Their Eyes Were Watching God Analysis

In “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” by Zora Neale Hurston’s character, Janie, has a very idealistic view of love. She wants it to be butterflies and rainbows. But as Janie fails to understand the reality of marriage because of her infatuation with her own idealistic view of love. Logan Killick and Jody Starks are two, very different people with very limited similarities.

Logan Killicks is an emotionally devoid character who could not connect to Janie’s need to be loved and cherished. At first, he started off as a loving husband who really, just gave up not even a year into the marriage because he saw her as lazy. “Long before the year was up, Janie noticed her husband had stopped talking in rhymes to her. He had ceased to wonder at her long black hair and finger it.” (Ch 2. P. 26) This is because Logan knows he’s a few years older, and Janie’s still young, so it’s possible for her to leave him, and he’s afraid of that. He

However, he buys her nice things, treats her like a woman, and gets jealous when other men are around her, things Logan Killicks ignored. Joe is the mayor of Eatonville but there are people in the city who could pose as potential problems for Janie and Joe, such as Walter. Respect seems to be at a very high standard for Joe. Everyone in town respects Joe and is starting to respect Janie, they just aren’t too sure if they can trust them yet. Honestly, I don’t blame them, because it’s as if they came out of nowhere and now they own the place. This is what makes me believe that there will be a power struggle in the future of some sort. The author’s tone may be foreshadowing an inevitable event. “Maybe he [Joe] make her do it [tie up her hair]. Maybe he skeered de rest of us mens might touch it round dat store. (Ch. 5 P. 50) The fact that he said that Joe is scared other men might touch her hair, is a hint that something will most likely happen later with her