The Modern Woman In John Steinbeck's Their Eyes Were Watching God

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Janie transitions through multiple relationships, hoping to end her quest as a satisfied, loved woman. Janie enters her first

Everyone is astonished by her appearance and how she does not tell anyone where she has been. Janie is very confident as she came back wearing overalls which was very uncommon for women to wear at the time. She begins her journey as an unconfident

Janie realized that it was time for a change and to take a chance in attempt to attain love by her own means. Nanny would've disapproved of the big talk behind a black man like Jody Starks; however, he would create an even more financially stable setting for Janie to live in than in the marriage she set up Janie with the farmer, Logan Killicks.

“Janie pulled back a long time because he did not represent sun-up and pollen and blooming trees, but he spoke for the far horizon. He spoke of change and chance. Still, she hung back. The memory of Nanny was still powerful and strong” (29). This realization by Janie is influential because it sheds light to the acknowledgment of her situation and despite that continues down that path due to the oppressive behavior of Joe and Logan and nanny because she feels like it is what she is supposed to do.

All through the novel Janie travels through valuable life experiences allowing her to grow as a woman. Janie at first has a difficult time understanding her needs rather than wants, but as she continues to experience new situations she realizes she values respect. Janie’s first two marriages turned out to be tragic mistakes, but with each marriage Janie gained something valuable. When Janie is disrespected in her second marriage with Joe Starks, he publicly humiliates her, disrespecting her as a wife and woman. This experience forced Janie to come out of her comfort zone and stand up for herself.

Janie takes each person she is close to and all the situations her life brings to her forms her own opinions on love. Janie grows from a dreamy child

Janie as a protagonist is the only character who believes, wants, and dreams of love and a better life. She, therefore, does this with the pear tree while her ex-husbands were stuck in the burden of overcoming slavery.

The fear that was struck into Janie by her grandmother is transformed into hate by the end of the book, tarnishing the relationship between Janie and Nanny. Jody Starks, Janie’s second husband, is an all-around bad husband. Janie is taken by his good looks and sweet talking, but her dream of the perfect husband remains a dream with Jody’s controlling and condescending attitude towards Janie.

In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie has allowed the audience to better understand the limitations, and emotional challenges that women had to deal with in a male dominated society. Janie’s relationship with her first husband, Logan Killicks, consisted of tedious, daily routines. Her second husband, Joe Starks, brought her closer to others, than to herself. In her third and final marriage to Tea Cake, she eventually learned how to live her life on her own. Janie suffered through many difficult situations that changed her as a person, and her opinion on love.

It’s no wonder that “[t]he hurricane scene in Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a famous one and [that] other writers have used it in an effort to signify on Hurston” (Mills, “Hurston”). The final, climactic portion of this scene acts as the central metaphor of the novel and illustrates the pivotal interactions that Janie, the protagonist, has with her Nanny and each of her three husbands. In each relationship, Janie tries to “’go tuh God, and…find out about livin’ fuh [herself]’” (192). She does this by approaching each surrogate parental figure as one would go to God, the Father; she offers her faith and obedience to them and receives their definitions of

Lastly, Janie’s confidence to refute cultural norms also proves Their Eyes Were Watching God empowers women. After silencing herself through two marriages, Janie exhibits her freedom through speaking up for her beliefs. Secondly, after listening to Nanny, Janie realizes she can achieve any dream she was with perseverance. Lastly, Janie’s confidence allows her to break free from the traditional role of a woman and live a better

Hurston’s main way of inspiring a sense of feminism in her novel, is through the relationships of Janie including her Nanny, Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and Tea Cake. She addresses Janie’s role differently in each of these relationships using motifs and stereotypes. Janie begins her journey of self-discovery following the dreams of her Nanny to becoming a strong, independent woman who makes her own decisions. All of the roles that Janie obtains stem from the distinct

Janie is a black woman who asserts herself beyond expectation.  She has a persistence that characterizes her search for the love that she dreamed of since she was a girl.  Janie understands the societal status that her life has handed her, yet she is determined to overcome this, and she is resentful toward anyone or anything that interferes with her quest for happiness. "So de white man throw down de load and tell de nigger man tuh pick it up. He pick it up because he have to, but he don't tote it. He hand it to his womenfolks. De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see, "(Page 14)  laments Janie's grandmother as she tried to justify the marriage that she has arranged for her granddaughter with Logan Killicks. This paragraph establishes the existence of the inferior status of women in Janie's society, a status which Janie must somehow overcome in order to emerge a heroine in the end of the novel.