Chaper 1 & 2 Analysis

           In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, it starts all when the protagonist, Janie Starks comes walking back into Eatonville, Florida after leaving for about one and a half years, all the townsfolk are gossiping about her when she was walking in overalls. The reason why she'd been gone, was because she had left town with Tea Cake, who was her third husband and she loved him. Pheoby, who is Janies best friend in Eatonville, brought Janie rice. Janie tells Pheoby about how she wasn't happy with Tea Cake anymore and that's why she came back.

            I think one of the main themes so far is the search for love and independence. Nanny is Janie's grandmother and Janie doesn't know her parents and Janie and Nanny used to live in some white family's backyard. In the novel, after Nanny sees Janie kissing Johnny Taylor under a pear tree, she is not very happy and decides to marry Janie off to a wealthy old farmer named Logan Killicks. Janie doesn't like this decision and I think its because Jaine is searching for real love and independence and being married off to this man she didn't love didn't get her any closer to either of the two. Janie says that she doesn't want to be a mule after Nanny says "De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see." which shows their opposing views and this is a conflict for Janie.

           In the first few chapters, another theme that I think is very important is race. Janie grew up with a bunch of white kids and used to play with them and what not and she never realized that she was black until she sees a picture of herself. The story is told by Janie herself and it is cool. Racial conflict is evident because the black children at Janies school made fun of her for living with white people. I think that the author, Zora Neale Hurston does a good job of displaying these themes. This book is cool.