Their Eyes Were Watching God Chapter 10 Analysis
Chapter 10 Literary Analysis
In Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, chapter 10 is an important chapter bridging the part of Janie Crawford’s life after the death of her second husband and her marriage with Tea Cake. The chapter introduced Tea Cake when he meets Janie while she is working in her store. His playfulness is revealed in this chapter. The affect Tea Cake has on Janie is personified at the end of the chapter.
After Tea Cake is in the store with Janie a while, he suggests they play a game of checkers. This starts to reveal his playful side. He says “You ain’t supposed tuh look off, Mis’ Starks. It’s de biggest part uh de game tuh watch out!”(Hurston 95)while she grabs his hand to stop him during the game. His jokes continue after the game when he says “Could yuh lemme have uh pound uh knuckle puddin’ till Saturday?”(Hurston 95) suggesting that Janie should hit him.
During the chapter, Janie does not even think that Tea Cake is any different of a man as he appears. The effect he has on her is personified towards the end of the chapter. After Tea Cake leaves her at her porch without making any moves towards her, she “sat on the porch and watched the moon rise. Soon it’s amber fluid was drenching the earth, and quenching the thirst of the day.” (Hurston 99) The affect Tea Cake had on Janie is personified as the moon on the earth.
Community is a motif that appears in this chapter. From the beginning, it is noted that the whole town is empty due to the game in town. Business of Janie’s store is described as being “dull all day, because the numbers of the people had gone to the game.” (Hurston 94) Community is also shown when Janie figures Tea Cake to be unlike the other men in the community. As he leaves her at her porch, she thinks “Maybe this strange man is up to something! But it was no place to show her fear there in the darkness between the house and the store. He had hold of her arm too. Then in a moment it was gone. Tea Cake
In Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, chapter 10 is an important chapter bridging the part of Janie Crawford’s life after the death of her second husband and her marriage with Tea Cake. The chapter introduced Tea Cake when he meets Janie while she is working in her store. His playfulness is revealed in this chapter. The affect Tea Cake has on Janie is personified at the end of the chapter.
After Tea Cake is in the store with Janie a while, he suggests they play a game of checkers. This starts to reveal his playful side. He says “You ain’t supposed tuh look off, Mis’ Starks. It’s de biggest part uh de game tuh watch out!”(Hurston 95)while she grabs his hand to stop him during the game. His jokes continue after the game when he says “Could yuh lemme have uh pound uh knuckle puddin’ till Saturday?”(Hurston 95) suggesting that Janie should hit him.
During the chapter, Janie does not even think that Tea Cake is any different of a man as he appears. The effect he has on her is personified towards the end of the chapter. After Tea Cake leaves her at her porch without making any moves towards her, she “sat on the porch and watched the moon rise. Soon it’s amber fluid was drenching the earth, and quenching the thirst of the day.” (Hurston 99) The affect Tea Cake had on Janie is personified as the moon on the earth.
Community is a motif that appears in this chapter. From the beginning, it is noted that the whole town is empty due to the game in town. Business of Janie’s store is described as being “dull all day, because the numbers of the people had gone to the game.” (Hurston 94) Community is also shown when Janie figures Tea Cake to be unlike the other men in the community. As he leaves her at her porch, she thinks “Maybe this strange man is up to something! But it was no place to show her fear there in the darkness between the house and the store. He had hold of her arm too. Then in a moment it was gone. Tea Cake