Their Eyes Were Watching God Pride Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #22

She [Janie] tried to make them see how terrible it was that things were fixed so that Tea Cake couldn’t come back to himself until he had got rid of that mad dog that was in him and he couldn’t get rid of the dog and live. He had to die to get rid of the dog. But she hadn’t wanted to kill him. A man is up against a hard game when he must die to beat it. She made them see how couldn’t ever want to be rid of him. She didn’t plead to anybody. She just sat there and told and when she was through she hushed. (19.170)

During her testimony, Janie’s language is sure and authoritative because her pride and love for Tea Cake urge her to tell her story truthfully. She leaves no room for doubt about Tea Cake being a heroic and loving husband or how hard it was for her to kill him.