1. Janiece Pearce May, 11 th, 2011 4 TH Period

2.  “Their Eyes Were Watching God” is a 1937 novel by Zora Neale Hurston.  This Was Set in central and southern Florida in the early 20 th century, the novel gave much attention to African American Literature.

3.  Zora Neale Hurston was born January 7 th, 1891 and died January 28 th, 1960.  Zora was an author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance.  Four novels and more than 50 published short stories, plays, and essays, she is best known for her 1937 novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”

4.  Janie Crawford was an African American woman in her early 40’s and she tells her life and journey. Her life had 3 major periods corresponding to her marriages to three very different men.

5.  Janie had an grandmother named Nanny.  Nanny was a slave who became pregnant by her owner and gave birth to a daughter names Leafy.  Leafy was raised to have a good life but she was raped by her school teacher and became pregnant with Janie.

6.  Janie was left a banded by her drinking mother. Nanny began taking care of her.  Once Janie was 16 she gain interest in boys and was caught kissing the neighborhood boy, Johnny Taylor.  Nanny, who fears she will become a “mule” to men, decides to make Janie marry Logan Killicks.

7.  Logan Killicks is an older man and farmer that’s looking for a wife to keep his home and help on the farm.  Janie had no idea that marriage involved love. Logan Killicks wants a domestic helper rather than a lover or partner, and after he tries to force her to help him with the hard labor of the farm, Janie runs off with the glib Jody (Joe) Starks who takes her to Eatonville.

8.  Joe Starks was a nice man. He arranged to buy more land from the neighboring landowner, hires some local residents to build a general store for him to own and run, and the people of the town wanted him to be mayor.

9.  Janie seen that Starks only wanted her to be the “perfect wife” to reinforce his powerful position in town, as he ask her to run the store but forbids her from participating in the substantial social life that occurs on the store's front porch

10.  After Starks death. Janie falls in love with drifter and gambler named Vergible Woods. Woods goes by the name Tea-Cake. She falls for him shortly after he plays the guitar for her.  The get married in Jacksonville and moved to the everglades region soon after tea-cake found work.  Their relationship had their up’s and downs including jealousy, but Janie was in marriage with the love she wanted.

11.  While and hurricane strikes, Janie is drowning and while saving her Tea-Cake is bitten by an rabid dog. He catches the disease and tries to shoot Janie but Janie in self defense shoots in first.  Janie is charged with murder and tea- cake friends wasn’t their to support her but the local white woman were.

12.  Janie gave Tea-Cake an funeral and after the funeral she moved back to Eatonville to only find that the residents were only gossiping about her while she was away.