1. Their eyes were watching god
Chapters 8-10

2. The power of Voice
Joe’s power is in his voice – he controls the townspeople with his verbal orders, he control Janie with his insults
Joe often stops Janie from speaking, showing that only his voice can have power
But as Janie starts to find her own voice, their marriage becomes a power struggle
On his deathbed, Joe dies in the instant that Janie finally truly stands up to him and uses her voice to do so
Janie finally finds and uses her voice and finds independence after Joe dies

3. death
Janie talks about death in a calm, nonchalant way. She is not scared of death, but she is afraid and sad for Joe, who faces death without being ready to die
Death is described as a gentle creation with feathers who acts only God’s wishes. Death does not choose who dies and who lives.

4. The Mirror
Janie looks at herself in a mirror for the first time in years, and she describes herself as a handsome woman - Janie has finally grown up into an independent woman
Janie finally sees herself; she sees beauty and value in herself
She truly saw herself then put on the face that the townspeople wanted to see, still somewhat hiding herself until she was finished mourning Joe’s death

5. Janie’s Hair
The first thing she does after being free from Joe is let her hair down – symbolizing her independence, strength and beauty
Her braid represents the power she holds over men
She ties her hair back up after Jody dies because she knows that if she appears too carefree so soon after her husband’s death, she will be shunned by the town. This shows that she is able to restrain and control her power, unlike Joe’s careless use of his power

6. Janie’s hair
Janie burns all of the handkerchiefs, symbolizing that she will never let anyone control her strength and independence again
Her hair is so long to symbolize that Janie always had strength and power growing inside her, but it was not let out until she stopped depending on a man
She described her hair as having “glory” when she let it down after Joe’s death

7. Nanny Janie’s opinion of Nanny changes greatly in these chapters
Janie comes to hate everything that Nanny valued (status, power, money, materialistic things)
Janie hates Nanny for forcing her to find status with a man instead of letting Janie chase her dreams
But Janie understands that Nanny did everything she did out of love for Janie, so Janie does not see Nanny as a true villain

8. Janie’s Goals
Janie realizes in these chapters how great life is without a man, she learns how to be alone
Janie now lets herself feel her emotions and desires
She lets herself think and act upon what she wants in life
“The Horizon” is mentioned multiple times again, showing the reader that Janie is about to start her quest to reach her dreams

9. Gender roles Gender roles begin to change in chapters 8-10
Janie is now the sole owner of the store and her house. She also goes fishing with Pheoby, which is generally a male thing to do
When Janie meets Tea Cake he does not put her down or insult her intelligence; instead he tells her that she is smart, and will be a good checkers player
Janie is finally portrayed as a strong, independent, intelligent woman
Theme: Gender roles should not define us. Relationships should include two equal partners, they should not be a power struggle.

10. Tea Cake Vs. Joe
Janie was swept off her feet with Joe’s charm. When Janie first meets Joe they have a very short amount of time together before marrying. There is very little dialogue between the characters during their courtship
When Janie and Tea Cake meet for the first time, the entire chapter is full of conversation between the two
Janie and Tea Cake appear to be taking things much slower than Janie and Joe did

11. Tea cake vs. joe
It is already obvious that Tea Cake values women more than Joe did
Tea Cake respects Janie from the beginning
Janie finds herself happily trusting Joe right away.. She was only looking to get away from Logan when she met Joe
Janie has found her voice and purpose when she meets Tea Cake. When she met Joe she was still a lost girl