Unpredictability of Life

In recounting Janie’s experiences past her first marriage to Logan Killicks, Hurston incorporates a recurring theme of the unpredictability of life that is utterly unique to the novel’s previous events (more specifically - the concepts of death and ‘moving on’, so to speak). The theme consistently encompasses Janie’s love experience so much to the point of contrasting with her previous state of naivety found in her earlier years. This Hamlet-reminiscent concept even offers us a vague reminder of Shakespeare’s Ophelia.

Following the passing of Nanny (a figure whom has stood as an adept mentor who is no stranger to life’s most gruesome experiences), it seems as if significant individuals in Janie’s life follow suit. After Janie renews her acquaintance with love itself in Joe ‘Jody’ Starks (who genuinely serves as an archetype of a stereotypical politician), she experiences a newfound hope for a better future that is, unfortunately, once again yanked from her grasp when she discerns that he is oblivious to his own controlling nature. In doing so, Hurston in a sense integrates some dramatic irony in which neither Janie nor Jody are cognizant of their situation. Hurston makes this apparent on page 71, stating. “Time came when she fought back with her tongue as best as she could, but it didn’t do her any good. It just made Joe do more. He wanted her submission and he’d keep on fighting until he felt he had it.” (Hurston 71). It is on this very same page that Hurston truly exposes the fading (once again - ‘moving on’!) nature of her second love through the means of a metaphor, writing, “The bed was no longer a daisy-field for her and Joe to play in. It was a place where she went and laid down when she was sleepy and tired.” (Hurston 71).

The concept of life’s unpredictability is an omniscient truth that can be portrayed in a multitude of ways, for each human being interprets feelings of shock in their own unique way. Pictured below is a quote from Pixar’s 2007 film Ratatouille that highlights this particular paradox.