Mae Spiegel

Molly Fenn

English 3/4

15 October 2020

Janie’s Resilience

In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, one of the primary themes is  resilience. The main character Janie Mae Crawford showcases her resilience over and over again throughout the book. Despite her difficult life, Janie is able to overcome her circumstances and get back up again after every fall. According to Dianne Coutu’s 2002 article on resilience, resilient people exhibit “a staunch acceptance of reality; a deep belief, often buttressed by strongly held values, that life is meaningful; and an uncanny ability to improvise” (“How Resilience Works”). Janie’s calm acceptance of her reality, ability to improvise, and outlook that life is meaningful proves that she is a resilient person.

        Janie is resilient because she has a firm grasp on reality. This ability allows her to look past the emotions attached to a situation to see it for what it is. Janie first shows that she has this skillset after arguing with her first husband, Logan Killicks: “When the throbbing calmed a little she gave Logan’s speech a hard thought and placed it beside the things she had seen and heard” (Hurston 32). Janie is pained by what Logan said to her, but that feeling doesn’t linger for very long. She considered what he said to decide what it meant to her, and then put the thought along with her other memories. This type of skill is often referred to as mindfulness, and it is used in meditation to move past distressing thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness does not mean forcing a thought out of one’s head, it simply means acknowledging the thought, and then watching it pass from a distance; this is exactly what Janie does here. Janie’s ability to calmly accept her reality allows her to learn from her experiences all the while preventing the painful memories from destroying her. One could also argue that Janie’s lack of acceptance of reality in certain situations renders her vulnerable, and therefore, not resilient. However, vulnerability does not necessarily signify that a person is not resilient; it is how the person responds to the situation after fully processing the information that determines their resilience. When the doctor reveals that Tea Cake was going to die, “Janie fooled around outside a while and tried to think it wasn’t so” (Hurston 178). At this moment Janie takes a while to process the fact that her loved one doesn’t have long to live. She is distressed by this new knowledge, but this didn’t prevent her from taking whatever action she could. On the very next page, Janie had “made up her mind to go see about that medicine from Palm beach” (Hurston 179). After being momentarily blinded by grief, Janie leaps into action. She is never paralyzed by her circumstances; she has the ability to recover quickly and take the next step of action. If Janie had continued to live in denial of Tea Cake’s fatal illness, then she wouldn’t be considered resilient in this situation. Resilience is the ability to accept harsh realities. This does not mean becoming numb to tragic events; it means moving forward even when things become difficult. It is her ability to keep moving that makes this an example of her resilience.

Janie is resilient because she is able to improvise and keep her composure throughout challenging situations. The doctor told Janie that Tea Cake may develop violent tendencies before his impending death. Despite her state of mourning, Janie was able to think clearly and creatively: “She whirled the cylinder so that if he even did draw the gun on her it would snap three times before it would fire” (Hurston 182). Janie takes preventative measures by preparing her rifle so there is a warning sound in the event that Tea Cake does attempt to shoot her. Janie was able to see that Tea Cake (the man she loves) may hurt her. She doesn’t let her love blind her to the situation at hand; instead, she prepares for the worst in quite an ingenious way. Janie’s ability to improvise would save her later on in the chapter when Tea Cake does attempt to shoot her. The ability to improvise is a key trait of resilient people. Earlier on in Janie’s relationship with Tea Cake, Janie concealed a large sum of money within her dress: “Let Tea Cake think that was all she had. Things might not turn out like she thought” (Hurston 117). Janie trusted Tea Cake, but she still took preventative measures to protect herself in case her bosom friend Phoenix was correct about his true intentions to steal Janie’s inherited fortune. Janie’s forethought in this situation is a fantastic illustration of her resilience. She thought ahead and surveyed the possible outcomes of her situation without letting her feelings blind her. Her ability to see her reality clearly allows her to make choices that will protect her future self. When the storm raged overhead Janie and Tea Cake decided to try to reach higher ground. They collected their important papers and began to wrap them in oilcloth. While the water of the flood pushed against the walls of their house, and the wind howled up above, “Janie held it straight while he slashed off a strip” (Hurston 160). Even through life or death situations, Janie is able to maintain her composure. She held the oilcloth straight and did not tremble or slacken her grip. Janie’s ability to stay calm under pressure shows that she is very good at accepting her reality; this is what makes her resilient. It could be argued that Janie showed a lack of resilience here. Tea Cake had to guide Janie through every step of their evacuation; “Git our our insurance papers tuhgether, Janie…” (Hurston 160). Janie did not exhibit her usual level of initiative here. She had to rely on Tea Cake to keep the both of them alive during the storm. Janie’s resilience is not canceled out by this momentary lack of initiative. No matter who you are, there are times when you need support from others to move onto the next step of your mission. Resilient people are still human, and all humans need occasional assistance in trying times.

Janie is resilient because she holds a strong belief that life is meaningful. Several times throughout the book, Janie makes statements about meaning in her own life. Janie understands that a meaningful life doesn’t necessarily mean a life full of joy and absence of hardship. A meaningful life entails a life full of careful reflection. Janie shows that she is capable of careful reflection throughout the book. At the very beginning of the book, the narration states that, “...women forget all those things they don’t want to remember, and remember everything they don’t want to forget”  (Hurston 1). The narration begins Janie’s tale, so it aligns with her beliefs. Janie believes that women must be resilient to succeed in the world; that women must collect meaningful moments, and forget the parts that are painful or irrelevant. The sentence following reads, “The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly” (Hurston 1). Current reality must be meaningful because women of this time did not often have the chance to dream. They had to be realistic and make do with their situation. Janie sees her life as meaningful because hopelessness is the other option; a life with neither meaning nor hope for a bright future is no life at all. Janie’s perspective on life is introduced very early on in the book. “Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone” (Hurston 8). Janie is capable of looking back at her life in an objective way. She can recall the good and bad aspects of her life as small parts of a larger picture. Janie can see the whole tree representing her life; every event connecting to form the person she is now. She accepts her past because she knows it shaped who she is. Without the pains of her past, she might not be the person she knows and loves.

The book ends with a profound quote that further illustrates Janie’s view of life; “She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net. So much of life in its meshes! She called in her soul to come see” (Hurston 193). Janie is referring to her future and how much life she has left to live. Janie’s life has been undoubtedly difficult. She’s mourned the death of her grandmother, abusive husband, and one true love, Tea Cake. She faced disenfranchisement because of the time period and her race and gender. A meaningful life does not mean a life without hardship or pain; a meaningful life refers to the opportunity to be human with all its ups and downs; Janie has a stark understanding of this. Janie understands that life is meaningful not in spite of, but because of the hardships and the lessons learned from them.

Janie is the pinnacle of resilience. She faced the death of those close to her, abuse, discrimination, and yet, she was still always strong enough to get back up after every fall. This is thanks to her possession of the key traits of resilience. Janie’s firm grasp on reality, improvisational skills, and belief that life is meaningful is what makes her so resilient. Together, these traits provided Janie with the tools she needed to not just survive, but also to thrive. Resilience is not just reserved for fictional characters; resilience is within every one of us in some aspects. Life has its difficulties no matter who you are. If you ever struggle to accept your reality, act quickly in an urgent situation, or find it challenging to see your life as meaningful, take a moment and ask yourself: what might Janie Mae Crawford do? Perhaps the answer will aid you in your undertaking.

Works Cited

Coutu, Diane. “How Resilience Works.” CommonLit, 2002, www.commonlit.org/en/students/student_lessons/5402024. Accessed 5 Oct. 2020.

Zora Neale Hurston. Their Eyes Were Watching God. 1937. New York, Harper Perennial, 2006.

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