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Love in Their Eyes Were Watching God

Love plays a very important role in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes

were watching God. Janie spent her days loo ing !or love. "he thought o!

love #ust as she thought o! the elements o! springtime$ "unny days% &right

s ies% a &ee pollinating pear tree &lossoms. "he searched !ar and wide !or

this ind o! per!ect love.

Logan illic s couldn't give this ind o! love to Janie. He may

not have loved her at all. To him% Janie was #ust another wor ing set o!

hands. He treated her almost li e another man. He was inconsiderate o!

her !eelings% her hopes% her aspirations. He pro&a&ly didn't now the

color o! her eyes. Janie was wor ed hard &y Logan. He made her do all

sorts o! things that only men should have to have done. He was even going

to ma e her plow the (elds)a #o& that re*uires a considera&le amount o!

strength$ strength that Janie didn't have. Janie complained that nothing

&eauti!ul was ever said. "he had no love with Logan illic s. That is why

she le!t him !or a man that showed much potential to give the ind o! love

she was loo ing !or.

The whistling man that Janie ran away with was Jody "tar s. With

Jody% Janie thought that she would !orever have +,ower dust and springtime

sprin led over everything.+ "he thought she'd have +a &ee !or her &loom.+

"he didn't e-actly (nd this in Jody though. n him she de(nitely !ound

change and chance% &ut still not the love she was loo ing !or. What Jody

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had !or Janie was more o! a lust than a love. He was very protective o!

her and didn't want anyone else to see in her what he saw. He gave Janie

many things including lots o! money% &ut he couldn't give her love. The

little love that was there eventually died. "o did Jody.

/inally% Janie met up with Tea 0a e. The moved together to the

1uc in the /lorida Everglades and lived in Tea 0a e's "hanty. They spent

each new day together. They laughed together% (shed and hunted together%

tal ed together% and spent time with !riends together. These were all

things that were missing !rom her previous relationships. They had made

her to &e some&ody that she wasn't. Tea 0a e let her &e hersel!. He loved

her #ust the way she was. He encouraged her to &e what she wanted to &e%

to !ollow her dreams% her thoughts% her aspirations. Janie had (nally

!ound her &ee. Tea 0a e was the per!ect &ee !or her &loom. "he loved him

with all o! her heart. They had the ind o! everlasting love that she had

longed !or all her li!e.

Tea 0a e one day rescued Janie !rom a mad dog% &ut was &itten in

his heroic e2ort. /or a !ew months there was no e2ect% &ut when the

ra&ies hit him% it was un&eara&le. t eventually got so incredi&ly &ad

that Tea 0a e tried to ill Janie. His did this not out o! hate !or her

&ut &ecause o! the mad dog within him. The was no way out !or her. "he

desperately wished !or things to &e the way they used to &e% &ut those

wishes were not answered. "he eventually shot and illed Tea 0a e. Janie

was tried !or murder% &ut was emancipated &ecause everyone new thatwhat

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she did was an act o! love. "he simply didn't want him to su2er any more.

Janie searched !or the special love that she saw &etween the &ee

and the &loom !or a long time. "he (nally !ound it in Tea 0a e% &ut had

to ill him. illing him was pro&a&ly the &iggest act o! love made in her

whole li!e.