To the horizon and back:

To the horizon and back:

“Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some, they come in with the tide. For others, they said forever on the horizon never out of sight”. Directly from the opening lines of Zora Neale Hurston’s 1937 novel, she discusses the idea that people’s goals in life depend greatly on what they themselves consider important and how they see the world. Janie’s grandmother for one came from a background of poverty and slavery, her priorities consisted of safety and rising in socioeconomic status. Janie’s second husband Jody wanted political power, recognition, and respect from his peers. Lastly, Janie sought to experience love and genuine human connection, something which she eventually does find in Tea Cake. For Janie her connection with Tea Cake and their time together was her dream and journey to the horizon, it was all she ever cared about. Despite Janie and Tea Cake’s relationship eventually ending in tragedy it doesn’t take away from the beauty with which Janie perceives it. Janie’s goal was to experience love, regardless of how long it lasted, regardless of how tragic it ended. 

The message of Their Eyes Were Watching God relates heavily to David Foster Wallace’s essay “This is Water”. Wallace argues that life reflects what you want from it, in other words, your goals determine how you experience life. Orienting your life around material objects such as wealth or power almost always results in a miserable life; however, orienting your life towards something such as love, compassion or faith can heavily improve the way you see the world. An example from Their Eyes Were Watching God is Jody, he chose to orient his life around power, in the end, he dies alone, paranoid and dissatisfied with life. Janie meanwhile, despite the great tragedy her story ends, ends on a happy note. She could have chosen to perceive Tea Cake’s death as a tragedy and the end of her happiness. Instead, she chooses to look back at her time spent with Tea Cake in a celebratory manner, he fulfilled her dreams and looks back at her journey to the horizon with great bliss. 

Related note:

Overall the way Janie chooses to react to Tea Cake’s death reminds me of this scene from South Park when Butters is dumped by his girlfriend (see image below). Butters feels sad about being broken up with, just like Janie feels bad about Tea Cake’s death. Both, however, choose to see their losses with a sense of gratitude for what they once had. In other words, they decide how they want perceive the world just like in Wallace’s “This Is Water".