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.