In the story Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie Crawford’s worldview is deeply rooted in her own beliefs on ethics and spirituality; but my worldview, the Christian worldview, is solely based on the teachings of God, and not the ideals of man. Knowing Janie Crawford’s worldview can help us understand why she did certain things, and what drew her to make them.
One of the most important questions when determining one’s worldview is “Who am I?” In the book, Janie Crawford is a woman looking for true love and satisfaction with her life. In her first marriage, Janie had high hopes that it would live up too her dreams of true love, but it ultimately falls short. Janie’s quest for fulfillment leads her to marry a man named Joe Starks. The marriage with him also fails, as it also does not live up to Janie’s ideals and does not give her a sense of fulfillment. After the end of her second marriage, her search for love pushes her to marry Tea Cake, a man with little money or status, who truly loves Janie. Janie’s multiple marriages tells me that her driving force is her desire to be loved and feel satisfaction with her life. In the Christian worldview, the individual is supposed to strive to be more like Christ by following His commands and advise. If I follow Christ according to His commands, He will give me satisfaction with life and improve my character.
A second important question when trying to determine worldview is “Where did I come from?” Janie Crawford was born in a time when slavery had recently ended, so discrimination ran rampant in society. Her grandmother had lived a life of poverty, and taught Janie that one’s goals in life should be less focused on family and heritage, but on success. Janie tried to follow this advise in her first two marriages, but then realized that heritage and being yourself is more important to happiness than success. Before this, Janie had tried to be herself, but also be included in society by conforming to their standards. This shows that Janie’s heritage and individuality is more important than conformity, so she chose to be herself. Due to my upbringing in a Christian household, I also believe that conforming to society’s standards should not be my life’s goal, but should be to become more like Christ by following His commands in the hopes of becoming a better person in His eyes.
Another important question is “Where am I going?” In the story, Janie only seems to consider there might be something after death when Tea Cake dies. At his funeral, Janie bought a new guitar fo Tea Cake and put it in the casket with him so “He would be thinking up new songs to play for her when she got there.”(189) That suggests that Janie believes in some kind of afterlife, but she only talks about it because she thought of Tea Cake as a good man because she found satisfaction with him. Because of my Christian worldview, I believe there is a place each of us goes after death. The Bible says there are two places, heaven and hell, and we will all end up in one of them eventually.
The next question is “What is true and what is false?” In the story Janie does not express that there is only one right and one wrong. Her actions show that she believes different actions are right in different circumstances, and there is not set-in-stone right and wrong. For example, Janie thought it was right to run away from Logan Killicks and her marriage to him, but thought it was wrong to run away from her marriage to Joe Starks. Because I am a Christian, I believe that God tells us what is right and wrong in the Bible, and gives us tools to help us make that judgment.
The fifth important question is “How should I conduct my life, or act?” In the story, Janie seems to believe that it is right to do anything that brings one closer to life satisfaction and happiness. She believes it is okay for her to abandon her husband to get married to a man she thinks will make her happy. When she realizes that her second marriage is also not working out, she stays silent and does nothing to repair the marriage because it has the potential to affect her negatively. Janie’s third marriage also shows that she is just looking to improve her own life, as she also believes she will be happy with Tea Cake. I personally believe that I should act according to the Bible, and act towards the benefit of God and others around me. Unlike Janie, my main goal in life is to help others before myself.
The next question is “Does God exist and if so what is my response to Him?” Janie Crawford seems to believe God exists, but she does not believe in the Christian God. In chapter 20 she says “They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin’ fuh themselves.” (192) Janie’s statement says that people should find God, but live for themselves. This idea is contrary to God’s teachings, as He tells us to find Him and work for the benefit of others, and not just our own. Throughout the story, Janie had never shown that she believed in God, as she felt it was right to run away from her first husband and marry another man, but the Bible speaks of doing this as adultery, which is a sin. Her belief that sin can be right is evidence that if Janie does believe in a god, it is not the Christian God. My Christian worldview involves the belief that God is definitely real, and is constantly at work in the world. My response to God is I want Him to continue to work through me for His glory.
Janie Crawford is a great example of a person who looks to themselves for guidance, and their whole life is focused on pursuing their own happiness. She shows time and time again that she puts her own happiness above others, and it is all evidence that her worldview is not one centered on Christ. I hope I will have the opportunity in the future to help people like Janie find their way to Christ, so that they will also work to bring Him glory.
