Their Eyes Were Watching God: Chapters 7-11

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

So far, you’ve read about Janie’s failed marriage to Logan Killicks and her marriage to Joe Starks.

• What is the state of Janie and Joe’s marriage at this point in the novel?

Briefly write down your response to compare it to the information you read in the next chapters.

In Chapters Seven through Eleven, Zora Neale Hurston examines the theme of death. Joe consults a root doctor rather than a traditional physician during his illness.

Root doctors were commonly known and patronized in rural Southern Black communities in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In contemporary medicine, holistic doctors follow many practices that root doctors did by prescribing natural remedies for illnesses.

As you read about Root Doctors to learn more about this cultural tradition, answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

• How is the practice of working roots different from voodoo?
• What is the origin of root doctors?
• What methods does a root doctor use to treat an illness?
• How does a root doctor treat a spell placed on a person?
• What is mojo?

Read Chapters Seven through Eleven in Their Eyes Were Watching God.

If you do not have a copy, you may access Their Eyes Were Watching God online.

As you read, take notes on Janie and Joe’s relationship. Write down at least six events from Janie and Joe’s marriage that affects their relationship.

After reading and taking notes, move to the Got It? section to explore these issues further.