Their Eyes Were Watching God
by Zora Neale Hurston
Janie Crawford lives in the black town of Eaton, Florida. The good citizens of Eaton sit in judgment on Janie for she has been married to three different men. The first marriage was a loveless arranged marriage to an older man. Janie leaves him and runs off with good-looking, citified Joe Starks and by the next night is married to him. Joe quickly becomes financially and politically successful in the small town they settle in, but Janie is increasingly unhappy. Joe treats her like property and never passes up the opportunity to put her down. When Joe finally dies, Janie is free for the first time in seventeen years. She meets Tea Cake, a younger man who treats her like a real person. Their relationship is rocky at times, but Janie loves him. They make a life for themselves in the Everglades until, fleeing from a hurricane, disaster strikes. Tea Cake is bitten by an attacking dog and contracts rabies. Throughout the book, Janie's character continues to grow and her sense of self worth shines through.
When this book by Zora Neale Hurston was first published in 1937 it received scathing criticism for the use of dialect and "black stereotypes." Now, almost seventy years later, many critics admire Hurston for her depiction of the lives of black women. The book can be a challenge to read, since the use of dialect is extensive. But Janie's story is well worth the work.
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