Two husbands, two disappointments,
two heartbreaks, yet a whole Janie emerged from the rubble. Throughout the
novel Janie embarks on a journey to find her true love and the source of
happiness. However along the way she found herself, and what could make her
happy. Her past was the source of her motivation to continue onward and find
her own happiness within herself, “here was peace” (Hurston 184).
Janie was married off young, and she
never fully knew what she wanted or what would make her happy, but after she
was under the control of two men and learned who she is, she than decided to do
whatever she could to make her life truly blissful “She would have the rest of
her life to do as she pleased” (Hurston 89). Before Jody’s death, Janie had
been through the ringer of her husband’s insults and belittlement. She had
enough. The day Jody had finally passed Janie let out a breath of relief, she
finally felt the release of her controlling husbands’ grip. Although his death
was tragic Janie was free and she finally felt it. After each situation in
which Janie was obligated to side with her husband’s thoughts and actions, she
had finally discovered her own voice. She stood up and spoke her mind, allowing
her voice to be heard so that everyone would know she found herself. The Janie
that was first depicted in the story sounded shy and timid, but after the death
of Jody and the new discovery of Tea Cakes Janie blossomed into a strong women.
The source of her motivation came from the loss of her old self, and the disappearance
of her old dreams. Janie was reborn, and she finally found the source of her
happiness. Herself. "'So Ah'm back home agin and Ah'm satisfied tuh be
heah” (Hurston 182)
The song Superman (It’s not easy), relates to Janie and her
path of discovery. The artist talks about how he is more than just a “pretty
face beside a train”, and being stronger than what he is made out to be. Janie
was looked at as being just a wife, and just a woman, yet on her own she
discovered she is way more. In a sense she is like superman.
I agree with your point of Janie being reborn. Most of her life, the entirety of her being was suppressed by someone else. I think she ultimately realizes this when she feels relief after her husband dies. Although she faces much tragedy, she finally feels free of the restraints which have held her back for so many years.
ReplyDeleteI like that you pointed out the struggle Janie had been through before she finally blossomed into the person that she is right now. Janie definitely evolved as the story went along. Even though in the beginning of the novel she was somewhat confident, she evolves into an even more confident person at the end of the novel.
ReplyDeleteI like how you said that Janie "emerged from the rubble" after her two first failed marriages. As those marriages came crumbling down on top of her, both times she managed to get up, wipe the dust off her skirt, and keep on going with her life until she found the right man, Tea Cake. I couldn't agree more that Tea Cake had made Janie a strong woman.
ReplyDeleteI like your way of saying Janie had "two husbands, two disappointments and two heartbreaks". Janie's journey really showed her strength with having been through quite a bit throughout the novel, with dealing with her Nanny's death, and being with two awful husbands. When she finally meets Tea Cake, she feels happy for once and feels that she has found her true love.
ReplyDelete