The Satisfying Ending of Hurston's Novel


To me, the ending of Their Eyes Were Watching God was satisfying and fitting to the novel. Although the events near the end of the book were far from being ideal, the way in which Hurston closes the story seems to invite and allow readers to feel at peace rather than feel disappointed. I think this is largely put into effect by the way Hurston portrays Janie’s response to Tea Cake’s death and her outlook on life by the end of the book.
Regarding Tea Cake’s death, Janie seems to have closure. Even though Janie had to go through a horrific experience in which she had to kill her own husband, it seems that she is viewing the event from a higher point of view. Yes, the death of Tea Cake was terrible and tragic, but Janie chooses to reminisce of the good times she had with Tea Cake. She chooses to be happy that she got to spend time with him, rather than be saddened by the fact that she no longer gets to.
In addition to Janie’s response to Tea Cake’s death, we see a much wiser and confident character walk into Eatonville at the end of the book. Janie has come very far from the young immature girl that was portrayed in the beginning of the novel. This dramatic development in character also adds to the satisfaction of the ending. Had Janie walked in broken and no different from where she had been before, I think the ending of the novel would’ve been extremely frustrating. However, we as readers, get closure from seeing Janie develop into a wise, mature, independent woman.
During class discussion, Mr. Mitchell mentioned that it may have even been necessary for Tea Cake to leave Janie’s life in order for her to fully become independent. Tea Cake definitely helped Janie to become more independent, but after his initial boost, Janie took things into her own hands. Right after Jody died, Janie wasn’t used to being independent so she needed someone to give her that first push, but once she started to develop her own confidence, I’m not sure if Tea Cake was really the one behind all of her development. That being said, even if Tea Cake had not died, I think that Janie would still have reached a state of full independence. She would still have to rely on Tea Cake (and vice versa), but I think this is a part of any relationship. Both people are independent, but they’re in a relationship because they care for one another and therefore are there to support one another as well. I don’t think this necessarily takes away from the independence of the people in the relationship. Nevertheless, the departure of Tea Cake from the novel somehow does provide a feeling of finality to Janie’s development. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think it was necessary for Tea Cake to die in order for Janie to become fully independent?

Comments

  1. Anthony CNovember 2, 2019 at 5:31 PM

    I agree that Janie is confident at the end of the novel, and I think that that's a good place to end due to most of the story focusing on her finding herself, but I think that the writing of the ending is a little strange. What I mean by this is that the novel ends with Janie just going in her house and presumably going to sleep or just relaxing. It frustrates me that we don't really know what, if anything, she's going to do now that she's back home in Eatonville. It would be cool if it ended on Janie going out on another adventure at the end. That being said, maybe she's had enough adventures now that she knows who she is, and maybe she just wants to live the rest of her life now. This sounds funny, but I picture Janie living the rest of her life as the neighborhood's friendly old lady who is always willing to tell her story to interested kids.

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  2. HadiyahNovember 3, 2019 at 1:49 PM

    I also think Janie is confident and independent at the end of the novel. At first I was a bit confused to why she was so calm after having to kill Tea Cake, but I do think it's a good thing that she was able to accept his death & move on. I don't know if Tea Cake needed to die for Janie to become fully independent, at least I hope not. I think for Janie to become fully independent she needed to love herself and realize that she didn't need anyone, but she was allowed to want to be with someone.

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