1. Their eyes were watching god
Chapters 10-20

2. Chapter 11
Tea Cake does not come back to visit Janie for a week after their first encounter, in that time she had decided not to pursue his interest, and to treat him poorly. But when he shows up playing an air guitar, she laughs.
They play checkers and talk all night long, and they go fishing after midnight. They stay awake all night together
The next day Tea Cake comes back for dinner and they eat fish and bread. Janie falls asleep in Tea Cake’s lap and wakes to find him brushing her hair
Janie tells him that she loves him as a friend but not a lover because of their age and other differences. Tea Cake is crushed, so he leaves telling her he will come back to tell her his feelings in the morning.
Two day later Tea Cake comes back early in the morning and wakes up Janie at her home. He tells her that even during the day he still loves her. He now has a big old car and wants to take her on a date in town to the picnic.

3. Chapter 12
Tea Cake and Janie become the center of the town rumors. The town does not like them together, thinking that Tea Cake isn’t good enough for Janie
Sam convinces Pheoby to go talk to Janie about it
Pheoby tells Janie that everyone is unhappy about their relationship, but Janie says she doesn’t care and that Tea Cake is helping her explore the world
Janie says that they are planning to leave Eatonville and get married
Pheoby worries Tea Cake is just after her money, but Janie is already in love with him

4. Chapter 13
Janie leaves Eatonville and goes to join Tea Cake in Jacksonville, where he has been living for two weeks already. She does not tell him about the $200 she has hidden in her pocket.
They get married as soon as Janie steps off of the train, and begin living together
A few days after they’re married Tea Cake goes out to get some fish, but when Janie finds her $200 gone and Tea Cake missing for 24 hours, she fears the worst
Tea Cake comes home after spending the night drinking, gambling and partying with only $12 of her $200 left
Tea Cake promises to pay her back, and tells her that he is a good gambler so he will win her money and return it to her
That Saturday Tea Cake goes off to gamble and stays out all night, coming home near daybreak badly hurt. He won her money back, but it had come at a cost
Janie tells him about her $1200 in the bank, but Tea Cake says that she will never have to touch it and that they will go to the Everglades to get work in the fields

5. Chapter 14
Janie and Tea Cake go to the Everglades, and Tea Cake gets everything set out for him to work in the fields picking beans
When the bean season starts, Tea Cake gets his own small place to stay at night which becomes the center of the party for the other workers, but he misses Janie and asks her to come work in the fields with him. Janie agrees, and they both begin working together
Janie and Tea Cake are incredibly happy, and Janie laughs to herself thinking about what the people in Eatonville would say to her if they saw her working in the fields in overalls, covered in muck.
Janie and Tea Cake live a good life, in their spare time Tea Cake even teaches Janie how to shoot a gun and they go hunting together often.

6. Chapter 15
Janie starts to get jealous of Tea Cake and a chubby girl named Nunkie, who always seems to be hanging around Tea Cake
One day in the fields Tea Cake and Nunkie disappear, Janie runs off to find them play wrestling in a cane field. Tea Cake explains that Nunkie stole his work tickets, and Nunkie flees.
At home that night Janie is so angry with Tea Cake that she tries to slap him. He catches her wrist, and instead of fighting their anger turns into passion

7. Chapter 16
The bean season ends, but Janie and Tea Cake decide to stick around for another year.
In the off season Janie socializes more with the women around the area, mostly Mrs. Turner, who hates black people and thinks they should “whiten up the race” because of how lazy they are (even though she is black herself)
Tea Cake does not like Mrs. Turner and plans to tell her husband to keep her wawy from Janie, but when he finds Mr. Turner, he sees that the man is depressed because of the losses of all of their children but one.
Janie tries to act coldly to Mrs. Turner, but she doesn’t get the hint and keeps coming around because of Janie’s white characteristics, and her “high class” past
The summer ends, and they all go back to work

8. Chapter 17
The bean picking season begins and some new workers arrive. Mrs. Turner’s brother appears, making Tea Cake feel threatened, so he beats Janie to show his control and power. He then pampers her afterwards, giving her gifts and love. Everyone is jealous of how awesome their marriage seems to be.
On one Friday, after getting paid a couple men get drunk and cause a ruckus in Mrs. Turner’s restaurant. A fight breaks out, Tea Cake being right in the middle of it. Mrs. Turner gets injured and her restaurant is trashed.

9. Chapter 18
People start heading north because there is word of an incoming hurricane. Janie and Tea Cake decide to stay behind, and not seek higher ground.
The men who decided to stay have a party at Tea Cake’s house, but when the storm gets bad, most of the men go home. Only Motor Boat remains there
The storm continues to get worse, and the lake near their home starts to get very close to them, the 3 decide to head to higher ground
They find an abandoned house on a hill and sleep there. When they wake to find the water rising still Janie and Tea Cake move on, but Motor Boat stays behind
They get caught in the water, and Janie gets pulled into the rough current, she is saved by grabbing onto a cow, but not before a rabid dog on top of the cowbites Tea Cake

10. Chapter 19
After the hurricane is over death is all around Palm Beach. Tea Cake is forced to work to help bury the dead.
Because of the work and the racism in this town, they decide to go home to the Everglades
About 4 weeks after they return home, Tea Cake comes home from work sick with a headache
He is unable to eat or drink water, and Janie sends for a doctor
The doctor tells Janie the dog had rabies, and there is nothing to do for Tea Cake, but he orders medicine anyways. During this time Tea Cake continues to get worse and worse
Tea Cake is driven crazy by the disease, and one day Janie comes home to find him with the pistol in his hands, accusing her of treating him wrong. He tries to shoot her but misses, so she picks up the rifle to scare him, but is forced to shoot him when he continues to try and kill her
She is put on trial the same day as Tea Cake dies, everyone is against Janie, thinking that she killed her husband in cold blood. But her testimony wins over the crowd as she tells everyone their love story and she is found innocent.
Janie then gives Tea Cake a royal funeral, burying him herself, not bothering to change out of her overalls.

11. Chapter 20
Tea Cake’s old friends decide to treat Janie better, and they run Mrs. Turner’s brother out of town because of how much Tea Cake had hated him
Janie then decides that it is too painful to be in the Everglades without Tea Cake and she returns home to Eatonville with only a package of seeds that she plans to plant in remembrance of Tea Cake
The flashback finishes, bringing Janie back to the present with Pheoby.
She tells Pheoby that she is content to be living in Eatonville, her dreams have been fulfilled; she “has been to the horizon and back”
She doesn’t care about the town gossip because she knows that she is the only one who understands true love, and she is the only one who has truly lived.
That night she thinks of Tea Cake while lying awake in bed. She is depressed, but then she remembers that happiness he brought to her, and all of the things that he taught her, and she feels happy and at peace, knowing that she was able to live out her dreams.

12. Gender Roles Gender Roles have finally completely change
Tea and Janie are partners in their relationship, BUT Tea Cake still beats Janie and has the need to have power over her, showing that woman are still below men
Janie and other women in Jacksonville work in the fields, and they enjoy it
Women are outspoken and hardworking in Jacksonville, unlike in Eatonville where they stay in the home
Mrs. Turner is seen an uncontrollable and unpredictable, unlike any other women seen so far

13. Voice Janie is learning when to use her voice, and when not to
Before Joe died Janie’s silence was a symbol of her weakness and his power. Now, after Janie has found her voice and she is with Tea Cake, her silence because a symbol of strength
Janie is learning when to use her voice, and when not to
Example- When Janie is beaten by Tea Cake in ch. 17, Janie remains silent because she knows that Tea Cake needs to feel powerful, so she refrains from using her voice and remains silent
Both Janie and Tea Cake have voices and use them, unlike when Janie was with Joe
Women voice their opinions –example: in ch. 16 Mrs. Turner talks about the evils of black people (even though she is black herself)

14. Racism
Mrs. Turner’s opinions on race show the most racism in the entire novel
”You’se different from me. Ah can’t stand black niggers. Ah don’t blame de white folks from hatin’ ‘em ‘cause Ah can’t stand ‘em mahself. ‘Nother thing, Ah hates tuh see folks lak me and you mixed up wid ‘em. Us outghta class off” –pg
Mrs. Turner hates African Americans even though she is black. She says “We oughta lighten up the race” – pg. 140
This shows that even though racism has played a small role in the novel, it was a huge problem during this time

15. Narration
The narration slips between proper, standard English and Janie’s voice.
When describing normal, everyday events Janie’s voice often comes trhough in the narration. Example- “That is why she sought out Janie to friend with” (makes friend a verb and ends in a preposition) (ch. 16)
But this quote is written not only in proper english, but also conveys deep thought and beautiful writing style- “Through indiscriminate suffering men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion. It is the stones for altars and he beginning of wisdom. Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood.” (ch. 16)
At times the narration sounds like an unducation Janie, and at times it sounds like an professional writer, making the reader remember that the entire book is a flashback

16. The horizon Tea Cake is Janie’s horizon
Janie’s deep love for Tea Cake, and his for her finally shows Janie achieving her “far-off” dream of finding true love
The horizon is mentioned less when Janie is married to Tea Cake because her dreams are now in reach and are being achieved

17. The storm
The storm symbolizes the central struggle and conflict of the novel: Humans against nature/God
It is important that Motor Boat is with Janie and Tea Cake, this symbolizes that everyone (all mankind) is united in this struggle, not just Janie.
God controls the storm and is All-Powerful in this chapter, showing that He wins the struggle, and Janie finally gives into Him
Janie and Tea Cake wonder what will happen to them; if they will live or die; if God cares about then at all

18. Their eyes were watching god
The title is finally mentioned in chapter 18
When the storm hits Janie and Tea Cake are trapped in the horrible weather with nothing to do but watch God work the weather
They are helpless and unable to do anything, they have to hand over their lives to God and let Him do with them as He may