Skip to main content

What was Janie Crawford's effect on others in Their Eyes Were Watching God?

Janie Crawford drives women crazy with envy and men crazy with lust. Chapter one shows Janie walking through Eatonville to get to her house, and the way the townspeople respond to her proves the effect she has on most everyone with whom she comes in contact. First, the men notice her aesthetically attractive and tempting physical features along with her long flowing hair and the following:


"They, the men, were saving with the mind what they lost...

Janie Crawford drives women crazy with envy and men crazy with lust. Chapter one shows Janie walking through Eatonville to get to her house, and the way the townspeople respond to her proves the effect she has on most everyone with whom she comes in contact. First, the men notice her aesthetically attractive and tempting physical features along with her long flowing hair and the following:



"They, the men, were saving with the mind what they lost with the eye" (2).



This means that what they saw walking before them was saved in their brains for later and clearly proves that they were smitten with lust. The women, on the other hand, don't have much good to say about Janie generally, but they are even more judgmental when she doesn't stop to talk with them about where she has been for a year and a half. The women are described as follows:



"The women took the faded shirt and muddy overalls and laid them away for remembrance. It was a weapon against her strength and it turned out of no significance, still it was a hope that she might fall to their level some day" (2).



Janie used to wear the finest dresses when they knew her as Mrs. Starks; but after leaving Joe for Tea Cake, they are surprised to see her in overalls, dirty, and her hair flowing down her back. To these women's remembrance, Joe Starks had forced Janie to wear a wrap around her head in the store because of the effect she had on him and customers like Walter:



"And one night he had caught Walter standing behind Janie and brushing the back of his hand back and forth across the loose end of her braid ever so lightly so as to enjoy the feel of it without Janie knowing what he was doing. . . He felt like rushing forth with the meat knife and chopping off the offending hand" (55).  



Here we see that Janie affects Walter to the point of him not being able to resist touching a married woman's hair. Then, she affects her husband to the point that he covets her, feels he owns her, and is even tempted to kill in order to maintain control over her as well as the men who look upon her.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What are some external and internal conflicts that Montag has in Fahrenheit 451?

 Montag, the protagonist of Fahrenheit 451, faces both external and internal conflicts throughout the novel. Some examples of these conflicts are: External Conflicts: Conflict with the society: Montag lives in a society that prohibits books and critical thinking. He faces opposition from the government and the people who enforce this law. Montag struggles to come to terms with the fact that his society is based on censorship and control. Conflict with his wife: Montag's wife, Mildred, is completely absorbed in the shallow and meaningless entertainment provided by the government. Montag's growing dissatisfaction with his marriage adds to his external conflict. Conflict with the fire captain: Montag's superior, Captain Beatty, is the personification of the oppressive regime that Montag is fighting against. Montag's struggle against Beatty represents his external conflict with the government. Internal Conflicts: Conflict with his own beliefs: Montag, at the beginning of th...

In A People's History of the United States, why does Howard Zinn feel that Wilson made a flimsy argument for entering World War I?

"War is the health of the state," the radical writer Randolph Bourne said, in the midst of the First World War. Indeed, as the nations of Europe went to war in 1914, the governments flourished, patriotism bloomed, class struggle was stilled, and young men died in frightful numbers on the battlefields-often for a hundred yards of land, a line of trenches. -- Chapter 14, Page 350, A People's History of the United States Howard Zinn outlines his arguments for why World War I was fought in the opening paragraph of Chapter 14 (referenced above). The nationalism that was created by the Great War benefited the elite political and financial leadership of the various countries involved. Socialism, which was gaining momentum in Europe, as was class struggle, took a backseat to mobilizing for war. Zinn believes that World War I was fought for the gain of the industrial capitalists of Europe in a competition for capital and resources. He states that humanity itself was punished by t...

Where did Atticus take the light and extension cord in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Atticus brings the light to the courthouse jail so that he can protect Tom Robinson.  Atticus learns that Tom Robinson, his client, is in danger.  A group of white men want to prevent the trial and lynch Robinson. He is warned by a small group of men that appear at his house.  He refuses to back down.  Atticus knows that the Cunninghams will target his client, so he plans to sit up all night with... Atticus brings the light to the courthouse jail so that he can protect Tom Robinson.  Atticus learns that Tom Robinson, his client, is in danger.  A group of white men want to prevent the trial and lynch Robinson. He is warned by a small group of men that appear at his house.  He refuses to back down.  Atticus knows that the Cunninghams will target his client, so he plans to sit up all night with Jim if that’s what it takes to protect him.  Atticus tells the men that he will make sure his client gets his fair shake at the law.  “Link, that boy might go to the chair, but he’s not going till ...