Like in Invisible Man, the opening chapter in Their Eyes Were Watching God is a glimpse of the end of the story. Janie begins telling her story and it launches us into the rest of the novel. The novel recounts Janie's life and the relationships that she has been in. She was married three times, with at least two of them ending very unhappily. Janie leaves her first husband, Logan, because she never wanted to marry him anyway. She was forced to marry him because her grandmother thought it would be a good, safe match. One day she meets Jody, who promises her attention as the wife of a wealthy mayor. She runs off with him but soon realizes that not everything is as great as it seemed. Jody is very concerned about his image as a mayor and uses Janie as more of an accessory than a wife. He refuses to let her speak to other people and hides her away when she isn't convenient to him. By the time Jody dies, Janie is very lonely and resents him tremendously. That's why when Tea Cake comes along she is so drawn to him. He asks her to play checkers with him, he teaches her to shoot, and in general treats her like an actual person. Even the other people of Eatonville comment on how different a person Janie becomes with Tea Cake.
Dialogue is very important in Hurston's novel. She depicts the Southern African American dialect of her characters, making the novel come to life. There is also symbolism in the way she uses dialogue to tell Janie's story. When Janie is married to Jody, she had very little agency because Jody was so controlling. The way those chapters are narrated reflect the imbalance of their relationship. There is very little back-and-forth dialogue between Janie and Jody. Most of the dialogue is Jody giving instructions or commands to Janie. When Hurston finally gives Janie a voice, it is when Janie is standing up to Jody. Janie has dialogue in the scene in the store where she calls Jody out on his hypocrisy and vanity. The next time she speaks to Jody is on his deathbed. In that scene she is also defiant and apologetic.
The first scene where we meet Tea Cake contrasts starkly with the scenes between Jody and Janie. They have a long and drawn-out conversation with even banter. Hurston gives the reader pages of just dialogue between Tea Cake and Janie. The other members of Eatonville are jealous of how Tea Cake and Janie are always laughing and having a good time. Hurston uses dialogue to show how much happier Janie is with Tea Cake than with Jody. In this relationship, Janie literally has a voice that she didn't have before. These back-and-forth conversations are a lot closer to her ideal relationship of the pear tree and the bees that are mutually beneficial.With Tea Cake, Janie has found her voice and the same confidence that she has when she returns to Eatonville wearing those overalls.
