Tuesday, November 9, 2021

        In the beginning of chapter 18, we see Native Americans starting to walk through the Everglades. The town starts to get suspicious of what is happening and a few make harsh comments on the Native Americans. The town hears about a hurricane that is fast approaching, and multiple people start to panic and leave. However, Janie and Tea Cake feel no pressure and assume that the storm will be light. They are reluctant to leave at first because they want to keep making money off of the beans. Later that night, the hurricane hits and Janie and Tea cake along with a few others are in the midst of the biggest storm. They struggle to find a safe location and a way of escaping. Especially when Janie gets blown into the storm and grabs a cow’s tail for safety. Unfortunately, the dog on top of the cow tries to attack Janie, and in panic, Tea Cake rushes out to save Janie. Tea Cake gets attacked and bitten by the dog and ends up stabbing the dog to death. 

In chapter 19, Janie and Tea Cake make it to their desired destination, Palm Beach. However, there is a clear shift in hierarchy in Palm Beach. Due to the many deaths, white men start to take charge and force Tea Cake and others to bury the white bodies in coffins and dispose the black bodies in a ditch. Thankfully, Janie and Tea Cake go back home to Everglades. After a few days back, Tea Cake starts to feel ill and later finds out that the dog that bit him had rabies. The rabies starts to negatively impact Tea Cake’s mind and leaves him with delusional thoughts that cause him to get angry. Tea Cake fears that Janie is running off with Ms. Turner’s son and upon Janie's arrival Tea cake threatens her Janie finds out Tea Cake has a pistol with three bullets in it. Instead of taking the gun, she moves the bullets three spaces in case Tea Cake plans on using it so she will have time to react.  Tea Cake tries and shoots her, but because of Janie moving the bullet nothing happens. In response, Janie grabs a rifle to scare Tea Cake off, but he shoots at her again. Janie ends up shooting Tea Cake. Janie goes on trial, but luckily, she proves how much she truly loved Tea Cake and is proven innocent. 

Chapter 20 starts with the men on the muck beating and scaring off Ms. Turner’s brother due to their realization of how badly they treated Janie. Janie hates living in Everglades without Tea Cake so she returns back to Eatonville. Chapter 20 is where Janie finishes her long story to her friend Phoeby. Janie says,”Ah done been tuh de horizon and back...”. Janie feels content with where she is in life, because of all Tea Cake did for her and the love they shared. 

I was utterly shocked when reading about the death of Tea Cake. I did not expect that at all. Even though Tea Cake was messed up, he was acting too sus, so he kind of had it coming. Rip TC though. 

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

 In chapter 13 we start off the chapter with Janie and Tea Cake getting married as soon as Janie arrives off the train into Jacksonville. Before Janie had left to marry Tea Cake, her friend Pheoby had advised her that she keep a spare $200 hidden in case Tea Cake decides to run off with all her belongings like Who Flung had done to Annie Tyler. A week into their marriage there comes a morning when Janie wakes up with no Tea Cake or money left. Janie started to worry as it soon became night and then the next morning. When Tea Cake comes back he tells her how he found the money, had a day full of fun, and saw how it was to be rich. It was then after some listening that Janie told Tea Cake she would want to go with him to everything, and Tea Cake realized, “From now on you’se mah wife and mah woman and everything else in de world Ah needs” (Hurston 124).

In chapter 14 we see Janie and Tea Cake move down to the Everglades where lots of people come down to the muck to find work harvesting beans all during the day, and gambling all at night making good pay for it all. Although at first we see Janie cooped up in the quarters all day long we eventually see her come out into the field laughing and making friends with everyone around. Soon enough by the end of the chapter and summer we see anyone and everyone knowing Tea cake and Janie.

Chapters 15 and 16 is where we start to see jealousy from both Janie and Tea Cake rightfully so in their own place. In chapter 15 we see this girl, Nunkie, who keeps trying to get Tea Cake alone and chase after her or take care of her. Eventually Janie gets upset and her and Tea Cake dispute until their night ends in love and exhaustion. In chapter 16, we meet a woman called Mrs. Turner who has taken a liking to Janie due to her being more light skinned than the others. During many discussions she and Janie have, we see that she does not like African Americans and wants Janie and Tea Cake to split, so that Janie may marry her brother. Mrs. Turner remains to be a problem even throughout chapter 17 when she is reported. As Mrs. Turner won’t back down, Tea Cake hits Janie in order to show that he is the boss and in charge and that she cannot have Janie. The chapter ends with a fight destroying Mrs. Turner's restaurant while everyone including her husband idly sits back and watches.

As much as I can understand for the times why Tea Cake hit Janie and why Mrs. Turner thinks as awfully as she does towards others, it is still something that I can fathom or accept especially with a mind of modern times.


Monday, November 1, 2021

Their Eyes Were Watching God: Chapter 8-12

 In Chapter 8, Janie continues to recognize Jody's age more and starts to get worried about him and his health. Feeling pity for him, she tries to talk to him one last time. But when he accuses her of never fully appreciating everything he had done for her, she responds with that he never let her express her emotions either. We see this disintegration of Jody's power and Janie taking this opportunity to finally berate him for everything he put her through that she wasn't able to see when he had the power, stripping him of his power even more. When Jody finally dies, Janie's first act of liberation is burning "every one of her head rags and went about the house next morning with her hair down in one thick braid swinging well below her waist" (89), symbolizing one of the ways Jody suppressed her freedom.  

In Chapter 9, Janie finally begins finding herself again, learning how to be alone for the first time since Janie was 16, finally seeking independence and strength for herself. You see Janie also interact with the town folks more and become more social than she was ever able to when Jody was alive. 

We meet Tea-Cake in Chapter 10 when he comes into the store to buy cigarettes when she is about to close up. Automatically, you can see that Tea Cake approaches and perceives Janie differently from how Jody and Logan saw her. There is also symbolism of the horizon again after meeting him from Hurston, saying, "So she sat on the porch and watched the moon rise. So its amber fluid was drenching the earth, and quenching the thirst of the day" (99). 

We see Janie and Tea Cake's relationship flourish in Chapters 11 and 12, while also watching Janie figure out more about who she is and what she wants. And, as the town's opinions of their relationship come out as the they become more public, we see that Janie isn't as fazed by the petty gossip anymore due to her newfound self-confidence. She is also eginning to discover her own values outside of Nanny's, whose priorities were distorted by slavery. She talks about her and Tea Cake wanted to leave Eatonville to start fresh and get married. 

At this point of the novel, Janie continues her journey to find herself, and getting closer to learning about what happened before Janie came back to Eatonville in the beginning of the novel. I am interested to see how Tea Cake and Janie's relationship develops and see why Hurston decided to give us a glimpse of the aftermath of their relationship before learning about it.