Novel Synopsis
Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a life story about a woman by the name of Janie Crawford. Because her mother was too young when she had her, she was raised by her grandmother, Nanny. Nanny wanted only the absolute best for Janie in all things in her life. She thought she was doing her granddaughter a favor by marrying her to a rich man named Logan Killicks who could provide all the things that Nanny never had, nor could provide for Janie.
Janie stayed unhappily married to Logan for quite some time for the sake of her grandmother, until she met a mysterious man by the name of Jody Starks. Jody promised her that he would treat her better than Logan did because he knew how to love a woman. The two run off together and elope. They come upon a town that has no leadership or function, and Jody takes charge. This is the start of Jody’s changing behavior towards Janie. He is cruel to her, greedy, and power- hungry to the point of being careless about anything else—including Janie and his marriage to her. Jody is a dominating bully whose life ends years after their marriage due to sickness.
After Jody’s death, Janie moves on. Months after Jody’s funeral, Tea Cake comes into town and over the course of many weeks, he woos Janie into marriage. Janie and Tea Cake move to a different town to get away from Janie’s old life. They come to the muck where they both find work they love, and a town that loves them too. A couples years after their marriage, a hurricane comes and tears the muck apart. The two run east to find refuge, and Tea Cake gets attacked by a rabid dog when trying to save Janie. About a month after the event, Tea Cake is experiencing symptoms that show that the mad dog gave him a disease and he is turning into a crazy man. Janie is then forced to make an important decision between her life and Tea Cake’s. The rabid Tea Cake attacked Janie, and in self-defense, Janie shoots him dead. Throughout the novel, Janie is searching for love and life’s purpose. In the end, she finds peace in the fact that she has finally lived herdream. This gives her satisfaction in life, and she knows that she has lived her purpose.
By Aimee Clites
