A dream is something that fully satisfies a wish, goal or a desired purpose (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). In The Great Gatsby and Their Eyes Were Watching God the main characters both have a dream that are essential to them. Each wishes to live their dream, but runs into conflict preventing them from fulfilling that ambition. Dreams can transfer the character of a person, or simply change itself. However, dreams can be devastating if not accomplished.…
Being pressured to do nothing and just represent by looking pretty was not what Janie wanted, and it is for this lesson that from his death and on, Janie was extremely careful with the choices made in her love life. This is the period where “Tea Cake” her third and final spouse is introduced into her life and eventually becomes the love of her life. Her relationship from t = 0 to infinity is completely juxtaposed and paradoxical to her previous one with Joey. Unlike with Joey, Janie now has a lot of experience and knows what she is getting into with Tea Cake, and regardless she decides to pursue a relationship with him which signifies that she unlike with Logan and Joey she cares for this man, Tea Cake. Janie's relationship with Tea Cake, however, does not take off running, the two initially must reconcile many insecurities and levels of trust with each other.…
Relationships between characters often give us a peek into the overall message that a book is trying to get across. This is is especially obvious between the parents and children in As I Lay Dying. This dynamic is mirrored through the implicit parental relationship between Janie and Pheoby in Their Eyes Were Watching God. The decaying relationship between Addie and Darl in As I Lay Dying represents the deterioration of the Bundren family as well as the pessimistic nature of the book, while the fulfilling relationship between Janie and Pheoby represents the growth of the characters as well as the optimistic nature of the book. Darl’s and Addie’s relationship begins in a seemingly stable place in the novel, with Darl being perceived as conflicted…
After catching them wrestling with each other in private, Janie begins to beat Tea Cake and screams that she believes “...you been messin’ round her!” (131). Janie’s radical vocal and physical confrontation of Tea Cake exhibits the full development of her voice. Janie is able to confront the obstacle in her relationship head on and overcome it, due to the development of her voice and the love in their relationship, and she is able to establish her independence. While Janie uses her voice to confront and…
(124). In her previous relationships, this free and dominating side of Janie is never revealed since she is always limited by her partners. Tea Cake’s ability to respect and encourage Janie’s opinions help her to find her voice. However, there are still moments in the presence of others where Janie holds back. For example, while talking with Mrs. Turner about race, Janie does nothing to defend Tea Cake even though she disagrees with Mrs. Turner’s opinions about him.…
Janie’s sadness and loneliness, as exemplified on page 114 when she writes that she felt like “languish[ing] to death” while she was with Joe can let people know that nothing is more important in a marriage than love. Certain aspects of the story make it a cultural folk tale as well. Janie’s stories of her trips to the Everglades with Tea Cake brim with tidbits of Floridian life in the 1930s, including the diversity among immigrants who went to work there. This is evident on page 154, when Hurston writes, “... Tea Cake and Janie had friended with the Bahamian workers in the ‘Glades… they…
By doing these things, Tea Cake brings Janie into the cultural life of the black community and builds a relationship with her grounded on expression and reciprocity which encourages Janie to “Have de nerve tuh say whut [she] mean '" (165). As a result of all this, Janie has been able…
With having both parents as different races, my identity was tough for me to find. Growing up i've always had a hard time with the differences of cultures that surrounded me. The words "you act white," and "you act black," was something that accrued multiple times in my high school career. Race is a huge problematic situation in our lives, not everyone can see behind the different stereotypes each culture has to face. But, with having varies races i can experience the turmoil each one faces.…
Consequently, she lives miserably for years without discovering her true self. Not only is Logan abusive, so is Tea Cake. Hurston proves male superiority when Teacake “just slapped her around a bit to show he was boss” (140). Although Janie is forced to live under this overbearing control, she eventually realizes she can live without men telling her how to live her life. When Joe, her second husband dies Janie is not as sad as expected because she “likes being lonesome for a change.…
In the novel, Their Eyes Are Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie's newfound happiness with Tea Cake is seen as a product of her listening to her own desires. Janie feels that she is "so glad she was scared of herself" (117) foreshadowing the danger and instability of Janie's intense love for Tea Cake, a kind of love that is the polar opposite of Nanny's view of marriage as a source of safety and stability. At the beginning of the chapter Janie's decision to hide money from her new husband, and the anxiety she feels as she thinks of Mrs. Tyler and waits for the disappeared Tea Cake to return, show that Janie also doubts where her desires may lead her. Earlier she feared them and was silent, admittedly agreeing with Nanny's views. However…
She sees Tea Cake as true love and falls deeply in love with him. Tea Cake gives her freedom and equality, he treats Janie well, and everything she has ever wanted including true love. Although Tea Cake does not have much wealth and their age difference is large, Janie…
The meaning of Janie’s homily is that each and every person must live for themselves, and for themselves only. He must believe that God will guide him and is required to search for happiness from within; the latter of which Janie learned to do from her one true love, Tea Cake. Janie despises her previous two husbands; through Tea Cake, however, Janie learns what true love really is. Her first husband made Janie believe that marriage does not make love. Now, finally, after all her years, she has been freed from the judgement of all of her past husbands and is fully free to live as the woman she was born to…
In her marriage to Killicks, she formed the foundation of herself. With Starks she experienced an oppressive relationship in which she found love, and discovered what kind of person she needed to be. Finally, Tea Cake gave her true love for another and for herself; Janie found that she did not need others to make her happy, only her. In the world today many people have more trouble not society but within themselves. Lack of self-love today could also be perceived as a mental health issue because of what damage it can do.…
Dey needs aid and assistance […] Womenfolks is easy taken advantage of " (Hurston 90). Some people pity her, but more often than not, a man wants her for her looks and her money. To the men, Janie is fragile and miserable now that her husband is gone and they will do anything that they can to have possession over her. After Tea Cake dies, the people on the porch have a different approach on the situation, therefore, a different stereotype put on Janie.…
From Janie’s experience with Logan Killicks as well as Nanny’s advice, Janie was able to discover what she truly wanted from a marriage. Marriage did not create love so Janie learned she wanted to marry someone she loved. Although Joe Starks was a loving husband at first, he began insulting Janie for her diminishing looks although he was ironically growing old too. Due to the insults during their marriage, Janie found her voice and learned to speak up for herself. After Joe passed away, the marriage with Tea Cake is what allowed Janie to completely discover her identity.…