(Chapter 1)
One evening, Janie Crawford comes back from Eatonville, Florida. As she walks through the town, her old neighbors were sitting on their porches talking about how she had left town in nice clothing with a younger man and came back muddy and in overalls. When she walks by the neighbors, she doesn’t stop to chat with them which only causes them to talk about her more. The chapter then tells the Janie was in love with a man named Tea Cake which the women tell that she was way too old for him. Even though the ladies were jealous of Janie being with a younger man, they tried to label her as whorish, in which Janie’s best friend defended her saying she’s never done anything to her anyone and then later took her to dinner. As Janie and her friend talk, we find out that they have been friends for a long while and they trust each other. Pheoby was afraid that Tea Cake has taken all of Janie’s money and ran off with a younger woman but Janie makes it clear that he was very good to her and tell Pheoby that he was ‘gone’ but we aren’t sure exactly what that means.

Characterization- Protagonist: Janie Mae Crawford- An attractive, independent, middle-aged black woman who is curious and has lots of confidence. Direct: “Youse just as crazy as you ever was (5).” -This sentence tells that Janie is still the same person she was before she left which is a good thing.
Imagery- “But nobody moved, nobody spoke, nobody even thought to swallow spit until after her gate slammed behind her (2).” -This shows that after Janie had walked away, the people of her community were so shocked at how she looked compared to how she used to look before she left town and they were all speechless because they didn’t know what to think.
Figurative Language- Personification: “The varicolored cloud dust that the sun had stirred up in the sky was settling by slow degrees (5).” -As the sun was going down, the clouds had changed colors and were getting darker and darker by the minute.
Mood and Tone- The mood of this chapter is very interesting at the beginning because the women were being rude about Janie returning but then it turns to a very light-hearted mood because Janie and Pheoby are back with each other and they have a fun time eating dinner together and talking until Janie starts to tell her a story.

(Chapter 2)
Janie was raised by her grandmother, as she had never met her mother or father. They lived in the back of a white couples backyard, Mr. and Mrs. Washburn. She played with the couples children and thinks that she is a white person herself until she sees a photograph of herself. When she was in school, they colored kids would make fun of Janie for living in a white persons backyard and normally remind her that Mr. Washburn’s dog hunted after her father for sleeping with her mother even though he wanted to marry her. Nanny eventually buys her own plot of land and a house for her and Janie to live in because she thinks it would be better for her. One day, Janie kisses a boy named Johnny Taylor and another time, Nanny catches them together and decides to have Janie marry a middle-aged farmer named Logan who would be able to take care of her unlike Johnny could have. Nanny doesn’t want Janie to be a mule for the rest of her life that black people normally are. Janie doesn’t want to marry, but her nanny was born into slavery. When she had given birth to her daughter, Leafy, the master’s wife knew it was her husbands because of it’s features. They planned to sell the daughter but Janie’s grandmother ran off and worked for the Washburn’s. Eventually, Leafy was raped by her schoolteacher and when she gave birth to Janie, she drank every night and ended up running away.

Characterization- Nanny: After being a slave, she now wants what is best for Janie which means a stable finance and respectability.
Imagery- “Nanny’s head and face looked like the standing roots of some old tree that had been torn away by storm (12).” -As much as Nanny had gone through, she was very old and looked very old which meant wrinkles and loosing color to her skin.
Figurative Language- Personification: “It followed her through all her waking moments and caressed her in her sleep (10).” -Janie had felt something when she was sitting underneath the blossoming pear tree and the first tiny bloom had opened and ever since then she kept thinking about it. Simile: “Old Nanny sat there rocking Janie like an infant and thinking back and back (16).” -Nanny was holding Janie in her lap rocking in the chair like someone with a young child would do.
Mood and Tone- This chapter is sort of educational because Janie tells her grandmother’s story about being a slave and it shows how slaves were treated and how they are even treated after they aren’t a slave anymore.

(Chapter 3)
When Janie is about to marry Logan, she realizes she doesn’t love him but believes that after she is married, love will come to her naturally. Her wedding a big festive affair and later Janie goes to Nanny for advice. She tells her that she doesn’t think she could ever love Logan and Nanny tells her that she should appreciate his wealth and the good man he is. She keeps telling her that as time goes on, she will eventually develop feelings for the boy. A year later, Nanny dies and even then, Janie still doesn’t have feelings for Logan and becomes more confused on how the relationship is supposed to work.

Characterization- Logan Killicks: Janie’s first husband, keeps Janie financially stable with his money and status. Doesn’t do much to get Janie to love him really.
Imagery- “She knew that God tore down the old world every evening and built a new one by sun-up. It was wonderful to see it take form with the sun and emerge from the gray dust of its making (25).” -Janie realizes that each day is different even though not much changes day to day but still likes to see how God puts things differently each day.
Figurative Language- Metaphor: “She knew the work was a stallion rolling in the blue pasture of ether (25).” -Janie thinks that the world is just running through the pasture that is God and compares it to a stallion running though a field.
Mood and Tone- Janie comes to realization that marriage doesn’t determine love between a couple and that she hasn’t found love with Logan and wants to become a woman.

(Chapter 4)
Logan tries to get Janie to work for him instead of being spoiled, as he calls her. One day while Logan is buying a mule to help Janie work, she sees a nicely dressed man strolling down the road. She talks to him and flirts with him, finding out that his name is Joe Starks, is from Georgia, and has great ambitions. He stays around the town because him and Janie secretly meet up everyday and she becomes to believe that she could love him. Two weeks later he tells her that he wants her to leave Logan and marry him instead. That night and next morning, Janie and Logan are in a continuous fight that leads to Logan yelling at Janie and belittling her and ordering her to stay with him and work because she is too ‘spoiled’ and starts sobbing. She leaves him and runs off with ‘Jody’ and they marry the first chance they get. This is Janie’s second husband.

Characterization- Joe Starks: He was very nice and caring towards Janie and wanted to take care of her instead of Logan and wanted her all to himself.
Imagery- “It was a cityfied, stylish dressed man with his hat set at an angle that didn’t belong in these parts. His coast was over his arm, but he didn’t need to represent his clothes (27).” -This is the description of Joe when Janie first saw him walking up the road.
Figurative Language- Personification: “They sat on the boarding house porch and saw the sun plunge into the same crack in the earth from which the night emerged (33).” -The sun was going down and turning into night just like the night had turned into day. Simile: “Logan held his wad of tobacco real still in his jaw like a thermometer of his feelings while he studied Janie’s face and waited for her to say something (27).” -Logan was holding his tobacco in his mouth like you would if you were taking your temperature when you’re sick.
Mood and Tone- Janie realizes she is happy being with Joe and that she wants to have change and she thinks she is going to get that with Joe since that is what he wants too.

(Chapter 5)
Janie and Jody make their way to Florida and when they get their they figure out their in a town called Eatonville with no mayor. The town is only 50 acres and Jody puts a payment down for 200 acres from Captain Eaton. Jody calls a town meeting and plans to build a store and post office, then hires two men, Coker and Taylor, to build his store and the rest of the town clears places for roads and recruits new residents. Jody is quickly named mayor and doesn’t let Janie give a speech which upsets her but stays quiet. Jody buys a street lamp with his own money then calls another town meeting to vote if it should be installed or not, the result being a majority vote and it will be installed. After having a huge party for the lighting of the lamp, Janie states that she wants to have more time with Jody because he has done so much but he only replies that he is just getting started. Soon the town starts to grow apart and Janie is starting to become jealous. They have a new two-story house which is much bigger than everyone else's in town. Jody runs a man out of town that was caught stealing some of his ribbon cane and the town starts to wonder how Janie can live with someone who acts like Jody does but with all of Jody’s wealth and authority, they plan to not question it further.

Characterization- Direct: Jody- He has become less aware of Janie and he doesn’t interact with her as much as he used to. As the chapter continues, he gets more and more control of the city and is starting to do more than he should which is changing everyone’s view about him and they worry about Janie and how she can live with him.
Imagery- “They tried hard to hold it in, but enough incredulous laughter burst out of their eyes and leaked from the corners of their mouths to inform anyone of their thoughts (37).” - Jody had stated something that the people thought was ridiculous which cause them to start laughing and they laughed so hard that you could tell by their eyes and mouth that they would tell anyone.
Figurative Language- Foreshadowing: At the beginning of the chapter, when Jody buys the plot of land and starts to order people around to do things even when he wasn’t in charge, you could sort of see that he was going to start becoming more and more in charge which would lead to him not actually paying attention to anyone but himself.

(Chapter 6)
As much as Janie doesn't like to run the shop, she does like listening to the stories that are being told by the men and women sitting on the porch. One of their most talked about topics is about a man named Matt Bonner who seems to not take care of his mule, such as not feeding him enough, working him too hard, and how cruel he is to the animal. Jody keeps telling Janie she shouldn’t listen to the “trashy people” because she is too good for them and he orders her to wear a headband so the other men don’t look at her long hair. One day the mule runs away and they find him outside the shop and as men started to irritate it, Jody buys him for 5 dollars which then turns into a “noble act” because he saved the mule just for Janie. After it dies, the town holds a mock funeral which turns into a festivity. Jody wouldn’t allow Janie to attend because it wouldn’t have been proper for her to attend. Janie and Jody start to fight and she ends up listening to two people on the porch having a humorous debate until Jody orders her back inside to wait on a woman. One night, they get into another fight and Jody ends up slapping Janie but all she does is stay silent and goes into the store to find a man begging for her to give him and his family food. She gives him some and charges it to another account.

Figurative Language- Personification: “Every morning the world flung itself over and exposed the town to the sun (51).” -As time went on, the sun came up over the horizon, lighting the town up with sunlight. Simile: “They have got that fresh, new taste about them like young mustard greens in the spring, and the young men on the porch are just bound to tell them about it and buy them some treats (67).” -They are young, pretty and aren’t dirty which they get compared to new mustard greens in the spring which are pretty and clean also.
Mood and Tone- It’s interesting in this chapter because of Janie and Jody’s relationship showing differently as it has been and then the chapter tells how everyone else doesn’t know how they can still have a relationship with how badly Jody treats Janie, which puts the mood in an uncomfortable position.

(Chapter 7)
As the years go on, Janie becomes more and more defeated and starts to ignore her own emotions and just do whatever Jody tells her to do. She works at the store but sees herself elsewhere and she starts to hate the life she is living. Starting to debate on whether to run away or not, she thinks she wouldn’t be able to find refuge anywhere. She starts to notice how Jody is becoming old and how he is having trouble moving around which Jody is realizing also. He tries to take Janie’s mind off him by telling her about her appearance and to worry about hers. His verbal attacks have gotten worse which causes him to one day lash out at Janie in front of the store full of people but she gives him a remark back which stuns the crowd and cause Jody to hit Janie and run out the store.

Imagery- “But mostly, she lived between her hat and her heels, with her emotional disturbances like shade patterns in the woods—come and gone with the sun (76).” -Janie kept to herself and started to become more sad which changed along with the sun rising and falling.

(Chapter 8)
After Jody had run out of the store, at home, he had switched to a different room to sleep in as he was becoming more and more distant with everything. He stopped eating Janie’s cooking and doesn’t make any contact with her. Some say that Janie is poisoning him but she quickly brings in a doctor and he has said that Jody’s kidney’s has stopped working which will cause him to soon die. As Janie starts to feel bad for him, she tries talking to him even thought the conversation doesn’t go anywhere except into another small argument. She tells him he is dying and he gets upset because he doesn’t want to hear those types of things. Trying to tell him everything he has done to her and how he didn't ever appreciate her and how she never got to express anything, he slowly dies and she looks back at how she has aged but was still very pretty. Since she was out of Jody’s command, she brings her hair down from her band and quickly realizes she should be mourning so she ties it back up and tells everyone that Jody had died.

Imagery- “Through the thin counterpane she could see what was left of his belly huddled before him on the bed like some helpless thing seeking shelter (85),”

(Chapter 9)
After Jody’s funeral, Janie hides how she is free now and happy that she isn’t under Jody’s say anymore but keeps a sad look to everyone else around her. She now wears he hair down in a braid and she realizes that she hates her Nanny because of how she raised Janie and how she taught her to only look at he status and wealth of people and to not go chasing after your dreams. After 6 months, she doesn’t want to find another man, as many have come up to her, because she doesn’t want to be tied down again. Phoeby doesn’t want the town to think she isn’t sad about Jody’s death but she said she didn’t care because she never was actually sad that Jody died.

Imagery- “She did not reach outside for anything, nor did the things of death reach inside to disturb her calm (88).” -Janie remained calm about Jody’s death and she didn’t look to anybody for help and nothing came to her to cause her to become sad about the death.
Figurative Language- Similie: “She felt like slapping some of them for sitting around grinning at her like a pack of cheesy cats, trying to make out they looked like love (90).”

(Chapter 10)
One night a baseball game is being played in the town. Janie decides to start closing up early since everyone is at the game, until a good looking, tall man walks in to buy a pack of cigarettes. He makes Janie laugh with his small talk and invites her to play checkers. She was shocked as she had never been asked before. After their game of checkers, they stay talking and he tells her his name is Vergible Woods, otherwise known as Tea Cake. As the people from the baseball game start to come back to the store, Tea Cake stays and then later helps her clean up and close the store down then walks her home and gives her a brief goodnight.

Imagery- “Those full, lazy eyes with the lashes curling sharply away like drawn scimitars (96).” and “Soon its amber fluid was drenching the earth, and quenching the thirst of the day (99).”
Mood and Tone- It was very light hearted because Janie had found someone she connected with and was able to talk to him like she had known him for longer than she did. They were able to laugh and joke with each other, along with flirting.

(Chapter 11)
When Tea Cake doesn’t come back for a week, Janie thinks she should be rude to him when he shows up but once he does, his joking attitude only causes her to smile. They sit on her porch again playing checkers and laughing with each other and despite how late it is, they go fishing the rest of the night. Janie is told that Tea Cake was too low of a man for her, but she doesn’t care and continues to see each other. She falls asleep on his lap one night and that morning she tells him that she only likes him as a friend but Tea Cake likes her more than that and he is immediately upset and leaves as quickly as he can. He doesn’t show up the next back but he does three days later. He tells her his feelings are real and he leaves then shows up again, sitting in her hammock. They spend the night and then he comes back another day with an old car. He says he wants to make their relationship public to the town and he wants to take her to the big town picnic.

Figurative Language- Personification- “ They went inside and their laughter rang out first from the kitchen and all over the house (107).” “He seemed to be crushing scent out of the world with his footsteps (106).”

(Chapter 12)
At the picnic, Janie and Tea Cake are the topic of everyone’s conversations and gossip. Someone tells Pheoby that she should talk Janie out of staying with Tea Cake because he is too low for her and is possibly using her for her money. Janie declines that rumor and says that he treats her the way she wanted to be treated, unlike Jody. Pheoby doesn’t want her to end up like an older widow that was cheated on by a younger man. She tells that she wants to sell the shop and leave town then marry Tea Cake because she doesn’t want anyone to compare Tea Cake to Jody. Janie also tells that she had lived her whole life under her Nanny’s rules and wanted to leave them and do her own thing.

Imagery- “Done took to high heel slipper and a ten dollar hat! Looking like some young girl, always in blue because Tea Cake told her to wear it (110).” -Gives a small image of what Janie wears. “Wait till you see de new blue satin Tea Cake done picked out for me tuh stand up with him in. High heel slippers, necklace, earrings, everything he wants tuh see me in (115).” -Another example of how Janie is dressing.

(Chapter 13)
Janie and Tea Cake leave Eatonville and go to Jacksonville to get married. Still a little worried about everyone saying he is using her for money, she pins 200 dollars to the inside of her dress and doesn’t tell Tea Cake about it. One morning, Tea Cake leaves and doesn’t come back and Janie finds that her money is missing. She becomes distraught and when Tea Cake does return she is still majorly upset. He tells her that he found the money and got excited then went to buy his railroad workers a nice dinner and didn’t want Janie to join because he was scared she would think they were too low class. From then on, she tells him she wants to enjoy everything he does. Tea Cake promises to get the money back and goes gambling one night and doesn't return until the next day, leaving Janie distraught once again. He was hurt with a razor by a loser when he won 322 dollars. Janie trusts him now and tells him about the 1200 dollars she has in the bank but he doesn’t want her to use it, as they are going to go to the Everglades and get work.

Imagery- “And there was Tea Cake in the big old station in a new blue suit and straw hat, hauling her off to a preacher’s house first thing (116).” -This gives a very detailed description of what Tea Cake was wearing and doing, giving a mental idea of how he looked.
Figurative Language- Personification: “The train beat on itself and danced on the shiny steel rails mile after mile (116).” “Daylight was creeping around the cracks of the world when Janie heard a feeble rap on the door (126).”

(Chapter 14)
When Janie and Tea Cake make it to the Everglades, Tea Cake finds work almost immediately and they find a house which is actually just a small shack. As they have nothing to do, Tea Cake teaches Janie how to shoot and somehow becomes better at shooting than Tea Cake himself. When the season starts to pick up, they start to plant their beans and seem to have a nice, laid back life. When the season starts to die down, many workers come in and had no where to stay so they start to stay in the fields and around their house near a campfire. As Janie stays home and cooks, Tea Cake is out in the fields working. Soon, he starts to come home at random hours saying that he misses Janie and that she should come work with him. She does and it shows that she isn’t stuck up to work which now means that Tea Cake helps her cook supper in the evening. Janie looks back on Eatonville and how the people there would think of her now. She just laughs and thinks about how much freedom she has now.

Imagery- “Work all day for money, fight all night for love (131).” -During the day, the people would work, and during nighttime, people would live their lives. “It’s hard trying to follow your shoe instead of your shoe following you (131).” -It is harder to be struggling while looking for the best way to get money than to have money come to you easily.

(Chapter 15)
Janie starts to become a bit jealous of a girl named Nunkie who flirted with Tea Cake out in the fields. She starts to become even more flirtatious with the man as the season goes on by touching him and falling over him. One day when Janie looks out into the fields, she finds them both missing and finds them in the cane field, play wrestling and claiming that Nunkie had stolen tickets from Tea Cake and he wanted to see who could win for them. Janie is furious and wants to beat Tea Cake but he holds her back and the next morning they laugh about the situation.

Imagery- “A little seed of fear was growing into a tree (136).” -Janie became scared that Tea Cake was cheating on her. She became jealous and just kept getting more and more jealous.

(Chapter 16)
Once the season ends, Tea Cake and Janie want to stay another year in their home. Janie finds out that their is nothing to do except socialize with the Bahamians that live in the muck and Mrs. Turner who is a funny-looking, conceited black woman who likes to talk about the evil things black people do. She likes the light colored people and how black people are foolish and lazy which leads her to telling Janie she should leave Tea Cake and marry her light-skinned brother. When Tea Cake overhears that conversation, he doesn’t want Mrs. Turner coming to the house anymore and he tells Mrs. Turner to stay away from his wife. Nontheless, the two ladies still see each other and she still disapproves of Janie and Tea Cake’s relationship but Janie could care less.

Imagery- “Janie’s coffee-and-cream complexion and her luxurious hair made Mrs. Turner forgive her for wearing overalls like the other women who worked in the fields (140).” -Janie had a white person’s features and Mrs. Turner was fascinated by her hair and complexion. Mrs. Turner was so distracted by her beautiful features that she didn’t mind her working side.
Direct Characterization- Mrs. Turner: “Mrs. Turner was a milky sort of a woman that belonged to child-bed. Her shoulders rounded a little, and she must have been conscious of her pelvis because she kept it stuck out in front of her so she could always see it (139).”
Figurative Language- Metaphor: “Through indiscriminate suffering men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion. It is the stones for altars and the beginning of wisdom. Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers (145).”

(Chapter 17)
The season starts up again and Janie and Tea Cake tend in the bean field as always. They come across some new people, including Mrs. Turner who brings her brother into town. Tea Cake feels threatened by the man and ends up beating Janie and then takes care of her afterwards while Janie doesn’t think of him any differently after that. The men of the town envy his power over her. On Saturdays, the workers get paid and most likely buy liquor with that money. One day, two men get drunk and are walking around town making a bigger scene than they should and end up in Mrs. Turner’s restaurant, causing a fight to break out between them and Tea Cake who was eating there at that moment. The fight gets out of hand and the restaurant is trashed, along with Mrs. Turner getting injured and blames it all on her husband for letting all that happened take place in the restaurant.

Imagery- “A great deal of the old crowd were back. But there were lots of new ones too (147).” -Many men and women cause jealousies to form in Janie and Tea Cake’s relationship. Some of the people had caused problems before, but new people had joined in.
Figurative Language- Hyperbole- “It got so that the floor was knee-deep with something no matter where you put your foot down (152).”

(Chapter 18)
As a hurricane is headed towards their way, everyone makes their way out of town and heading towards Palm Beach, some animals following after them. Tea Cake, Janie, and several other men decide to stay in the town and wait it out. They all gather at Tea Cake and Janie’s and a party happens. Only Motor Boat stays over night and the storm begins to build. Tea Cake bets that Janie wishes she was in her old house in Eatonville but she says she doesn’t care and they see there is a flood forming so they flee to higher ground. The Okechobee Lake dikes have been crushed and the water is ruining everything in it’s path throughout the town. The three found refuge in a tall house and as the lake moves closer, the couple leaves and Motorboat stays in the house. Janie gets blown into the rough waters and struggles to get to safety but when she sees a cow and a dog on its back, she reaches for the cows tail to stay safe. The dog then attacks and Tea Cake jumps in to kill the dog by stabbing it after he was bit. They both make it to Palm Beach safely.

Imagery- “They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God (160).” -They were praying to God to give them a chance to live in the darkness of the night.
Figurative Language- Personification: “It woke up old Okechobee and the monster began to roll in his bed (158).” -The hurricane began to build up in the lake.

(Chapter 19)
Once they make it to Palm Beach, Tea Cake is quickly rushed into helping clean up the damage and bury the dead. They have to separate the blacks from the whites where the whites are buried in constructed pine boxes while the blacks are just buried. Tea Cake leaves the work immediately. When he was bit by the dog, Janie wanted him to see a doctor but he refused to do so as he wants to find somewhere to rest. They then decide to go back to the muck since he was done with Palm Beach. They learn only one friend has died in the storm and they start back to work. The bite begins to be a problem for Tea Cake as it causes him to not be able to swallow water. Janie leaves for the doctor but he isn’t able to do anything. From the anger of his illness, Tea Cake is very stubborn and won’t let Janie do anything. At a point, both are standing in front of each other holding guns. They fire simultaneously and Tea Cake falls forward into Janie’s arms. They bury him in Palm Beach with a real mourning afterwards.
Imagery- “Somewhere up there beyond blue ether’s bosom sat He (178).” -God was watching everything happening.
Figurative Language- Simile: “But something Sop had told him made his tongue lie cold and heavy like a dead lizard between his jaws (179).” “Then she saw all of the colored people standing up in the back of the courtroom. Packed tight like a case of celery, only much darker than that (185).”

(Chapter 20)
When Janie is back in the Everglades, the men there realize how badly they treated her so they beat and run Mrs. Turner’s brother out of town. She sees that the Everglades are nothing without Tea Cake so she returns to Eatonville with only a package of seeds to plant in memory of Tea Cake. She ends her story with Pheoby and she tells her that she doesn’t care if people gossip about her behind her back because she’s been to the “horizon and back.” She lays in bed one day and remembers the day she killed Tea Cake and becomes sad but knows he is always with her and that he showed and gave her so much so she will always feel at peace.

Imagery- “Love is lak de sea. It’s uh movin’ thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and it’s different with every shore (191).” -Love changes and it is different for every person.
Figurative Language- Simile: “The light in her hand was like a spark of sun-stuff washing her face in fire (192).”

(Themes)
Love- In this book, marriage and everything inside of marriage doesn’t necessarily mean love. Janie was married to Logan and never loved him which cause her to leave him and be with Joe. When Joe “Jody” Starks dies, she realizes she wasn’t ever in love with him and becomes close with Tea Cake. Even though it’s supposedly right to only have one marriage, Janie had three marriages and loved and didn’t love them. As long as you’re happy, it shouldn’t matter.
Race- The difference between blacks and whites is majorly showed in this book because of how the blacks work and aren’t that wealthy while the whites are shown as the complete opposite. It also shows how good black people are and how they be content in their living situation and the best they can make out of it. They tell stories, make jokes, are able to love each other and that’s what matters.
Appearances- In the beginning of the book, Janie walks up in muddy overalls and a saddened face which causes the people of the town to look at her funny and gossip about her. At the end of the book, we know why she walks up looking like that, but the people of the town don’t. They have no clue as to what has just happened in her life but they make fun of her because she used to wear nice clothing and comes back covered in mud. They didn’t have the right to make fun of her if they didn’t know what she had been though.