Janie's worldview and the christian worldview assessment
by anna welch
Throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie Crawford is the primary character. In order to understand Janie’s character fully, we must comprehend her worldview through the questions “who am I?”, “where did I come from?”, “where am I going?”, “what is true and what is false?”, “how should I conduct my life, or act?”, and “does God exist and if so what is my response to Him?”. Janie’s view of the world is evident through her beliefs and actions, which change throughout the entirety of the story.
Who am I? From the beginning, Janie was in search of who she was. Being married to Logan Killicks and Joe Starks did not allow her to find herself and her purpose in life. The control these men displayed over her life kept her from exploring her true potential. Janie’s marriage with Tea Cake began to bring out her true self and was a means of figuring out who she was. In her marriage with Tea Cake, he loved her for who she was. Because of this, Janie began to understand her goals by living freely with a voice. At the end of Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie realizes that there are two things that everybody has to figure out in order to discover who they truly are, “they got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin’ fuh theyselves” (192). Throughout Hurston’s novel, Janie was searching for her identity, and by the end she found God and learned how to live for herself.
Where did I come from? Janie was from a family with a history in slavery, for example her grandmother escaped from bondage. This experience with discrimination affected her behavior when mistreated. Because much of her family was oppressed through prejudice, she learned that every human has rights and discrimination is wrong. Nanny was an integral influence in Janie’s life, and the way she was living up until marrying Tea Cake was by the worldview Nanny passed on to her. Because Nanny was a slave, she sought after wealth and status in marriage. Janie also upheld these things in her first two marriages with Logan Killicks and Joe Starks. After these poor marriage experiences, Janie’s priorities changed because living by Nanny’s terms did not make her happy or give her a sense of fulfillment.
Where am I going? At the beginning of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie did not know where she was going in life. Throughout Hurston’s novel, Janie was in search of herself as well as her life’s path. Janie’s marriages with Logan and Joe did not give hope for a successful future. From these marriages, Janie realized that wealth and fame do not buy happiness. Living for money and status did not lead Janie on the right path, so she decided that she would not live by Nanny’s terms any longer. Because of this, Janie married Tea Cake, who had little material wealth and low social status. When Janie began a relationship with Tea Cake after Joe’s death, she decided to take her life into her own hands. Janie took control of her future and dreams. During her marriage with Tea Cake, Janie began to see that she could achieve things in life and set goals for the future. As Janie endeavored searching for her meaning, God became a part of it, and at the end Janie realized that everybody has to find God on their own.
What is true and what is false? It does not seem that Janie has a supreme authority whom she follows toward the start of the novel. From the beginning, Janie lives on her own terms, which is evident in her marrying a different man when she became uninterested with the first. However, in chapter 19 at the court case as her journey was far in progress, Janie knew the right thing was to tell the truth, which is what she did. These actions display that Janie internally had a sense of right and wrong then, perhaps from God’s Word.
How should I conduct my life, or act? Janie understood that the way Logan and Joe treated her was wrong. However, Janie did not appear to have an objective authority she sought in hard times in the beginning. Throughout this novel, Janie was on the search her meaning, which eventually included God. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie originally bases her decisions and moral standards off of her feelings, and she lives on her own terms and in a way that pleases her desires. While Janie was married to Logan she did not love him and decided to leave him because he was not making her happy. With her marriage with Joe Starks, Janie stuck with him despite abuse, but after his death sought to meet her desires by marrying Tea Cake. During the storm, however, Janie sought God despite the hardships, which displays her changed views and reliance on God.
Does God exist and if so what is my response to Him?
Janie believed God exists, but at the beginning acts as if He is not directly connected to her life. Perhaps Janie accepted the idea of a God because Nanny believed in God and had instilled the idea into her, for example, Nanny prayed with Janie. At the beginning of Hurston’s novel, Janie believes in a higher power because of her family, but at the end Janie makes this faith her own. During the Everglades storm in chapter 18, Hurston wrote, “they seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God”, and Janie and Tea Cake survived (160). Janie’s new explored faith is evident in that she attributed Tea Cake saving her and surviving the storm being God’s will.
Janie’s Worldview and the Christian Worldview.
The Christian worldview upholds marriage. Throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie did not take her commitments seriously, as is evident in her marrying three men without much thought or concern. At the beginning of Hurston’s novel Janie found her identity in material wealth and in men, which contradicts the Christian view. The Christian faith believes that the things of this world are fading, but that our true identity if found in God alone. The Christian worldview upholds the belief that every human is God’s creation, made in His image. At the end of Janie’s exploration she found herself and believed she found God and her calling. In the Christian view, every person came from God’s first created humans Adam and Eve and originally God. This novel emphasizes Janie’s family history in slavery, not necessarily her identity as a child of God. The Christian believes that there is an eternal future that humanity is growing closer to. According to the Bible, God will come to earth and judge every person based on what they have done. Those who trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins will reach heaven, but those who do not will live forever in hell. Throughout Hurston’s novel, Janie’s views on eternity are not directly addressed, and Janie seeks happiness and meaning for her future.
The Bible is the book which Christians believe lays out the guidelines for how one is to live. What is true and false is laid out in God’s Word, specifically in the Ten Commandments. For the majority of Janie’s life, what is true and false was her decision, and she did not uphold a higher standard of truth and lies, however at the end she encountered God and acted in accordance. All people are held responsible by God to live by the rules He laid out in the Bible. According to His Word, humans are to live in a way that glorifies and makes much of Jesus Christ. While throughout of Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie acted in a way that pleased her, at the end she found God. Christians uphold monotheism, which is the belief that there is one God. Because Christians believe God exists, they act according to his rules and seek and maintain a personal relationship with Him. Janie behaved as if God existed but was not directly connected to her life for much of the novel, finding Him well into her life. When the conclusion of Janie’s journey in discovering herself is finished she believes she has found God and determined her faith for herself.
Who am I? From the beginning, Janie was in search of who she was. Being married to Logan Killicks and Joe Starks did not allow her to find herself and her purpose in life. The control these men displayed over her life kept her from exploring her true potential. Janie’s marriage with Tea Cake began to bring out her true self and was a means of figuring out who she was. In her marriage with Tea Cake, he loved her for who she was. Because of this, Janie began to understand her goals by living freely with a voice. At the end of Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie realizes that there are two things that everybody has to figure out in order to discover who they truly are, “they got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin’ fuh theyselves” (192). Throughout Hurston’s novel, Janie was searching for her identity, and by the end she found God and learned how to live for herself.
Where did I come from? Janie was from a family with a history in slavery, for example her grandmother escaped from bondage. This experience with discrimination affected her behavior when mistreated. Because much of her family was oppressed through prejudice, she learned that every human has rights and discrimination is wrong. Nanny was an integral influence in Janie’s life, and the way she was living up until marrying Tea Cake was by the worldview Nanny passed on to her. Because Nanny was a slave, she sought after wealth and status in marriage. Janie also upheld these things in her first two marriages with Logan Killicks and Joe Starks. After these poor marriage experiences, Janie’s priorities changed because living by Nanny’s terms did not make her happy or give her a sense of fulfillment.
Where am I going? At the beginning of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie did not know where she was going in life. Throughout Hurston’s novel, Janie was in search of herself as well as her life’s path. Janie’s marriages with Logan and Joe did not give hope for a successful future. From these marriages, Janie realized that wealth and fame do not buy happiness. Living for money and status did not lead Janie on the right path, so she decided that she would not live by Nanny’s terms any longer. Because of this, Janie married Tea Cake, who had little material wealth and low social status. When Janie began a relationship with Tea Cake after Joe’s death, she decided to take her life into her own hands. Janie took control of her future and dreams. During her marriage with Tea Cake, Janie began to see that she could achieve things in life and set goals for the future. As Janie endeavored searching for her meaning, God became a part of it, and at the end Janie realized that everybody has to find God on their own.
What is true and what is false? It does not seem that Janie has a supreme authority whom she follows toward the start of the novel. From the beginning, Janie lives on her own terms, which is evident in her marrying a different man when she became uninterested with the first. However, in chapter 19 at the court case as her journey was far in progress, Janie knew the right thing was to tell the truth, which is what she did. These actions display that Janie internally had a sense of right and wrong then, perhaps from God’s Word.
How should I conduct my life, or act? Janie understood that the way Logan and Joe treated her was wrong. However, Janie did not appear to have an objective authority she sought in hard times in the beginning. Throughout this novel, Janie was on the search her meaning, which eventually included God. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie originally bases her decisions and moral standards off of her feelings, and she lives on her own terms and in a way that pleases her desires. While Janie was married to Logan she did not love him and decided to leave him because he was not making her happy. With her marriage with Joe Starks, Janie stuck with him despite abuse, but after his death sought to meet her desires by marrying Tea Cake. During the storm, however, Janie sought God despite the hardships, which displays her changed views and reliance on God.
Does God exist and if so what is my response to Him?
Janie believed God exists, but at the beginning acts as if He is not directly connected to her life. Perhaps Janie accepted the idea of a God because Nanny believed in God and had instilled the idea into her, for example, Nanny prayed with Janie. At the beginning of Hurston’s novel, Janie believes in a higher power because of her family, but at the end Janie makes this faith her own. During the Everglades storm in chapter 18, Hurston wrote, “they seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God”, and Janie and Tea Cake survived (160). Janie’s new explored faith is evident in that she attributed Tea Cake saving her and surviving the storm being God’s will.
Janie’s Worldview and the Christian Worldview.
The Christian worldview upholds marriage. Throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie did not take her commitments seriously, as is evident in her marrying three men without much thought or concern. At the beginning of Hurston’s novel Janie found her identity in material wealth and in men, which contradicts the Christian view. The Christian faith believes that the things of this world are fading, but that our true identity if found in God alone. The Christian worldview upholds the belief that every human is God’s creation, made in His image. At the end of Janie’s exploration she found herself and believed she found God and her calling. In the Christian view, every person came from God’s first created humans Adam and Eve and originally God. This novel emphasizes Janie’s family history in slavery, not necessarily her identity as a child of God. The Christian believes that there is an eternal future that humanity is growing closer to. According to the Bible, God will come to earth and judge every person based on what they have done. Those who trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins will reach heaven, but those who do not will live forever in hell. Throughout Hurston’s novel, Janie’s views on eternity are not directly addressed, and Janie seeks happiness and meaning for her future.
The Bible is the book which Christians believe lays out the guidelines for how one is to live. What is true and false is laid out in God’s Word, specifically in the Ten Commandments. For the majority of Janie’s life, what is true and false was her decision, and she did not uphold a higher standard of truth and lies, however at the end she encountered God and acted in accordance. All people are held responsible by God to live by the rules He laid out in the Bible. According to His Word, humans are to live in a way that glorifies and makes much of Jesus Christ. While throughout of Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie acted in a way that pleased her, at the end she found God. Christians uphold monotheism, which is the belief that there is one God. Because Christians believe God exists, they act according to his rules and seek and maintain a personal relationship with Him. Janie behaved as if God existed but was not directly connected to her life for much of the novel, finding Him well into her life. When the conclusion of Janie’s journey in discovering herself is finished she believes she has found God and determined her faith for herself.