The Character of Jane Crawford in Their Eyes Were Watching God

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Louisa Bensmann Instructor: Dr. Shirley Toland-Dix African American Literture 11.11.2011 1. Introduction: Janie Crawford is a questing character whose characteristics differ from what is expected of a typical black woman during that time period. She is not satisfied with what her grandmother provides for her, namely, a respected man of status as her husband who owns land and consequently is able to ensure a good life for her. She longs for something else in life, which means, real love and a fulfilled life according to her own ideas. However, until she reaches her ideal of life she has to go through a lot of difficulties presented by her first husband Logan Killicks and her second husband Jody Starks. During this part of her life, on the one hand, she becomes aware of the way a lot of men look at women and of how those men expect women to be so that she gains some kind of double consciousness when looking at her self. Nevertheless, during here marriage with Tea Cake, she also learns that there are men who accept women the way they are. Through her relationships she ultimately finds herself and peace in life. Although she looses Tea Cake at the end of the novel, Janie is finally satisfied since she has achieved the fulfilment she sought. She has also matured and regards herself able to face the next part of her life. Janie grows up sheltered by her grandmother and not knowing about the difficulties a woman and at the same time a black one often has to face. Her grandmother who has experienced all those things herself, since she grew up in slavery, tries hard to keep any kind of harassment and exploitation from her. Janie dreams of real love, something she expects to find in marriage one day. When lying under the pear tree in her grandmother’s garden, she thinks about men and women finding one another. Contemplating the blossoming peer

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