Their Eyes Were Watching God Characters Analysis
Janie Crawford - She is the protagonist of the novel, and is raised by her grandmother, who is a nanny for a white household. The novel details Janie's struggle to find independence and meaning in her life. She is first married to the old and wealthy Logan Killicks at the tender age of 16 at her grandmother's command. She later abandons Logan as she fails to ever grow to love him, and elopes with the wealthy and ambitious Jody Starks. They move to the town of Eatonville, where Jody becomes the mayor. However, Jody treats Janie badly and attempts to control all aspects of her life. After his death, Janie meets and falls in love with Teacake. She leaves her life in Eatonville behind to begin a new life in the Everglades. Janie's happy life with Teacake is cut short when the Everglades experience a hurricane. Teacake is bitten by a mad dog and contracts an illness that causes a mental break. Janie is forced to kill her husband and returns to Eatonville to live out the rest of her life in remembrance of Teacake.
Leafy - She is Janie's mother, as she becomes pregnant with Janie after she is raped by her school teacher. Leafy abandons her daughter as she begins to drink heavily, and leaves home for extended periods. Janie's grandmother is sure that her daughter is still alive, but Janie never has the inclination to seek out or see her mother.
Nanny - Janie calls her grandmother Nanny just like the other white children that she grows up with. It is hinted that Nanny has a daughter with her white master while she is a slave. The master's wife grows jealous, and Nanny is forced to flee to save her daughter. Nanny forces Janie to marry Logan Killicks after she catches Janie kissing a boy. Her only aim in life is to ensure that her granddaughter lives a life of ease and comfort, and so forces her to remain with Logan even though it causes Janie great pain.
Logan Killicks - Janie's first husband, who is selected by her Nanny, after he makes plain his desires to marry Janie. He is a relatively rich farmer with 60 acres of land. He treats Janie fairly for the first couple of months but then begins to taunt her about her upbringing and pressures her into doing farm work in addition to the household chores. Janie leaves him after he goes out to buy an additional mule so that she can plow the land along with him.
Jody Starks - He is Janie's second husband and the one husband whom she stays with for the longest time. Janie elopes with him after he promises to provide her with a life of luxury and comfort, away from the drudgeries of the common folk. Jody has worked for white people his whole life and has managed to secure sizeable savings. He uses them to buy into the town of Eatonville, a town made by the black community. He is elected the mayor of the town and builds a store that he manages together with Janie. Their relationship quickly grows toxic, as Jody attempts to control all aspects of Janie's life and then grows insecure with his physical appearance. He is physically and verbally abusive with Janies, so much so that Janie begins to suppress her emotions and her thoughts.
Teacake - He is Janie's last husband and the only one that ever loves. She meets him after Jody's death, and although there is a difference of 12 years between them, he manages to court and woo Janie. Teacake is a railway worker when he first meets Janie and is an extremely skilled gambler. Janie and Teacake get married in Jacksonville and then move to a shack in the everglades. Teacake empowers Janie to find her inner voice and loves her very deeply. Their relationship tragically comes to an end when Janie is forced to kill him after his mind has been affected by a disease that he contracts while shielding Janie from the attack of a mad dog during the hurricane.
Phoeby Watson - She is Janie's best friend, and the wife of Sam Watson, a resident of Eatonville. Phoeby is the only resident to welcome Janie when she returns to town after Teacake's death. Janie narrates her whole life story to Phoeby.
