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Society vs. Self in Their Eyes were watching God (Gender Roles (Janie…
Society vs. Self in Their Eyes were watching God
Gender Roles
Janie struggles to reach happiness and love as she is confined by her husbands into the specific role they have over her. Janie is denied the opportunity to find herself and flourish with the hindrance of her sexist husband(s).
Since the beginning, Janie's grandmother has a plan for Janie to get married and be taken care of by a man. However, this takes Janie's freedom from her and gives her husbands who show no compassion or love for her but only want her as something for them to use
Janie's growth
Janie grows through her growth in
maturity
as she realizes that love does not come naturally in marriage and that not all people are good.
Janie gains
strength
through her abuse and hardship as she grows up without the support she deserves and has to learn to care for herself. She learns to stand up for herself and fight for what she believes.
Janie gains a sense of
freedom
when she leaves both Logan Killicks and Joe Starks because of how they treat her and finds Tea Cake, her true love.
Janie leaves a young girl in a satin dress and returns a strong independent women who is much wiser from her experiences.
Abuse/sexism
Janie's first two husbands treat her as an object for them to use to their advantage and don't cherish her value and beauty as well as contribution she has to offer
Janie is always underestimated and her talents are never appreciated by her husbands. Her opinions are never allowed to be voiced and her husbands control her actions and
Innocence
Janie thinks that love comes naturally in marriage and believes that people are good in the beginning of the novel. This innocence leads her to struggle with her first relationship
Janie believes that her husbands will want what is best for her and take care of what she needs to be happy. This innocence leads her to struggle as she is confined and abused by her husbands. Marriage is not what she expected and she is taken advantage of
Tea Cake
Tea Cake represents Janie's fulfillment of her goals as she achieves what she has been looking for: love, happiness, and a sense of self.
Tea Cake helps Janie to better understand herself and who she is. This helps Janie to obtain wisdom and maturity
Logan Killicks
In this relationship, Janie conforms to what is expected of her as she is still young and naive. She allows Nanny to convince her into a marriage in which their is no love and she conforms to her husband. However, she begins her journey to growth and wisdom when she takes it upon herself to break away from what was expected and leaves him to run off with Joe Starks, although she is still naive and lost.
Nanny
Nanny shows the expectations she has of Janie and shows how Janie has little freedom when she begins her journey. Nanny somewhat forces Janie into a marriage that ultimately makes her unhappy.
Nanny is the first example of society setting standards and requirements for Janie that cause her to struggle with her individuality, happiness, and love.