Name: Brittany Nicole Powell Due Date Wednesday, March 17
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Their Eyes Were Watching God
by Zora Neale Hurston
Study Questions
Foreword by Mary Helen Washington
1. What do you learn here about ZNH including when she lived and died plus her claim to fame?
She lived from 1891 to 1960. Her book is a best seller of African American literature but was not liked before.
2. When was TEWWG written and published?
It was written in 1937 and published.
3. Why were writers/critics such as Richard Wright so condemning of the novel?
Critics thought she wrote it as a laugh for whites, and that it did not have the value of historical fiction of the current society.
4. What caused a revival of interest in ZNH and TEWWG in the 1970s?
There were expanding interests in African American literature and black women literature, and new black studies in school.
Chapter 1
1. How are men and women different with regard to their dreams and lives, according to the first two paragraphs?
Guys see their dreams as something that will not come true to and will always stay a dream. Where as women go after their dreams until they come true.
2. What does the reader learn about Janie in paragraph three that none of the other characters in chapter one knows about her? Define the literary term dramatic irony and explain whether this secret information we learn about Janie exemplifies dramatic irony or not.
Dramatic iron is that the audience knows something that the characters do not. She had just got back from burying the dead.
3. What type of incident could have caused Janie to bury people as mentioned in paragraph three? Why do you suppose that ZNH keeps that and other particulars about Janie from us?
The murder it made the novel suspenseful.
4. Except for Pheoby, how do the women on the porch regard Janie? Why are they so negative about her? What inferences do they make about her? Upon what are these inferences based?
They judge her, they envy her. They gossip about how her husband left her because she was older than him.
5. Do the men on the porch regard Janie as the women do or differently? Explain.
A lot different, they are guys they see a woman and her femininity.
6. How does Pheoby react to the other women's criticism of Janie? Why does Pheoby visit Janie? What does Pheoby want to learn from Janie?
Phoeby gets mad and call them out on criticizing Janie. She brings her dinner because they are good friends and she want to know what happened to her husband.
7. How did Janie obtain her money she left town with? Who is Tea Cake, and what is his relationship to Janie? How much older or younger is he than Janie? What is your reaction to their age difference? Why?
Tea cake, her husband died and left Janie his money. He is ten years younger that Janie it did not really shock me that much because people have different kinds of relationships a lot today.
8. What is Janie's reaction to the gossip from the women on the porch?
It makes her upset, but just tells them they gossip too much and does not really worry about them.
9. According to Janie, what gossip about her from the women on the porch is untrue? Is Janie poor? What is the truth about Janie's life, as far as she reveals it in this chapter?
Her husband died, he did not steal money or leave her. Janie is not poor because she still has money in the bank.
10. What evidence is there in the first chapter that the novel is set in Florida in the late 1930s, focusing on African-Americans, with a woman as its main character, a woman trying to discover her voice and true identity?
Tea Cake died and left her his money, so she did not have any reason to stay there without him.
11. What is a frame story? Is TEWWG a frame story? Explain.
It is a story told, telling another story. The TEWWG is because it tells Janie’s story and her past and the people around her.
12. What is the novel's point of view: first person, third person limited, omniscient, objective, or something else? Explain.
The novel is omniscient. The narrator knows everything about all the characters.
13. Who is the novel's narrator? What do you know about the narrator? Describe the voice and diction of the narrator and how it is different from the language of the novel's characters.
You do not know who the narrator is, but his language and grammar is better than the characters he writes about.
14. What is your reaction to the novel's use of black dialect? Explain. Do you find the dialect difficult to read? Explain. Do you consider the dialect demeaning to African-Americans? Why? How does ZNH justify her use of black dialect?
It’s harder for me to understand but it is not that bad. ZNH justifies here use because she is black and she is describing the historical dialect.
15. What is Janie's motivation to tell Pheoby her life's story, which begins in the second chapter? (see bottom of page 6) What seems to be Pheoby's main function in the novel?
Janie knew everybody wanted to hear it so she knew Phoeby would listen. Pheoby seemed to be Janie’s Friend.
16. What unanswered questions-implied, not stated-are motivation for the reader to continue? Do these questions "hook" your interest? Why? Do you think you already know the answers to these "questions"? Explain.
It is weird the way she buried Tea Cakes, so it kind of looks like she murdered him.
Chapter 2
1. At the beginning of the chapter, the narrator says, "Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf . . . ." How was Janie's life "like a great tree in leaf"? Explain.
Her life is like a tree, because she is always reaching for more but she is as high as she can get.
2. What discovery about herself did Janie make when she was about six? What was her reaction to this discovery?
She discovered she was black, she was shocked and upset. She did not know the difference in color.
3. Why was Janie raised by her grandmother, Nanny, instead of by her parents? How would you describe Janie's childhood with Nanny? Explain.
Her childhood was better than most blacks because she was around nice and generous whites.
4. Why kind of life had Nanny had as a young woman? Who had fathered Nanny's child, "Leafy," who would grow up to become Janie's mother? What ever became of Janie's father?
She was a slave. Leafy had a white dad, but her real dad ran off.
5. Why had Nanny taken her baby and escaped from the plantation? What would have happened to her and her baby if they hadn't got away? Why?
Her master was going to lash her to death then sell Leafy.
6. What incident involving Janie causes Nanny to decide that she will have Janie marry Logan Killicks? Why does Nanny believe Killicks will be a good husband for Janie? What is Janie's feeling about the idea of marrying Killicks? Why? Do you believe Janie should marry Killicks? Why or why not?
Nanny saw her kissing Johnny Taylor, so she wants her to marry killicks but Janie had great wonderful ideas of marriage and this crushes them. I think Janie should marry who she loves.
7. Nanny says to Janie, "Ah wanted to preach a great sermon about colored women sittin' on high, but they wasn't no pulpit for me". What plans had Nanny had for Janie's mother, and how did her plans relate to the quotation? What happened to Janie's mother at age 17? What became of Janie's mother afterwards? What does Janie have to do with Nanny's quotation?
Nanny wanted Janie’s mother to be a teacher, Leafy was raped by her teacher at 17, and got Pregnant.
8. Who was Janie's father? What has become of him?
The school teacher that raped Janie’s mother, who left.
9. At the end of the chapter, Nanny says, "Put me down easy, Janie, Ah'm a cracked plate." Explain what Nanny means by that statement. How is she like a "cracked plate"? Do you agree? Why?
She was saying she was old but wise. Yes because when people get really old they loose their value.
Chapter 3
1. At the beginning of the chapter, Janie asks, "Did marriage end the cosmic loneliness of the unmated? Did marriage compel love like the sun the day?" What answers to those questions does she find as the wife of Logan Killicks? Explain.
Her marriage to Logan did not end the loneliness or create love. She never grew to love him, and by the end of the chapter leaves him because she found someone else.
2. Is Nannny sympathetic or unsympathetic about Janie's feelings about her marriage so far with Logan Killicks? Why? With whom do you agree more-Janie or Nanny? Explain.
Nanny is unsympathetic, and tells Janie that she will change her mind with time. She thinks the marriage to Logan was a great thing for Janie. I agree more with Janie, because I do not believe in getting married for the sake of being “taken care of”.
3. Nannny says to Janie, "Lawd have mussy? Dat's the very prong all us black women gits hung on. Dis love!" (22). What is Nanny talking about? Do you agree or disagree with her? Why? What dream of Janie's is "dead" as a result of her marriage to Logan Killicks? (See 24).
Nanny is talking about how Janie wants to leave Logan because she has not grown to love him. I do not agree with her because I believe, for better or worse, marriage should be about love. Her dream of marriage creating love is gone.
Chapter 4
1. How had Logan Killlicks begun to treat Janie differently from when they were just married? Explain.
He stopped being romantic with her. He also told her to start helping him work and that she was spoiled.
2. Why is Logan planning to buy two mules? What does he intend Janie to do with regard to the mules? What is her reaction to Logan's plans?
To plow the “taters”. He wants to buy the second mule so Janie can plow. Her reaction is that she does not want to do it, and she argues with Logan about it.
4. How does Janie meet Joe Starks? Describe how he looks and acts.
He was passing through, walking up the road, and she gave him some water. He acts and looks rich, like a white person.
5. As soon as we learn Joe Starks's name, explain how we already know that Janie will marry him, move to Eatonville, their marriage will end, she will leave Eatonville with another man for south Florida, and later return home to Eatonville without the other man. Even though we already know these facts, what about them do we not know yet? Explain.
We already know about it because it was mentioned in the first chapter. We do not know exactly how her marriage with Starks will end, or what exactly happened to the other man, and how they got together at first.
6. To Janie, Joe Starks "did not represent sun-up and pollen and blooming trees, but he spoke for far horizon. He spoke for change and chance.” What does this quotation mean, literally, in your own words? Explain.
It means that she did not truly love him, but with him she could get away and probably find better.
7. What justification does Logan give for being a good husband to Janie? Do you agree with him? Explain. His justification is that he took out of whites kitchen, and has done nothing but taken care of her and been good to her. I do agree with him somewhat because he has taken care of her in many ways.
8. What justification does Janie give herself for leaving Logan to run off with Joe Starks? Do you agree with her decision? Explain.
Her justification is that she doesn’t love Logan, and that he isn’t good enough for her. I kind of agree, I do believe that she should have gotten divorced first at least.
9. Who is most to blame for the failure of Janie and Logan's marriage-Janie, Logan, or Joe Starks? Explain.
Janie is, because she wasn’t truly willing to try from the beginning.
10. Do you believe that Joe Starks was right or wrong in courting Janie, a married woman, and offering her an opportunity to run away from her husband to live to marry and live with him instead? Explain.
I think it was wrong, personally, because in my opinion I think if someone is in a relationship already, you leave them alone. It’s just not right to me.
11. Do you feel sorry for Logan Killicks after Janie leaves him? Why? Explain what you think Logan will do next and tell why.
Yes, because he did want her, and he treated her well enough. I think that he will probably just wait for Janie to come back, because of what he said to her.
12. "From now on until death she [Janie] was going to have flower dust and springtime sprinkled over everything. A bee for her bloom" . Explain in your own words what this quotation means.
I think it means that she is going to do what she wants to make herself happy from now on.
13. What is your reaction to Janie's marrying Joe Starks when she is still married to Logan Killicks? What is polygamy? Could Logan have had her arrested for polygamy? What could have been Janie's punishment, if found guilty? Do you think it's likely that he will? Why? Do you think Logan will try to take revenge on Joe Starks for stealing Janie from him? Why? Explain.
What do we already know that might influence our opinions about these questions? I thought it was wrong, because you can’t and shouldn’t be married to 2 people at once. Polygamy is the practice or condition of having more than one spouse. He could actually have her arrested for it, if he wanted to. If found guilty, her punishment could realistically be death. I do not think that it is likely that he will because he is probably wanting Janie to come back to him. I doubt he would try to take revenge on Starks because his character just doesn’t seem that strong willed, in my opinion. What kind of influences me about these questions is that Janie did not mention her old husband when it came to her present life.