Their Eyes Were Watching God Thematic Essay Prompts Directions:

Their Eyes Were Watching God
Thematic Essay Prompts
Directions:
Choose a group of 4 and only 4
Choose an essay topic. It is first come first serve.
Essays should be between 1,000-1,500 words (may go over).
At least 3 sources including the novel must be quoted and cited in the essay.
Must have in-text citations & a MLA Works Cited page.
Must provide a paper copy with the sections highlighted with which person wrote each section.
Share a google doc with Mrs. Sokol- (so she can see revision history). [email protected]. Name the
document with your class hour and first and last name. Example 1 st hour Suzy Jones.
Submit a final copy to turnitin.com on the due date by 7:30AM with every group members name on it.
*** Individual reflections of what grades should be given to team members, thoughts about the project,
thoughts on the book, etc. DUE: The same day as the essay to Turnitin.com by 7:30AM
QUESTIONS???? Ask 
Questions About Gender
1. What are traditional stereotypes of men and women in this novel? In what
ways does Janie fit the typical feminine stereotype?
2. In what ways does Janie violate typical gender boundaries? How could some of
her words or actions be seen as masculine? How might men view this as a
threat?
Questions About Race
1. Is Their Eyes Were Watching God primarily an anti-racism novel? Is racism a
central issue?
2. How does Janie’s identity vacillate between white and black factions? Consider
her appearance, her bloodline, and her behavior (or others’ perception of her
behavior).
Questions About Fate and Free Will
1. To what extent is Janie’s life already determined at birth? Consider factors
outside her control such as her gender, race, bloodline, and appearance.
2. Joe is the most ambitious character in the novel, determined to take his destiny
into his own hands. How does he assert his will in Eatonville? On Janie? Does
Joe succeed in achieving his goals? What does he gain and lose along the way?
3. God’s judgment on man is depicted through the fury of the hurricane. What
does this say about the way man should live his life? Does heaven seem to
condone either Joe’s obsessive ambition or Tea Cake’s casual come-what-may
attitude?
Questions About Society and Class
1. How is race generally linked to class? Do white people occupy a higher class
than black people? Which characters provide exceptions to the general rule?
2. How did slaves’ positions as a sub-class, those not considered human at all,
affect Nanny’s outlook on life? To what social class does she aspire to be
included in? What are the defining characteristics of this class? How does she
impose this perspective on Janie?
3. Why is Janie happy living with the lowest of the low social classes – the migrant
workers in the Everglades? What do they have that the higher social classes
lack?
Questions About Freedom and Confinement
1. Why does Janie feel so trapped in her first two marriages? What aspects of
Janie’s character do Logan and Joe suppress? After Joe’s death, how does Janie
define freedom?
2. Does Tea Cake free Janie or is it just the escape from her first two husbands? If
it is Tea Cake, how does he release Janie from confinement?
3. How is death associated with freedom, especially in Janie’s last two marriages?
Questions About Dreams, Hopes, and Plans
1. How does Janie’s experience under the pear tree set up her dreams and
expectations for the future? How might she be characterized as naïve or
idealistic at this stage in her life?
2. Janie mentions the "deaths" of her dreams several times in the novel. What
does she mean by this? And how do the deaths of these dreams modify her
opinion of men and her expectations for the future?
3. How do Janie’s visions and hopes for her future differ from the hopes of her
peers? Why does she have such different goals for her future than other
characters?