Janie and Nanny

In the first few chapters of "Their Eyes Were Watching God", we meet two central characters of the story, Janie and Nanny. These two characters have complex characterizations.

 We see that Nanny has a very caring and loving attitude towards Janie. When Nanny tells Janie she wants her to marry off to a man named Logan Killicks, it’s because she wants her to have “protection” (Hurston, 15). Nanny says she won’t be around for Janie much longer and so she wants her to get married so she has someone to take care of her. During the time period in which this story takes place (the early 1900s), it was common for women to marry off young and start a family. Most of the time, this was for financial reasons. This shows Nanny’s caring and loving attitude because it proves that she just wants the best for Janie and wants to ensure she is taken care of before she can no longer be around, as she says “De day and de hour is hid from me, but it won’t be long” (Hurston, 15). Nanny likely has an intense desire for Janie’s welfare because of the fact that Janie’s parents were never around and so she has never experienced her childhood in a normal family structure.

This show of love conflicts with Janie’s attitude because she is very independent and confident. Janie doesn’t seem to mind being on her own and she shows this independence throughout the first few chapters in the book. Janie also does not care to stay within the expectations of her Nanny. When Nanny tells Janie that she wants her to marry Logan Killicks, Janie complains that she does not want to marry Killicks and she wants to be with Johnny Taylor. She says to Nanny, “Please don’t make me marry Mr. Killicks.” (Hurston, 15). This shows that Janie does not want to stay within the conformity of society, where it was common to have your elders pick your spouse for you.