Their Eyes Were Watching

God
by Zora Neale Hurston
-Relevant Read
-Speed Dating and Discussion Questions
 Relevant Read
 Choose one of the following quotations, write it in your
journal, and free-write for 3 minutes.

1. Discuss how this quotation is important to the

story.
2. Explain how this quotation is relevant to your
own life experience.
 Quotations
 “What dat ole forty year ole ‘oman doin’ wid her hair
swingin’ down her back lak some young gal?” (Hurston, 2).
 “Whut make her keep her head tied up lak some ole ‘oman
round de store? Nobody could git me tuh tie no rag on mah
head if Ah had hair lak dat” (Hurston, 47).
 “That night he ordered Janie to tie up her hair around the
store. That was all. She was there in the store for him to
look at, not those others” (Hurston, 51).
 Speed Dating Discussion
 You will have two minutes to discuss each question
with your partner.
 You will then have one minute to write your
response to the question.
 There will be a total of six questions, one from each
chapter you have read thus far.
 Following each question, and at my instruction, you
will rotate partners.
 Question 1, Ch. 1

What does Pheoby mean when

she says, “An envious heart
makes a treacherous ear”?
p. 5
 Question 2, Ch. 2

What “discovery” did Janie

make about herself when she
was very young?

p. 10+11
 Question 3, Ch. 3

How does Janie measure time?

What does her way of doing it
tell you about her?

p.23
 Question 4, Ch. 4

What language tells you that

Janie has experienced a rebirth
at the end of the chapter?
p. 31
 Question 5, Ch. 5

What is Janie’s role in her new

marriage and new home,
according to Joe?

p.41
 Question 6, Ch. 6

What types of attitudes

towards women do Joe and
the men on the porch reveal
after Mrs. Robbins departs?
p.67