Journal #5

What motivates Janie? How has Janie changed?

Janie's biggest motivation is her search to find her happiness. Before Logan, Janie had assumed marriage would automatically cause you to fall in love with that person and be happy with them. "Husbands and wives always loved each other, and that is what marriage meant. It was just so." (Hurston, 30.) Janie's hope for the future was crushed by the realization that marriage does not mean love and so she left Logan for Joe, motivated by the need for love and happiness. However, Joe was not the key to her happiness as well, and Tea Cake becomes her third interest. Tea Cake is like a breath of fresh air compared to the previous two. He seems to really care about Janie and her feelings, and appreciates her as a person rather than a woman that must stay and be looked at as just a woman. Janie has changed since Tea Cake in that she's finally letting herself be truly happy, instead of holding it inside, trying to be the woman that she believed everyone wanted her to be. With Joe, Janie conformed to the mold that he had set for her, a mold that kept her from being happy. With Tea Cake, Janie does not care what others think for once, and cares how she feels instead. She is finally able to tune out the outside voices telling her no and letting herself say yes. Aw, I think Tea Cake and Janie are adorable! :)