As I finished reading this story I realized how much it was different than other southern stories that we have read this year. Some have been of discovery like this one, but more of discovery of themselves in society or compared to society, in instead of discovery of themselves like this story is.
What I find interesting about this book is that for the time period that she was married three times in her life. My perception was that people in that time when married would stay married, especially black and workers. Like Janie's grandmother explained is that she needs to find in a husband someone who will be able to care for you, calling that love. I think my perceptions besides coming from stories and movies is that too me thinking about workers it seemed like the women would be doing different work from the women and at the end of the day everyone was exhausted and just wanted company, like they didn't have time to fight or disagree, which I realize I am wrong.
Also interesting is that each time Janie got married her husband's were completely different. But in the beginning they were all the same, they all told her that they would give her things like fun, protection, a supporter and adventure. But over time this faded with everyone except Tea Cake, could this be why she really loved him and only him? It seems this is directly related to freedom of love vs. relationships, the more freedom she was given the better she did.
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I agree with your post Laura, Tea Cake was loved in the end, even after attacking her when he developed rabies. I think the reason for this is that Tea Cake didn't really "suck up" to Janie like her other husbands did and then got tired of putting on a show later on and started being himself. He was himself from the start to the finish. Remember the part in the story where he offered to play her in checkers? He knew he was good at it and knw he would beat her at it as well. Almost as though he was basing their relationship on challenges and wonderment. Seeing each other's capabilities and sharing interests, instead of assuming what Janie was capable of and putting her to do what he wanted.
I think that Janie had such a hard time finding love because she was never really told what love really was. Her perception of love was someone who can give you protection and make sure that you have a house over your head, but Janie was looking for somthing more. You could definitely tell that Tea Cake and her were in love because they did things that were fun and spontaneous and to me those are the most important things in a relationship.
I was also surprised by the fact that Janie was married three times. But I think that fact goes back to the idea of an independent woman. Hurston was giving Janie the characteristics that allowed her to become a woman beyond her time. She was portraying her as a hero of women's marital rights. And that was pretty profound.
Laura,
I think you made an interesting point when you said that this story was a discovery of self, rather than a discovery of self within the context of society at large. I agree that this was foremost a story of Janie discovering who she was, but I also think that society and nature played a significant role. Janie was searching for where she fit in with the bees and the trees; she was searching for love and happiness, and she sought a man as the answer to her questions. So I think this was a story of self discovery, but it was played out in the larger realm of society.
Laura,
I also felt that it was very rare to have more than one husband during this time. I did however believe that they disagreed with one another during this time, for I feel that as long as people have their own opinions, they will have something to disagree about. I believe that especially during this time, when people like Janie’s grandmother had the perception of love that it just happened when two people were married and cared about each other, that disagreements especially went on because people were living, and sharing lives together that were not even in love. I feel that this is even shown through Janie’s relationships. As Janie is in each marriage, she is most happy and has the least amount of negative thoughts against her husband when she loves him (Tea Cake). In a similar way, the less restricted that she was, the more she loved her husband.
I agree with your point that all three of Janie's husband were the same in the beginning of their relationships, but then all three drastically changed in different aspects as they got comfortable with the relationship. I think that the bad way that the men acted towards Janie got better with each marriage as it progressed, because Janie got somewhat smarter in each relationship. Janie grew up and learned a lot from each relationship.
I hadn't really thought about it before but it is a little strange that she was able to marry 3 times in her life like you I also believed that people of that time rarely separated and remarried. As for Tea Cake I think that because they were more like friends they had a very different realtionship from the relationships she had with her former husbands which led to the closeness of their relationship.
I definately find it weird that she was married three times as well. Also, the way that her first marriage ended was so fast and sudden. I never thought that a black woman would have that kind of power to just leave her husband. Also, I thought it was weird that she didn't want to work alongside her husbands. I guess that I may not have a good concept of timing or something, but it seems that slavery wasn't that long ago, and Janie really basically refused to work with her first two husbands. It seems like she thought it was wrong. I don't agree with that, why should the men have to do all the work?
I agree. You definitely got the feeling that janie and Tea Cake were in love. But it is kinf of ironic becuase it took Janie a lof to find to find love becuase she has very high expectations, I would say. She was married three times, and non of them worked out. I think Tea Cake and Janie are perfect for each other. They did all kinds of stuff that were exciting and they had so much fin together. I enjoyed reading the end of this book.
I think Janie was really in love with Tea Cake. Granted they were all the same in the beginning but he was the only husband that stuck with his personality throughout. I also agree that she was always searching for something more. She was an independent woman and didn't believe that this is all she had to live with. I think you had some great points.
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