Part I. The Plot

Sequence 1  Janie walks back into Eatonville barefoot. As she enters town, the men and women gossip about her, saying that Teacake has used her for her money and left.

Sequence 2   Janie is hanging up clothing in her grandmother’s yard. While completing this task, she sees Johnnie Taylor, who she runs to and kisses. Nanny, upset that Janie is beginning to partake in sexual actions, tells her that Janie that will be getting married. Upset, Janie runs to the lake where she “watches God.”

Sequence 3  Nanny tells Janie how to take care of a home before sending her to be with Logan. Janie works the grounds and takes care of Logan’s home. When Logan leaves, she asks to go with him, but he reminds her that her place is in the home. It is while he is away, that we meet Joe Starks.

Sequence 4   Janie travels with Joe to Eatonville where he becomes mayor. As everyone prepares for the lighting of the streetlight, the women make Janie a dress. Joe puts Janie in a more expensive dress, telling Janie that her other dress is not fit for a Mayor’s wife. While at the ceremony, Janie hears the women saying how Janie thinks that she is too good to wear the dress. Amos asks Janie to speak, but Joe dismisses the idea, stating that he did not marry Janie for her speechmaking skills. Later, he tells Janie that she ought to be glad to be Mrs. Mayor.

Sequence 5   Joe sees Amos touch Janie’s hair, so he makes her wrap it up. In the house, Janie wraps her hair and begins her life as Joe’s “proper” wife. For the next twenty years, she only leaves the house to bring Joe his meals. One day, she gets into a fight with Joe and she moves in with Phoebe.

Sequence 6   Joe dies and Janie feels free. She then meets Teacake, who allows Janie to be herself. However, the other residents begin to speak ill of her, calling her a fool. Janie leaves with Teacake and the women say she’ll be back before she knows it.

Sequence 7   Janie moves to Jacksonville, where she marries Teacake. One morning, she wakes up to find Teacake and her money missing. He comes home, tells her that he gambled it away, and Janie forgives him.

Sequence 8   They move to the Everglades, where Janie and Teacake work in the bean fields.

Sequence 9   Everyone except Teacake and Janie leave town as the hurricane approaches.  During the hurricane, Teacake is bitten by a dog trying to protect Janie.

Sequence 10 Teacake becomes deranged and pulls a gun out on Janie. Janie responds by pointing a gun back at him. After letting him pull the trigger three times, Janie shoots back. He dies in her arms.

Sequence 11 After telling Phoebe her story, Janie runs to the water to “watch God.”

                                                                                                                              (499 words)

Part II. Scene Explanation

In this scene, the camera captures a wide shot of Janie standing on the porch of the general store, watching the men play checkers, while Joe sits inside and watches. She is very close to the center of the shot which causes us, the viewers, to focus more on her, her positioning, and her actions. Her much lighter skin, in comparison to the other actors, also draws our attention towards her. It is at this point in the scene, that Janie is telling Amos that the move he is making is a good one. However, as a proper woman and wife, she is not supposed to fraternize with men that are not her husband or know how to play checkers because, at the time, it was considered a man’s game. Thus, her position next to Amos, and reactions to the game causes Joe to become suspicious of her actions. The camera, itself, is shooting from the left to place Janie closer to Amos than she appears to be in subsequent shots.

Slightly left from the center of the frame, we see Joe sitting at his desk at the general store. This positioning tells us that our focus should be on him as well. We cannot see the expression on his face yet, but from the dark lighting, we can tell that he is not happy. The blurriness allows us to imagine whatever expression we want, but the darkness of the room lets us know that whatever expression we imagine, it should not be one that shows happiness. The darkness also makes it appear that Joe is menacing and he is dominating the scene even though he is not the primary focus of the frame.

Although Janie immediately captures the attention of the viewer, she is not the only woman on the porch. There are two other women standing near Amos’s opponent. They are also watching the game, but they do not face the same consequences as Janie. This is because Janie is held to a higher standard. She is the mayor’s wife and, according to Joe, cannot do what other women do. Later in the film, Joe tells Janie that she is better than the other women in Eatonville, but even before that scene, his reaction to her behaving as a “common woman” informs us that she is different. Any interaction with men other than Joe undermines his authority which he demands that everyone respects, including and especially Janie.

The scene displays the controlling aspects of Joe’s personality that Janie did not see until after this scene took place. Additionally, this scene marks an important change in their relationship as it is at this time that their marriage began to spiral downwards. Janie wanted to be free, live, and love, but Joe wanted her to be the proper wife—seen and not heard. He did not like how outspoken and carefree she was, so he took it upon himself to cover her and keep her in the house, where the woman “belonged” during that time.

                                                                                                                              (500 words)

 

Disclaimer: This structural analysis was completed on a frame from Their Eyes Were Watching God as to aid me in analyzing the film for my Dossier project.