Their Eyes Were Watching God Literary Analysis

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Desire, love, and independence. How do these three items work together? How does a woman follow her desire for sex and love, and yet still keep her independence? These are questions still currently being pondered by women today. In the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, Janie is seeking this answer as well. She goes from searching for her sexual independence under a pear tree, to being married three times in order to satisfy her desires for love. Ultimately though, her desire for her independence wins out, and she learns that she is satisfied by this. In chapter 3, Janie discovers a pear tree in her backyard. For 3 days she is drawn to this tree over and over again. The mystery of pollination (or in reality, sex) was too great for a young girl to walk away from. Once this was finally discovered, she thought, “So this was a marriage! She had been summoned to behold a revelation. Then Janie felt a pain remorseless sweet that left her limp and languid.” (13) During this moment, Janie discovered that her thought of marriage as the sense of possibility in life for a connection between…show more content…
Therefore, since this was not the marriage that she had originally witnessed with the pear tree, Janie becomes miserable because she is not able to have independence alongside love. She states one day in an argument to Jody that "You sho loves to tell me whut to do, but Ah can't tell you nothin' Ah see” (71). At this moment, Janie finally becomes aware of her desire for self-expression and independence, though simultaneously aware of the consequences if she were to attempt to obtain it. Meaning that if she wants independence, she believes she must give up her dreams for love. This uncertainty drives Janie to lash out at Jody later in the novel, however it is significant because she learns to realize the importance of finding a voice for
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