Their Eyes Were Watching God Guided Reading Questions

Their Eyes Were Watching God Guided Reading Questions

Chapter 1

1. Who are the sitters who "had been tongueless, eyeless, earless conveniences all day"? Why are they described as "mules and other brutes" that had "occupied their skins”?
2. What are the people on the porch going to do when they see the woman walking down the street? What do they wonder about her?
3. How is she described physically?
4. Why are the women on the porch upset with the woman (Janie)? What is her friend Phoeby's response to them?
5. What is the relationship like between Janie and Pheoby? What do they talk about? What story is Janie about to tell Pheoby?
6. What figurative language (metaphors and similes) is used? Where? What do they mean?

Chapter 2

1. What simile begins the chapter? What do you think Janie could mean by using this metaphor?
2. Who raised Janie? Where and how was her early childhood spent?
3. How did she find out she was black?
4. Why did the other black children tease Janie? What story did they tell her to torment her?
5. What could the blossoming pear tree represent? Why is Janie fascinated by the tree?
6. For what is the description of the bee pollenating the pear blossom and Janie's physical reaction a metaphor?
7. What simile begins the chapter? What do you think Janie could mean by using this metaphor?
8. How is Janie described as symbolizing the blossoming pear tree?
9. Who does Janie see coming down the road? What do they do?
10. What is Nanny's response? What is her solution for the "problem"?
11. What is Nanny's view of the world? Specifically, what is Nanny's view of a black woman's place in the world?
12. Why does Nanny say that she wants Janie to marry? What does she want for Janie? Why couldn't she (Nanny) have that herself?
13. What is Nanny's past? How was Janie's mother conceived? What was to happen to Nanny? What did she do to save herself and Janie's mom?
14. What does Hurston mean by the metaphor "she look lak she been livin' through uh hundred years in January without one day of spring"?
15. What happened to Janie's mother? Where has she been since?
16. What does Nanny mean when she says "Put me down easy, Janie, Ah'm a cracked plate?"

Chapter 3

1. What does Janie wonder at the beginning of the chapter?
2. How is Janie's wedding a contrast to her ride home with her new husband? How could this represent her view of love before and after the pear tree?
3. Why does Janie go to visit Nanny? What does Janie say about her and Logan's marriage? What is Nanny's response?
4. What does Nanny mean by the metaphor "you wants some dressed up dude dat got to look at de sole of his shoe everytime he cross de street...?"
5. What does Janie want in her marriage? What is Nanny's response? What happens to Nanny shortly thereafter?
6. What is represented/meant by the metaphor "So Janie waited a bloom time, a green time, and an orange time..."?
7. What is Janie looking for over the gate? What does she now know about the world and herself?

Chapter 4

1. What has changed in Janie's marriage?
2. What does Janie mean when she says "Ah'mjsut as stiff as you is stout?"
3. Why does Logan need to leave for a day? What significance could having another mule mean? What woudlthis mean to Janie?
4. Describe the man who comes down the road while Janie's chopping potatos.
5. Where does Joe Starks say he's going and why? What does he want with Janie?
6. What does Logan mean by the metaphor "Considerin' youse born in a carriage 'thout no top on it...?"
7. Why doesn't Logan think anyone would run away with Janie?
8. Why does Logan try to boss Janie around the next morning? What is the result?
9. What does Janie do after fighting with Logan? How does she feel? How has this changed her life? Her view of love? Her view of her place in the world?

Chapter 5

1. What are Joe & Janie’s impressions of Eatonville when they get there? What is the town like?
2. What is Joe’s solution to the problem of the town being too small? What is he going to build and do?
3. What does the town elect Joe? Why will he not let Janie speak after he is elected?
4. After the lamp lighting ceremony, what does Janie tell Joe about her feelings of their relationship? How does Joe respond? How does Janie feel this distances her?
5. What are Joe’s actions in the town like? What does he do to show off? How do the people feel about him? What do they pity Janie for?
6. How is the beginning of chapter 5 similar to the beginning of chapter 4? How can we guess that Joe will be just another repeat of Logan?
7. How is Joe compared to white people in this chapter? Why does Hurston use this metaphor? What is she trying to show?
8. What is Janie’s hair beginning to symbolize? What is the porch beginning to symbolize?

Chapter 6

1. What is the subject of everyone’s favorite story? What do Lige, Sam, and Walter tease Matt about?
2. Do Janie and Joe like to hear the mule talk as well? Why does Joe not let Janie listen to or take part in the mule stories?
3. What does Janie realize about Joe? What does he like to do to her?
4. What is the story of the mule? What happens to the mule when it comes around the store one day? What is Janie’s reaction? What does Joe do about the mule for Janie? What do Janie and the others say about Joe after that?
5. For what could this story of the mule be a metaphor? How could it be a metaphor for Joe and Janie?
6. What happens to the mule after that? How do the townspeople mourn its death? Why does Joe forbid Janie to attend the draggin’ out?
7. How is Joe compared to white people in this chapter? Why does Hurston use this metaphor? What is she trying to show?
8. What do the buzzards that swoop in to eat the dead mule represent?
9. What are Sam and Lige arguing about? How does this apply to Janie? How can this debate over nature vs. caution be applied to Janie, her life, and her decisions?
10. What does the conversation about the women represent in the town? How does is show how women are thought of and treated in their society?
11. What do Joe and Janie argue about? What is this showing in their relationship? Why does Joe hit Janie? How does this change Janie’s view of him?
12. What is happening in the store when Janie returns? Why are the men critizing Mrs. Robbins? What does Janie say in her defense?
13. There are several way that the mule figures into this chapter. Think about the word mule and the society we are reading about. There is a strong parallel between the motif of the mule and Janie. As evidence, recall that Nanny warns Janie in the first chapter that the "nigger woman is de mule uh de world." Further, Janie is part white, part black she's a "mulatta" (mulatta is the word for people who are part white, part black). We can see the literal similarity between mule and mulatta.
14. Think now about the buzzards. When the Parson asks what killed the mule, the other buzzards answer "fat". In other words, Matt Bonner is named as the murderer by Nature's buzzards. He is the one that has deprived the mule of food, "fat"; he starved the mule to death. If we extend the metaphor of the mule to symbolize not only Janie, but also all black women then we see that the mule communicates an important theme of the novel: black men make their wives into mules, they starve them of love and nourishment and slowly kill them.
15. These two themes are repeated again in the chapter. A few pages later, "Joe baits Mrs. Robbins" like a mule, who is starving for food. She screams, "Tony don't fee-eed me." Again, we see the theme of black women being starved and tormented like mules. After Mrs. Robbins leaves, the men even speak about her as if she were a mule.

Chapter 7

1. Eleven years have passed. What has Janie learned to do? How has she learned to cope with Joe’s oppressiveness? What does she consider doing sometimes?
2. What does Janie realize about Joe? How does he take this out on her? What does he hope this will accomplish?
3. Why does Joe start yelling at Janie in the store? What is Janie’s reaction? What does she tell Joe about his ‘manhood’”? What is Joe’s response?

Chapter 8

1. What is happening to Joe? Who does he call for? Why won’t Joe let Janie see him?
2. How does Janie picture Death? What visuals does she use to describe him?
3. Why does Janie need to see Joe? What does she need to tell him? How does she do this? What happens to Joe afterward?
4. What does Janie do after Joe dies? Who does she look for in the mirror? Why does she let her hair down? What could this represent?
5. What does the phrase "starches and irons her face” mean? Why do we starch and iron clothing? How can this be applied to a person’s face?
6. Death is symbolized throughout this chapter. Describe all the instances of Death being given human characteristics.
7. One of the most memorable metaphors of the novel occurs at the end of the chapter; before telling the public of her husband's death, "Janie starched and ironed her face." Here, face is used when it seems that "veil" may be what is indicated. In this one tight sentence, Hurston is explaining (through incredible understatement) that a woman's face is like a veil. After emotional times, she must "starch and iron it" making it "just what people want to see."

Chapter 9

1. What is Joe’s funeral like? Describe it.
2. What is meant by the phrases “starched and ironed her face” and “expensive black folds”? What could be represented rather than a veil? Why would these be “expensive” to Janie?
3. How does Janie feel about the funeral? How are her outer actions and her inner emotions different?
4. How does Janie or her behavior change after Joe’s death? What are the two things that do change? What do these symbolize?
5. What begins to happen to Janie? Why do these men come to see her? What do they want?
6. Who is grooming himself to take Joe’s place in the town and the store? How is he doing this? Why doesn’t Janie mind?
7. How does Hurston use ambiguity to provide words with deeper meanings in this chapter? Think about the phrases "It was like a wall of stone and steel" and “the expensive black folds.” How could both of these have double meanings? What could those double meanings be?

Chapter 10

1. Why is no one around at the beginning of the chapter? To where have they all gone and why?
2. Who comes into the store? What does he want? What double meaning could he have when he asks Janie “You got a lil piece a fire over dere”?
3. Why is Janie concerned for the man? What is his solution? What does he offer to teach Janie? What is her response?
4. What does she notice about the man? How is this in contrast to Janie first meeting Joe?
5. What comment about life could the man be making when he says “You ain’t supposed tuh look off, Mis’ Starks. Its de biggest part uh de game tuh watch out!”
6. What two contrasts to Joe and his behaviors does the man suggest after the game?
7. What do we learn the man’s name is? What could this name mean? How could it mean that he is a gentleman?
8. How do Tea Cake and Janie flirt after he tell s her his name? What does he help her do after closing time?
9. There are many contrasts between Joe and Tea Cake in this chapter. Describe three ways Hurston contrasts Joe with Tea Cake.
10. The last time we heard mention of nature and things in nature was the pear tree in the first chapters. We now have a reference to the moon which is also a part of nature. How could this foreshadow what will come in the next chapters?

Chapter 11

1. What does Janie want to know about Tea Cake? Why does she not ask Hezekiah? How does she rationalize what he wants from her?
2. Why does Janie try to snub Tea Cake when he comes to visit her the following week? How does he react? What does Tea Cake offer to get Janie?
3. What do Janie and Tea Cake do throughout the rest of that day and night? Why does Tea Cake suggest they go fishing?
4. Why does Janie feel like a "child breaking the rules"? What happens that night? How do they cover the next morning?
5. In the morning, why does Hezekiah tell Janie that she should not allow Tea Cake to walk her home? What is Janie’s response?
6. Why is Tea Cake waiting for Janie that night? What does he do for her? What does he tell Janie about her hair, face, and eyes? What should she start doing?
7. Why is Janie so upset by Tea Cake’s statement "I'm the apostle to the Gentiles; I tell them and then I show them."? What could he mean by this? What does Janie think he means? What is Tea Cake’s response to Janie’s coldness?
8. What does the phrase “his "night" thoughts” mean?
9. What does Janie wake up thinking about? Who is knocking on her door? What does he want to tell her?
10. Why does Tea Cake arrive the next morning? What does he want Janie and him to do? What does Janie tell Tea Cake he should not do? What is Tea Cake’s response?
11. Why can we assume that this chapter is the first time Janie has loved? What emotions are shown that have never been shown before?
12. How are Tea Cake’s feelings and reactions to Janie’s hair different from her previous relationships? How could this foreshadow his feelings about her freedom?
13. How does Hurston identify Janie with nature again? What does Tea Cake say about the moon and Janie?
14. Thinking back on what was said in previous chapters about black men starving their women (see previous notes), how is Tea Cake different from all other black men? How does he “feed” Janie literally and metaphorically?
15. Why is the word Doubt capitalized? What is meant by the phrase "Doubt is the fiend from hell especially provided for lovers." Why are doubt and death separated from the regular human experience by being capitalized and personified?

Chapter 12

1. When does the town discover the relationship between Tea Cake and Janie? What is their reaction?
2. What is Sam’s reasoning for the reason Tea Cake spends money on Janie? What does he want Pheoby to do?
3. What does Pheoby talk to Janie about the next morning? What does she tell Janie she should do? What is Janie’s response?
4. What do Janie and Tea Cake intend to do? What is her reasoning for this? What does Janie ask of Pheoby? What does Pheoby warn Janie of?
5. What does Janie finally start to realize about her dreams and her grandmother’s dream?
6. In the following passage, who is the narrator? How could all these things be ideas of possession? Or are they not?
   "Tea Cake and Janie gone hunting. Tea Cake and Janie gone fishing. Tea Cake and Janie gone to Orlando to the movies. Tea Cake and Janie gone to a dance. Tea Cake making flower beds in Janie's yard and seeding the garden for her. Chopping down that tree she never did like by the dining room window. All those signs of possession."

Chapter 13

1. What does Tea Cake want Janie to do? What do they do in Jacksonville?
2. What happens when one week after they are married? Why does Janie start to panic when she discovers the missing purse?
3. Who does Janie think of? What happened to this older lady? What thought or remembrance makes Janie feel better? What does she think she can do if Tea Cake doesn’t return?
4. What does Tea Cake tell Janie when he returns the next morning? What happened to him the previous day and night? After hearing the story, why is Janie upset? What excuse does Tea Cake give for not taking her?
5. How does Tea Cake propose to get the $200 back? What does he do to prepare? Does he succeed? What happens to him?
6. What does Tea Cake want to do for Janie? Is Janie okay with that?
7. Where does Tea Cake want to go when he recovers? Why?
8. Why does the love between Janie and Tea Cake become solid or “real” in this chapter? How do they reveal to each other that they are willing and able to love and trust one another?
9. Based on the physical description of Annie Tyler, that she "dyed her hair", "straightened it", wore "blotchy powder", and wore tight high-heeled shoes” and others, what can we guess about Hurston’s feelings about being true to yourself?

Chapter 14