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Their Eyes Were Watching God (Janie Crawford as Sexual Object)
The novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God" is a book that is written by an AfricanAmerican Zora Neale Hurston. The novels set up is in the southern and central Florida in the
early 20th century and gives a general perception of black women and how they are oppressed
due to the color of their skins. In the novel there is a black woman whose name is Janie
Crawford, she is a protagonist and dreams of reaching greater heights regarding equality in a
relationship in marriage. Concisely, the novel describes the saga of Janie Crawford’s journey in
female identity and female enlighten. In this regard, Their Eyes Watching God gives a
metamorphosis of how Janie Crawford started from a mute character to an active character.
Therefore, the novel portals a perfect deal of artistry of which a black woman has to escape
poverty and all the traditional marriage abuses and sexual harassment and emerge as a victor.
Notwithstanding the way that she persisted corruption and embarrassments in her
attempts to comprehend her dream marriage, she is compelling finally (Bergoffen, Debra 98). An
all-around requested examination of Janie's journey reveals how she gets her voice, how she
collects her character and how finally Janie Crawford accomplishes the far horizons, the
objective she had regularly needed. In the crucial time of her trek, she recognizes inertly the
recognized contemplations of sex and takes after the well-trodden method for the wedding a
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wealthy man to have ensured and budgetary security. Not ready to set up any dynamic
relationship with her significant other, Logan Killicks, she relinquishes him for Joe Starks
(Bergoffen, Debra 106). With that said, Janie struggles from being sexually harassed,
mistreatment, betrayed and deprived of happiness.
Additionally, this essay also shows the reason as to why women should fight for their
rights no matter their ethical background, age, education and the color of their skins and this is
clearly described by the use of Janie as an example.In this regard, the novel initially was badly
received as it was considered to create a notion of hate against men particularly its tragic end
where Tea Cakes is killed by Janie Crawford. However, according to Deffenbacher, Kristina
(116) recently the novel has been praised as a representative figure in women literature and
African-American literature. In praising the author Bloom notes, “Essentially, Hurston is the
author of one superb and moving novel, unique not in its kind but in its isolated excellence
among other stories of the kind” Zora Neal Hurston (1891-1960) is a phenomenal writer and a
prominent figure in America literary history (Deffenbacher, Kristina 118). What makes Hurston
stand out is her nonconforming nature as a novelist. She deviates from the way females are
perceived in the male-dominated black society.
Thus, she categorically brings the issue of black female sexuality as depicted in Their
Eyes Were Watching God creating a discussion around the history of black female sexual
objectification. The novel is really about Janie Crawford struggling to find an identity for herself
as a result of the suffering that black women have had to endure in the male-dominated black
society. To understand the depiction of Janie as a sexual object it is crucial to start right from the
beginning, and that is from Nanny (Boisnier, Alicia 212). It is from here that we can get a better
understanding of why Janie was viewed as such. Nanny, Janie’s grandmother was constrained by
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both patriarchal African culture and the White American oppression and suppression which
trickles down to her granddaughter as well.
We learn from the novel that Nanny while a slave was raped by a white man who brought
about the birth of Janie’s mother Leafy, who was of mixed race (Silber, Ken 281). The slave
owner had would not have committed the hideous act if he never saw Nanny as an outlet of
fulfilling his sexual desires. The madam on the plantation sees her as a risk to have around due to
the already conception that she is a sex object who men white and black can have at will. She
threatens to sell one-month-old Leafy, so Nanny sees it fit to flee from the plantation. She does
this in an attempt to better the life leafy and make it entirely different from her own (Boisnier,
Alicia 210). Leafy, Janie’s mother was also a victim of rape which led to the birth of Janie,
which occurred as she was getting out of school and never made it to their house until the next
morning, coming in crawling on her hands and knees. This action traumatizes Leafy and brings
her a lot of shame, leading to her disappearance and her whereabouts remaining unknown. Rape
has reeling effects on women and leads to women never really having the urge to live anymore.
What causes abuse to occur in the first place is when these women are viewed as sexual objects
and not as human beings deserving of respect and dignity. Even before Janie, the society already
had a view of black women whether they are slaves or involved in getting themselves educated
as sexual objects and possessions (Bloom 78).
Janie’s perceived view as a sexual object perhaps stems from the fact that she did not
have an identity for herself. This perception is because while she was at the Washburn’s
household she was nicknamed alphabet and it came as a surprise to her that she was colored. She
acts as both spectator and spectacle. She eventually accepts herself as Janie, and this further
leads to her portrayal as a sexual object, when she has a sexual awakening after which she
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compares to a pear blossom in the spring (Castaneda, Alisha 39). Later on, she seduces Johnny
Taylor to kiss her, to which her grandmother witnesses. Additionally, Nanny forces Janie into
marriage with Logan Killicks. She does this all the while having the notion that she is protecting
Janie from undergoing the same abuse together with her daughter, Leafy went through. Nanny
does not want her daughter to be viewed as a sexual object by the men in the society who will
take the opportunity to defile her. What she wants for her granddaughter is to have shelter and a
sense of security. Despite her well-meant intentions, she offers Janie over to Killicks not only as
a sexual object but also as an object meant to improve the economic wealth of Logan Killicks.
According to Dabee, Vivi (98), this fact is because he views her as a mule, and not as a wife.
With that said, Janie develops resentment towards Killicks and she becomes emotionally
unattached to him. She portrays herself as a sexual object to attract Joe “Jody” Starks’s attention
by putting her body on display as he is walking down the road. At this moment, Jannie takes
control of her body by revealing herself intentionally. She does get his attention with her long
hair and the sound of the water pump. She uses herself as a sexual object to get away from her
emotionless marriage. She does this with the aim of expanding her horizons by her dreams
(Deffenbacher, Kristina 118).
More so, her marriage to Jody is one which leads to her experiencing wealth and power
but also leads to her realizing that the control she once held over her body has been stripped
away. This reason is that Jody views Janie as his possession to which he can use and tell
whatever he wants. He puts a lot of restriction on her even refusing to let her address the people
like the mayor’s wife, saying her place is in the home. She cannot go to the porch and join others
as they talk and gossip as he keeps her body on display behind the counter of the store. Jody tries
to impose his male dominance on Janie’s body by insulting her, but she retaliates by making him
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a spectacle. Her defiance brings her closer to liberating her sexually objectified body. She
reawakens her sexual vigor during Jody’s death as she examines herself in the mirror thinking
“Years ago, she had told her girl self to wait for her in the looking glass… The young girl was
gone, but a handsome woman had taken her place” (McMillan, Sally 82).
In harmony with Wolfenstein (59), after the death of Jody, she returns to Eatonville
where black men in the town watch her return to her house in the city. Through the narrator, we
get to see how the black people portrayed her: males gave interest to her firm buttocks; the great
rope of black hair is swinging to her waist and unraveling like a plume. More so, her breasts that
bore holes in her shirt. They, the men, were saving their mind what they lost with the eye. This
statement depicts the picture of how Janie was viewed by the black people in her community,
they consider her to be an object that is to be watched and enjoyed. She is reduced to her sexual
object for men to gaze at keenly. Her relationship with Teacake leads to her submitting herself
to the spectator-spectacle dynamic (Tyson 282). He treats her equally, but they both want to be in
control which leads to their violent and rough passionate outbursts. Janie becomes a sexual
object with the aim of controlling Tea Cake. This is best shown by her acts of jealousy towards
Nunkie that leads to her reacting violently towards Tea Cake who is captivated by Nunkie. The
violent reaction turns into a romantic passion (Worell, Judith 245). She uses her body to pull Tea
Cake back in; this portrays the power that her body wields.
In conclusion, it is correct to note that Janie’s portrayal as a sexual object leads to her
attaining liberation of her body. Her three marriages coupled up with her childhood play
important roles in shaping her into the person that she becomes at the end of the novel. She
achieves wholeness and selfhood from her experiences and attains freedom from the shackles of
the patriarchal society. Throughout the book, one thing stands out for me, and that is Janie is
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willing to use herself as a sexual object to liberate herself as a woman. She is also portrayed by
others as a sexual object notably her husbands and the town folk which was very common at the
time. She, however, overcomes all these and views her body as the receptacle of her personhood
rather than the insecurities of a man or the conventions of the society.
Works cited
Bergoffen, Debra B. (2006). “Marriage, Autonomy and The Feminine Protest” in
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Margaret A. Simons (ed.) The Philosophy of Simone De Beauvoir: Critical Essays.
Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp: 92-112
Bloom, H. (Ed.). (2009). Bloom's Guides: Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York,
N.Y : Bloom's Literary Criticism.
Boisnier, Alicia D.(2003). “Race andWomen’s Identity Development: Distinguishing
Between Feminism and Womanism Among Black and White Women.” Sex Roles, Vol.
49, Nos. 5/6, September 2003. pp: 211-18
Castaneda, Alisha P. (2010). Hues, Tresses, and Dresses: Examining the Relation of Body
Image, of Hair and Clothes to Female Identity in Their Eyes Were Watching God and I
Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Diss. The Faculty of the School of Communication,
Parkay: UMI.
Dabee, Vivi J. (2008). The Summons to Behold a Revelation: Feminnity and Foliage in
Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. Diss. Ottawa :The University of
Manitoba
Deffenbacher, Kristina (2003). "Woolf, Hurston, and the House of Self." Herspace: Women,
Writing, and Solitude. Ed. Jo Malin and Victoria Boynton. New York: Haworth, pp.10521.
McMillan, Sally (2005). "Janie's Journey: Zora Neale Hurston's Framework for an
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Alternative Quest. "Southern Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of the South 12.1-2
(2005): 79-94.
Silber, Ken (2003). "An African American Woman's Journey of Self-Discovery in Zora Neale
Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God." Women In Literature: Reading Through the
Lens of Gender. Ed. Jerilyn Fisher and Ken Silber. Westport: Greenwood, pp. 280-82.
Tyson, L. (2006). Critical Theory Today: a User- Friendly Guide. (2nd ed.). New York,
N.Y: Routledge.
Wolfenstein, V. E. (2008). How Janie Got her Groove (Back): Re Negotiating Gender,
Race, and Class in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Paper presented at the annual
meeting of the APSA 2008 Annual Meeting, Hynes Convention Center, Boston,
Massachusetts.
Worell, Judith and Pamela Remer (2003). Feminist Perspectives in Therapy: Empowering
Diverse Women. canada: JohnWiley & Sons inc.
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