FREE ESSAY ON THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD

THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD

Unlike The Odyssey or any other epic tales, Their Eyes Were Watching God has a different
perspective of what a hero is. In this novel, Hurston writes a story about an
African-American woman named Janie Crawford whose quest is to find her identity and
desire as a human being to be loved and appreciated for who she is. Her quest to fulfill
those desires is not easy since she has to overcome so many obstacles and challenges in
her life. A superiority that her Nanny posses over her to determine Janie's own life when
she was a teenager and being a beautiful accessory to the glory of Joe Starks' are some
of the experience that she encounters. She also has to make some sacrifices. And yet,
just like any other heroes, at the end, she returns to her home with a victory on her
hands. 
Janie who continually finds her being defined by other people rather than by herself
never feels loved, either by her parents or by anybody else. Her mother abandoned her
shortly after giving birth to her. All she had was her grandmother, Nanny, who protected
and looked after her when she was a child. But that was it. She was even unaware that she
is black until, at age six, she saw a photograph of herself. Her Nanny who was enslaved
most of her lifetime only told her that a woman can only be happy when she marries
someone who can provide wealth, property, and security to his wife. Nanny knew nothing
about love since she never experienced it. She regarded that matter as unnecessary for
her as well as for Janie. And for that reason, when Janie was about to enter her
womanhood in searching for that love, Nanny forced her to marry Mr. Logan Killicks, a
much older man that can offer Janie the protection and security, plus a sixty-acre potato
farm. Although Janie in her heart never approves what her Nanny forced her to do, she did
it anyway. She convinced herself that by the time she became Mrs. Killick, she would get
that love, which turned out to be wrong. 
Nanny's biggest mistake is that she never consults with Janie about what she wants in
life. Janie's second husband, Joe Starks, is a repeat of Janie's unhappiness in marriage.
At first, Janie looked at Joe as a man who would offer her an escape from her loveless
marriage with Mr. Killick. She saw a promise of her a new lifestyle, adventurous and fun.
But Joe, as with Nanny, was so obsessed with materialism and status. His success in
re-building Eatonville to become a prosperous town made him the mayor of that town.
People acknowledge his effort to get the power and wealth he has earned. They envied him
because he was not only wealthy and powerful, but also he has a beautiful wife, Janie. As
with the women of the town, they envied Janie because of having a great and successful
husband. However, Janie was not happy. Joe's success was not her success. He took all the
credits for himself and never shared them with Janie. He even treated her as if she were
of his trophies that he had captured, and put alongside his other possessions and
displayed them to the common folk. In addition to that, he often insulted and humiliated
her in front of everybody. Because of these Janie finally stood up for herself after she
could no longer carry the humiliation Joe had done to her. She defied her husband, who
would then die with a broken spirit. 
With the death of Joe Starks, Janie who is a very attractive and wealthy widow starts her
new life with a new kind of freedom. She soon entered into the most rewarding
relationship of her life with Tea Cake who only can offer her his guitar, his songs, and
jobs in the muck of the Everglades. But that was enough for Janie to find a greater
happiness toiling as a bean-picker and living in a migrant workers camp than she had in
her prestigious house in Eatonville. Unlike Joe, Tea Cake's self confidence is not
combined with ambition; and unlike Joe, he can openly express his love for Janie. He
accepts Janie for who she was unconditionally and always encouraged her to live for
herself and helped her to find her self-respect and her true voice. In addition, Tea Cake
was able to give Janie her dream of love that Joe never understood. 
Except God, nothing else is eternal. And for Janie that means her two years of happiness
with Tea Cake is a sacrifice. A hurricane hits the town of the Everglades-and the world
of Janie, Tea Cake, and those of the migrants were destroyed. In the struggle for life,
Tea Cake still saved Janie and the dog that Janie wanted him to save. Unfortunately, by
doing that he had to give his own life. The dog bit when he tried to save it and it
infected him with a serious illness later on. A doctor came and tried to save his life.
Yet, it was too late. As hopeless as he was and in the fury of his illness, Tea Cake
struggled with Janie as he threatened her with the six-shooter. She defended herself with
the riffle. His pistol and her rifle fired simultaneously. Tea Cake fell forward and
buried his teeth in Janie's forearm, as she caught him. 
Life is a journey. Some people complete it and return home, others do not even take the
first step. Women live in a dream, they tend to forget what they don't want to remember
and remember what they do not want to forget. Janie always dreamed to love, be loved and
appreciated for who she was. Having been married for two years with Tea Cake fulfilled
those dreams. With that, she returned to Eatonville.