Janie first arrives at this town, at sundown, with a faded overshirt and muddy overalls. Arriving dramatically and without any notice, Janie surprises the town's people. The town women, who were always jealous of Janie's marriage to a younger man and money, become delighted and excited about Janie's solemn arrival without her husband. "It was mass cruelty", Hurston says. The town women cruelly start talking behind Janie, and even concluding that her husband left Janie for a younger woman. Among these bitter women, a woman named Pheoby Watson stands up for Janie. "You mean, you mad ' cause she didn't stop and tell us all her business. Anyhow, what you ever know her to do so bad as y'all make out?" (p.3) Pheoby, Janie's best friend, straightforwardly points out to the towns women that Janie did nothing wrong and they had no right to talk about Janie like that. Pheoby then goes to Janie with her famous mulatto rice to talk and comfort her. In response, Janie says "Tea Cake is gone. And dat's de only reason you see me back here..." (p.7), ending the first chapter.
In the second chapter, we are able to see the childhood of Janie. Like any other child, Janie is naive. In page 8 and 9, she says "Ah was wid dem white chillun so much till Ah didn't know Ah wuzn't white till Ah was round six years old...Ah couldn't recognize dat dark chile as me..." This represents how we are essentially all equal and the only difference between us is skin color. However, in real life, many do not see people that way. "Us lived dere havin' fun till de chillun at school go to teasin' me 'bout livin' in de white folks' back yard." (p.9) As we can see from this quote, Janie is teased and bullied in school because she lives with white people. And it got worse to the point that Janie had to move away. The story moves on, and Janie tells Pheoby about her teenage years. "She thought awhile and decided that her conscious life had commenced at Nanny's gate." (p.10) Janie says. In one spring afternoon in West Florida, Janie has her first kiss with a boy named Johnny Taylor. This clearly marks her progression from a child to a young woman, who is now aware of love. She also starts asking questions such as "Where were the singing bees for her?" and wonders what her answer is. As she is a teenager now, she starts getting curious about herself, life, and the world. However, her deep thoughts become interrupted with her grandmother's scoldings. Her grandmother is very unhappy with her choice of kissing "trash-nigger, no breath-and-brithces, lak Johnny Taylor" (p.13) and wants Janie to get married right away. Nanny introduces Brother Logan Killicks, who's a "good man" (p.13), that can provide protection for Janie. However, Janie immediately says no, saying "He look like some ole skullhead in de grave yard." (p.13) Her grandmother then explains her painful past of slavery, being raped, and being beaten. Nanny truly wants Janie to have a better life than her, and advises Janie to get married to Logan Killicks. Here, it can be seen that her grandmother is very sacrificing; "Ah done de best Ah kin by you. Ah raked and scraped and bought dis lil piece uh land so you wouldn't have to stay in de white folks' yard and tuck yo' head befo' other chillun at school." (p.19) She tries her best to make Janie's life happier and better than hers, but in the process, she also ignores Janie's true wishes of finding true love and discovering herself. Even though Janie does directly say "Ah don't love him at all... Please don't make me marry Mr. Killicks" (p.15), her grandmother is very stubborn; she tells Janie that she's old now and cannot take care of her anymore.
And thus, in the third chapter, we are able to see Janie married with Logan Killicks. However, Janie doesn't seem to be happy. She thought that even though she doesn't love him right now, she would eventually love him. However, she reveals that "Ah must gointer love him, and, and Ah don't. Maybe if somebody was to tell me how, Ah could do it." (p.23) In other words, she doesn't love him and doesn't know even how to love him. Here, Janie's naivety is still shown; she still thinks that love can exist in this arranged marriage. "Wait awhile baby. Yo' mind will change." (p.25) Nanny says. However, Nanny dies a month later, leaving Janie alone. This allows Janie to realize that marriage id not make love. "Janie's first dream was dead, so she became a woman" Hurston says. And yes, she did. With her naive dream of love crushed, Janie finally realized the harsh truth and reality, making her more mature and a step closer to a real woman.
In this book, the pear tree seems to have a great significance. It is mentioned in the first three chapters, and is a great metaphor for Janie's life. "Janie had spent most of the day under a blossoming pear tree in the back-yard... ever since the first tiny bloom had opened... It had called her to come and gaze... From barren brown stems to glistening leaf-buds; from the leaf-buds to snowy virginity of bloom. It stirred her tremendously." (p.10) Here, the pear tree is blossoming, which represents Janie's start to mature and become a young woman. Also, as she is going through puberty at this moment, this blossoming pear tree with very lively stems and leaf-buds signify her growth in mind. Janie is now aware of love, sexual feelings, and life in general. I believe that this pear tree will be used throughout the book to represent Janie's life progression, making the stems signify her stages of life, and leaves her achievements in life.
Personally, this book was, at first, a bit hard to read due to the colloquial language. However, the hidden values, lessons, and character progression were very meaningful, making me keep on reading even though I was only supposed to read one chapter. There are still many questions unanswered, such as the story of Janie's father, so I will have to keep on reading to see more of the hidden values, meanings, and stories.
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