Their Eyes Were Watching God – Use of
Foreshadowing
by Katelyn Hatter
In this story the use of
foreshadowing is a key element in this book. Locating and understanding those
moments helps give us a better understanding of the story and gives us an
insight into who the main character is. These couple of examples here not only
takes us deeper into the character but also shows how the situation affected
her.
In the
beginning of the story we find that Janie grew up with her grandmother and as
she tells her story we come to see how hard she is on Janie. After she stumbles
back into the house after her little kiss with Johnny Taylor her grandmother
comes down on her pretty hard about it while Janie had thought nothing of it.
We see how hard Nanny shoots the situation down and her words hurt Janie.
“Nanny’s words made Janie’s kiss across the gatepost seem like a manure pile
after the rain.” (13) It hurts Janie and as soon as Nanny begins to talk about
her getting married she becomes terrified. She’s clearly not ready for that but
she’s forced into her first marriage anyway, to someone she doesn’t even love.
So here we see why her rebellious and independent spirit came to be and how it
came to define Janie. Here in her early years she was forced and pushed into a
marriage she didn’t want to be forced into and it formed her into who she
becomes later and it played throughout the entire story.
Her first
marriage was to Logan Killicks who really, at first, gave her what she needed,
but not even a year into their marriage we find him saying to her, “If Ah kin
haul de wood heah and chop it fuh yah, look lak you oughta be able tuh tote it
inside. Mah fust wife never bothered me ‘bout choppin’ no wood nohow. She’d
grab dat ax and sling chips lak uh man. You done been spoilt rotten.” To that
she replied, “Ah’m just as stiff as you is stout. If you can stand not to chop
and tote wood Ah reckon you can stand not to git no dinner...” (26) She asserts
herself there and a couple sentences later we see he mentions himself and her
grandmother spoiling her and that he’s got to keep up with it now that it’s
been started. Despite his “putting up” with Janie he still thinks she should be
doing more outside of the house and is constantly telling her what to do and we
later see that that also happens with her second husband Joe. She left Logan
With Joe he never listened to her
and was constantly putting her where HE though she should be never taking her
opinions or needs to consideration. He treated her like some trophy to set
beside him for no one to touch or drool over but him as we see on pg. 55, “She
was there in the store for him to look at, not those others.” After Joe passed
we see that she feels free; free of the verbal abuse she endured and free from
being under his thumb. So we see how similar both Logan and Joe are in their
treatment of Janie, to use.
Not long
after Joe passes she happens to meet this man, Tea Cake, who as we see find
treats her like an independent person. He proceeds to teach her how to play
checkers, which was something Joe didn’t do or think was appropriate, and
treats her just like she’s wanted to be treated. He makes her feel like she
matters and truly loves her for who she is. We thought that after Joe died she
wouldn’t get married again but all her life she’d been looking for love for
someone to treat her like she matters and that’s exactly how Tea Cake treats
her and it’s no surprise that they decide to marry and she leaves Eatonville to
go live with him. I think the fact that when she meets him, “She was in favor
of the story that was making him laugh before she even heard it.” (94) we see
the quick connection they have and it foreshadows their relationship that
eventually develops.
After her
and Tea Cake had lived at the muck for almost two years there were signs that
started showing of a hurricane coming their way. One day Janie happened to see
these groups of Indians passing by and after a couple groups went by she
finally went to ask where they were going and one replied, “Going to high
ground. Saw-grass bloom. Hurricane coming.” (154) Even though everyone was
talking about it no one seemed worried. Later, however, rabbits and snakes and
other tiny creature were seen heading east. Janie even heard the snort of a
deer and even a panther. All the animals were heading east. A few people took
off to Palm Beach
We find
later as a result of the hurricane and their journey in it Tea Cake was bitten
by a dog that we later find was rabid. Soon he takes ill and can’t eat or drink
and soon Janie begins to fear for her safety as he gets worse. “Tea Cake was
gone. Something else was looking out of his face.” We see how this leads to
their “drawing” of the guns. He threatened her and the clicks she rigged in his
gun when she had first discovered it under his pillow warned her of his intent.
She instinctively grabbed the other gun in the house and was only intending to
scare him but, “the second click told her that Tea Cake’s suffering brain was
urging him to kill” When she heard the final click and saw the look in his eyes
she shot. His bullet barely missed her but hers killed him. She was devastated
with the outcome and truly mourned his death. So we see throughout this book
how effective the use of foreshadowing can be and how well the situations
define the character. So many things in her life shaped Janie: her Nanny, Tea
Cake, Joe, and even the hurricane. Each event greatly defines Janie’s character
and helps us understand her better.