In chapters eighteen through
twenty, the climax of Janie’s story occurs. Finally, when she has everything
that she wants, the hands of God take it all away from her. When reading, I felt
most frustrated by Tea Cake and Janie’s refusal to leave the muck despite
watching other people and animals seek safety for many days. To the reader, it
seems obvious that Janie and Tea Cake should leave. Then, when a rabid dog
bites Tea Cake, the fate of the storm and the couple’s decision not to escape
is sealed.
Although it’s an emotional and violent
scene, my favorite part of the chapters was the final fight between Janie and
Tea Cake when she is forced to shoot him. Hurston’s description maps out every second
of the event so that Janie’s feelings are palpable even to the reader. Then, in
the aftermath, Janie must come to terms with the ending of her dream and learn
to appreciate life without having Tea Cake by her side. I believe that because
of her conversation with Phoeby she is finally able to have closure with Tea
Cake; Janie decides that despite their premature end, she lived for herself and
“pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net” (193). Janie ends her
story-telling with words that she preaches to Phoeby, but I believe she is
truly saying them to herself: “Two things everybody’s got tuh do fuh
theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin’ fuh
theyselves” (192). These final words struck me because they connect not only to
the title, “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” but they also remain true to Janie’s
beliefs and the themes of the novel.
Although I wish that Janie didn’t
have to go through losing Tea Cake, Hurston ties up her most prevalent themes
with his death. Not only does Janie get to live her pear blossom dream, but she
moves on knowing the love lasted until Tea Cake’s dying moment. The words
spoken between the couple during Tea Cake’s last bit of sanity reveal to Janie
once again that their love is unique to all others’ in the world. Knowing this,
she puts Tea Cake to rest and begins her next dream, just as she has done before.
