How Does Hurston Present The Struggles Of Black Marriages In The 1930's

Janie’s relationship with her second husband, Joe Starks, is perhaps the most damaging. In the beginning of their marriage, Janie is proud and admiring of the successful, strong man she marries and runs off with. At first, it seems as though Janie has executed a successful breakaway from her unfulfilling life with Logan Killicks, and transitioned to an exciting, happy life with Joe Starks. Unfortunately, Janie and Joe’s marriage retracts from the infatuated love it once was, into a

Joe Starks, though widely disliked for obvious personality flaws, was key to Janie's development in that he acted as a parental figure. Due to differing desires and expectations, the couple encountered conflict, which ultimately was left unresolved at the time of Joe's death. From this, Janie learned that she can never be happy if she chooses to settle. By applying this lesson to her relationship with Tea Cake, she is able to reflect on her life happily and be at

Janie's attraction to Joe Starks' charisma quickly diminishes when his overdose of ambition and controlling personality get the best of him. Although he is a big voice in the town, Janie only sees him as a big voice. All his money and power have no effect on her when all he does is ridicule and control her. He makes it clear where Janie belongs: "Ah never married her for nothin' lak dat. She's uh woman and her place is in de home" (Hurston 43). This is ironic because when she is with Logan, she wants to be in the house doing her own thing, but Joe is making it sound like confinement. It's as if she has no choice in the matter and Joe intends to make his power over her known. People have different desires and sometimes when we get caught up in our success, we can end up hurting others. Joe's reply to Janie is a great example of the insensitivity that can form from the pride we can possibly inherit when we achieve success: "Ah told you in de first beginnin' dat Ah aimed tuh be uh big voice.

One of the things Janie learns during this relationship is that she is just as important to society as everyone else. While she was married to Joe (Jody) she wasn’t allowed to participate in public events or have conversations with the guys at the store. This changed when she developed a relationship with Tea Cake. He taught her all the things Jody wouldn’t allow her to do like checkers and how to shoot a gun. “ … He set it [checkers] up and began to show her and she found herself glowing inside.” (Hurston, 95-96). Janie was not only allowed but encouraged to participate in conversations with everybody. Tea Cake listened to her views

The death of Joe Starks characterizes Janie’s freedom and growth into self-love. Joe Starks’ cruelty and high expectations of Janie kill their marriage before love has anytime to be born, forcing Janie to gain a sense of self-preservation. Before the couple are married for a month, Joe publically degrades Janie at his mayoral commensuration. Joe tells the public Janie is too simple to give a speech, and “[i]t must have been the way Joe spoke out without giving her a chance to say anything one way or another that took the bloom off of things” (Hurston 43). Janie realizes Joe Starks is not the man who will lead her to her horizon. She laments after years of marriage, “[s]he got nothing from Jody except what money could buy…” (Hurston 76). Those years of constant battering “…took all the fight out of Janie’s face… Plenty of fight beneath the surface but it was kept beaten down by the wheels” (Hurston 76). As quickly as Janie wants to reach her horizon, early into her second marriage she realizes the excitement she had for Joe’s “love” was all for naught. Gurleen Grewal goes so far to state, “…the ‘high ruling chair’ Joe Starks sat on is incompatible with flower dust… No less than Killicks, Starks stifled Eros” (Grewal 107-8). Janie’s marriage with Joe taught her to not fight a losing battle. Janie learned there is no point to fighting what you cannot change. Consequently, Janie maintained silence for most of her marriage with Joe, just like he wanted. He had married Janie for a

Before Janie met Tea Cake and was living in the Everglades, Joe Starks was expecting her to follow him when he was moving into a new town. Since every man expects

Janie was pulled into her second marriage by Joe Stark’s enticing promises and the opportunity for change. Not only did his looks and age provide fulfillment but also the promise of being treated as the proper woman she was. The day they met, Joe told her, “‘you ain’t never knowed what it was to be treated lak a lady and Ah wants to be de one tuh show yuh.’” (Hurston 35). This implies that her current situation is one that she can get out of by coming with him. he had previously expressed that someone as beautiful as Janie deserved better than being with Logan Killicks. At that, Joe wasn’t old; he “never specks to get too old to enjoy syrup sweeten’ water when it’s cools and nice.” ( Hurston 34). He had promised to treat her a proper woman

Like Joe, Tea Cake gave Janie everything she ever wanted, but in different ways.   Joe was a rich man who could buy Janie anything she desired.  Tea Cake was a migrant farmer and occasional gambler who only had the shirt on his back.  Joe owned the only store in his town, and Logan owned a farm with more than sixty acres of land.  Economically, these men were all different, but strove just the same to give Janie what they could.

When Joe “Jody” Starks appears out of nowhere, Janie feels like her dreams have finally come true. But after a while, the marriage turns out to be little more than the stint with Killicks. Starks, like Killicks, treats her as property and not as someone he actually loves. One example is how Jody makes Janie put her hair up in a wrap while working in the store, rather than leave it down. Another is when he publicly criticizes her appearance, saying she is starting to show her age, when he is clearly at least ten years older: “’ You ain’t no young courtin’ gal. You’se uh old woman, nearly fourty’” (Hurston 79). Joe feels the need to tear down Janie, in order to make himself feel more important, which was an important part of being a man during this time.

We see Janie’s conforming at a young age when she is involved in an arranged marriage with Logan Killicks. Janie’s grandmother forces her to marry Logan Killicks hoping he would provide her happiness and security. Although Janie strongly refuses to marry Logan saying how she “hates de way his

In Hurston’s novel, Joe is portrayed as a very wealthy man who is the mayor of a town known as Eatonville. Though Janie is very well off financially, her personal desires are, once again, disregarded. Janie is overlooked and demeaned by Joe while she is asked to speak, Joe interrupts, “Thank yuh fuh yo’ compliments, but mah wife don’t know nothin’ bout no speech-makin” (43). Janie is simply overlooked in her marriage with Joe, and he doesn’t have the decency to let his own wife speak, which foreshadows the failure in their marriage and that Joe does not possess the qualities that a good husband should have. Later on in their marriage, Joe grows ill, he eventually dies and the townspeople of Eatonville mourn over his death. Ironically, Janie does not acquire sadness over his death, yet she feels rather free. As Janie talks to her friend Pheoby after the funeral, she states, “Tain’t dat Ah worries over Joe’s death, Pheoby. Ah jus’ loves dis freedom” (93). The textual evidence provides reasoning as to how Janie is not mournful over her husband’s death, yet she is feeling a sense of freedom and independence. Thus giving that Joe Starks did not have a strong marriage with Janie, therefore he is not a good

Joe marries Janie to look good in front of the people who look up to him.      Her marriage to Tea Cake is opposite

Janie was no longer letting anything control her any longer. She was making her own decisions now by talking to Jordan and not listening to her grandmother, who told her to respect her husband. With the results of this, Janie ran from Killicks to marry Joe for numerous years while waiting for her hunger for love to be filled. However it never was with Joe. After the death of Joe, Janie soon found Tea Cake, who gave her the love she starved for: “after a long time of passive happiness, she got up and opened the window and let Tea Cake leap forth and mount to the sky on a wind” (Hurston 107). Hurston gave Janie Tea Cake to show that she was no longer going to wait around and wait for love. She was now going to find it herself. Proving that she was no longer the naive girl who sat under a tree and dreamed all day.

Janie’s three marriages were all different for the most part, though they each had their ups and downs. Her marriage with Logan Killicks was the worst of the three. The only upside to this marriage was that she did have the protection and security her grandmother wanted, but Logan was not willing to make compromises like, “And ‘tain’t nothing’ in de way of him washin’ his feet every evenin’ before he comes tuh bed. ‘Tain’t nothing’ tuh hinder him ‘cause Ah places de water for him.” (Hurston 24) which shows that he wasn’t even willing to wash his feet so Janie wouldn’t have to smell his feet. Logan also expected Janie to help him with everything he was supposed to do and still make dinner for him. Despite all that Janie still wanted to love him but she just couldn’t do it. Janie’s marriage to Joe was better than Logan’s but was still really bad. Joe provided Janie with anything and everything she needed, but not what she wanted. Their relationship was about Joe, and what Joe wanted. Joe also thought he was superior to Janie. “Ah knows uh few things, and womenfolks thinks sometimes too!” “Aw naw they don’t.

     As two different people, Janie and Tea Cake are allowed to live their lives as equals. When living with Joe, Janie is never allowed to do things such as speaking her mind, playing games, or doing anything which is not completely ladylike. Tea Cake encourages her to do things which were previously not open to her, such as playing chess, speaking openly about her feelings, and hunting. He teaches Janie to shoot and hunt wild game.