re Watching God EssaysLove in Their Eyes Were Watching God Love plays a very important role in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyeswere watching God. Janie spent her days looking for love. She thought oflove just as she thought of the elements of springtime: Sunny days, brightskies, a bee pollinating pear tree blossoms.
She searched far and wide forthis kind of perfect love. Logan Killicks couldn’t give this kind of love to Janie. He maynot have loved her at all. To him, Janie was just another working set ofhands.
He treated her almost like another man. He was inconsiderate ofher feelings, her hopes, her aspirations. He probably didn’t know thecolor of her eyes. Janie was worked hard by Logan. He made her do allsorts of things that only men should have to have done. He was even goingto make her plow the fields-a job that requires a considerable amount ofstrength: strength that Janie didn’t have.
Janie complained that nothingbeautiful was ever said. She had no love with Logan Killicks. That is whyshe left him for a man that showed much potential to give the kind of loveshe was looking for. The whistling man that Janie ran away with was Jody Starks. WithJody, Janie thought that she would forever have “flower dust and springtimesprinkled over everything.
” She thought she’d have “a bee for her bloom. “She didn’t exactly find this in Jody though. In him she definitely foundchange and chance, but still not the love she was looking for. What Jodyhad for Janie was more of a lust than a love. He was very protective ofher and didn’t want anyone else to see in her what he saw.
He gave Janiemany things including lots of money, but he couldn’t give her love. Thelittle love that was there eventually died. So did Jody. Finally, Janie met up with Tea Cake. The moved together to theMuck in the Florida Everglades and lived in Tea Cake’s Shanty.
They spenteach new day together. They laughed together, fished and hunted together,talked together, and spent time with friends together. These were allthings that were missing from her previous relationships. They had madeher to be somebody that she wasn’t. Tea Cake let her be herself.
He lovedher just the way she was. He encouraged her to be what she wanted to be,to follow her dreams, her thoughts, her aspirations. Janie had finallyfound her bee. Tea Cake was the perfect bee for her bloom.
She loved himwith all of her heart. They had the kind of everlasting love that she hadlonged for all her life. Tea Cake one day rescued Janie from a mad dog, but was bitten inhis heroic effort. For a few months there was no effect, but when therabies hit him, it was unbearable. It eventually got so incredibly badthat Tea Cake tried to kill Janie.
His did this not out of hate for herbut because of the mad dog within him. The was no way out for her. Shedesperately wished for things to be the way they used to be, but thosewishes were not answered. She eventually shot and killed Tea Cake. Janiewas tried for murder, but was emancipated because everyone knew that whatshe did was an act of love.
She simply didn’t want him to suffer any more. Janie searched for the special love that she saw between the beeand the bloom for a long time. She finally found it in Tea Cake, but hadto kill him. Killing him was probably the biggest act of love made in herwhole life.
