The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God is the story of a woman's growth as a person physically, emotionally, and intellectually over the course of 'a journey towards the fulfillment of life. Throughout the novel, a theme of the value of finding true love and friendships over material possessions and power is developed. This theme is particularly evident in the contrasting relationships Janie shares with each of her husbands: Logan, Jody, and Tea Cake. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In her relationship with Logan, Janie's desires for reciprocal love are not satisfied. Despite the fact that Logan owns sixty acres of land, their relationship lacks any sort of true mutual sensuality and leads to resentment and misery. The dying affection between them is evident when Hurston says, “Janie noticed that her husband had stopped speaking to her in rhyme. He had ceased to be surprised by her long black hair. At this point, Logan doesn't seem to care about Janie at all; he does not admire her hair, this unique quality which symbolizes her strength and independence. In fact, Logan made Janie his slave. He “calls her harshly” and asks her to help him move the manure outside. When Janie responds, "You don't need my help, Logan," he threatens to kill her with an axe. They don't show any sort of respect or devotion to each other. Janie knows she is unhappy in this relationship and could find someone who treats her better. She owns a lot of land with Logan, a rare thing for an African American at the time, but she becomes a discontented slave in her own home because they don't love each other. This lack of compassion between the couple and hope for genuine affection drives Janie away and causes their marriage to deteriorate. In Janie's relationship with Jody, she finds someone her own age who reminds her that she is young, someone with dreams and aspirations like her, and someone who will keep her away from Logan. However, Jody is a power-seeking womanizer who mistreats everyone around him in order to take command. They don't really care about each other and their relationship follows the same path as Janie's relationship with Logan. Just a day after their wedding, Janie notices that Jody doesn't "give her a lot of rhyming speeches." This foreshadows the similarity between the two relationships. When the town asks Janie to give a speech, Jody responds, "She's a woman and her place is in the house." » This is one of the first signs that Jody is blatantly disrespectful towards women, causing a lot of trouble between him and Janie. Jody won't allow Janie to attend any town events and so she makes no friends in town. He also makes Janie tie her hair up with rags. This is a metaphor for how Jody suppresses Janie's spirit and vivacity. Janie is married to the mayor of Eatonville but that doesn't create happiness in the absence of love. When Jody dies, Janie celebrates her inner liberation. Janie's relationship with Tea Cake has many significant differences from her relationships with Logan and Jody. In Tea Cake, Jody discovers true love, friendships, and true happiness in life, even though he has virtually no money. From their first meeting, Janie “found herself glowing inside.” Tea Cake does not have a desire for material things or power that causes him to mistreat or disrespect Janie. He is playful and young and brings Janie back to life after the years she spent aging under the.