Journal Entry 9

The structure used in Their Eyes Were Watching God is very important to the text of the novel. Take for example the beginning and end of the story. Both use a reference to the sea, in the beginning, it is a boat, in the end a net. The boat represent the beginning of a grand journey, which Janie ended up taking, accompanied by Logan, Joe and Tea Cake. She goes on this journey and endures many hardships throughout the story, from running away from her first husband, to watching her second erode away, to even having to kill her third and final husband. After all of this happend, at the end of the story, the auothor uses the net to convey how the journey finally came to an end. The net is eventually used to take Janie back from her journey and take her back to reality, when she was telling the story. Even though she wanted to stay with Tea Cake, the net shows how even though she did desire to stay with Tea Cake, being with him in her present memories is what suited her best. This is how the structure used in the beginning and end of the novel is very important.