Their Eyes Were Watching God Chapters 17-20
As the workers streamed into the Everglades, jealousy reared its head in Janie’s relationship once again. Teacake was severely affected by the presence of Mrs. Turner’s brother. He whipped Janie around the time the brother came to the Everglades, he never hit her hard or for too long, but just enough to leave marks on her. He did it not to punish her, but rather to show the people of the glades that she was his woman. The next day, their relationship became a source of envy for the others in the fields. Teacake doted on the visibly hurt Janie, while she hung on to him affectionately. In a conversation with one of his friends, Tea Cake flaunts his wife’s behavior in enduring the beating. He tells his friend that his wife chooses to remain in the muck with him despite having a fortune sizeable enough to buy a great amount of land. He explains that he hit his wife because of Mrs. Turner, who had a dislike for black people. His friend is angered when he learns of Mrs. Turner’s dislike and believes that she ought to be taught a lesson. The next payday, Mrs. Turner’s restaurant is full of workers, all of them drinking and eating merrily. A few of the drunk workers start a fight, and Tea Cake intervenes, but his intervention only leads to the destruction of the restaurant’s interior. Teacake then leaves with the other workers, and Mrs. Turner finds her restaurant completely trashed and she resolves to leave the muck and head to Miami.
Janie notices the Seminoles leave the glades and make east, she sees several groups make the same journey, and finally musters the will to inquire. They tell her that they are heading out of the glades because a hurricane is coming. Over the next couple of days, Janie watches as even the animals of the glades begin to head east, but most of the workers choose to stay. The temptation of money and merrymaking keep them all from following the native Americans. One of their friends offers to take Janie and Teacake out to palm springs, but Teacake refuses the offer with the claim that the inclement weather would soon pass. However, the harsh winds of the hurricane bring the lake to life that night, so Teacake and Janie have to leave in the dead of night to keep from drowning in their shack. They watch the lake break out of its dyke, and can’t spare the time to rest. They continue walking and have to resort to swimming in some sections. Swimming is particularly hard on Teacake since he has to pull Janie along with himself. During their journey, he asks Janie if she regrets leaving her house and coming to the muck, but she has no regrets. She tells him that he had given her life, and so the last two years had been so blissful that she would feel no anger if death were to find them. They make it to a nearby town, but Teacake suffers a dog bite as he is trying to rescue Janie from a dog in the waters. They find a place just big enough to sleep given the huge number of people in the town that are sheltering from the hurricane.
The storm passes and Teacake becomes desperate to leave their little shelter, for they have been stuck indoors for the past two days. Janie tries to stop him since the people of the town are putting the unemployed men to burying the dead, but Tea Cake has money in his pockets and feels that he ought to be safe. However, that notion is soon proven false as a couple of white men with rifles in their hands put him to work hauling dead bodies. Teacake escapes from the labor to return to Janie, and the both of them return to the everglades. There Teacake reunites with his friends and secures handsome work for himself. They purchase a rifle and a gun for some shooting practice, and Janie continues to outshine Teacake at the activity. Teacake suddenly falls sick after a couple of weeks of regular work and finds himself unable to drink water. Janie rushes out to bring a doctor, who examines Teacake and informs her that Tea Cake is suffering from a fatal illness. The doctor prohibits Janie from sleeping in the same bed as Teacake and warns her that Teacake is likely to have fits of anger. He suggests that Teacake should be admitted to the county hospital, but Janie is convinced that Teacake would dislike being in the hospital. She insists on taking care of him herself.
Janie watches Tea cake’s health deteriorate as the sickness drives him to become suspicious of Janie. He begins to sleep with a pistol under his pillow, and Janie sees him change as his eyes take on the personality of an animal. Janie prepares herself to fight off a delusional Teacake and empties the first three slots of the pistol he keeps in bed. Teacake wakes from sleep and accuses her of going out to see Mrs. Turner’s brother. He levels the gun at her breast and attempts to kill her, but the three empty bullet slots save her life. Janie pulls a rifle on him, and tries to calm him down, but alas she has to shoot him. Before Teacake dies, he bites Janie’s arm. Janie goes to the sheriff with the doctor as soon as he arrives, and the courthouse hears her case on that very day. The white jury rules in Janie’s favor after the doctor gives his account, but the black people in the court feel like an injustice has been done. Tea Cake’s friends eventually understand that Janie isn’t to blame when she calls them out for Teacake’s grand funeral.
Janie remained in the muck for a little longer but it held nothing for her. The people of the Everglades grew to understand that she had done her best by Teacake, and invited her to stay on with them. Janie couldn’t bring herself to do so, and so moved back to Eatonville with nothing more than a bag of seeds that Tea Cake hadn’t managed to plant before his death. They remind her of him more than anything else. And with that Janie finished telling her tale to her best friend. Phoeby was moved by the tale and claimed that no one in town would criticize Janie in front of her ever again. Janie was content to be home since the home was no longer empty but full of her memories of Tea Cake. She was happy to live the rest of her life with comparisons of what she had possessed in him.
Analysis
Life in the muck becomes more complex as Teacake and Janie's relationship develops. Chapter 17 includes a brief description of Teacake whipping Janie seemingly without reason or cause. The narrator doesn't quite dwell on the beating either, and it supposedly has little impact on their relationship. The author's nonchalant mention of this bout of domestic violence may be a reflection of the pervading attitude towards the issue when the book was written. It is also interesting to note that Janie has experienced domestic violence at the hands of Jody, and both those instances led to the deterioration of the relationship. It can be argued that Janie's silent acceptance of the violence marks a further development of her voice. Janie's relationship with Jody was marked by a similar silence, however, it was never something that Janie chose, but rather something that dominating Jody imposed upon her.
The encounter with the hurricane forms the climax of the book and the inspiration for the title of the book. Throughout the book, various characters have acted with the belief that they can exert complete control over their environment. This view is exemplified in Jody's behavior, as he attempts to set himself apart from the rest of the community and believes himself to be God. Teacake makes a similar mistake when he relies on his experience of the muck, and his almost supernatural ability in gambling, to set himself against the force of the hurricane. The power of the hurricane humbles him, and all the other workers that sought to downplay the power of nature.
