Janie and the Porch
Janie and the PorchZora Neale Hurston parallels the porch to Janie�s
expressions; how she feels both emotionally and physically
in the different stages of Janie�s life in her novel Their
Eyes Were Watching God. Zora Neale Hurston was born in
Eatonville Florida, the same place where the novel takes
place. Hurston was a feminist writer who wrote during the
Harlem renaissance period. She has traveled to many places
and her fictional and factual accounts of black heritage are
unparalleled. She uses the main character, Janie, to
illustrate the oppressions of women and express her views on
how women were treated.
In the beginning stages of the novel the porch scene is
used frequently. Women of the town congregate on the porch
in the evenings to enjoy the outdoor atmosphere and gossip.
The porch is used to express comfort and well being. As a
young child Janie is guided and comforted by her grandmother
who raised her. You can see this in Janie�s grandmothers�
want for the best for Janie from the quote on page 13;
�Dat�s what makes me skeered. You don�t mean no harm. You
don�t even know where harm is at. Ah�m ole now. Ah can�t
be always guidin� yo� feet from harm and danger. Ah wants
to see you married right away.� These are some of the best
times in Janie�s life, but all good things do not last
forever and she will soon pay her dues.
At and early age Janie is married to a man named Logan
Killicks, the man her grandmother has chosen for her. There
are no porch scenes during this stage in Janie�s life.
Janie feels empty and very unsatisfied with Logan. The
porch in this stage of the novel represents the things that
Janie wants and feels that she desperately needs. Logan
offers little or none of the emotional or physical things
that Janie needs. By the quote on page 25; �If Ah kin haul
de wood heah and chop it fuh yuh, look lak you oughta be
able tuh tote it inside. Mah fust wife never bothered me
�bout choppin� no wood nohow. she�d grab dat ax and sling
chips lak uh man. You done been spoilt rotten.�, Logan
wants Janie...
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