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Their Eyes Were Watching God Gender Analysis

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Their Eyes Were Watching God is a powerful novel in which we follow the life events of the central character, Janie Crawford. While the novel revolves around the men that shape and distort her life, the principal element is the quest in which Janie undergoes in search of self fulfilment and her own identity. While many of her relationships do not flourish, they teach her many valuable lessons and allow her to progress in her search for spiritual enlightenment. Race and gender prove to be some of the most crucial themes in the novel as they exert prominent influence on the series of events that unfold throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God. In this essay, I will examine race and gender as well as examining the relationship between the two and how they play such a significant role in the life of Janie Crawford and her partners. From the first chapter in Their Eyes Were Watching God, evidence of race and culture is shown through the dialogue. Dialogue in the novel is set out …show more content…

Tea Cake encourages Janie’s strength rather than mocking and distorting it. He does not try to change who she is in the way Logan and Joe had previously, but rather supports her and allows her to be the best version of herself. Their equality is evident in the way in which Tea Cake teaches Janie to shoot a gun, providing her with a sort of masculine power that she may not have been allowed to possess before. He also plays checkers with her, which in Janie’s eyes is a symbol of mutual respect. He remains placid even with knowledge that his wife has become more accomplished than him. Although he does beat her in chapter seventeen, Janie is blinded by the love she shares for Tea Cake and does not let the incident affect their love. Arguably, her silence may signify the strength she possesses after maturing. For Janie, the positive aspects of her relationship with Tea Cake can outnumber the negative

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