In marriage, a man should possess certain qualities in order to be a good husband. In a man’s marriage, he must provide both financial, and personal support. In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, characters Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and Tea Cake all have some of these qualities in their marriages. Therefore, Janie’s first husband Logan does not provide support for her and has very poor qualities in their marriage. He requires Janie to do unnecessary work on his farm and is not a supportive husband. Furthermore, in her next marriage, she is overshadowed by Joe Starks, a selfish entrepreneur that provides her with financial support, but does not support her needs and desires. Nevertheless, Janie obtains a third husband, Tea Cake, who has exceptional qualities that a man should acquire during his marriage. He provides Janie with financial backbone, and her personal needs and desires. Although Logan and Joe have some of these qualities, Tea Cake is the only husband who fulfills Janie’s desires. Being a good husband requires support, not only financially, but in personal wants and desires as well. Logan Killicks and Janie have two different desires in …show more content…
Logan and Joe both supported Janie financially but did not fulfill her personal wants and desires. In Janie’s first marriage, her idea of being a wife is much different than Logan’s. Nevertheless, in her second marriage, she was a mere shadow. Janie was constantly being left alone without any of her personal wants being brought to her. Among the three, Tea Cake was fluently described as the best husband. He possessed the necessary qualities for Janie to have the choice to depend on him for nourishment and protection. The importance of their marriage resembles how Janie gained strength and independence throughout her life and relationships. Tea Cake resembled Janie finding herself, and how she finds her desired love in their
As Janie’s guardian, Nanny more or less had full control over her, especially so, given the time period. Janie’s marriage to Logan was completely a product of Nanny’s insistence. Even in her marriage to Joe, a choice that Janie made herself, she had little to no control over own well-being, once they were married. These decisions and their consequences made up the first half of Janie’s life, which is bewildering, because none of them were actually her decisions. Janie’s reclamation of power over herself, in her relationship with Tea Cake, is only the beginning of her spiritual
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie’s happiness and self-fulfillment greatly depended on the man whom she was in a relationship with. From, the beginning of the novel, Janie never followed the path that had the utmost value to herself; She always settled for what other people thought was best for her. This made Janie never quite content with her situation and caused her happiness and self-fulfillment to be hindered by her circumstances. The horizon, a motif representing dreams, wishes, the possibility of change, and improvement of ones’ self, is the point in which Janie’s journey of self-discovery is illustrated by.
Next, Janie continues on her determined journey for love when she goes off to marry Tea Cake. In the quote,
Janie reacts in different ways to people in her life trying to control her, and this can be seen with Grannie, Jody, and Tea Cake. Grannie forces her to marry Logan, but Janie stands up for herself when she decides to leave him after Grannie dies. Throughout the novel Janie is looking for love, and she
She questions why Janie would marry a dark man like Tea Cake. Mrs. Turner falsely assumes, like the rest of the people form the town, that Janie only married Tea Cake for his money because she could not possibly love him. Janie informs Mrs. Turner that her assumption is incorrect because Tea Cake was not wealthy when they met, and he is the only person that has made her truly
When tea cake shows up janie 's feels something she has never felt before, she is set free but the townspeople don 't think so. “‘Ain’t you skeered he’s jes after yo’ money him bein’ younger than you?’” (Hurston pg.133)Janie is in love with Tea Cake because he loves her for her youthful young side that was forced into hiding for so long because of her previous husbands. However the rest of the community is discouraging her and trying to keep her in the image as a mayor 's wife. They told Janie that Tea Cake was after her money
In the beginning Janie feels as if Tea Cake’s age would effect their relationship. She has strong feelings for him, but on the other hand people are saying he will run off with her money. Janie proves them wrong and runs off and gets married to Tea Cake. He makes Janie feel wanted, she feels like she could be herself. Janie states, "We been tuhgether round two years.
Logan was not the perfect husband Janie had envisioned. He wanted her to obey his every command, causing her to leave him for Joe Starks. Although great at first, Joe turned out to be just as bad, if not worse, as Logan. He forced Janie to cover up her hair, prevented her from interacting with the townspeople, and hit her for talking back to him. Tea Cake, Janie’s third and final husband,
For example, just like Jody, Tea Cake also physically abuses Janie to display his authority over her. What makes Janie 's relationship with Tea Cake different from her other relationships is that it is based on a love that runs much deeper than her motivation in staying in her other relationships. Janie married Logan in search of love. She married Jody in search of wealth and his ambition. When both of these relationships failed, she entered into her relationship with Tea Cake with low expectations.
1. Unlike Janie’s previous husbands, Tea Cake treats Janie with compassion and respect. In addition, he loves Janie for her personality instead of her looks and her role as a woman (housewife). 2. The speech characteristic that Tea Cake encourages Janie with is truth.
Janie had two previous marriages with the likes of Logan Killicks and Jody Starks, and neither one of them panned out well. She was forced to leave both of them due to the fact of neither one of them treating the way she was supposed to be leading to her not having love for them. However, Janie would finally find the love of her life in the form of Tea Cake. As soon as Janie locked eyes with Tea Cake, she was instantly attracted to tea Cake and she wanted to spend the rest of her life with
During Janie's first marriage, she outwardly conforms to the societal view of marriage, and the domestic wife, while inwardly questioning if she can learn to disregard her true
She meets Tea Cake, falls in love, and later marries him. This marriage is by far the most special and unique marriage Janie has had. Her relationship with Tea Cake is her first true love; which consists of affection, happiness, understanding and everything else that follows. This marriage makes Janie feel like she has a second chance in life to relive her youth. Janie has lots of fun and is truly blessed and happy with Tea Cake.
Liberation and self-fulfillment within Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes were Watching God By Wael Fadhil Hasobi PhD Scholar English Dept Acharya Nagarjuna University Waelfadhil38@gmail.com 4-16-25E,Bahertpetha,Guntur,Andrah Pradesh Mobile:9676703836
The novel 's plot is driven by Janie 's series of relationships with different men: a kiss with Johnny Taylor, followed by marriages with Logan Killicks, Jody Starks and finally, Tea Cake. Logan Killicks and Jody Starks see Janie as defined by her relationship with them, and expect her to be obedient, silent and proper. Jody sees her as a kind of ornament that bolsters his social standing and that helps to justify his efforts to assert control over everyone, men and women alike. Tea Cake, in contrast, defines himself not by political power but rather by his physical strength and ability to have fun. Even while Tea Cake treats Janie as an equal, there still exists a certain power struggle in Janie 's relationship with him, as her increasing ability to recognize her needs as an individual throughout the novel emerges in response to Tea Cake 's treatment of her.