Their Eyes Were Watching God

Tea Cake knows how to navigate the seasonal work rhythm of the Everglades, so he insists that the couple head down to Lake Okeechobee before the crowds of poor workers arrive. His foresight allows them to secure a good worker’s house, with plumbing. Before the season begins, Tea Cake teaches Janie to shoot; she has a knack for it and hunts to put food on their table. Once the bean picking season begins, Tea Cake works in the fields all day and gambles most of the night while Janie keeps house.

Eventually, Janie joins him in the fields after he tells her that he misses her too much during the day. Janie’s appearance in the fields convinces the other workers that she does not see herself as better than them, and the Woods household quickly becomes the center of social life out on the muck. For the first time, Janie participates in verbal play and jokes, fully part of the community around her.

Janie notices that Nunkie, another woman who works alongside them, flirts with Tea Cake, who does little to discourage Nunkie’s interest. Things come to a head one day when Janie comes across Nunkie and Tea Cake tussling on the ground away from the fields.