Objectives

• Analyse how Hurston uses free indirect discourse and Black vernacular speech to construct Janie's interiority and sense of self.
• Explain how Joe Starks's language and actions in Chapters 5–8 function as instruments of gendered power and silencing.
• Trace the structural role of the pear-tree vision across the novel, showing how it frames Janie's three relationships as a quest for horizon.
• Evaluate how the hurricane sequence in Chapter 18 and Tea Cake's death in Chapter 19 complicate a straightforwardly redemptive reading of the novel.
• Write an evidenced analytical paragraph that embeds and interrogates quotations from a named passage, using precise literary terminology.
• Assess how Hurston's anthropological engagement with Black Southern community and vernacular culture shapes the novel's political and aesthetic stance.

The sequence

1. Lesson 1: Voice, Vision, and the Pear Tree: Chapters 1–3

   60 min · ch. 1, 2, 3

   Do now

   Read the opening paragraph of Chapter 1 ('Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board…'). Write two sentences: Hurston notes that men dream far-off dreams filled with their wishes, while women’s dreams are often tied to their reality. This difference highlights how men and women engage with their desires in contrasting ways.

   Teacher input

   Model a close reading of the pear-tree passage in Chapter 2 — the paragraph that starts with 'She was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree…' — illustrating how Hurston's use of free indirect discourse blurs the line between the narrator and Janie's thoughts. Speak your annotations: note the present-tense verbs ('She saw'), the sensory details ('the inaudible voice of it all'), and how the narrative shifts from external observation to internal metaphor ('a pain remorseless sweet'). Show how this passage sets up the novel's key idea of love — organic, mutual, and self-fulfilling — which Logan Killicks will inevitably fall short of.

   Independent task

   Students will write a single analytical paragraph (150–200 words) in response to this question: How does Hurston use language in the pear-tree passage in Chapter 2 to convey Janie’s beliefs about love? Students need to include at least two quotations from the passage, identify the technique demonstrated by each quotation, and discuss what these techniques reveal about Janie's inner feelings. At the end of the lesson, paragraphs will be collected for written feedback focusing on how well quotations are integrated and the use of literary terminology.

   Exit ticket

   In one sentence, explain what free indirect discourse is and identify one moment in Chapters 1–3 where Hurston uses it to let us inside Janie's thoughts without using a reporting verb such as 'she thought'.

2. Lesson 2: Silenced on the Porch: Joe Starks's Power in Chapters 5–8

   60 min · ch. 5, 6, 7, 8

   Do now

   Without looking at the novel, jot down three actions or statements made by Joe Starks in Chapters 5 or 6 that demonstrate his desire to influence how others perceive Janie. If you’re having trouble recalling, take a look at Chapter 6 and find an example within the first two pages. You have four minutes.

   Teacher input

   Model analysis of Joe's speech in Chapter 7 — the moment he publicly humiliates Janie in the store by saying, "You ain't got no mo' business wid uh speech-makin' than uh cow in a pasture" — reveals how dialogue can be a display of power. It shows how Joe's dismissal reinforces his authority for the male audience on the porch. Hurston's stage direction, describing his voice as "the big voice," reflects his earlier self-presentation in Chapter 5. Additionally, Janie's internal reaction, "She had an inside and an outside now," introduces the split-self metaphor that will shape Chapters 7–9.

   Independent task

   Students receive a printed excerpt: Joe's speech from the streetlamp ceremony in Chapter 5 ('Ah wants to speak for de rest…') and Janie's internal monologue from Chapter 7 ('She had an inside and an outside now and suddenly she knew how not to mix them'). They will write a comparative analytical paragraph (150–200 words) that explores how Hurston employs Joe's public language and Janie's private thoughts in these two moments to illustrate the cost of living under Joe's authority. Both quotations should be embedded in the analysis and discussed. Once completed, paragraphs will be submitted for peer marking based on three criteria: the quotation is embedded, the technique is named, and the effect is explained.

   Exit ticket

   Write one sentence explaining what Janie means when she thinks she has 'an inside and an outside now' in Chapter 7, and one sentence explaining why Hurston places this realisation in free indirect thought rather than in spoken dialogue.

3. Lesson 3: Horizon and Partnership: Tea Cake and the Muck in Chapters 10–15

   60 min · ch. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

   Do now

   Read the checkers scene in Chapter 10, from 'Somebody came knocking at the door…' to the end of the chapter. List three specific things Tea Cake does that Janie has never experienced with Logan or Joe. Write a sentence explaining which difference you believe is the most significant and why.

   Teacher input

   Model a reading of the paragraph in Chapter 14 where Janie joins Tea Cake in the fields — "Janie learned what it felt like to be part of the muck" — illustrating how Hurston employs the language of immersion and belonging through verbs like "learned," "felt," and "part of." These words highlight that Janie's involvement is a choice rather than an obligation, especially in contrast to Logan's demand for her to plow in Chapter 4. Additionally, note how the muck's communal storytelling sessions reflect the Eatonville porch from Chapter 6, but now, Janie is included instead of excluded. This structural echo serves as Hurston's way of tracking Janie's journey toward the horizon.

   Independent task

   Students are tasked with writing a structured response (200–250 words) to the following question: How does Hurston depict the Everglades muck in Chapters 14 and 15 to illustrate both the fulfillment and fragility of Janie's relationship with Tea Cake? Students should reference at least one moment of partnership from Chapter 14 and at least one moment of jealousy or tension from Chapter 15 (the Nunkie episode), including a quotation from each chapter. Responses will be collected, and the teacher will assess whether students can hold two conflicting ideas in tension instead of simplifying the relationship as merely positive.

   Exit ticket

   In two sentences, explain how the Nunkie episode in Chapter 15 complicates the idea that Tea Cake represents pure freedom for Janie — use one detail from the text to support your point.

4. Lesson 4: God, Race, and the Storm: Chapters 16–19

   60 min · ch. 16, 17, 18, 19

   Do now

   Read the first paragraph of Chapter 18, in which the animals move inland before the storm ('The mules and other animals sensed it…'). Write two sentences: What technique does Hurston use by focusing on the animals before the people, and what does this reveal about the connection between nature and human understanding in the novel?

   Teacher input

   Model a reading of the title passage in Chapter 18 — 'They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God.' In this moment of collective stillness, Hurston crystallizes the novel's central theological and philosophical question: do human beings have any agency against forces larger than themselves? Note the pronoun shift from 'they' to a more universal perspective, and observe the syntactic simplicity of the sentence amidst the chaotic prose describing the hurricane. Additionally, connect this moment to Mrs. Turner's colorism in Chapter 16, which represents another form of destructive force that the community struggles to resist. Both the storm and Mrs. Turner's ideology serve as external powers that challenge the characters' inner lives.

   Independent task

   Students will write a two-paragraph response (250–300 words) to the following question: How does Hurston use the hurricane in Chapter 18 and Tea Cake's illness and death in Chapter 19 to explore the idea that love can be a form of freedom? In the first paragraph, students should analyze the language used in the hurricane sequence, including at least one quotation from Chapter 18. In the second paragraph, they should discuss the moment in Chapter 19 when Janie shoots Tea Cake, explaining the emotional cost of this act and what it reveals about her sense of self. Responses will be submitted for the teacher to evaluate whether students can go beyond simply summarizing the plot to discuss the structural and thematic significance of these events.

   Exit ticket

   Write one sentence explaining what the phrase 'their eyes were watching God' means in the context of Chapter 18, and one sentence explaining whether you think Janie is still 'watching God' when she pulls the trigger in Chapter 19.

5. Lesson 5: Voice Reclaimed: Trial, Return, and the Full Essay — Chapters 1 and 20

   60 min · ch. 1, 2, 7, 18, 19, 20

   Do now

   Reread the final paragraph of Chapter 20, from 'She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net…' to the end of the novel. Without any notes, write three sentences: Janie cherishes Tea Cake's memory, holding onto it as a source of joy and comfort. The horizon metaphor now represents a broader understanding of life and love, contrasting with its earlier sense of unattainable dreams in Chapter 1. Janie's relationship with the Eatonville community has deepened, as she now embraces her past while finding peace in her identity and experiences.

   Teacher input

   Model how to build a comprehensive analytical argument using the passage from Janie's testimony at her trial in Chapter 20 ('She had to go way back to let them know how she and Tea Cake had been…'). Illustrate how Hurston crafts Janie's spoken testimony to reflect Pheoby's listening in Chapter 1 — in both instances, a Black woman's narrative is shared with an audience — but note that the courtroom audience is white and male, whereas Pheoby is Black and female. Show how to write a topic sentence that simultaneously identifies the technique, its effect, and its thematic significance, and then incorporate a second quotation from Chapter 1 ('Ah done been tuh de horizon and back') to develop a structural argument that resonates throughout the entire novel.

   Independent task

   Students are tasked with writing a full analytical essay of 450–550 words in response to the following question: "By the end of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie has found her voice — but Hurston illustrates that finding a voice is never straightforward." How does Hurston use language and structure throughout the novel to examine the connection between voice, identity, and freedom? Students should include a brief introduction that sets up their argument, two or three body paragraphs centered around a specific passage that includes an embedded quotation, and a conclusion that revisits the horizon metaphor from Chapters 1 and 20. Required anchor quotations to discuss (students may incorporate additional ones): (1) the pear-tree passage from Chapter 2; (2) Joe's silencing of Janie in Chapter 7 ("You ain't got no mo' business wid uh speech-makin'…"); (3) the title sentence from Chapter 18 ("their eyes were watching God"); (4) the final paragraph of Chapter 20 ("She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net"). Essays are due at the end of the lesson and will be assessed using the summative rubric.

   Exit ticket

   Write one full sentence identifying the single strongest piece of evidence you used in your essay today, and one full sentence explaining what it proves about Hurston's method — not just about Janie's story — that you could not have written at the start of this unit.

Activities

Assessment

• Lesson 1 exit ticket checks whether students can define free indirect discourse and locate a specific example in Chapters 1–3, distinguishing it from third-person narration.
• Lesson 1 paragraph (collected) checks whether students can embed a quotation from the pear-tree passage and name the technique it demonstrates, rather than paraphrasing.
• Lesson 2 peer-marked paragraph checks whether students can hold Joe's public language and Janie's private thought in tension, using both as evidence for a single argument.
• Lesson 3 collected response checks whether students can sustain a two-sided argument — fulfilment and fragility — without collapsing into a single reading of Tea Cake.
• Lesson 4 exit ticket checks whether students can connect the title sentence in Chapter 18 to the shooting in Chapter 19, demonstrating structural thinking across the novel.
• Lesson 5 'Before and After' mirror activity (from the standalone activities) is used as a final formative check that students can write a comparative argument before the summative essay begins.

Standards covered

Common Core 11 12

• RL.11-12.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
• RL.11-12.3 — Analyse the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama, including where a story is set, how the action is ordered, and how the characters are introduced and developed.
• RL.11-12.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyse the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.
• RL.11-12.6 — Analyse a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant.

AP Literature

• Literary Argumentation (LAN-1) — Explain the function of a narrator or speaker in a literary text, including the use of free indirect discourse and shifts in narrative perspective.
• Character (CHR-1) — Analyse how complex characters develop over the course of a text and interact with other characters to advance the plot or develop the theme.
• Figurative Language (FIG-1) — Explain the function of figurative language, including extended metaphor (the horizon, the pear tree), in a literary text.
• Structure (STR-1) — Explain how the sequence of events and the framing narrative (Janie's story told to Pheoby) contribute to the overall meaning of the text.

AQA

• AO1 — Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology and coherent, accurate written expression.
• AO2 — Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts, with particular attention to Hurston's use of free indirect discourse, vernacular dialogue, and structural repetition.
• AO3 — Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are produced and received, including the Harlem Renaissance, Hurston's anthropological work, and the novel's feminist reception history.
• AO4 — Explore connections across literary texts, for example between Hurston's representation of silencing and other texts in which gender and power intersect.

Edexcel

• AO1 — Articulate informed responses to literary texts, using relevant concepts and terminology and accurate written expression, constructing a coherent argument about Janie's developing voice.
• AO2 — Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in Hurston's prose, including her use of dialect, free indirect discourse, and the horizon motif.
• AO3 — Demonstrate understanding of the significance of cultural, historical, and literary contexts — specifically the Harlem Renaissance, Black vernacular tradition, and second-wave feminist recovery of the text.
• AO5 — Explore the interpretation of literary texts, considering how different readers (Richard Wright's contemporary critique versus Alice Walker's 1975 reassessment) have responded to Hurston's choices.

IB Lit

• Reader, Culture, and Text (Strand 1) — Analyse how Hurston's use of Black Southern vernacular and free indirect discourse positions the reader in relation to Janie's consciousness.
• Time and Space (Strand 2) — Examine how the settings of Eatonville, Jacksonville, and the Everglades muck function as markers of Janie's social and psychological freedom.
• Intertextuality (Strand 3) — Consider how the novel's framing narrative (storytelling as community act) connects to the oral traditions Hurston documented as an anthropologist.