to what extent does janie own voice and the ability to shape her own life?

Answer 1

I am assuming you're referring to Janie from "Their Eyes Were Watching God" who seems to be fairly popular here at Yahoo Answers the past month or two. First of all, reading the book is key to understanding and writing about it. Assuming you've done that and are truly looking for discussion and not just someone to do your homework for you...I would say that Janie's only recently come into her own. She spent 90% of her life being controlled by others. She didn't have a voice. She didn't have a say in what she did, where she went, what she wore, etc. Her husbands were the one bossing her around and telling her what was what. With her third relationship, Janie has finally found someone she could be on somewhat equal terms with. He is by far the best man for her that we see presented in the book. He wasn't perfect. The relationship wasn't perfect. But it was better than anything she'd known before. As soon as her second husband died, Janie began to gain her voice...began to gain and grow in power. So she was able to live her present life (her new life) as she wanted. But relatively speaking, she is powerless for the most part of her life. The telling of her story is very powerful for her.