Janie, the main character in Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, is a very dynamic character. Throughout the book she endures several trials and tribulations. She learns something new from each event that occurs in her life. Her character is somehow altered through each vicissitude. Janie is raised by her grandmother, Nanny, who's born a slave. Janie's mother, Leafy, is also born a slave, the master's child. When Leafy is merely seventeen years old, she's raped by her schoolteacher. Janie is born as a result of this crime and is left in the care of her grandmother.

Janie starts out her life living in the backyard of the Washburns, a white family. Her character alterations can be seen at a very young age when, at about six years old, she realizes she's colored. When Janie reaches school-attendance age, the children tease her because...