Teacake


            One of the most difficult questions to ask in the early chapters of Their Eyes Were Watching God has been whether to trust Teacake. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say my first instinct was to trust him. He was far nicer to Janie than either Joe Starks or Logan, letting Janie be herself and seemingly putting an emphasis on her happiness. However, he has a “slipperiness” about him that throws into question whether one should trust him.
            An even more important question than this one, however, is whether it matters if Teacake is trustworthy. In class we discussed a similar question when she left Logan for Joe Starks. Janie’s own sentiments, we decided, indicated that she would have left Logan regardless of the presence of Joe. A similar case, I believe, can be made for Teacake. Janie’s relationship with Teacake is an expression of her growing personal freedom. No longer confined by Joe, she is liberated in how she can act, what she can do, and who she can associate with. Teacake is an indication of her newfound liberation.

Comments

  1. Anthony CNovember 2, 2019 at 5:55 PM

    I fully agree with the idea that Tea Cake represents Janie's growing confidence and freedom, and this point comes into even larger focus by the end of the novel. Tea Cake takes Janie to the muck, where there are few rules, and everyone lives in the moment. This freedom gives Janie time to discover who it is she wants to be, and even when Tea Cake dies, the confidence Janie gained when living with him and his unbridled personality carried her on in life.

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