Mrs. Turner and Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God, Chapters 16, 17, and 18

In Chapters 16 and 17 in Their Eyes Were Watching God, we are introduced to Mrs. Turner, a "foil" character in the book to Janie. Zora Neal Hurston wants us to understand that there were African-Americans who were racist against themselves back then. This is funny because I don't know how people can be racist against their own race. It's stupid because there is no reason for that, not everyone is the same.

At the beginning of their conversation on page 163, Mrs. Turner shows that she is a special case:

"Mis' Woods, Ah have often said to mah husband, Ah don't see how uh lady like Mis' Woods can stand all them common niggers round her place all de time."

Mrs. Turner is different from Janie because they don't think the same, and they don't look alike. I don't get it why Mrs. Turner thinks she'd different because she is still Black and it won't change anything if she wanted to be White, because they don't even like her.

There is another quote that shows that Mrs. Turner is the opposite of Janie:

"Ah reckon you ain't cause dey all passed on befo' dis one wuz born. We ain't had no luck atall wid our chillun. We lucky to raise him. He's de last stroke of exhausted nature."

Janie never tried to have kids because she never slept with her past lovers, but Mrs. Turner tried and only had one alive. Maybe that's why Mrs. Turner acts the way she does because she lost all her children and she thinks that because tries to be White she would have more luck.

Janie is different from Mrs. Turner in another way. This is what Tea Cake says about her:

"Mah Janie is uh high time woman and useter things. Ah didn't git her outa de middle uh de road. Ah got her outa uh big fine house. Right now she got money enough in de bank tuh buy up dese ziggaboos and give 'em away.""

Janie listens to Tea Cake and she is not crazy like Mrs. Turner, nor ugly like her. Janie would listen to Tea Cake no matter what because she loves him. Mrs. Turner's husband doesn't even do anything to her and she just goes on about being almost White. 

There is a quote that shows that destroying Mrs. Turner's business was all planned out:

"Ah yeah, she's too smart tuh stay round heah. She figgers we'se jus' uh bunch uh dumb nigers so she think she'll grow horns. But dat's uh lie. She'll die butt-headed."

It is obvious that they are going to plan something because Tea Cake got the guys made at Mrs. Turner for thinking she is better than they are, even though is Black. They destroy her whole place completely.

When the hurricane happened in Chapter 18, Tea Cake and Janie did not try to out-survive each other, but they tried to survive together, and that's how you know that they love each other.

"Tea Cake had to throw his box away, and Janie saw how it hurt him. Dodging flying missles, floating dangers, avoiding stepping in holes and warmed on the wind now at thier backs until they gained comparatively dry land."

This shows that they were together and that they would not let each other go. They rather let the money go. When the hurricane started, Janie and Tea Cake went together to save their lives and live happily somewhere else. Another quote that shows they loved each other is:

"Then they had to sim a distance, and Janie could not hold up more than a few strokes at a time, so Tea Cake bore her up till finally they hit a ridge that led on towards the fill."

Tea Cake cares for Janie if he would help her swim until they got to safe land. Tea Cake didn't care what it took to get to a safe place, a long as Janie was there with him. This is true love.