Character Analysis: Their Eyes Were Watching God

During the twentieth century, Zora Neale was a famous African American novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist. Many of her works attacked issues concerning black heritage, which are still widely acknowledged today: Their Eyes Were Watching God, Dust Tracks on a Road, and Every Tongue Got to Confess. Their Eyes Were Watching God, specifically, described the difficult course that Janie Crawford endured in order to discover her inner voice. In the beginning, Janie was a young, black child who lived with a white family. During her adolescence, Janie began to gain an interest in romance with men; therefore, Nanny, her grandmother, forced her to marry Logan Killicks. Afterward, Janie ran away with Joe Starks. The two moved to a small town called Eatonville where they were married. Joe built the town into a thriving area, gaining the status of Mayer along the way. However, Joe began to mistreat Janie, restricting her from doing many things she enjoyed. Scared of what may have happened, she never spoke against Joe. Eventually, Joe became deathly sick. While Joe was sick, Janie told Joe how unsatisfied she was with their marriage. After Joe's death, Janie met Tea Cake. Happy with her mate,
When citizens of Eatonville ask Janie to deliver a speech, Joe denies her the opportunity, causing Janie’s passive aggressiveness to appear. Hurston explains, “It must have been the way Joe spoke out without giving her a chance to say anything one way or another that took the bloom off of things”(43). Janie is not angry that she is not giving a speech to an audience; however, she feels troubled that Joe does not allow her the freedom to speak to the other citizens. Later, Joe sees a man brushing Janie’s hair. As a result, he orders that Janie tie up her hair immediately. Without argument, Janie allows Joe to take away more of her