Janies quest in there eyes wer
Janies quest in there eyes werZora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God shows the life of Janie, a black woman at the turn of the century. Janie is raised by her Grandmother and spends her life traveling with different men until she finally comes home. Robert E. Hemenway says about the book, “Their Eyes Were Watching God is ... one of the most revealing treatments in modern literature of a woman’s quest for a satisfying life” I partially disagree with Hemenway because, although Janie is on a quest, it is not for a satisfying
life. She is on a quest for someone to lean on. Although she achieves a some what satisfying life, Janie’s quest is for dependence rather than satisfaction.
The first two people Janie depended on were her Grandmother, called Nanny, and Logan Killicks. Janie’s marriage to Logan Killicks was partially arranged by Nanny. She felt the need to find some one for Janie to depend on before she died and could no longer depend on her. At first Janie was very opposed to the marriage. Nanny responded with, “’Tain’t Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have, baby, it’s protection. ...He (God) done spared me...a few days longer till Ah see you safe in life.”(p.14) Nanny instilled a sense of needing a man to be safe on Janie that she keeps with her all through her life. After
Nanny’s death, Janie continued to stay with Logan although she disliked him. She would have left if she didn’t need him to depend on.
Next is Joe Starks. He is a kind of salvation to Janie. He is a well-dressed black man who has worked for “white folks” all his life and has earned enough to travel to a place where black people run...
To view the complete essay, you be registered.