Their Eyes Were Watching God

(PG 35) Two men who were sitting on their shoulder blades under a huge live oak tree almost sat upright…

As we know, trees are a motif in this book. I think the reason Hurston puts a description of a tree in this part of the book where they are discussing the town is to let us know that even though there is little life in the town there is still this huge live oak tree growing in it, which means there is a lot of potential for the town and room for the town to grow, like the tree has. This gives us an idea, or foreshadows, that Joe will have success in this town and will bring new life to it and make it grow.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

(PG 34 & 35) Arriving in Florida and finding out there is no mayor

Joe and Janie arrive in this town that really isn’t much of a town. There were random houses, solemn faces and no mayor. No mayor means no one in power, which to Joe means an opportunity to gain power. Having power during this time period made all the difference because often times power also meant money, and vise versa. I’m surprised this didn’t worry Janie at first because power and money can really change a man for the worse.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

(PG 34) Janie took a lot of looks at him and she was proud of what she saw. Kind of portly like rich white folks.

She appreciates that Joe has a dignified appearance, like many white people do. He was treating her the way she deserved to be treated and I think in these lines she feels like an upper class lady like many of the white folks. In the previous line it states that the people were going to need someone like Joe to turn the town around, which means big things for Joe and Janie.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

(PG 32) Her old thoughts were going to come in handy now, but new words would have to be made and said to fit them.

She is going to be able to learn from her past and she now knows that things have to be different and there are going to have to be some changes made to fit her new frame of mind and the new way of life she wants to live. The new words are her new rules of life and they will need to be put in place in order for her to live the life she wants to live, not just the life her Nanny was wanting her to live.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

(PG 32) From now on until death she was going to have flower dust and springtime sprinkled over everything. A bee for her bloom.

Springtime often represents youth, happiness and love. This tells us that her being with Joe is going to fill her life with happiness and love and it kind of foreshadows that this relationship is actually going to be more filled with lust, instead of the love she has been searching for. A bee for her bloom meaning she is a flower that is finally blooming (into a woman) and he is going to be her “bee” and is going to help her grow into a new person.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

(PG 32) What was she losing so much time for? A feeling of sudden newness and change came over her. Janie hurried out of the front gate and turned south. Even if Joe was not there waiting for her, the change was bound to do her good.

Previous to these lines Logan and Janie had been fighting and Logan was telling her that her and her feelings were bad and useless. What was she losing so much time for? This line plays into her realization of the fact that she finally felt something for someone (Joe) but because her grandmother told her she needed to be with Logan she felt obligated to stay with him no matter how he treated her. Here she is realizing that it is her life and she doesn’t need to stay with Logan to please her grandmother anymore, not only because she is dead, but also because she is realizing that staying with someone even if you don’t love him or her, isn’t the way it should be. She is starting to develop her own thoughts and opinions, which contradict many of the things Nanny had been teaching her.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

(PG 29) He spoke for change and chance…The memory of Nanny was still powerful and strong.

Joe’s and Nanny’s beliefs are contradicting which makes Janie a little hesitant. Nanny always talked about stability and the fact that you can’t change anything or leave anything to chance which is why she set Janie up with Logan she was left to chance of getting a stuck with a poor husband. However as we can see Joe believes quite the opposite. Since Janie loves and admires her grandmother, even though she may not agree with her opinions, it seems as though it is still important to her to hold Nanny’s values true to herself.