Their Eyes Were Watching God

I think that it is a nice change of pace reading a novel now instead of all those poems. Just starting out with this book I find it to be a little challenging to read but interesting as well. I just liked the scene where all the ladies are gathered on the porch to talk about Janie and how she was seen earlier leaving town with a young man who's name is Tea Cake which (which made me laugh) and now she was seen walking alone. I just found it to be interesting how they immediately jumped to the conclusion that Tea Cake left her for a younger woman when that isn't the truth after all. It turns out that she can't be with him at that place anymore cause she isn't happy there. I felt that they were just so quick to judging her since she is beautiful with long beautiful hair and they were just jealous of her. And just because she walked by and didn't bother to stop and talk to the ladies on the porch doesn't mean she is withdrawn or impersonal she probably just didn't want to talk to them. It is good that Phobe stood up for Janie though!

While I was reading this it reminded me of Autobiography. In this book Janie did not know that she was black. In fact she thought of herself as white until she saw that picture of herself. Just like in Autofbiography of an Ex Coloured man. He never knew he was different from the others until the teach pointed it out. I think this just goes to show you just how color blind children are. To children everyone is the same it isn't until you have the influence of environment and parents that children begin to become racist and prejudice.

Then when it talks about how when Janie was 16 she would often sit under a pear tree thinking about the budding fertility of spring which I felt is also a sexual reference to herself and the tree is almost like a standard that she has. A tree is strong, sturdy, it is the ideal love she is longing for. Now I could be reading too much into that and maybe I am totally off base when I say that but it seems with everything we have read you have to look inbetween the lines, through the lines, etc.

I was upset reading the part about Janie with Johnny I think his name is and Nanny catches her with Johnny and decides to quickly marry her off to a man named Logan just to be sure she is taken care of. I can understand her reasoning behind it all it just all seemed unfair.

I have liked this book so far and hopefully it stays good!