Their Eyes Were Watching God Chapters 1-4
Janie Crawford returns to the town of Eatonville, Florida, at sundown. The people of the community are firmly planted on their porches, and watch as Janie, returns home alone wearing nothing but a muddy pair of overalls. They talk scathingly about her past and wonder why the forty-year ‘old’ woman is not accompanied by the ‘young’ thirty-year-old man she had eloped with a year and a half ago. Janie stops by the porch for a brief greeting but continues with her way without making any conversation with the people on Phoeby Watson’s porch. Phoeby is Janie’s best friend, and she hurries after her best friend with a tray of food. The other women sitting on Phoeby’s porch shout questions about Janie that they would like Phoeby to discover the answers for.
She finds Janie washing her feet on the back porch, and Janie hungrily empties the dish of rice that Phoeby brings her. Phoeby confesses that the people on her porch are dying to learn whether Tea Cake had stolen all of Janie’s money and run off with a young girl. Janie informs Phoeby that the gossips can go on running their mouths and that she had only come home when Tea Cake had gone. All of her money was secure because he had never taken any of it. Phoeby is confused by Janie’s words and asks her to elaborate, so Janie begins to tell her story.
She recounts that she was raised by her grandmother, who lived in the back house of a white family. Janie grew up with the white children of the household and didn’t know that she was black until she was six years old. She called her grandmother Nanny, just like the other children of the household. Janie wore the old clothes of the white children, and so appeared much cleaner than the other black children in her school. They were jealous of her and made fun of her. They said mean things about her father whom they claimed had been chased by the sheriff and his bloodhounds. They never told her that he had wanted to marry her mother or even his name, but they always talked about the bloodhounds.
Her grandmother didn’t want her to be bullied by the other children for living in a white man’s house, and so she bought a little land for just the two of them. Janie spent a lot of time in the backyard under a pear tree and watched it bloom. Watching the flowers bloom and being pollinated by the bees, Janie wished to find her own bees. She tip-toed out of the house, and towards the gate, where she saw a boy from her school passing close by. Nanny was lying in the house with a headache, in her sleep, she heard Janie's voice and then the voice of a man. She shot out of bed and saw Janie kissing a boy over the gate, and yelled for her to come inside. That day marked the end of Janie's childhood, as her grandmother told her the story of her life, and declared that Janie was going to soon be married to Logan Killicks.
Janie protests, given that she is only 16 years old, but Nanny is insistent. She tells her that the white man ruled their world, and he put his burden on the black man, who then put it on the black woman. She slaps Janie for being insubordinate and resisting the idea of marrying the old Logan Killicks. Nanny then tells Janie of how she had saved herself, and Janie’s mother, from the wife of the master, by hiding in the wilderness before the end of the civil war. She had learned that slavery had ended while she had been hidden in the forest and that the black people had been freed. Nanny, and her daughter, Leafy, had led a new life, and Nanny had tried to give her baby all the opportunities that she had missed. However, Leafy was raped by a school teacher at the age of 17 and had become pregnant with Janie. After Janie's birth, Leafy had begun to drink heavily and stay away from home for long periods. Nanny resolved to ensure that Janie’s life would not be ruined as her mother's had been. In proposing her marriage to Logan, Nanny only wished to make sure that Janie had someone to care for her after she had passed, as she felt that day was fast approaching.
Janie wondered whether the marriage would lead to an end to her loneliness and whether she would grow to love her husband, Logan Killicks, along with his oft-mentioned 60 acres. She was reassured that marriage would certainly mean an end to her loneliness and believed that love would come naturally to her. They were soon married, and Janie left to live with Logan. Their first few months of marriage were uneventful, but Janie soon went to her Grandmother with some questions. Her grandmother was very happy to see her, but she soon grew concerned with Janie’s somber mood. Janie explained that although Logan was kind to her, and treated her well, she could not bring herself to love him. She wanted to know how she could love him, but her Grandma dismissed her feelings and downplayed the importance of love in a relationship. She said that Janie should feel lucky to be with Logan, who may not be attractive but had his own home and land. Janie departed with the understanding that she would not grow to love Logan. Her grandmother had dismissed all Janie’s concerns but later she pondered her granddaughter’s words and prayed to God that she had done right by Janie. Janie’s grandmother soon passed away, just as Janie’s first dream was shattered, and that marked the beginning of her womanhood.
Logan’s behavior soon began to change, as he complained about the work he did for the house. He felt that she didn’t appreciate him enough and that she had been spoiled. He taunted her about her family’s background, and Janie rebutted all his attacks. One morning, Logan told her that he was going out to buy another mule and implied that Janie would have to use the new mule to plow the land. On the day he had left, Janie met Jody Starks. He was dressed in handsome clothes and had come down to find a town that was being built by black people. He had been working for white people his whole life and had saved up a lot of money that he wished to use to create a life for himself. He was surprised to learn that she was married and that her husband had begun to treat her so poorly. He asked her to run away with him and promised her a life of luxury and solace as his wife. He told her that he would wait for her the next morning, and with that, he departed.
That night, Janie argued with Logan and asked him what he would do if she left him for someone else. Logan was extremely hurt by what she said, but he retorted that no one would marry her, given the history of her family. The next morning, he yells for Janie to get out of the kitchen and help him with the farm. Janie refuses him, and when he gets angry, she calls out that his anger isn’t because she doesn’t help with the chores, but because of what she had said the previous night. Logan disrespects Janie’s family and upbringing. Janie returns to the kitchen, finishes making breakfast, and then leaves the farm for a walk. She finds Jody Starks where he had promised he would be, and they leave together. They get married that very night and sit on a porch to watch the sunset.
Analysis
The book begins with the conclusion of Janie's adventure with Tea Cake after she has already seen all the ups and downs of her young life. The first few chapters of the book are important in setting up the unique manner in which language is used in the book. The use of language is unique because the book is written with a focus on the telling of Janie's story through an oral tradition that has rarely been expressed on paper. The author avoids the use of standard written English and instead favors the use of colloquial language along with colorful metaphors. Additionally, the narrative style used by the author is quite distinct. The book has been split between a third-person omniscient narrator and the voice of Janie. Other sections of the book contain long passages of uninterrupted conversation between the characters, with hardly a word from the narrator or Janie.
The Peartree is a fundamental symbol in Janie's journey that is referenced throughout her adventure. She first sees the blooming flowers of the pear tree in the yard of her grandmother's house. The peartree in the springtime symbolizes both sexual and emotional satisfaction for Janie, and its image remains with her throughout the book. While at first the interaction between the bee and the flower seem to follow the stereotypical sexual roles ascribed to men and women, the author's careful use of language presents an altered view. She writes that the calyxes 'arch to meet' the bee, suggesting a more reciprocal relationship between the 'female' flower and the 'male' bee.
