Zora Neale Hurston Quotes

In the Novel “ Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston the main character Janie Crawford experiences many trials and tribulations during her life due to letting people control her. She’s gotten married 3 times and is a widow . When Janie gets married to Tea Cake and finally starts to control her own life, her decisions are not the best because she has no sense of direction and leadership. Janie’s tolerance for people dictating her life caused her to be confined , but marrying Tea Cake made her feel freedom because he allowed her to have a voice. During Janie’s second marriage her husband Joe Starks made her have low-self esteem because he would always talk down on her to boost his confidence as the dominant gender of the relationship. Joe would embarrass Janie in front of everybody and she would just stay silent until she got fed up. “ Don’t stand dere rollin yo pop eyes at me, wid yo rump hangin nearly to yo knees” (Hurston 78). Hurston’s quote from the book is just a clear indication of just how cruel Joe was toward Janie who was his wife. He never really complimented Janie and always had her bundled up so other men couldn’t see her. Being in a relationship like this …show more content…
Her clothing totally changes from being entirely bundled up to overalls and heavy shoes because Tea Cake allowed her to wear what she wanted unlike Joe who had her wearing head wraps and unrevealing clothing. “ What if Eatonville could see her now in her blue denim overalls and heavy shoes” (Hurston 158). When Janie was in Eatonville , they seen her bundled up because of her husband but they would be surprised to see her in different clothing. The clothing difference is a big symbol of being her own person and having a voice. This is in relations to my thesis because it shows how Janie is experiencing something new and she likes it. Tea Cake does not try to control every aspect of her like her other husbands