Should Janie think about this issue, particularly as she has lighter skin?

I personally don't think Janie should worry about this issue because she has lighter skin.  Janie is black but has traits from both light and dark skinned people.  She does not have to think about the issue because it will not affect her.

Why does this seem to be such an issue for people like Mrs. Turner?

  This seems to be an issue for people like Mrs. Turner because she has feelings too.  It is unfair for the "lighter" woman to be thought as prettier.  Mrs. Turner is darker but also wants someone to love.  This issue is bad for her because she starts to feel inferior to Janie or other lighter skinned people.

What parallels do you see between the way Janie is treated and the ways in which both light and dark skinned people are talked about in the video?

Janie is treated like a light skinned dark person.  This is because in the white community she is still black but in the black community she is white.  In the video both light and darkskinned people are looked at as the more "beautiful" women in society.  Having dark skin in the video is the less pretty "thing".  Janie is treated the way the video describes lighter dark people because everyone says she is the most beautiful.

What is Tea Cake trying to prove by slapping Janie around in chapter 17? In what way is this scene ironic?

Tea Cake is trying to prove to Janie that she is still black no matter how light she is or no matter how straight her hair is.  Tea Cake reminds Janie of her past because Janie has always been treated like a rich woman but now she has to realize "her place".  This is ironic because Tea Cake, who is known for being the lower person, hits the higher up person, Janie.  This is basically proving the video wrong.  Tea Cake has more power over Janie's "light" skin.  This goes against the light darkskin stereotype.

What is it about the Jim Crow (click HERE++ and HERE++ for more info) culture that subconsciously drove Tea Cake to do such a thing, despite his real love for Janie

IS race an issue in Janie and Tea Cake's life? If so, how does it impact their relationship, both in the black community and in Florida in general?

The Jim Crow culture that subsonsciously drove Tea Cake to do this was the thought that black people are not equal to lighter people.  The Jim Crow laws promoted segregation and Tea Cake was in a way brain washed by this idea.  Race is an issue in Janie and Tea Cake's life because Tea Cake is black and Janie is mixed.  This impacts their relationship because Janie is looked at as the more beautiful one because of her shade of brown.  Tea Cake knows that people look at him and feel he is inferior to Janie.  Florida's white folks look at their relationship and see Janie as the central figure which makes Tea Cake angered because there is nothing he can do about it.

Janie's main reaction to Mrs. Turner's tirade against dark-skinned black people is simply to say "Ah ain't never thought about it too much" (141). Yet that doesn't seem to take away the issue, at least as far as Mrs. Turner is concerned. Therefore:

Should Janie think about this issue, particularly as she has lighter skin?

Yes, I think Janie should think about the issue. That is the main problem that people avoid this issue and force themselves not to think about it, in attempt that the issue will just go away. Janie needs to stop being so ignorant of what is really going on and be aware of what life is truly like for some people during that time. In expressing her anger and aggression to this topic, Mrs. Turner says, "You'se different from me. Ah can't stand black niggers" (141). Although Janie should not be prejudice, she needs to learn to see color and realize the reality of the time. By seeing color, she is more likely to be able to sympathize and understand the struggles of "different" black people she lives amongst.

Why does this seem to be such an issue for people like Mrs. Turner?

There is a constant competition going on between shades of black. At this time, color represented pride, intelligence and credibility to white people, for instance, "Mrs. Turner's] nose was slightly pointed and she was proud. Her thin lips were an ever delight to her eyes…to her way of thinking all these things set her aside from Negroes" (140). Mrs. Turner feels that the more she resembles a women of the white race through features, the better of a person she is. However, Mrs. Turner sees Janie who seems to be a shade lighter than her and begins to explain her struggle, she says, "T'aint de poorness, it's de color and de features" (141). Black people of this time constantly have a void; they never feel good enough.

What parallels do you see between the way Janie is treated and the ways in which both light and dark skinned people are talked about in the video?

The fact that Janie is a light skin and she married to Joe Starks, a rich man. She was given privileges other black women were not. Janie was looked at as beautiful and the "it" girl by all the men. The constant references to her hair is parallel to the common term, "good hair." In the video they explain how media is constantly promoting lighter colored women and all their successes, however rarely hearing about darker women. Although not said, it is implied that women of darker color would naturally begin to get fed up and jealous of the constantly getting passed up on privileges just because they have a darker shade of skin. Similarly explained with the issue between Mrs. Turner and Janie, Mrs. Turner is becoming fed up. The constant pressures of being a darker women leads up to Mrs. Turner making remarks like, "We oughta lighten up de race" (140).

What is Tea Cake trying to prove by slapping Janie around in chapter 17? In what way is this scene ironic?

After he slaps Janie, he explains, "He just slapped her around a bit to show he was boss" (147). This is ironic because  although he is trying to come off as this dominant man, he previously states, "Not because her behaviour justified his jealousy, but it relieved that awful fear inside him. Being able to whip her reassure him in possession" (147). The irony is that he was truly fearful that he may have been losing touch and not showing enough control to assure him that she was truly his possession.

What is it about the Jim Crow (click HERE++ and HERE++ for more info) culture that subconsciously drove Tea Cake to do such a thing, despite his real love for Janie?

Jim Crow laws were made to control African Americans and limit them to what they can and cannot do; so even though they are free, they did not have all the freedoms of a white person. Tea Cake although he loves Janie, felt he had to put her in place and limit the freedom she has been given through her new life. He used forceful authority to do so.

IS race an issue in Janie and Tea Cake's life? If so, how does it impact their relationship, both in the black community and in Florida in general?

Yes, race is an issue for Janie and Tea Cake. In the black community there is the issue of the lighter skin which dates back to slavery times. In Florida, they dislike people of lighter color because they are given privileges people of darker color would not be granted.

Janie's main reaction to Mrs. Turner's tirade against dark-skinned black people is simply to say "" (141). Yet that doesn't seem to take away the issue, at least as far as Mrs. Turner is concerned. Therefore:

• Should Janie think about this issue, particularly as she has lighter skin?

I don't think she should worry about it too much. She should be aware of it because it is an issue in the town. The others see that she could be a mix of black and white. At that time it was something that they weren't supposed to do. She is oblivious to this. She says " Ah ain't never thought about it too much" (141). She lived in the backyard with whited kids when she was younger so it was normal to her. She didn’t really make anything of it.

• Why does this seem to be such an issue for people like Mrs. Turner?

She also thinks that if you had darker skin that you were in  the lower class. She believes light skinned people should not be treated as dark skinned people. Mrs. Turner wants to be treated like a white person or maybe not as judged as a black person.  "Ah can't stand black niggers." (141) She seems to be annoyed by them and she can't stand how they wear bright colors and how they talk so loud drawing so much attention to them. she wants to be in the higher class and with her skin being lighter than most colored people she thinks that this could be the way she could be equal to with people.

• What parallels do you see between the way Janie is treated and the ways in which both light and dark skinned people are talked about in the video?

People seem to like Janie because she is nice and sweet but people seem to not like Janie because she is pretty, light skinned, and she can have almost man that she wants.  "We oughta lighten up the race" (140). Mrs. Tunner says this because she is sort of ashamed that she has to be included in the colored people. if she can't change which race she is put into she would rather change the whole race so that if she is put into this race she wouldn't be ashamed of it. In the media today people who are considered black are light skinned blacks. This tells people that if you are black you should be light skinned. Janie seems to have more "perks" compared to others and this is seemed to be because of the color of her skin and her looks.

• What is Tea Cake trying to prove by slapping Janie around in chapter 17? In what way is this scene ironic?

"Being able to whip her reassured him in possession. No brutal beating at all. He just slapped her around a bit to show he was boss." (147). People were starting to be jealous of Janie. So Tea Cake whipped her a little bit in order to show the others that he was the boss of her. He made sure that people knew that he was the man in charge and that he could do whatever he wanted to her and she couldn't do anything about it. It is ironic because she was beaten before by her husband and she left them because of this. Tea Cake does this and she stays with him.

• What is it about the Jim Crow (click HERE++ and HERE++ for more info) culture that subconsciously drove Tea Cake to do such a thing, despite his real love for Janie?

He wanted to show that he was the boss of Janie and that he basically owned her. He loved her but he wanted to show others that he was the boss of her. "He just slapped her around a bit to show he was boss" (147). He wanted to show off to his friends and be able to show them that he was in charge of her. He mainly did this to show others and to show Janie that he was the boss. She was not able to defend herself or fight back because she was his wife. 

• IS race an issue in Janie and Tea Cake's life? If so, how does it impact their relationship, both in the black community and in Florida in general?

I don’t think race is a major issue in their life. The only issue that happened is when Mrs. Turner came in and told Janie that she should leave Tea Cake and that she should go with her friend. He was a light skinned and she told Janie that she deserved better than Tea Cake. "De black ones is holdin’ us back" (chapter 16). Ms. Turner says this and I think Janie is starting to believe it because she notices some things that Tea Cake does are starting to bug her.

Take the rest of the class to write your responses to these questions, always supporting each one with a quote from chapters 16-17

1. Not necessarily, because she is the one who is being treated better, so she is technically benefitting from this issue. "Ah ain't never thought about it too much" (141).This quote exemplifies this because she is not the one being mistreated so she has never noticed it.

2. Because Mrs. Turner is of a darker color, so she and others aren’t treated or flirted with as much as Janie is. They feel that it is unfair and are jealous of Janie’s beauty and light skin.

3. Well in the documentary, they explain that light skins are sometimes softer, and Janie is definitely a softer and nicer person. Also, they talk about how light skins are admired are said to be more beautiful than darker skins, and in the book, Janie is light skin and is adored for her long hair and light skin.

4. He is trying to show everybody that Janie is his wife and this is ironic because he is sort of abusing her to show that she is his woman.

5. He felt that he needed to show who had the power in this society. A sort of way to show them “who’s boss”. It could of also been is anger to the society they are in and how he was insulted, and he just took it out on Janie.

6. Not in their private relationship, but in public, people are often commenting with their disbelief that such a beautiful woman would marry such an ugly dark skin man.

1. Janie should always consider the racial issues amongst her town because racism is always apparent but more in her time particularly. Janie is a lighter skin girl but the men shes been with havent been. There hasnt really been many instances in the story where Janie had to think twice about race so I suppose she should always think about it but just keep it as a thought in the back of her mind. 

2. Mrs. Turner cares for race so much because she is a lightskin and believes that Janie's light complexion puts her in that same category. Janie should be marrying a white/ light boy and not marrying Teacake a dark boy. For example she says "To her way of thinking all these things set her aside from negros that was why she sought out Janie to friend with" (140). Mrs. Turner took upon herself to invade in Janie's life and meddle with her marriage because of her personal beliefs.

3. Janie is seen as beautiful because shes striking and different looking whereas the darker people get pushed aside because theyre so different looking. Light skin girls get more recognition for the color and race. For example Mrs. Turner says " Ah hates tuh see folks lak me and you mixed up wid' em" (141). 

4. By slapping Janie around and whipping her I think hes trying to just prove that she is his accessory. This scene is ironic because its an attempt to make him sound better to his friends when in reality he is just belittling his credibility. He is very lucky he has Janie and shouldnt be treating her the way he does. " Being able to whip her reassured him in his possession" (147). 

5. The Jim crow laws couldve drove Teacake to behave like he did because of the idea of racial segregation. The race concept has never really been brought up before but now its more apparent. I think hes angry that he's different from Janie and that people no longer want them together. I also believe he lashed out on Janie because of his anger towards Mrs. Turner as he says "Ah know yuh didnt. Ah been heah uh long time listenin to dat heifer run me down tu de dawgs uh try tuh tole you off from me"(143). Hes angry that Mrs. Turner is so against their relationship.

6. Race is now becoming a more prominent issue because they are racially different. Teacake is a much darker complexion then Janie and Ms. Turner and others are beggining to take more note of it as she says "Who want any lil ole black baby layin up in de baby buggy lookin' like uh fly in buttermilk" (141). Mrs. Turner is trying really hard to take Janie away from Teacake shes is trying to convince her that she could do way better and should no longer try to waste her time with him. This is all because of race Mrs. Turner doesnt know Teacake as a person.

Should Janie think about this issue, particularly as she has lighter skin?

-Janie has lived her whole life satisfied with who she is and how she got there. At this point she should have no shame and should not worry about this issue. Her love is blind and it is shown through hersaying, “He’s easy tuh love if you mess round ‘im. Ah loves ‘im”(141).

Why does this seem to be such an issue for people like Mrs. Turner?

-Mrs. Turner believes that she is greater than the black society but she does not fit in with the white society. She is all about labels and focused on what people think of her.

What parallels do you see between the way Janie is treated and the ways in which both light and dark skinned people are talked about in the video?

-Mrs. Turner thinks she is much better than anyone else but surprisingly treats Janie very well. In her mind she thinks and blames the darker skinned people for a majority of her problems for no reason.

What is Tea Cake trying to prove by slapping Janie around in chapter 17? In what way is this scene ironic?

-When Tea Cake slapped Janie he reasoning behind this was that “it relieved that awful fear inside of him. Being able to whip her reassured him in possession” (147). This is ironic, because he was trying to scar Janie and show his power but really this was all because he was so afraid of losing her.

What is it about the Jim Crow culture that subconsciously drove Tea Cake to do such a thing, despite his real love for Janie?

-Weather or not dark skinned or light skinned they are both considered black in their community. They no matter what race should have the same rights but back then we all know that is was much different. Their tone of skin shows how they are “separate but equal.”

IS race an issue in Janie and Tea Cake's life? If so, how does it impact their relationship, both in the black community and in Florida in general?

-Their race issue often tends to pull them apart but also at the same time bring them closer. In the black community there is much respect for both of them and in Florida in general they are viewed with less respect.

The power of american culture is diversity of ideas.writers in 20th century wrote about race. In “their eyes are watching eyes”, it talks about the difference between men and women, it talks about dthe difference between black and white. In chapter 2 of “their eyes are watching god”, Janie’s grandmother said this, “So de white man throw down de load and tell de nigger man tuh pick it up. He pick it up because he have to, but he don’t tote it. He hand it to his womenfolks. De nigger woman is de mule ud de world so fur as Ah can see”. That was all Nanny could see, black women, the worst you can get. I agree with Alain Locke that Hurston’s article lacked psychological depth. The whole article has been talking about Janie1

’s whole life. It talked about racist and sexist, however, the article didn’t go into the deep part. I don’t agree with Wright’s “no theme, no message, no thought”, in “their eyes were watching God”, Hurston wrote about gender, love, sex, race, freedom, mortality, even though the whole book was rushing through Janie’s whole life but it talked about those themes. Janie had three men in her life. The first one was Logan who mistreated her and wanted her to do both men and women’s work. The second one Joe who gave her the best but gave her a distance and finally died with pity. The third one Tea Cake who gave the best life she ever wanted but pointed the rifle to her because of jeasousy and sickness. Janie killed Tea Cake. Janie had repeated the same thing and same thing over and over again.

1.  I think that Janie should not consider that issue because she has lived her whole life without worrying about it and she was satisfied. That’s who she is so there’s no point of worrying about her skin color. People get along with each other is not depending on your skin color but your personality. “If dat’s her notion she’s barkin’ up de wrong tree. Mah  hands is full already.” (143)

2.  She was always focusing on her color and what people think of her. Instead, Janie doesn’t. Mrs. Turner has not fit in the white society while Janie was raised in a white family. Mrs. Turner evaluates darker skin people are not as good as white people.

3.  Mrs. Turner blames people who have darker skin for no reason. She thinks that she is better than everyone else but she treats Janie very well. They talked about how lighter skinned people are more beautiful than darker skinned people.

4.  In Chapter 17, Tea Cake beats Janie not because she has done anything wrong, but jealousy and showing Mr. Turner “who is the boss”. He is just feeling insure. It is really ironic because that was his only way to show that Janie is her woman… by abusing her.

5.   He felt that he needed to show who had the power in this society. A sort of way to show them “who’s boss”. It could of also been is anger to the society they are in and how he was insulted, and he just took it out on Janie.

6.  No. It is not an issue between Janie and Tea Cake even though Janie belongs to lighter skinned color people and Tea Cake belongs to darker skinned color people. They didn’t have any problem on that because they love each other.

"They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God." This quote comes from chapter 18 and is used by Janie while witnessing the destructive power of the hurricane and it’s truly god like status over the people of the everglades. I myself can sympathies with Janie. After all I come from New Jersey a state that has had its share of major hurricanes and icy nor'easters which have kept me up in the night as my house ached and creaked with every passing wind. A hurricane is a monstrous force of epic proportions. One can stare only try to stand bold against it for so long before being blown away like autumn leaves. The impact that the hurricane had on Janie is much like the one it has on people around the world. When Janie says that "their eyes were watching god" It is both figurative and true. Imagine you in the middle of this hurricane, wouldn't you be looking at the sky begging for the storm to end, while only imagining why god would unleash his heavenly wrath of nature upon us? I know I would because I have been there one too many times. There is another time in chapter 18 when Janie says “The monstropolous beast had left his bed. The two hundred miles an hour wind had loosed his chains." This quote displays the godly wrath of the hurricane as its full force begins to come into play. Another quote that comes much later into the story is "Another man clung to a cypress tree on a tiny island. A tin roof of a building hung from the branches by electric wires and the wind swung it back and forth like a mighty ax. The man dared not move a step to his right lest this crushing blade split him open." Its emotional, it's tragic, it puts the quote "so it goes" into play as our emotions are tested like never before. We are reminded by our humanity whenever a force like nature comes into play, and that as powerful as we may be as people in a human world, we are still animals that are too small, and too frail to even combat the natural forces of the earth.