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Their Eyes Were Watching God (Summary) 51782 Views


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Description:

A great marriage begins with a blooming pear tree and ends with a hurricane, rabies, and a murder trial…or something like that.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

Their Eyes were Watching God, a la Shmoop.

00:08

My name is Janie Crawford...

00:10

And if you hear anybody else talkin' bout a Janie Crawford,

00:15

you can tell 'em to KEEP ON FLAPPIN' THEIR BIG YAPPERS!

00:17

....'cause there ain't nobody who ain't me that know what I been through.

00:21

... if you listen to my story, you might learn a thing or two about the real Janie Crawford.

00:28

From the time I was a young woman 'til now, I've changed a lot...

00:32

And each time, my heart had somethin' to do with it.

00:35

You could say that I was changed by the men I loved...or didn't love.

00:41

But I'd tell you that it was me doin' the changin'... and those men?

00:46

...well, I'd say they were just lessons I learned about who to listen to

00:50

and who to tell to shove off.

00:53

True love... Ever since I was a young woman, I wanted it.

00:57

Back then I was seduced by the beauty of a pear tree in full blossom,

01:02

a bee pollinating its flowers...

01:04

...subtle metaphor alert.

01:07

And then this boy from my class came walkin' over and in the glow of the pear tree,

01:12

he changed...

01:15

...and so did I, on account of my heart had never made executive decisions over my brain before.

01:19

I guess my heart's always been a go-getter.

01:25

My Nanny was not pleased, even when I explained

01:28

that it was the pear tree and bees pollinatin' and true love and stuff...

01:33

So, my Nanny did what any sensible woman does when she sees her granddaughter kiss a boy

01:38

for the first time...

01:39

...she married me off to some old geezer who

01:42

could never make me feel like that pear tree in bloom.

01:48

Needless to say, Mr. Killicks was not my type.

01:53

I mean, I'm all for a reliable man, Nanny, but not a man I can rely on to threaten to

01:58

kill me when I... disobey him.

02:02

So I took to standin' outside our house

02:04

and gazing off into the distance wishin' for something else...

02:07

...and I wished so hard that I made a man appear...

02:10

...um, well, I mean, he was walkin' down the road whether I liked it or not, but I

02:15

like to think that my heart was tryin' to get what it wanted again....

02:18

...Since me and my long, flowin' locks did convince him to take me along and make me

02:23

Mrs. Joe Starks. Joe was very persuasive himself, and he made

02:29

himself the first mayor of the first all-black city in America: Eatonville, Florida.

02:36

But then that fool tried to persuade me to be nothin' but a common slave to him.

02:42

He made fun of me in front of everybody!

02:48

And this little heart of mine was not having it.

02:52

Then I gave him a piece of my mind back, he got so insulted that he up and died!

02:56

Look, I felt bad and all, but I ain't gonna pretend it wasn't awfully convenient...

03:04

After Joe died, I did just fine on my own, thank you. No one to tell me what to do or

03:08

what to wear...

03:10

...nobody to kiss me under a blooming pear tree.

03:12

But then this young guy named Tea Cake... that's right -- Tea Cake... came by and

03:18

started botherin' me at my store.

03:19

Then my house, annoying me silly.

03:23

And he annoyed me right smack-dab into loving him.

03:27

We left Eatonville straight for rip-roarin', true love adventures! The Eiffel tower! The

03:32

Italian Riviera!

03:34

...well, okay... from Eatonville to workin' on a field in the Everglades. But hey, I ain't

03:39

never been happier. That muck was my own personal pear tree in bloom...

03:44

Now, fallin' in love is a whirlwind and all, but you ain't expectin' no literal

03:49

hurricanes.

03:52

Well, Tea Cake and I had a real whirlwind.

03:57

And my heart learned a few things...

04:00

Love ain't just a pear tree.

04:05

Love is saving your partner from a rabid dog in a hurricane and getting bit yourself.

04:11

Love is...becoming vicious and aggressive because you contracted rabies until you have

04:15

to get shot by the loved one you saved.

04:22

Love is a million memories which shape who

04:24

you are today, and can't no gossipy old hens ruin that.

04:29

Whether they think I'm a biddy or an angel...

04:31

...I'm just me.

04:32

And my heart will do what it wants.

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