Janie- Song- Jenna

I picked the song I won’t give Up by Jason Mraz to explain Janie throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God. I chose this song because it is a song based off of love. It starts by saying loving someone needs strong determination and commitment. Without determination and commitment, it is impossible the love can last long or forever. Loving and living with someone who is different than yourself comes with obstacles. Janie runs into trouble with her grandma, Nanny. Nanny wants to force her into a marriage that she knows won’t be right. In order to deal with problems dealing with differences, strong determination and commitment are needed for loving the person.

           

            Janie’s old grandmother has Janie targeting for men of all ages. She experiences three different marriages, all of which teach her about different aspects of love and she never gives up. Janie doesn’t care about being the first wife in her family, but she is caring about finding true love. Nanny is forced into a marriage with an older man she cannot love. Janie learns that marriage does not necessarily include love and puts the future into her hands.

           

            Janie gives herself to Joe Starks, a man she believes she loves. Joe makes her be quiet, not associate herself with locals, hide her long beautiful hair, and rules her. Joe keeps her all to himself and isolated from others. Joe becomes sick and she is not able to keep herself resting. She does everything in honor of him but feels she won freedom at his death.

           

            Janie meets another guy named Tea Cake. He is much younger than her and he does not seem worthy at first. He wins Janie’s heart by showing his fun-loving and characteristics that her past husbands did not have. She is able to enjoy being with those around her and be social in this small poor rural area. They have a strong marriage because of their communication with each other; they talk out their troubles and talk about their love for eachother.

            There were so many times where Janie could have given up but she kept herself positive and looking around for others. She had her mind set on what she wanted and was not trying to settle for anything less. Janie really values herself and ends up happy with her freedom.