Gunnar Tubbs Historical Context

           The socio-economic context of TEWWG showed a period of time known as the “Florida Land Boom”. This was a period of movement throughout Florida, which nearly abandoned some cities. Many people moved to Miami and other tropical locations of Florida because it seemed like the ideal place in America, it was almost a paradise to some.

            

            Presidents during when TEWWG was based were Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. The politics during this time period was when the 18^Th Amendment was passed and added to the constitution. The amendment was the prohibition of alcohol and the laws were extremely hard to enforce onto people. The focus on politics at the time was ending racial disagreement, as equality was rare during these times.

         

             The arts in America started to boom during this time period. The “Jazz Age” was given birth. Jazz music was mostly based in the south and became the most popular with the African-American community. Many men came home from WWI during this time and it gave the U.S. a gigantic economic boom. Common citezens were able to enjoy the vast luxuries of life. Baseball was also a big part of this time period. Babe Ruth was a major factor in promoting the game and making it popular for Americans.

Gunnar Tubbs Original Conflict Song

Lyrics for “Their eyes were watching god: a themed journey”

By Gunnar Tubbs

And the eyes, the eyes, the eyes were watching god

Hurston’s themes made you feel it in your bod

Connecting them can be a tough thing to do

So today, I’m gonna go and connect two

(Chorus)

Let’s have a toast for the noise

Let’s have a toast for the silence

Let’s have a toast for the voice

Let’s have a toast for the two

That’ll never cease to fool you

Yeah they’re far apart

But they’ll never leave your heart

Language is celebrated and Hurston prevails

As she uses the south to tip all of the scales

The characters learn how to speak through time

They release the inner working of their mind

Janie finally defines herself with speech

But when comes time she never will preach

We don’t know why, it blows our minds

But Hurston wanted to give a try

And make you think for yourself

Not having anybodies else’s help

Tea Cake helps Janie out

He talks with her without a doubt

That she can finally learn to talk with ease

Just like the birds sing with the bees

With their talks they grow close

And her love starts to come out and boast

(Chorus)

Relationships are a complicated thing

Some people say they just have a fling

Some just like the independence

Just like cars are brought to tenants

Even though you might not know

Someone might start to grow

On you, and that is true

For Janie and Tea Cake oh they rue

The days they couldn’t spend together

Even when the weather was better

Because they grow

But they might not know

How strong the spirit starts to flow

Throughout themselves and yeah what else

They still can be alone

But there’s a catch; it’s like a clone

Because apart they are never thrown

Off by the soft Side they have for each other,

Just like the one you have for your mother

Even with the silence in their heads

They can still be grateful when they’re lying in bed

Alone.

Christine Schwartz Novel Synopsis

            Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is a story of love, of hope, and of change.  The main character, Janie Woods, searches for love her whole life, but she does not know how to find it or how to know if she has.  The book begins with Janie’s return to her home town, where everyone wonders about her.  The rest of the book is Janie is telling her story to her old friend Phoeby.  This end to flashback arrangement is very effective in making the readers anticipate the tale. 

            Janie indicates that she has discovered in her first marriage to Logan Killicks, an old farmer, that matrimony does not come with or require love.  Logan is not fulfilling her vision of love: a blossoming pear tree.  Not long after that, she runs away with an attractive man named Joe Starks.  They are in love, but after Joe becomes the mayor, his treatment of Janie changes.  He is merely using her now.  She stays, but she does not love him anymore.  When Joe dies, Janie is not quite sure what to do.  She felt sorry for him, but she does not miss him.  She is mourning on the outside while secretly enjoying her freedom, when a young stranger waltzes     into Janie’s heart and makes himself at home. 

            Janie has been enchanted by men before, but this one named Tea Cake, is different than any other man she has seen.  He treats her like an equal.  Tea Cake is the median of Logan Killicks, who saw nothing special in Janie, and Joe Starks, who set her far above everyone else.  She can be a normal person with Tea Cake, but she knows that she is special to him.  After getting married, they move to “the muck,” a migrant worker hub.  After a few years, a devastating hurricane hits the muck.  They get away safely, but during their trip back, a rabid dog bites Tea Cake, who begins to go crazy.  Janie, who knows that he will die, just waits for something to happen until Tea Cake shoots at her.  Janie is faced with the choice to kill a maniac or be killed by one.  It may seem that the hurricane is the climax of the book, but the climax is actually when Janie has to choose whether or not to shoot.  This is the most critical moment in the book.  Her survival instinct and love of life are too strong to let her die, so Janie shoots her husband.  After her trial, the story moves back to the present. 

            The book is almost over, but it does not seem settled.  On the last pages, we realize that maybe things do not have to be resolved as we think they should.  “Of course he wasn’t dead.  He could never be dead until she herself had finished feeling and thinking. . .Here was peace” (Hurston, page 183-184).  Their Eyes Were Watching God shows Janie’s change from an immature daydreamer to a grown woman, full of common sense, but also of hopes and dreams and the fulfillment of them.  

Christine Schwartz Poetry Device Artwork

 head rag:  Janie's head rag symbolizes Joe Starks.  He makes Janie keep her hair in the head rag, just like he makes her keep her real self hidden.  She would like to talk to people in the store, but Joe does not allow her to.  When he dies, Janie takes off the head rag.  She is free of it.  She is also free of Joe, so she can finally be herself.  

pear tree:  The pear tree is a metaphor for Janie's vision of true love.  She wants it to be beautiful and fruitful, like the pear tree.  It appears several times in the book.  In her first two marriages, the pear tree vision is not fulfilled, but when she marries Tea Cake, the dream comes true. 

vultures:  A good example of imagery is the mule's funeral on pages 57-58.  The most interesting part is the vultures.  Hurston writes about them, "The flock had to wait the white-headed leader, but it was hard.  They jostled each other and pecked at heads in hungry irritation. . . . The Parson sat motionless in a dead pine tree about two miles off.  He had scented the matter as quickly as any of the rest, but decorum demanded that he sit oblivious until he was notified" (Hurston, p 58).  She makes the vultures seem human in a very vivid way.  

Rachel Aarhus Character Life Map

Colin Borsheim Cast of Characters

Most significant Character:  Janie Mae Crawford, Tea Cake, Jody Starks, Logan Killicks, and Pheoby Watson.

Medium significant Characters: Nanny Crawford, Mr. and Mrs. Turner, Sam Watson 

Minor Characters: Amos Hicks, Mr. and Mrs. Washburn, Johnny Taylor, and Nunkie.

                        

Janie: She is the protagonist of the story. She is black and has a mixed ancestry, and sometimes dresses like a boy. She is very curious and confident. She is mature in that she can realize that others are being cruel to her.

Tea Cake: He is Janie’s third husband and the first true one. Even though he is twelve years younger than Janie, he impresses her with his zest for living. He treats Janie with respect and doesn’t make her be anything she doesn’t want to be although he has once stolen from Janie and also beaten her once.

Jody Starks: He is Janie’s second husband. He travels from Georgia to Eatonville to try and gain power. He is a consummate politician and a businessman. He becomes the postmaster, mayor, storekeeper, and biggest landlord in Eatonville. Their marriage ends however, because he treats Janie as an object rather than a person.

Logan Killicks: He is Janie’s first husband. Nanny arranges Janie’s marriage to Logan because she values financial security and respectability over love. Logan does everything for Janie for a year before he tries to make her help him with the farming work. Janie doesn’t feel true love between them and feels that she never will so she leaves him for Jody Starks.

Pheoby Watson:  Janie’s best friend in Eatonville. Pheoby sides with Janie when the townspeople gossip about Janie. She is always there for Janie and her presence is felt in the colloquial speech that the narrator mixes.

Nanny Crawford: Janie’s grandmother that is a former slave. Her experience developed her worldview with a strong concern for financial security, respectability, and upward mobility. This worldview coincides with Janie’s independence and desire to experience the world, but Janie comes to respect Nanny’s values and decisions.

Mr. and Mrs. Turner: Everglades’s residents who run a small restaurant. Mrs. Turner values her Caucasian looks and disregards anyone with a more African appearance. She worships Janie because of her Caucasian features. She does not understand why Janie would marry a man as dark as Tea Cake, and she wants to introduce Janie to her brother.

Sam Watson: Pheoby’s husband. Sam Watson is wise and also very funny during the conversations on Jody’s porch. When a few Eatonville residents begin to express their anger toward Jody, Sam acknowledges that Jody can be bossy but points out that Jody is responsible for many improvements in the town.

Amos Hicks: A resident of Eatonville. He is one of the first people to meet Janie and Jody. He tries to lure Janie away from Jody but it doesn’t work.

Mr. and Mrs. Washburn: Nanny’s employers after she became free. Nanny lived in a house in the Washburn’s backyard. They helped raise Janie with their own children.

Johnny Taylor: A young man that Janie kisses when she starts to feel sexual desires as a teenager. This incident leads Nanny to force Janie to marry the more socially acceptable Logan Killicks.

Nunkie: A girl in the Everglades who constantly flirts with Tea Cake. Janie becomes very jealous of Nunkie, but after Tea Cake assures her that Nunkie means nothing to him, Nunkie disappears from the novel.

Colin Brosheim Novel Advertisement

The background image represents the new Age Pantheism worldview, which Janie and the book follow. Also, the piece symbol is another representation of Pantheism. The Questions “Who Am I?” and “where did I come from?” are fundamental questions that can be used to determine what Janie’s worldview is. The money and the power button symbol represent power and wealth as an important theme in the novel.