Close Reading - Nanny

As life continues for Janie her idea of love proceeds to change. After the episode with Johnny Taylor, Janie is physically and mentally abused by her grandmother. Janie's grandmother, Nanny, wants Janie to be with a man like Logan Killicks who can offer her land and protection. A man who will treat Janie correctly in which she will not have to conform to the tiresome and degrading ways of the black woman. Janie thinks about her life with Logan, "The vision of Logan Killicks was desecrating the pear tree" (14.) Afterwards Nanny explains her distress towards Janie due to her love and care for her granddaughter. Nanny does not want to see Janie become like all of the other black women, "de mule uh de world" (14). During this moment Nanny sprinkles Janie's "pear tree" with "water". The water symbolizes the knowledge and opinions that Nanny wishes to seep into the roots of Janie.The reason for Nanny's inspirational "watering" is to help Janie to prosper and grow. She does not want her granddaughter to become like the black women of the world, including Janie's mother. Nanny's intentions are loving but ultimately paves the way for Janie's idea of love in a negative light by deciding who she has to marry. In this close reading of Nanny we the strict and powerful side of her but also the great amount of love she has for her granddaughter. She is looking out for her granddaughter just in a more strict and demanding way. Nanny attempts to give Janie as much life advice as she can before she passes away. For Nanny, this is an act of love from her to Janie. -Taylor

Movie Comparison - Nanny

In the movie Zelly and Me, a young orphan girl moves in with her strict grandmother where she is prevented to live the life she chooses to live. Her grandmother is quite strict and powerful, because she does not want her granddaughter to end up like her mother; much like Nanny with Janie. The relation between the film, Zelly and Me, and the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, are the two grandmothers’ approach to raising their granddaughters. In both the film and book we find that both grandmothers have the upper hand in how their granddaughters will act. The grandmothers love their granddaughters so much that they do not want to see them hurt. For this reason the grandmothers take a strict and powerful approach due to the past of their daughters essentially reoccurring through their daughters who are now orphans. They do not want to see their daughters making the same mistake as their mothers did. -Taylor

Sinner, Saint, or Merely Mortal?

In the article "Janie's Tea cake: Sinner, Saint, or Merely Mortal?" by Yvonne Ashmawi she makes two claims of how the reader of "their eyes were watching god" could take a stance on Tea Cake. One stance is that he was a Saint if this was a quest novel and in the end Jaine found what she was looking for. On the other hand Tea cake can be taken as a sinner, mostly because he lives a irresponsible lifestyle, he lives on the muck and he hits Jaine. Depending on how the reader want to perceive the book will change there view on Tea cake.

Photograph - Tree

Although this is not a pear tree, it represents the two different images that Janie and Nanny essentially want Janie's pear tree to look like. Janie wants her pear tree to be bright, full of life, and love with a feeling of a particular freedom. Nanny wants Janie to experience things the way "they ought to be." Nanny believes in choosing the man for Janie to be married to, so she does not screw anything up like her mother did. Nanny sees Janie's life as black and white. No life of color or true happiness, so not only does Janie not screw anything up but so she also does not get hurt. Nanny's intentions can be caring and kind, but she also comes across as controlling and full of power. The two see Janie's pear tree to be quite different and both are determined to have it their way. -Taylor

Scholarly Article - Nanny

The scholarly article I examined was the story Janie told of the mule. Janie tells Phoeby about the day a mule was ridden by a man all the way from West Florida to Eatonville. Janie instantly takes a liking to the poor animal that the men bait, mock, and mistreat. Janie immediately speaks up, "They oughta be shamed uh theyselves! Teasin' dat poor brute beast lak they is! Done been worked tuh death; done had his dispostition ruint wid mistreatment, and now they got tuh finish devilin' 'im tuh death" (Hurston, 56). The mule is treated by the men just as the African American women are. The men see the mule as useless, but Janie can see the similarities in herself with the mule and that is why she stands up for the animal. In Julie Haurykiewicz's article "From mules to muliebrity: speech and silence in Their Eyes Were Watching God", she discusses the symbolism Hurston uses to represent the mule as Janie and the rest of African American women. In the beginning of the novel Nanny calls the African American women "de mule uh de world" (14). Haurykiewicz says, "Nanny's sermon, through its connection between mules and silenced females, raises the question of whether the black woman can ever speak, can ever give voice to her ideas and emotions in a meaningful way." In Janie's relationship with Joe this is all true. He never allows Janie to speak let alone express her thoughts and ideas in a purposeful way due to being unequally treated. The scholarly article matches well with the symbolism of the mule and how it represents the African American woman during this era. The article continues to go in depth with the role of the African American woman continuing to represent “de mule uh de world.” -Taylor

Janie's Patience for Logan

This is a representation of the patients Janie had with Logan waiting for marriage to help her find love. As the seasons pass by, she notices not change in her status and starts thinking for herself. She noticed marriage does not make love so Nanny was wrong about what she was doing. Her dream of finding her first love was not coming true.

Picture Representing Logan and Janie's Marriage

This picture is a representation of the relationship Logan and Janie had after being married. Logan stopped pampering her as days passed and started to order her around. She was becoming more of a servant than wife. Janie does rebel against Logan’s demands by verbally attacking him. She refuses to do his work and that is what this picture is representing. Logan is the cowboy and Janie is the mule. The mule refuses to move while the cowboy forces her to get up.