Janie

Zora Neale Hurston's story protagonist Janie, in the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God," seems to be lost in a sense. Janie wants to find love, however, she herself does not understand how she can find such a thing. For Janie, her quest for love is in relation to the first paragraph at the beginning of the story. "Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. for some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time" (Hurston 1). Janie seems to be the Watcher, and her dream of achieving love can be described as being on that ship in the distance. So far, Janie's dream seems to be out of reach. Her first marriage with Logan Killicks was a love that she did not want to make. Upon meeting Jody, she made it her decision to run off and marry him. Only after learning that Jody had a different goal in life. Their indifference had changed their relationship and Janie was not to reach love. Janie is in a sense "The Watcher" (Hurston 1) waiting for her dream.