams of finding love
- Passionate lover, restless worker, rebellious wanderer
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York, NY: Harper Collins P, 1990.
What are "Economics"?
1. Financial considerations
"The science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, or the material welfare of humankind."
2. Domestic considerations
"The science of household affairs, or of domestic management."
3. Personal considerations
"The study of how people use their limited resources in an attempt to satisfy unlimited wants."
"economics." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Feb. 2009.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/economics>.
"The science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, or the material welfare of humankind."
2. Domestic considerations
"The science of household affairs, or of domestic management."
3. Personal considerations
"The study of how people use their limited resources in an attempt to satisfy unlimited wants."
"economics." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Feb. 2009.
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