Their Eyes Were Watching God Analysis

One foot forward, yet two steps back. The words, no, the screaming, echo off the walls in my head. Still, the faint touch of your body rips at my skin. My mind pleaded for help, for security, for shelter, but my heart insisted to stay. “We need to leave” it whispered, fearing he would hear us. “What if this is love” I called back. I ached in a silent cry for freedom. None of this was what I expected; none of this is what I wanted. Love did not equal confinement. It did not mean giving up on life long dreams, yet my body ached in defeat. The air was suffocating, but, nevertheless, I had to keep moving. Only God knows if I could get back up after yet another beating. Silence is not an option. These were the painful feelings that raced through
Racine correctly proclaims that in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, Zora Neale Hurston’s character Janie and her voice were greatly influenced by four men in her life with the use of passion/control in her relationships; however she inaccurately states that Johnny Taylor was a catalyst in Janie’s development with her voice and was the most important relationship Janie
Most importantly, they all shaped her voice. Logan Killicks, Janie’s first husband as a teen bride, was a wealthy man; he had anything he ever wanted, acres of land, abundant amounts of money, farming animals to do his work or him, etc. Despite being physically secure, he was emotionally unavailable. The one thing he didn’t have was a way to achieve her love. He embodied the opposite of Janie; he was ugly and old, which greatly contrasts Janie stunning looks and youthful beauty. However, what they did have in common was that Logan couldn’t express his thoughts and feelings to her, he had no voice like Janie. Likewise, Janie couldn’t express her defiance to Nanny’s decision to have Janie married off. Thus, they never connected personally and spoke “peripherally” to each other. He had shut himself out and away from humanity long ago. Logan was a one-dimensional man who only focused on his work to have a “good life” in the end and ended up losing himself in the process. Proving Nanny wrong, he even tried to use her, just like Janie feared. She was just one of his dolls, his possessions. In turn, after confronting him and feeling belittled, she had to run and find independence from his patriarchal oppression. This is a prime example of how her voice changed in order to survive. Her voice screamed to run, and she followed, looking for a more suitable husband. As a result, Joe