Historical context
by jacob bauer
It is important to understand what was going on politically during the era that Their Eyes Were Watching God was written is very important to understand. There was a lot of racial tension during the 1920s, and that is seen in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Segregation was happening everywhere, and a great example of segregation in the book is when Janie and Tea Cake move to the Glades, because everyone that Tea Cake knew and worked with in the Glades was black for the most part. Before 1927 when the government said segregation laws were unconstitutional, entire areas and neighborhoods were segregated between black and white people (1920-30.com). This type of segregation is seen throughout the novel. It is very important to understand that the events in the book mirror what was happening politically during the 1920s.
In this book there is an art and entertainment context. Art and entertainment is not as prevalent in this book like segregation and other social problems that were going on during this era, but there is a music context. In two parts of the book Tea Cake plays the guitar. The first time came before he and Janie moved to the Glades, he is playing the air guitar. Later, after they moved to the Glades, Tea Cake bought a guitar and played it in another scene. During the 1920s, jazz music became very popular amongst people, and the guitar was a very important instrument when it came to making jazz music (bbc). There were a couple of other places where entertainment was shown, but it was entertainment that has always been popular, and not necessarily only popular during that time period.
Social problems and economic problems were also evident in this novel. It is very important to understand that women in the 1920s were completely dominated by men. It was not uncommon in the 1920s for women to be beaten by men, and that is evident in the book when Janie is hit by Tea Cake and Joe. Economics also show up in this book which is evident by the difference in income that are earned by black people and white people. The jobs that Tea Cake had to work were very tough, and back in the 1920s, those were the type of jobs that black people had to work.
Bibliography:
"Racial Segregation." Racial Segregation. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2016. <http://www.1920-
30.com/politics/racial-segregation.html>.
"How Did Popular Entertainment Develop during This Period?" BBC. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 May 2016.
In this book there is an art and entertainment context. Art and entertainment is not as prevalent in this book like segregation and other social problems that were going on during this era, but there is a music context. In two parts of the book Tea Cake plays the guitar. The first time came before he and Janie moved to the Glades, he is playing the air guitar. Later, after they moved to the Glades, Tea Cake bought a guitar and played it in another scene. During the 1920s, jazz music became very popular amongst people, and the guitar was a very important instrument when it came to making jazz music (bbc). There were a couple of other places where entertainment was shown, but it was entertainment that has always been popular, and not necessarily only popular during that time period.
Social problems and economic problems were also evident in this novel. It is very important to understand that women in the 1920s were completely dominated by men. It was not uncommon in the 1920s for women to be beaten by men, and that is evident in the book when Janie is hit by Tea Cake and Joe. Economics also show up in this book which is evident by the difference in income that are earned by black people and white people. The jobs that Tea Cake had to work were very tough, and back in the 1920s, those were the type of jobs that black people had to work.
Bibliography:
"Racial Segregation." Racial Segregation. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2016. <http://www.1920-
30.com/politics/racial-segregation.html>.
"How Did Popular Entertainment Develop during This Period?" BBC. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 May 2016.