Characters
This character listens to Janie's story about her journey to find love and her true self.
"She was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree soaking in the alto chant of the visiting bees, the gold of the sun and the panting breath of the breeze when the inaudible voice of it all came to her. She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight. So this was a marriage!"
The narrator describing Janie's spiritual and physical awakening to love, romance, and sensuality. She sees effortless, natural love reflected in the bees pollinating the flowers and this image guides her ideals for what she seeks in a romantic relationship. This passage also highlights Janie's longing for a sense enlightenment and oneness with the world.
The Everglades; the Muck
This natural object symbolizes Janie's idealized vision of love.
The pear tree in bloom.
Who wrote the book? Give her full name.
Zora Neale Hurston
This character desecrated Janie's image of the pear tree and put her to the plow.
Logan Killicks
"You got de keys to de Kingdom."
Teacake to Janie trying to express to her how much he loved her and would do anything for her
What color does Janie return to Eatonville wearing in chapter 1? She's also shown wearing this color a number of other times over the course of the novel.
Blue
This represents Janie's freedom and self-expression following the death of Joe.
Burning all of her head rags; letting her show freely
Who are "dem meatskins?"
The losers of Eatonville who just sit around and run their mouths and gossip and don't really do real living, according to Janie.
He didn't marry his wife for speech making - he married her for her looks.
Joe Starks
"Put me down easy, Janie, Ah'm a cracked plate."
Nanny to Janie explaining how much she has suffered in life. It serves as a sort of closing argument for why Janie should acquiesce to Nanny's plan for her to marry Logan.
Tea Cake teaches Janie how to do this, symbolizing their playful and egalitarian relationship.
Fish. Play checkers. Shoot guns/hunt.
Joe represents this to Janie, but he doesn't represent blossoming and spring time.
The horizon
What are three of the peculiar and folksy names of minor characters?
Stew Beef, Motor Boat, Who Flung, Double Ugly, Bootyny, Sop-de-Bottom, Nunkie
He wears the sun for a shawl and is a glance from God.
Tea Cake
"She knew now that marriage did not make love. Janie’s first dream was dead, so she became a woman."
Narrator about the realization Janie had about love and marriage (after she left Logan) which marks an important step in her maturation and journey toward self-determination and freedom.
Where do Janie and Teacake go for their first, public date?
A picnic
This symbolizes powers beyond Janie's control, and also perhaps the unpredictability of life and destruction/suffering.
The hurricane
Explain what this means: "He's kissin' yo' foot and 'tain't in uh man tuh kiss foot long."
Nanny is basically saying that men will sweet talk and worship a woman early in a relationship, but eventually that passion will fade and men will eventually show less respect and take women for granted (or take advantage of women)
This character was swindled by a young hustler named Who Flung who tricked her into loving and running off with him only to rob and steal everything from her.
Annie Tyler (Janie thought she was going to be an Annie Tyler while Tea Cake was gone with her $200)
“She never thought of making a speech, and didn't know if she cared to make one at all. It must have been the way Joe spoke out without giving her a chance that took the bloom off things."
Narrator showing Janie's feeling of defeat and submission when Joe refuses to allow her to give a speech at the lamp lighting ceremony. Taking "the bloom off things" refers to Janie's metaphorical understanding of love under the pear tree and how she and Joe's love doesn't reflect that ideal.
This event seemed to set Janie's course in life in motion.
Kissing Johnny Taylor at Nanny's gate
In Eatonville, this object becomes an extension of Joe's pride and smug power.
The lamplight
Explain what this means: "Ah been a delegate to do big 'ssociation of life. Yessuh! De Grand Lodge, de big convention of livin' is just where Ah been...."
Janie is describing her life in metaphorical terms as a "delegate" to a "big 'ssociation of life." She frames her experiences as a representative participating in a grand, universal gathering—what she calls "the Grand Lodge" and "the big convention of livin'." It elevates the significance of all she's been through.