Discussion Questions

1. How do the various settings explored in the novel play a part in Janie’s life story?

Janie moves through two settings in her childhood; later, in her adult life, her three marriages also involve three distinct settings. The change in setting also signifies the various stages of her relationships with other characters as well as herself. Janie, during her childhood, lives in the outhouse of a white couple’s home. When Nanny builds a house for both of them, Janie moves to a relatively stable setting. However, at school Janie continues to be bullied for her mixed heritage, which manifests in her lighter skin.

After marriage, she moves to Logan’s farm where she is expected to contribute with labor on the farm and domestically. Logan expects Janie to be a housewife as well as a helper on the farm. As she discovers that Logan is only interested in her labor, she understands that not all marriages are filled with mutual love. Her entry into Eatonville with Jody is an impulsive decision: she decides to leave her loveless marriage with Logan and elope with Jody. Janie’s only aim is to build a loving, happy life with Jody. However, Jody is determined to make himself a prominent figure at Eatonville. He is only interested in garnering influence in the all-black township and becoming a figure of authority. To this end, Jody also controls Janie’s life, especially her self-expression. Lastly, after falling in love with Tea Cake, Janie moves to the Everglades. Here, Janie and Tea Cake are able to explore their love. Notably, by moving to the Everglades, Janie relinquishes her comfort so that she can get to know Tea Cake’s reality better. Their love flourishes in the muck. Her return to Eatonville after Tea Cake’s represents her defiance, self-discovery, and independence.

2. What role does colloquial language play in the novel?

The novel is structured as a conversation between two friends, Janie and Pheoby. The conversation is based on black colloquial language. Nonetheless, Hurston infuses the colloquial language with lyricism.

There is a double consciousness that runs through the novel. At one level is the colloquial language used by southern African-Americans, and on the other level is literary English, found in passages of the novel that do not include dialogue. This double layer renders the story of a woman finding her own voice a striking, epic tale. The use of the colloquial also challenges the gatekeeping notions of how exactly a literary voice is to be represented. Hurston makes a deliberate attempt to bring the otherwise less regarded colloquial sounds to the center of storytelling, thereby validating and legitimizing them. It also normalizes the juxtaposition of the everyday with the traditionally literary.

3. How is Janie different from her mother and Nanny?

Born into a country in the throes of racism as a slave back woman, Nanny is subjected to severe violence. Though Nanny’s daughter, Janie’s mother, was not born a slave, she too endures severe violence. Indeed, they are both survivors of rape and the trauma from these events shape their lives. Even though Nanny wishes for a better life for her daughter, she is unable to provide it as Janie’s mother becomes an alcoholic; she runs away from home after giving birth to Janie.

Janie and her mother are children of rape. Nanny is thus preoccupied with providing a secure life for Janie. She argues that the only way to do so is to become the devoted wife of a well-respected man.

She suggests that Janie should feel fortunate to marry Logan, a wealthy farmer, and that she must do as he pleases. As Janie steps into this loveless marriage, Nanny is happy to have made a life for Janie, which she could not for Janie’s mother.

Janie is markedly different from the two women who preceded her because she has experienced life differently. She has not endured racism to the same extent as them. Janie is more bound to her partners than she is to her mother or Nanny. Nonetheless, she soon realizes that neither Logan nor Jody understands her. It is only Tea Cake who finally recognizes her as an individual. Janie’s character is remarkable in that she does not feel compelled to carry the burden of her foremothers; she is able to respect herself, forge her independence, and nurture her own voice.

4. How does experience dependence and desire in her marriages?

Janie is dependent on her first two husbands. Both Logan and Jody are set in their ways. They also perpetuate oppressive gender norms: they are certain of what Janie must do to fulfill the role of the “ideal wife.” Janie has a better understanding of desire when she meets Tea Cake, who treats her as an equal, and they engage in passionate sexual encounters. They are able to convey the passion they feel for each other, and this forms the basis of their relationship. It also does not bother Tea Cake that Janie has more wealth than her.

5. How is the idea of jealousy treated in the story?

There are two types of jealousy portrayed in the novel. The first variety is the one that the people of Eatonville feel toward Jody and Janie for the life, fame, and wealth they have built. The second type of jealousy is romantic jealousy, as experienced by Janie and Tea Cake.

The townspeople are aware that Jody has a spell of authority over them in a way that is not completely comfortable. However, no one chooses to confront Jody about this accumulation of power. They are also deeply jealous of Jody for his grand two-storied house and the control he wields over Janie. In this instance, jealousy also lays bare the difference in class between the couple and the people of Eatonville.

The romantic jealousy that Janie and Tea Cake experience at different times in the novel have very different outcomes. Janie’s jealousy after witnessing Tea Cake playfully wrestling another young woman is dispelled when Tea Cake initiates a spontaneous and passionate sexual encounter with Janie in an attempt to console and assure her. However, when Tea Cake finds himself envying Janie, even though she has done nothing wrong, he resorts to preemptive physical violence.