THEIR EYES WERE
WATCHING GOD
Zora Neale Hurston was the author and she lived in Eatonville as a kid, she included many people from her home town in her writing.
Author:
The author of Their Eyes Were Watching God was Zora Neale Hurston.
CHARACTERS:
Phoebe Watson: Janie’s best friend
Janie Crawford: Main character of the novel. Janie leaves home and marries Logan Killicks. Then she leaves him for Joe Starks, and eventually leaves Joe for Tea Cake. Throughout the novel, she goes though a process of self-revelation and finds her identity and voice.
Joe: Janie’s second husband;Dies because of cancer;man with money who takes Janie away from her old life;Gives her money, fancy clothes, and the "high life." He is the mayor of Eatonville. He keeps Janie from speaking her mind and forces her to always be silent.
Porch Sitters: People of the town where Janie is from. They sit on their porches and talk about everyone, especially Janie. They are always judging others and want to hear as much as they can about everyone else's business.
Tea Cake:Janie’s third husband;Rabid dog bit Tea Cake;Tea Cake had Rabies;Janie had to shoot him
Rabid Dog: Bit Tea Cake
Janie’s Grandma: arranged Janie’s first marriage;Raises granddaughter, Janie, in West Florida. Never had a voice because she was always suppressed by white people (grew up during slavery). She wants a better life for Janie and also wants Janie to have a voice (a say in her destiny).
Logan Killicks: Older man that Nanny arranges Janie to marry. He is Janie's first husband. He has smelly feet, a big belly, and a big head. He feels Janie doesn?t do enough work around the house and thinks she's spoiled. Janie leaves him for Joe Starks.
Mrs. Turner: Black woman on the muck who doesn?t like other black people. She has white features and thinks that blacks are beneath her. She tries to fix Janie up with her brother, because she doesn?t care for Tea Cake. Her restaurant gets destroyed in a fight.
LOCATION:
Southern Florida
Everglades
Eatonville, Florida
FOLK GROUP:
Black Americans
White Americans
THEME:
Finding a Voice
Finding Her Indentity
Relating with Nature
PLOT:
Janie Crawford arrives home after a long trip. When Janie's mother is raped, she runs away and leaves Janie to be taken care of by her grandmother. Logan makes Janie work hard and cares little about her opinions.
When Joe Starks, a well-dressed man with big dreams comes along, Janie thinks this might be her chance at love and a better life. After Joe dies, Tea Cake starts hanging around Janie.
Tea Cake saves Janie's life from a rabid dog, but he gets bit in the process. Tea Cakes falls ill from the rabid dog, and, in his delirium, tries to kill Janie. Janie is put on trial, but found innocent.
The story takes pace in Southern Florida when White and Black American Folk Groups were segregated.
LINKS:
http://www.novelguide.com/theireyeswerewatchinggod/
http://www.bookrags.com/notes/tewg/
http://www-hsc.usc.edu/~gallaher/hurston/watchgod.html
http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=62-0060931418-0
http://www.answers.com/topic/their-eyes-were-watching-god
http://www.americanfolklore.net/latin-american-folklore.html#2
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