As Janie begins her story, she sits aside her dying Nanny, as she is presented with the challenge of never being a "spit cup" (37)* for any man, black or white, and of sitting in that high chair that her Nanny never was never allowed to sit in. This challenge becomes a burden on Janie's life that guides her actions and places her in situations that bury her six feet deep in her own misery. As Janie grows, however, she realizes that Nanny's material emphasis on idolization of whites is not the key to happiness or success. In Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie is enslaved by this emphasis on materialism and Nanny's unattainable aspirations. Through the racism that several blacks harbor against their own race and their consequent desire to achieve the unattainable physical and social characteristics of their white counterparts, the novel shows that post-slavery African Americans often perpetrated their own second class-ness.
Janie ends her childhood with her marriage to Logan Killicks, who, by Nanny's standards, is a good provider for Janie solely because of his material wealth. However, even when Janie escapes this unsuccessful marriage in hopes of finding freedom and happiness, she ends up becoming slave to Jody's god-like aspirations. Unfortunately, her newfound "freedom" confines her to serving in Jody's store. Despite the "high chair" (98) and the large house at the edge of town that Jody has given her, Janie goes through many "silent rebellions" (86). The trouble is that this "high chair" is the one thing Janie tries to escape. It refers to white women sitting on the porches of their white houses, basking in their wealth. She does not feel the need to aspire to this unattainable physical image. The idea of Janie's "silent rebellions" is troubling as well because, while blacks were officially freed of the slave system in 1863, their metaphorical slavery is that they live in a world where they cannot speak and must internalize their pain.
Class hand in hand with racism help in causing the disruption of attaining the Dream. ... Goals are always a good thing to have to give inspiration and hope, but when the goals are unattainable there can be serious side effects that affect all of society. ... In trying to achieve any goal or aspiration there are certain things that have to be used. ...
