Their Eyes Were Watching God

Tea Cake knew how to navigate the seasonal work rhythm of the Everglades, so he insisted that the couple head down to Lake Okeechobee before the crowds of poor workers arrived. His foresight allowed them to secure a good worker’s house, with plumbing. Before the season began, Tea Cake taught Janie to shoot; she had a knack for it and hunted to put food on their table. Once the bean picking season began, Tea Cake worked in the fields all day and gambled most of the night while Janie kept house.

Eventually, Janie joined him in the fields after he told her he missed her too much during the day. Janie’s appearance in the fields convinced the other workers that she did not see herself as better than them, and the Woods household quickly became the center of social life out on the muck. For the first time, Janie participated in verbal play and jokes, fully part of the community around her.

Janie noticed that Nunkie, another woman who worked alongside them, flirted with Tea Cake, who did little to discourage Nunkie’s interest. Things came to a head one day when Janie came across Nunkie and Tea Cake tussling on the ground away from the fields.