Their Eyes Were Watching God: Character Interaction Between Men and Women, Research Paper Example

When it comes to social life, nothing has defeated men as their inadequacies in personal and intimate interactions with the fairer sex. Even in the most intimate relationships, rarely do couples read from the same script. Gender differences emerge in social interactions  between men and women in ways that hinder communication (Canary et al 15). Either verbally or by means of body language, hardly is what is desired and meant said, or what is said the intended meaning. “Honey,” she suddenly says on the very evening when your team, the Los Angels Lakers is crashing with the Bostonians, “My friend invited me to a party tonight and I intend to go with you. Would you come with me, please?” You are staring at the screen as Kobe Bryant makes another titillating run across the court. And so you don’t even bother to look at her as you reply politely, “No darling, I really can’t miss this match.” She goes sulking for a full week, until you bribe her with- you guess right, a bouquet of cheap red roses! Very late do you come to realize that all she wanted was a show of emotional caring from you: the party didn’t matter that much, but was an occasion to express your love and show that she comes first in your life, and not your sportsman’s  fanaticism.

It is the way you do the little things that you do, like a punch of flowers when Valentine is long forgotten, that make the greatest impression. The comic antics of Tea Cake in the text we are analyzing, like playing an imaginary guitar, endeared him to Janie more than all the wealth of Jody could do. While women are pulled by that which appeals to their feminine emotions, inner feelings and passions, men, in their aggressiveness, go for are attracted by the physical, tangible and materialistic aspects of life that display their power, success and conquest. Ask any woman what she desires in life: a blissful life with nice kids and a wonderful loving husband. If she elaborates what is meant by ‘a wonderful and loving husband,’ it will feature things like: one who comes home every evening, dies to kiss you at every opportunity, surprises you with beautiful gifts, drives the sexiest car in town, takes you out frequently for dinner, blind to other beautiful women and lets you access his bank account. But then, women are known to dream with their hearts, like wishing to be the center of attention: in the words of Janie, ‘pulling the horizon towards oneself.’  As for men, economic success, social status and political power define their ambitions. Like the wealth seeking, power hungry and enterprising Jody, men are direct, goal oriented and unemotional than women. Their reasoning, simplified down to the pragmatic and practical approaches of Logan Killicks, become incompatible with the affective tendencies of women seeking a personal intimate connection with life; the environment and the people who touch their lives.

Gender roles in society are largely a social construct. Since medieval times, patriarchy has constantly determined the respective places of males and females in society, defined their functions and shaped social interactions. Nevertheless, their feminine nature and biological make up as distinct physiological aspects, impact significantly on the traits that they acquire. Consequently, their femininity and fragility make them submissive, so as to fit in a male dominated world. Deviating from the accepted gender stereotypes is regarded as a defective quality and stigmatized (Johnson and Everitt 34). Accordingly, Janie willingly submitted to the domineering character of her first two husbands. From a male perspective, women should be dominated in their relationships with men. On many occasions, Jody felt threatened whenever she tried to oppose him. Their character, as a result, does not portray physical power and aggressiveness common among males. Instead, they tend to be oriented to emotions, attachment to people and the social aspects of life (Body Language Expert 2009). However, this does not diminish their assertiveness and drive to achieve their dreams. Even from the shackles of male oppression, she rose to experience life at the horizon, where many people only dream of as they wait their ship to draw in, only to be mocked into despair by time. In social interaction, women only check their assertive power by tuning in into the lives of others, perhaps due to their compassionate nature. This ability to tune in enabled her to understand the circumstances of slavery that shaped Nanny’s beliefs as to make her force a marriage with the unloving Logan Killicks. Because her horizon and sphere of life involved and considered other people, she found a place in her heart to forgive people she would have otherwise hated. Indeed, women are creatures of feelings and emotions; such that they can feel and understand the experiences of others, as did Phoeby upon hearing her story.

Men and their masculine nature represent the physical qualities of life. It is worthy noting that Janie’s three husbands were attracted by her beauty, and the men who courted her after Jody’s death by her wealth. In contrast, she was not charmed by Tea Cake’s physical qualities, but rather by his personality and character which reflected the life of her dreams. Men’s drive, in stark contrast, is their egoistic thirst to dominate, conquer and posses. At surface level, it is their nature to desire owning property such as land, buildings and cars. In relationships, the terms own, possess, conquer and dominate become metaphors that describe their desire to exercise full control over women. The traditional meaning of ‘possessing’ alludes to sexual intercourse, similar to a man ‘having’ a woman as if owning her like an object. To conquer refers to convincing her into a relationship and sexual submission, i.e. assuming the right to her natural resources, chiefly her sexuality. The male sex organ is the symbolic weapon used to conquer, in the sense that it enters a woman after she has been subdued by masculine power. As such, when a woman portrays this masculine quality of the phallic organ, the man becomes threatened and seeks to trim her power by becoming more assertive. In reference to the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie’s braided hair reflected this power in the eyes of Jody, who responded by forcing her to cover it with a rag. In the contemporary context, however, this subtle assault on male dominion has assumed various overt fronts in sports, dressing, career jobs, politics, relationships and the family. Gender roles are no longer defined by the sexes, but rather by individual ability and choice. Female participation in once male dominated sports like soccer, boxing and motor racing illustrates a more explicit aspect of challenging masculine power. Women wear trousers, take men’s jobs like mechanical engineering, become presidents and huh, marry their kind; probably in response to gay relationships among men.

Nevertheless, the result of this socio-economic and political progress posted by the feminine species is the leveling of the social interaction arena, such that both sexes engage on an equal footing. Relationship and courtship patterns have become more of negotiations and power sharing strategies, unlike the conquering, possessing and dominating trends in the past.

When Tea Cake tried to beat Jody, masculinity was put to test and failed: she held her off and instead of anger, his rage turned into fierce passion. This portrays the power of feminine features; her touch sent ripples of tingling sensations within his system, and aroused an electrifying lust which only consummate sex could quench. “Physical union in sexual intercourse is a strong form of inter-subjective interaction” (Cahill 111) that binds individuals together. Women have become consciously aware of sex and their bodies as weapons used to conquer men, thereby tilting the scales of power. Their aggressiveness in sexual matters is reflected by the way they expose their bodies or use body language to get across to men. Like a blooming flower in spring that opens its petals to the bee, feminine features have become strong communicative signals in personal interactions between men and women. Accordingly, a man knows when his wife wants him between the sheets, and when she would appreciate it if she slept in the guest’s room.

But again, it turns out to be the very gesture that arouses male jealousy.  So far, it is fair game only that the pear tree is yet to seek the bee for conjugal matters. As it is, like Cupid’s arrow, the bee must still make the first move and take love to the flower.

But then, the flower too ought to respond accordingly. Once, a fellow course mate made an unsuccessful pass at a lady he swore whose charm and beauty made him stagger, literally. Dejected for failing to conquer her below the belt- in his own words ‘to drag her into between the sheets,’  he lamented that God was unfair in structuring our mind set; such that it is the man who labors to establish a relationship with the fairer sex. Even when the blessed sisters are dying for attention, they still play a hard target to get. Their pretence of disinterest in matters that matter most to man- nothing else explains the paradox of self denial in need- throws men into a loss and, as it were, makes life really miserable for the brotherhood. So when he pumped into Miss Gorgeous in the library, his senses were horned by her mighty tits which, he claims, almost spilled over the pinky tight bra. He interpreted the gesture as a flirtatious invitation: pink is the color of passion, and come to think of it, those voluptuous boobs; why did she let them protrude so temptingly, if not to arouse the passions of the opposite sex? Yet, disappointingly, to his “Hi miss, you look delicious,” she scorned thus: “So? I’m not a lollipop!” It would have been a fair deal, he observed, if we were like chicken: when a man feels cockish, all he needs to do is chase, catch and, well, have it. On their part, the ladies shouldn’t really run, for hens don’t run; they humbly and submissively prostrate themselves on the ground whenever a cock cackles intimately.

It seems, that is what Janie did when Jody came along. He flattered her with his ambitious plans and big dreams. He literally coaxed her with sweet talk and made her to run away from Killicks. Even her first marriage was arranged by Nanny; this despite her objection to marry him. So then, women were virtually there for the taking. They just listened to men’s mouth wagging, agreed to their tales and followed along. Apparently, women played a passive role in courtship. Their Mr. Right, as it were, is any Johnny who happened to come into one’s life. Until, one day, she found a voice to speak for herself and resist unwelcome male intrusion and domination: Jody’s authoritarian hand and the numerous suitors who sought her hand in marriage. Thought subtly, she would later exercise her will when she seduced Tea Cake with her hospitality. To be feminine is not a tag of passivity anymore. More than ever before, women have become assertive in relationships and in their daily interactions with men. The line of distinction on the basis of their womanhood has been blurred by their increasing assertiveness. In that case then, Miss Gorgeous was merely telling my goal oriented friend that her body is not a delicacy to feed his appetite, like a lollipop grabbed from a supermarket shelf. The process of achieving the goal matters as much, and the tendency to overlook preliminary details by way of short cuts cannot work. Note that Tea Cake spent more time in getting Janie than Killicks and Jody, and his initial intentions were not on her body: he could have tried his luck when she fell asleep on his lap. In a woman, men should see beyond shapely contours and think outside their itching groins.

Men are really egoistic: they belief to possess and control the means by which the clock of life ticks. Their status, property and power condition their materialistic mindset to perceive women as dependants of their masculine power and success. Janie’s grandmother believed it was this material security that women sought in marriage. Perhaps it is their presupposed weakness in mind and body that creates the idea that they should be possessed so as to be protected. Jody and the other men did not invite her to play checkers; her reasoning won’t match a man’s wits. Tea Cake figured that he himself could deal with the dog that attacked her; she was a mere woman. The question, however, is whether women submit to this reasoning. As it turns out, they are not hooked to men because of their possessions, but for companionship. The value they attach to marriage is more intimate than the mechanical approach taken by men. Marriage becomes a union for spiritual and emotional fulfillment that is only possible in a shared life, the kind of union that Janie achieved when she met Tea Cake. Men, on the contrary, regard marriage as a political tool to leverage their social influence. They don’t make emotional commitment, and this conflict of interest undermine marriage relationships.

Well, outside marriage, only one thing defines a man’s interest in a woman: her body. While sexual desire may be a mutual feeling, women tend to seek an involvement that outlasts sexual intercourse itself. Before the forced marriage to Killicks, Janie wanted a man who could enable her to realize long-term spiritual fulfillment. Her search for this fulfillment was not provoked by sexual starvation, but the lack of real passion and emotional connection in her sexual life while married to Killicks and Jody. In addition, she was not attracted to Tea Cake by momentary lustful feelings, but rather by the possibilities of spiritual and emotional fulfillment he promised. The beastly nature of men and their lack of feelings is portrayed by the slave master and school teacher who raped her grandmother and mother respectively.

Comedian Steve Harvey has written a book that highlights the sexual motives of men in their daily interactions with men. In Act like a Lady, Think Like a Man, Harvey says that a man has got only one interest in a man: to sleep with her. They really don’t care about your feelings, interests, likes and dislikes. When he inquires whether you like your drink shaken or stirred, he is only figuring how best to sweeten your moods and weaken your defenses. When he cares about your feelings, he only wants to pamper you to his bed. “Oh you got hurt.” He wants to bed you. “You have a nice hair.” He wants to sleep with you. “Do you think Obama deserved the Nobel Prize?” He wants to sleep with you! It is possible that in daily interactions, even in ordinary conversations, men’s mind frequently entertain amorous thoughts. So next time your boss comments about your new dress, just know this, lady; he wants to sleep with you.

All else said, let’s recap with the sensuality of the blooming pear tree. It waited upon the bee invitingly and embraced its humming kiss. Its petals arched in ecstatic shivers to drink in the bee’s embrace of love. Likewise, men and women offer each other spiritual and emotional satisfaction on a mutual give and take basis. The female body signals invitation and fulfillment, which act as cues to men. Accordingly, it so happens that men always react to women’s body language. Lady Gorgeous, it is the way you do the little things you do that says it all: how you walk, talk and dress. Their eyes are watching you, and they want to sleep with you.

Works Cited

Body Language Expert. “Men and women really do think differently”. In Gender differences and personal interaction. Retrieved 11 December 2009 < http://www.bodylanguageexpert.co.uk/GenderDifferncesAndPersonalInteraction.html

Cahill, Lisa S. Sex, gender and Christian ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996.

Canary, Daniel et al. Sex and gender differences in personal relationships. New York: Guilford Press, 1998.

Johnson, M. H., Everitt, Barry. Essential reproduction. New York: Wiley-Blackwell, 2007.

Livingston, Glen. Body language and gender. In Kintish. Retrieved 10 December, 2009 http://www.kintish.co.uk/page517.html

SparkNotes. Themes, motifs and symbols. Retrieved 11, December, 2009 from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/eyes/themes.html