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Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God shows the life of Janie, a black woman at the turn of the century. Janie is raised by her Grandmother and spends her life traveling with different men until she finally comes home. Robert E. Hemenway says about the book, “Their Eyes Were Watching God is ... one of the most revealing treatments in modern literature of a woman’s quest for a satisfying life” I partially …

…to find satisfaction. Instead of searching for a satisfying life, Janie searched for someone to depend on. Although they were different types of dependency, looking back at her life, she jumped from person to person she could lean on. Hemenway’s uses the phrase “quest for a satisfying life.” Does that mean that he thinks she achieved a satisfying life? More importantantly does Janie believe she led a satisfying life? It’s hard to tell.